Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!, 7 Jun 1999
By A Customer
I loved this book. Anyone who wants to see great pix of crop circles, this is as far as you need to go.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An absolutely fascinating book!, 6 Jun 2009
With the passing of its co-author Pat Delgado recently, I picked up my copy of this book from my bookcase again, after having first bought it when it came out in 1989. So, in Pats memory I have decided to review it on here, 20 years on.
This fascinating book, the first to be written on the subject I believe, is the culmination of where it all began; the first serious research by Delgado, a retired electro-mechanical engineer who once worked for NASA, later joined by co-author Colin Andrews, an Electrical engineer, of a phenomenon we still don't understand to this day. The book presents the intricate details of the mysterious circles they discovered from 1981 to 1988 in the wheat fields of southern England, long before the phenomenon became a household name and hoaxing was minimal. The authors noted that the flattened, swirled crop stems had not been damaged, and could soon tell the real ones from the hoaxed ones. Other details ruled out human involvement, such as the plant stems continuing to grow horizontal, and on one occasion a circle had been superimposed by a bigger one with considerable force, ejecting plants from the ground.
The book becomes a gripping read as it goes on. Not only were the circles evolving into formations and becoming more numerous, but uncanny events were experienced in the circles. (You'll have to buy it to find out what!) Obviously, UFO's are touched upon, with reports of such and strange lights, and the authors remain completely open mined. With their Engineering background, they were simply looking for a rational explanation. But as their research went on and one by one, scientific theories were discredited (many of which are analysed such as electro-magnetic forces) they were left pondering the paranormal - surprising some might say for two engineers, but a breath of fresh air, re-enforcing their open mindedness.
Today, the circles have massively evolved into huge complex elaborate patterns and are much more widespread in the UK and the world over. Many are hoaxed, but serious research continues, not least by Colin Andrews. This book is a must-read for those wishing to go right back to when the circles first became seriously noticed, when only a few were appearing. Then, on the surface, it was a much simpler 'cosier' mystery with none of the national hype it gets today.
Both authors should be credited with being the first serious investigators, but it was Pat Delgado who started the ball rolling and was therefore the 'Godfather' of crop circle research - here's to him. The little-known circles being discovered then had been largely physically undisturbed by the lack of the inquisitive public, therefore retaining their secrets that enabled Delgado and Andrews to pave the way for todays researchers and enthusiasts, by gathering significant valuble evidence - CIRCULAR EVIDENCE.
Pat Delgado, 1918 - 2009
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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
What Evidence?, 30 Oct 2004
This book is a first class piece of pseudo-scientific junk, I'm afraid. It was written before Dave Chorley and Doug Bower confessed to having made the initial circles and contains an interesting look at the way this sort of phenomenon can take hold, and for that reason it is worth a read. If you want to see the other side of the coin, try "Round in Circles" by Jim Schnabel, as recommended by no less than Carl Sagan.
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by Jenny Randles
