The Close Encounters Man: How One Man Made the World Believe in UFOs

Mark O’Connell

“There remain today lingering questions and mysteries about Hynek’s work. Was there a government cover-up of UFOs? Was Project Blue Book merely a PR front, concealing much more secretive UFO study? And, if so, was Hynek a willing participant in the deception?”

In the spirit of the spooky season, I wanted to read about the unexplained phenomena of our world. I’m reading more non-fiction these days, so The Close Encounters Man popped up as a recommended book by Amazon. I thought it would be an exciting read about UFOs and similar unexplained experiences. This is anything but.

You will find a timeline in the back of the book, use it. I didn’t know and found myself lost amongst the insane amount of dates, events, names, and everything else. What I thought would read like a biography of historical events was more like a patchwork of a history lesson. I am interested in the unknowns of our world but found this to be more quotes and citations than words from the author, which made it a complicated story to follow…but I endured. I got lost in who said what and who is whom to get invested in Allen Hynek influence.

Allen Hynek was an astrophysicist. He wanted and worked for a valid scientific study of UFO phenomena. I admire his passion and search for the truth. When he wasn’t at the university, he was working with the Air Force to investigate numerous UFO sightings. It is no doubt that he made a significant impact in the UFO community and spoke out when other professionals choose to be silent, but the way his story was written made it challenging to develop an appreciation.

If you like a historical date driven read, this is for you. If you are a die-hard follower of Ufology, you should read this. If you are a commoner, like me, who wanted to question real life sightings, learn a little background on the Blue Book project, and get a little spooked I would not recommend you start here.

“‘And I think we have to be open to the possibility that we cannot fashion a hypothesis yet,’ He concluded. ‘There may be things that we just don’t know about yet.’”

Are you familiar with Allen Hynek or the Blue Book Project? Do you plan to read The Close Encounters Man? Is there another non-fiction UFO book I should check out??Tell me below.