Thursday, July 16, 2020

Close Encounters of the Fatal Kind: Suspicious Deaths, Mysterious Murders, and Bizarre Disappearances in UFO History by Nick Redfern

Close Encounters of the Fatal Kind: Suspicious Deaths, Mysterious Murders, and Bizarre Disappearances in UFO History
by Nick Redfern
2014, New Page Books

This is my first, and as of this writing only, Redfern I've finished, and it came across just as I imagined - a broad review of a particular topic with no original research.  The topic in question - UFO related deaths, a field that is so thin there isn't even enough made up stuff to fill the book.  Most of it is padding with natural deaths, or deaths only tangentially related to UFOs.

I've seen breakdowns of deaths related to a phenomena and whether they're more common than expected, form JFK assassination witnesses to Wrestlemania participants to Poltergeist film actors.  Everyone dies, it's the proximity in time and the closeness of the subject which gives it an air of the inexplicable. This Venn diagram may help:


The subjects here have increasingly tangential relationships with UFOs.  A classic example is bringing up the curse of the Mothman, a phenomena which is UFO adjacent at best.  In the list of those deaths - there was a movie based on the book.  The movie had a soundtrack.  One of the musician's friends died.  Of natural causes.  With degrees of separation like that, anyone could be included in this book.

Then there's the question of proximity.  Redfern repeats the story of UFO enthusiast Jackie Gleason supposedly getting top secret information from President Nixon, implying that this led to his death.  In 1987.  At least 13 years later.  At age 71. A near 300 pound diabetic with a heart condition who smoked four packs of day and drank a quart of scotch a night.

Redfern must be trolling at this point, including the one person whose longevity is suspicious.

Costs to much at Amazon in ebook, audiobook, and paperback.

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