Anomalist Books

William Corliss, who publishes the wonderful Sourcebook Project volumes, also runs a small mail order bookstore. He’s very picky about the books he selects, but he did select Strange Company: Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II by Keith Chester to headline his May-June 2008 book list.  Here is what he had to say about the book: “Usually we avoid the never-ending flood of UFO books, but we have always been puzzled by the so-called “foo fighters” that mystified World War II-pilots in all theaters of combat. Their reality is supported in Chester’s book by over 100 baffling sightings by well-trained observers. Chester’s book is thoroughly researched. There is a strong foundation of 138 sightings of strange lights and even “structures” from 1931 to 1945. Most came from aircraft crews from both sides during the 1939-1945 conflict. A fascinating [sighting index] enhances the textual descriptions by displaying in one place the incredible variety of unexplained phenomena. No fewer than 520 notes give the book even more details, as do photographs of official reports and correspondence. All displaying total mystification!”

Dr. David Clarke has reviewed Strange Company for Fortean Times and it’s a good one. “Strange Company makes clear for the first time,” writes Clarke, “just how frequent the wartime sightings were and the concern they created within Allied military, who seriously feared they could be advanced secret weapons developed by the Axis forces. This gave rise to the persistent myth that foo-fighters were highly advanced flying saucers created by Nazi scientists, whose designs were later captured and developed in secrecy by the Americans. The proponents of this bizarre theory will find little to support their claims in this sensible, sober book which largely sticks to primary source material…” Clarke also notes: “Possibly the most intriguing revelation in this book are the results of Keith Chester’s inquiries at the US National Archives, which threw up references to a joint US and British foo-fighter investigation later in the war, and a direct link with post-war UFO studies by the intelligence services. Most important of all was the involvement in wartime investigations of Bob Robertson, the US physicist who presided over a scientific panel which reviewed the UFO evidence for the CIA in 1953.” It seems to us that the summary line for the review says it all: “A must-read for ufologists of all persuasions.”

Strange Company: Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II is beginning to attract media attention and from the looks of it, the book is going to be huge. The July issue of UFO Magazine carries a 10-page interview with the auhtor, Keith Chester, by Nick Refern. The opening blurb states: “Packed with never-before-seen documentation, witness testimony, and reams of new data, Strange Company is likely to be one of the most talked about UFO books of this year…” The book then receives its first review in the August issue of Fate, which calls the book “an extensive, exceptionally documented, and in-depth account of UFOs observed and reported by the military during World War II.” Reviewer John Zupansic concludes: “Chester has indeed produced a ufological gem.”

It may be the most important UFO book to appear in years. In a startling feat of historical research, Keith Chester’s new book, Strange Company: Military Encounters with UFOs in World War II, details an aspect of World War II that has been shrouded in ignorance for more than sixty years. Chester reveals that as the war gripped the world for six years, military personnel reported seeing numerous highly unconventional aircraft in all theaters of operation. These objects had extraordinary flight performance capabilities, came in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, and were able to travel at extraordinary speeds and avoid radar detection. The author recounts the reactions by military commands, their viewpoints, and theories as they struggled to make sense of the observations. A scientific panel convened by the CIA eight years after the war admitted that these unconventional objects were of unknown origin. “In this eye-opening, thoroughly researched book, bristling with surprising revelations,” writes UFO historian Jerome Clark in the foreword to the book, “Keith Chester challenges decades of conventional wisdom about the UFO phenomenon.” It’s time to drop the pretence that UFOs were a rare sight before 1947, when pilot Kenneth Arnold witnessed nine “flying saucers” over Washington State. While Arnold’s sighting is regarded by many as the beginning of the UFO phenomenon, Strange Company illustrates just how pervasive the phenomenon was years earlier–before, during, and after World War II. “What this work suggests,” says author Keith Chester, “is that while an immense twentieth century war was raging on Earth, someone, or something, from somewhere else, was watching us.”