No, we’re not talking about the recent New Hampshire primary here. We’re talking UFO politics, which is as fiery and contentious as American politics these days. Our headline also happens to be the title of the two-page review of Encounters at Indian Head: The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Abduction Revisited that appeared in the October 2007 issue of Magonia by Peter Rogerson. It’s just what you would expect from a review in a journal that covers “Contemporary Vision and Belief.” It’s Rogerson’s belief that “the Hill story reads like a product of the human imagination.” Yet, Rogerson can’t help but drop a bombshell near the beginning of his review.“This is probably the first detailed reinvestigation of the Hill’s story in years…Right from [the first paper, by Dennis Stacy] there is a surprise. At a crucial point in Barney’s first encounter, where the public accounts have him grabbing a jack for protection, it is now revealed that he got a out a .22 caliber pistol which he had hidden in the trunk (importing guns into Canada is illegal). That’s an important point…”

So, yes, Encounters at Indian Head is finally beginning to get its day in the sun. Brockport Professor Stuart Appelle, in the course of reviewing another book on the Betty and Barney Hill story in the Winter 2007 issue of the Journal of Scientific Explorations, mentions our book, which was edited by Karl Plock and Peter Brooksmith: “This books contains a series of absolutely certain, yet diametrically opposed, opinion pieces stemming from a small conference in 2000.” Another reviewer, this time in Fortean Times, happens to mention our book as well – also in a review of that other book, and in much the same way – by describing the book as “a collection of papers by various hands whose responses to the story range from thoughtful acceptance to diligent scoffing.” Reviewer P.L. Frankson then follows this with a quick compliment, saying that the book under review is “a considerably less interesting read than Encounters…”

But the prize mention goes to Rebecca Rule, whose review of Encounters at Indian Head commanded a full page spread in the The Concord Monitor and other newspapers in New England this past weekend. After setting the stage for those not familiar with the Betty and Barney Hill story, Rule explains how the book came about, and then writes: “The 10 essays by nine experts range from highly technical and footnoted to deeply philosophical. We hear the Hills’ story from many perspectives…Encounters at Indian Head is an earnest attempt to fathom the unfathomable. It’s about much more than Betty and Barney and what happened to them. It’s about what we believe and why we believe it.” At the end, Rule kindly tosses off a flattering comment in our direction: “Anomalist Books specializes in ‘well-researched work on maverick science, unexplained mysteries, unorthodox theories, strange talents, and unexpected discoveries.’ It has quite a catalog. Check it out..” Thank you, Rebecca!