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    The Close Encounters Man: How One Man Made the World Believe in UFOs
    Unavailable
    The Close Encounters Man: How One Man Made the World Believe in UFOs
    Unavailable
    The Close Encounters Man: How One Man Made the World Believe in UFOs
    Ebook519 pages6 hours

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

    By Mark O'Connell

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    About this ebook

    The wildly entertaining and eye-opening biography of J. Allen Hynek, the astronomer who invented the concept of "Close Encounters" with alien life, inspired Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster classic science fiction epic film and is the subject of History Channel's Project Blue Book, and made an entire nation want to believe in UFOs.

    In June 1947, private pilot Kenneth Arnold looked out his cockpit window and saw a group of nine silvery crescents weaving between the peaks of the Cascade Mountains at an estimated 1,200 miles an hour. The media, the military, and the scientific community—led by J. Allen Hynek, an astronomer hired by the Air Force—debunked this and many other Unidentified Flying Object sightings reported across the country. But after years of denials, Hynek made a shocking pronouncement: UFOs are real.

    Thirty years after his death, Hynek’s agonizing transformation from skepticism to true believer remains one of the great misunderstood stories of science. In this definitive biography, Mark O'Connell reveals for the first time how Hynek’s work both as a celebrated astronomer and as the U. S. Air Force’s go-to UFO expert for nearly twenty years stretched the boundaries of modern science, laid the groundwork for acceptance of the possibility of UFOs, and was the basis of the hit film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. With unprecedented access to Hynek’s personal and professional files, O’Connell smashes conventional wisdom to reveal the intriguing man and scientist beneath the legend.

    Tracing Hynek’s career, O'Connell examines Hynek’s often-ignored work as a professional astronomer to create a complete portrait of a groundbreaking enthusiast who became an American cult icon and transformed the way we see our world and our universe.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 13, 2017
    ISBN9780062484185
    Author

    Mark O'Connell

    Dr. Mark O'Connell received his doctorate in psychology from Boston University and his post-doctoral training in psychoanalysis from the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute. He lives in Newton, Massachusetts, with his wife, Alison, and their three children: Miles, Chloe, and Dylan. He has a psychotherapy practice of adults, adolescents, and couples, and serves on the faculty of the Boston Psychoanalytic Institute and the Harvard Medical School. He writes and speaks about fatherhood, family life, and masculinity.

    Read more from Mark O'connell

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    Reviews for The Close Encounters Man

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Excellent Biography

      Well rounded biography of the astronomer/astrophysicist who was – along with his primary position as astronomy professor at Northwestern University – also the lead investigator and scientific consultant for the United States Air Force’s Project Blue Book which investigated UFO sitings, Dr. J. Allen Hynek. Hynek was also the inspiration behind Steven Spielberg’s movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Along with being the creator of the Close Encounter or CE-I, CE-II, CE-III, etc., system.

      Note that – in my opinion, and other than Hynek’s own books and Richard Dolan’s historical treatise on UFOs and the National Security State – this is probably one of the only valid sources for what actually occurred when Hynek was with the United States Air Force’s Project Blue Book. After reading numerous other accounts of what happened during Projects Sign, Grudge and Blue Book, it seems fairly obvious that there is quite a bit of obfuscation afoot, and the US Air Force led the way (not to say that they were behind it, however).

      Highly recommended biography of a significantly intelligent and talented individual, albeit someone who also seemed to me to be highly conflicted.
    • 3/5
      Giving up on this one, even though it's interesting. The material's a bit too "in the weeds" in terms of early details and I'm losing interest enough to let this go back to the library unfinished.

      Your mileage may vary, depending on your interests in UFOs et al.