Rating: 
Summary: I hope he writes more books
Review: This is really two books in one. The first is on the Kennedy conspiracy and the second is on UFO cover-ups. They both are fantastic. The material is presented in a way that is approach to most any reader and is unique in that Belzer uses humor and sarcasm to understate the possible realities that he uncovers. I would recommend this book to people who do not read a lot, to people who like to read humorous books, to people who like to read informative books, and to people who just read books.
Rating:
Summary: I hope he writes more books
Review: This is really two books in one. The first is on the Kennedy conspiracy and the second is on UFO cover-ups. They both are fantastic. The material is presented in a way that is approach to most any reader and is unique in that Belzer uses humor and sarcasm to understate the possible realities that he uncovers. I would recommend this book to people who do not read a lot, to people who like to read humorous books, to people who like to read informative books, and to people who just read books.
Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining, but lacks credibility
Review: UFO's, JFK, and Elvis seems like a book with an identity crisis. Is it humor, or a serious conspiracy book? Belzer makes some funny jokes and observations while presenting a strong (and one-sided) case for the existence of a conspiracy in the death of John F. Kennedy. This extended rant makes up the first part of the book, and I found it to be pretty enjoyable, but not all that convincing.The second half of the book is dedicated to UFO's, the possible fakery of the Apollo program, and extraterrestrial life. I found this half to be less compelling than the JFK portion of the book, and it rehashed a lot of the same material I'd read elsewhere about UFO's. Some of the theories were contradictory, and it seemed to be pretty much an amalgamation of everything you've seen on the X-Files. That said, the book was still enjoyable to read. Belzer is certainly funny, but the humor undermined the credibility of his book. He does have an extensive bibliography in the back of the volume, but citations and footnotes would have gone a long ways in improving his credibility, as would even a cursory mention of any of the counter-points to his views.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but lacks credibility
Review: UFO's, JFK, and Elvis seems like a book with an identity crisis. Is it humor, or a serious conspiracy book? Belzer makes some funny jokes and observations while presenting a strong (and one-sided) case for the existence of a conspiracy in the death of John F. Kennedy. This extended rant makes up the first part of the book, and I found it to be pretty enjoyable, but not all that convincing. The second half of the book is dedicated to UFO's, the possible fakery of the Apollo program, and extraterrestrial life. I found this half to be less compelling than the JFK portion of the book, and it rehashed a lot of the same material I'd read elsewhere about UFO's. Some of the theories were contradictory, and it seemed to be pretty much an amalgamation of everything you've seen on the X-Files. That said, the book was still enjoyable to read. Belzer is certainly funny, but the humor undermined the credibility of his book. He does have an extensive bibliography in the back of the volume, but citations and footnotes would have gone a long ways in improving his credibility, as would even a cursory mention of any of the counter-points to his views.
Rating:
Summary: You DO have to be crazy....
Review: We all know that something fishy happened in Dealy Plaza on 11/22/63, and that our government cannot be trusted, but to suggest that people have been copulating with aliens is absurd. I find it interesting the Mr. Belzer failed to point out that UFO sightings have been plummeting since the end of the Cold War, and that these aliens people claim to encounter look suspisciously like the Hollywood aliens depicted in the movies during the fifties. Extra-terrestrials have become the new mythology, and belong in the same realm as werewolves and leprechauns, and are largely a symptom of a mass-hysteria and overactive imaginations. Just because people have seen objects in the air they can't indentify, it doesn't mean they are from other galaxies. Carl Sagan pointed out that the odds of intelligent life outside our solar system is highly likely, but the odds of those two civilizations ever crossing paths is tantamount to two chipmunks in North America finding each other. And, what all UFO pundits have failed to produce over the years is any tangible physical evidence of extra-terrestrial life; it's a lot of grainy, doctored photos and bogus testimonials. As far as the alleged lunar landing hoax, there were good reasons for our government to fake it for purposes of propaganda, but it was well within the realm of possibilty. My old eigth-grade math teacher told us that we had the mathematics to get to the moon in the late 1800's. Belzer resents the fact that such people who believe this nonsense are unfairly marginalized, but how else should rational people deal with paranoid delusions? That being said, the book was entertaining and I read it in one evening, but it was nothing more than a National Enquirer article on steroids. What cracks me up is how Belzer can promote this book with a straight face. I'm sure he's laughing because he got my money. And another thing, he never did tell us where Elvis was hiding! Three Stars!
Rating:
Summary: One for the book shelf
Review: Well, so there are no pictures! So go on the internet for pity sake. Plenty of photos there. What Richard has done so nicely, is bring together many problems with the JFK and UFO matters, provides a basic bibliography, and lets the reader do the followup. There is so much information that what he is done is to provide a key that anyone with interest in the subjects can use to go much further into each. Even if he is only 50% accurate the book provides anyone with *any* imagination the basic info. If you are expecting lots of picktures you will be disappointed, but the text will tickle your interest. Don't be put aside by bits of humor. Keeps one sane...
|
