Rating: 
Summary: Good or bad depending on what your looking for
Review: This book isn't only about Mothman but also UFO, mystery lights, skin burns and such. It's pretty interesting, the retelling of the mysteriuos events, but Keel doesn't sensationize them, which leads to a fairly dry book. You can see why he stands out in his field, he's experienced these things but doesn't over embelish, draw conclusions, or try to start a religion of belief, just says this happened, and this, and that, and so on. So, while I liked the 'hard' facts, it's told in a way that loses interest. Also in the telling, he 'jumps' around a lot, here's one on day 1, here's one on day 20, here's a continuation of day 1 on day 5, etc. It's hard to stay focused on what's happening or what he is trying to do. It's not a bad book, just depends on what you're looking for.
Rating: 
Summary: I love this book.
Review: If you're new to the paranormal and/or crytozoological studies, you should deffinately pick this up. Its light reading, so you won't have to constantly analyze if something is symbolic or not. Its written like an episode of "Law and Order", really. In the book, Keel relates events that he experienced, centered around the West Virginia town of Point Pleasant. Very rarely does Keel ever color the events with his view or interpritation of things. Usually he relates the facts and lets the reader come to any conclusions that need to be come to. This is very important, as usually books of the paranormal ilk are SATURATED with the authors view of what a specific event is or means. Overall, its highly enjoyable. If you are even remotely interested in paranormal phenemonons, this is a fantastic book to start with. Any conclusions you come to will be those of yourself based on the evidence provided, not because the author colored things to make it appear more one way than another. The only thing that could have made this book any better was maybe a deluxe edition that would include pictures of some of the reoccuring characters and scenes, such as Mrs. Hyre and the TNT area. Sometimes sketches of visiting entities are mentioned, it would have been awesome to see these sketches. There is a whole realm of possibilities for additional photographic illustrations to this book that could add more depth and realism. That is the only thing that could have made this book better, for what it is. However, this is just bonus material, none of it is needed to better understand the story, so there is no reason to mark down for such things not being included.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting yes. Believable? Still don't know.
Review: I don't know quite what to make of this book, because I don't know quite what to make of the events that occured in West Virginia (and Ohio and Long Island, among other places) in the late 60's. The story is probably well-known if you've seen the movie. The book does differ somewhat from the movie but this isn't exactly a linear tale. I did read that Keel was pleased with the results.In brief, in the late 60's a lot of peculiar events took place in the area around the Ohio/West Virginia border centered around the town of Point Pleasant, WV. Most of the events involved sightings of the Mothman (whose name was coined from a Batman villain) but there were various other Men in Black types running around Point Pleasant too. Other events are too numerous to mention and seem to involve lots of peculiar folk showing up on people's doorsteps and beeping phonecalls and maybe an abduction or two. The events culminate in the collapse of the Silver Bridge. Despite some criticisms of the book (the reason for the Bridge collapse had a scientific explanation), Keel does not suggest that the tragedy was caused by the Mothman, et al. He simply suggests that these visitors knew about it and purposefully misled him and others. How did they know? Keel thinks they are time-travelling visitors from another dimension that come here for purposes unknown and maybe unknowable, although possibly just because it amuses them. It all sounds fairly ridiculous when you try to explain it. Keel seems reasonable and he's well-respected by his peers (his peers, granted, probably including some rather flaky folks.) The book is well-documented and not especially sensationalistic. I actually grew tired of the repeated stories of odd occurences at crossroads and a seemingly endless parade of unexplained lights in the sky. It is short and worth a read if your interest was especially piqued by the movie or you just have an interest in this sort of thing, in which case adjust the rating upwards. Otherwise, this book probably isn't for you. Do be prepared to be haunted by Keel's final words (a quote from Charles Fort, a famed student of the unexplainable): "If there is a universal mind, must it necessarily be sane?"
Rating:
Summary: A wild and interesting read!
Review: I just finished the Mothman and found it to be a very interesting account of a rash of strange sightings in the late 1960's, centered around a town called Point Pleasant. The tales of strange men in black unable to act and look fully human arriving on people's doorsteps is chilling to say the least. There are plenty of strange sightings and weirdness documented in this novel. I can't say I believe in UFO's or Mothmen but he makes an interesting case study of what happened back then, telling of the contactees from all walks of life who supposedly saw UFO's and the hi-jinks of otherworldly visitors after they reported it. Unfortunately, there is very little about the Mothman and at times, I felt frustrated since we didn't get quite as much of he/it as I would have liked. Still its a very interesting read, it kept me glued so I gave it five stars anyway. I still found it to be one of the more interesting of UFO literature. I liked the way he wrote this book in that you can detect a tone of skepticism as well as awe of the events. No one is sure what these things are but I liked what he wrote in the beginning on their possible origins which I won't give away. He writes with a lot of humour and its very well-written. I especially loved hearing about Woody's trip to Lanulos, an interplanetary nudist colony of sorts. All I can say is that I loved this book. Keel writes with a good eye and a sense of humour. Interesting events. Spooky and fun all at the same time.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing as it seems...
Review: There are studied subjects and phenomenon out there that defy scientific explanation. Just because one cannot put a particular phenomenon under the rigours of scientific examination, doesn't mean such phenomenon is merely the product of a deranged mind. The reason the protectors of divine rationality are reluctant to examine the paranormal is it seems to contradict known physical laws. It doesn't follow the rules. However, if you have actually had the fortune or misfortune to experience such phenomenon i.e., spirits, UFO's, demonic creatures or source less cries of anguish in the night, ~The Mothman Prophecies~ can seem almost plausible. The book is certainly entertaining and, surprisingly, at times quite frightening. The book essentially focuses on a series of unexplained events that manifested in and around the little West Virginia town of Point Pleasant. Numerous reports of Unidentified Flying Objects and strange lights in the southern skies motivated John Keel to investigate what all the fuss was about, and if there was any truth to the reports. His investigations led him down a peculiar path of events and personal experiences that finally pushed him to develop a theory, albeit an extrardinary one. What is the 'Mothman'? A journalist coined the term from the popular Batman series, because the actual creature, taken from eyewitness accounts, resembles the legendary comic hero. The amount of actual sightings is nothing less than incredible, which leads one to suspect the beast's reality. The book only touches on the Mothman and relates a scattered assortment of weird events and unusual sightings from the 'Men in Black' to 'abductions' and the cries of infants in the night. Throughout the book, Keel attempts to connect the dots, so to speak, inferring that all the varied phenomenon could well come from a single source. This is a big reach, but so is the book as a whole. Keel proposes that these manifestations, UFO's, MIB, winged-beasts et al, possibly originate from an alternate reality - another dimension if you will. These other dimensional being(s) guide and play with the human race and have been for a very long time. Throughout history these beings have manifested in many guises and forms, according to a specific historical/social context, depending on civilizations particular belief system at the time. For example, in the middle ages, this other dimensional phenomenon showed in the form of witches, warlocks, fairies and elves. For the American Indian, the phenomenon appeared as nature spirits; and in ancient times, they manifested as winged-lions, centaurs and Olympic gods. Because of our technological advancements and predilection to anything 'scientific', they now show as flying saucers, aliens and FBI agents. In other words, Keel suggests that their form shows in the way we 'interpret' these sightings - screened through our socially conditioned minds. Generally these amazing stories are told in a matter of fact tone, a journalistic style, setting the reader up from the start to lend credence to the entire book. This is clever and it works. But one gets the impression that Keel is absolutely serious about his subject matter - and to this day is trying to get to the bottom of it. This is what makes the book intriguing and worth the time.
Rating:
Summary: Whatever you may think Mothman came alive!
Review: John Keel did an absolutely terrific job, researching, developing and organizing this story. I purchased the original release and read it the same day. Overwhelmed would be a good term to use here, the book encompassed all aspects of the case.
Was Mothman real, imaginary or a paranormal entity ? Did Mothman truly have something to do with the collapse of the Silver Bridge? And have we seen or heard the last of Mothman? Some of these answer you may find in "Mothman Prophecies" if you look hard enough. Easy, enjoyable read, better than the movie !
Rating: 
Summary: Fortean classic
Review: Never mind the nattering naybobs of negativity, this book is a classic. Why does Keel go into so many other subjects? Because the Mothman case he worked on was not an isolated "monster" invasion but an outbreak of various strange phenomena that had at its center recorded sightings of an unidentified winged creature dubbed the "mothman." These sightings were part of a larger picture. Keel tells a complicated tale that requires some intelligence and imagination to understand. Without his various sidetrips there is no connection with the bridge collapse and hence no story or drama other than the individual encounters with the apparition. The movie was good but it dramatized the actual events for the sake of making a more cohesive story, just as all other movies based on books do. Take any book based on historical events and make a fiction film out of it and you'll find that certain distoritions must occur. You can't go back and blame history just because it isn't as thrilling and manipulated as fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: A Let-Down...
Review: John Keel's "Mothman Prophecies" could be a great book if it actually concentrated on the "Mothman" sightings in and around Point Pleasant, West Virginia in the mid-to-late 1960's. Unfortunately, this book isn't really about the Mothman, but it should instead be entitled "John Keel explains how the universe really works". For every "Mothman" story that Keel relates in this book, he offers at least three other stories of his personal life, his adventures in researching the paranormal, and his decidedly offbeat theories about paranormal events and what causes them. This book isn't really about the "Mothman" sightings in West Virginia as much as it is a goofy memoir of John Keel's "research" into the world of UFOs, demons, ghosts, and other bizarre events. As someone who bought this book to read about the "Mothman" and not about Keel's disjointed ramblings and ravings, I was sorely disappointed. Not recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: SHAME ON YOU MR. KEEL !!!
Review: Let me just start by saying that the " MOTHMAN PROPHECIES" is not a novel, nor is it a coherent story. It starts strong, just enough to draw you in, then it goes down the spectral energy crap hole. Were led to believe that Mr. Keel is a sensiable, unbiased investigator, when really he's a parinoid delusional whack. I'm only 15, and I don't buy a word of it!!! see the movie instead.
Rating:
Summary: A Little Confusing...
Review: Upon my initial reading of this book one thought came to my mind: "confusing". There wasn't anything even remotely like a "stroy" going on, but rather a mishmash of facts, and experiences from a number of individuals related to the phenomenon known as the mothman, the MIB, and UFO encounters. After having saw the film, I then took another chance to read it, and found it to be fascinating in the way that I believe that Keel had intended for it to be confusing (this is due to a scene in the film where one of the characters utters "We aren't supposed to know what they mean..."), and I give him the utmost respect for it. He has created a book that is both unsettling, and highly enjoyable (it reminds me of the feeling I got when I first read Burrough's "dope" manifesto "Naked Lunch") This is one of those books where all things aren't supposed to make sense, and where you are supposed to get your own interpretation from the "prophecies" contained within. Whether a work of fiction, or non-fiction, "The Mothman Prophecies" is a fascinating read, and a good primer to the world of UFOs, MIB, and cryptozoology. I definitely recommend this to any fan of the paranormal.
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