Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing but choppy
Review: The fact is, these things "happened" - in the sense that they were reported about - and the Mothman phenomena is fairly well-documented in other places. However, this is one of the only actual published books I have managed to locate on the topic, so it deserves scrutiny. Its very apparent that something very strange was going on in West Virginia in the months leading up to the Point Pleasant bridge disaster. Taken as a more or less matter-of-fact document of the times, it works pretty well. Its almost funny how Keel describes his participation in these events, like sitting up and watching strange lights in the sky every Wednesday evening is no big deal. Keel maintains a general tone of paranoia and eerieness throughout the book, due to his rambling, but more or less matter-of-fact tone. Credibility is questionable because lot of the reconstructed conversations sound a little too contrived and detailed to be anything more than fiction or imagination (I should mention Carlos Castaneda's name at this point).Keel seems to be putting forward a very Terence McKenna-like philosophy of the goings-on, that there are invisible inter-dimensional psychic entities that are capable of influencing the world about them (except of course the part about needing heroic doses of psylocibin to see them) and they were somehow involved with what happened around Point Pleasant. But to what end? Keel seems to have opinions but he more or less keeps them to himself, or allowed his publisher to purge them. The book has been too chopped up and filtered to be anything more than kitsch. Its still a fascinating read and recommended for fans of the paranormal.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating true account of the paranormal
Review: I have read over 200 books on UFOs and for many reasons, this is my favorite. Keel is an honest investigator who was fortunate to be involved in the strange, spooky events he writes about. Taken along with his first book, Operation Trojan Horse, this slim volume says more about the true nature of the UFO phenomenon than almost any other book written since. I was initially doubtful of the validity of Keel's claims, as some other reviewers are. However, I had the luck of meeting a man mentioned in the book who accompanied Keel on his investigations. This person, whom I trust and sincerely believe to be honest, flatly stated that everything in the book was true, that he had been there, spoke to the witnesses, and eventually became involved in the phenomena, as did Keel. The fact is, these things happened. In fact, Keel left some of the strangest evidence out of the book. Mothman Prophecies is a fascinating true story, and I recommend it to anyone who has a real desire to know the truth about UFOs and the paranormal.
Rating: 
Summary: Initially interesting, eventually saw through him . . .
Review: It was recommended to me by someone whom I think beleives in the interdimensional and non-ET aspect of it all. I kept an open mind, but finally came to the conclusion that John Keel wrote a fradualent and contrived story, with an underlying "distracted" attitude that in reality is quite insulting to the reader. The book is probably pure fiction, and if you seek more than fiction, then it is bordering on pure trash. As an "investigator" he poorly documents his findings. Don't buy it, check it out from the library, please.
Rating:
Summary: A Quixotic Adventure into True Horror
Review: I can remember when "The Men in Black" were an urban legend, a myth, a bogeyman to frighten paranormalists. Now the phrase is a sign on an office door hidden deep in the basement of the Pentagon. No individual is more responsible for this paradigm shift than John Keel, whose Mothman Prophecies exploded onto the paranormal scene in 1975 and changed forever the way we would look at events from the outer limits of human knowledge. John Keel lives in a world in which paranormal phenomena take strange forms: hairy giants, red-eyed and sulphurous, skulking through lovers' lanes; invisible electromagnetic fields which induce terror; winged weirdies such as Mothman; and finally, and most importantly, the Men in Black, a sort of advance guard for the CIA from Outer Elsewhere. These last entities tapped Keel's phone lines, tampered with his mail, spread disinformation and terror among his associates, and generally made his life a living hell until they had distracted him long enough to achieve their nefarious ends: the destruction of the Silver Bridge at Point Pleasant, West Virginia, on December 15, 1967. The purpose behind this act was identical to that of all the entities which Keel calls "ultraterrestrials:" to confuse, annoy, and generally interfere with humanity, as they have since the beginning of time, appearing as gods, fairies, devils, and flying saucer occupants. These and most other paranormal phenomena exist somehow in the spectra of energy beyond the ranges of our physical senses, and make themselves known to us only when they wish to advance their own sinister purposes. By means of light flashes, they hypnotize their subjects, and are thus subsequently able to manipulate the belief systems of the observers. This is Keel's Grand Unified Theory of paranormal phenomena. My first impression of this book was that it is a paranormalist's homage to Ovid's Metamorphoses. Keel's book, like Ovid's poem, lacks structure and form, and shifts fluidly from one narrative to the next, with only the slightest pretext of connection between incidents. This narrative structure is reflected by events in the text itself: everyday objects transform into creatures from the outer dark, lights in the sky turn into flying saucers, phone lines become a tool of hostile forces from another dimension. One of the ramifications of this flowing narrative style is that the reader is not encouraged to consider closely the implications of these events, however. This flaw undermines Keel's own apparent goal in publishing this account, but may also give us clues to understanding events described therein. Frightening though it may be, the ultraterrestrials may actually be the text's true authors. I came to this last conclusion after a recent re-reading, in which the work reminded me not so much of Ovid's Metamorphoses as it recalled Cervantes' Don Quixote, which challenges the narrative voice of the Western novel. Keel is at times a friendly narrator, at others a cynical and battle-weary one, and the reader soon comes to respect and trust him, as he tries to sort facts from disinformation, expresses concern for those who have been used by the ultraterrestrials, and faces the threat of possible psychic attack, injury, or even death at their hands. A careful reading of the work raises questions, however: if Keel was in close contact with these entities, and exposed to the same forces which create delusions in other human subjects, how did he escape being subject to their hypnotic power? There are two possible answers. In the first case, Keel is a superman, somehow capable of deflecting or absorbing without ill effect the malign rays sent forth by these black garbed spooks, and he can perhaps show us a way out of many centuries of deception and trickery. For this, he should be ranked with the luminaries of the Enlightenment--Newton, Galileo, and Bacon, among others--who led the way out of the darkness of superstition and into a new age of clear thinking and empiricism. The second possibility is much more frightening, and the evidence for it is stronger. This narrator whom we have come to trust, who bravely faces these creatures from Outer Elsewhere, is nothing more than a puppet, a conduit for these beings. In such a scenario he is in fact effecting the very actions he rails against throughout the book. He admits that they had some effect on his life, and even if one chooses to believe that he vanquishes them in the end, one is left with the possibility that he has been played: that he was merely led to believe that he had won, that the ultraterrestrials might better continue their games. The narrator of Don Quixote is similarly befuddled by uncertainty regarding his sources, and this leaves the reader wondering about the narrator's credibility, and if he might not have a hidden agenda. Several times in the novel the narrator steals bits from other writers, and shamelessly distorts them to his own ends. These snippets of text, and the narrator's unblushing thievery, distort and undermine the narrator's authority. He is a clear example of the unreliable narrator, and after reading the work, the reader is left with a new understanding of the nature of the Western novel. In Keel's hands--or the hands of his masters--this breakdown of narrative authority becomes a source of horror. Even as Keel rails against the ultraterrestrials, he strengthens their hold on the human mind, enslaving us to their alien whims, by providing a belief system for their continued manipulation of the human race. As Keel himself says, "Belief is the enemy." Does Keel want to break the ultraterrestrials' grip on humanity, or continue it? After reading this work, one does not have an answer to that question. The mere presence of entities such as Mothman or the Men in Black was enough to give me goosebumps, on my first reading: that the seemingly trustworthy narrator might be their unwitting dupe, part of the ultraterrestrials' Operation Trojan Horse, has provided the material for many nightmares.
Rating:
Summary: A New look at the UFO Phenomenon
Review: Keel is a true investigator. He leaves no path untread upon in his search for the truth. His exceptional accounts of the Men in Black are strange, frightening and even humorous at times and help the reader to better understand their place in this whole game. His work defends his theory that aliens and UFOs are inter-dimensional rather than extra-terrestrial. Even if you are not a UFO buff, his book is an easy yet extremely thorough initiation into this world. And even for you non-believers, it is recommended reading. It is by far the most entertaining book you may possibly ever encounter, on many levels. It will change the way you look at the world and leave you with many thoughts that you may never shake. One of them being, "I don't ever want to be visited. It's no one-shot deal.!"
Rating: 
Summary: A must for Fortean buffs
Review: Believe It or Not? Well, frankly, I don't believe all of it, though I'm sure those folks in West Virginia saw something mighty interesting. But in all the lengthy annals of Fortean/ supernormal/ paranoia-lit journalism, Keel does stand out as an author with an above-average storytelling ability. He also has the ability to not take himself entirely seriously, a trait often sorely lacking in the genre. With all that and a trans-phenomenon Grand Unified Theory of Weird Stuff to offer, this book is definitely worth checking out for those interested in the field.
Rating:
Summary: PAST THEORIES are TODAY'S FACT (some of them, anyway)
Review: I. HISTORY A lot of "the unexplained" books today got their inspiration from pioneer books like this one. I read this book several times in middle school & now many (though not all) of its theories have been confirmed with the knowledge I possess today. NOT recommended for immature readers. II. PLOT Keel's bold "documentary" not only grips the reader because the physical events ACTUALLY occurred, but also because the book was written during a time when MIBs, aliens, & "mystery monsters" were politically INcorrect. Now everyone is jumping on the "UFO" bandwagon. III. CHARACTERS The characters *are* or *were* real. Although Keel was a UFO journalist & therefore has a biased view, the events, interviews & conversations actually occurred AND he was there when much of it happened. IV. THE UNEXPLAINED Keel offers a refreshing hypothesis behind the nature of the "unexplained" & "unscientific" events which STILL occur. Although *many* components of his theory are off-key, his theories including the observations that UFOs are "primarily psychic in nature" & come from "inner space vs. outer space" are not far off base. And Keel is a nonChristian! V. REALITY WAKE UP AMERICA & skeptics! Even the Bible & world religions (which DON'T support the Bible) testify to this. If modern-day mediums can conjur up spirits, if psychics have "spirit guides" that tell you your personal 411 when many of you dial the psychic hotline, if Tibetan monks can create "tulpas" or manifested thought-forms, if cameras suddenly jam when "mystery creatures" are about to be photographed & UFOs can alter human consciousness, then maybe their nature IS more non-physical than physical. And maybe DUH!, they ARE similar in origin. Final thought: A person that only reads books on what they already know is *wasting their time.*
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: The Mothman story is indeed a fascinating one. Unfortunately, the same adjective cannot be applied to "The Mothman Prophecies." John Keel's theories regarding the nature and origin of UFOs in general and Mothman in particular are more bizarre than the phenomena themselves. I was also put off by Mr. Keel's tedious obsession with men (in black) behaving badly. I've given this singularly overrated book two stars, rather than only one, because it does supply some (albeit nowhere near enough) information on the extraordinary occurrences of more than 30 years ago.
Rating:
Summary: Mothman
Review: If you buy this book, you are a fool
Rating:
Summary: A waste of time
Review: Don't get me wrong, I believe in UFOs and certainly Mothman, since my friend's aunt saw it, but 90% of this "nonfiction" book is nonsense. Keel's semi-acurate listing of the real life mystery of Mothman wins it a single star, but the speculation that he pushes as the gospel truth is laughable, and is mostly based on questionable facts and ideas that are theoretical at best. If you want to know about Mothman read James Cohen's Book of Mysterious Beasts, if you want to waste your time and Amazon's time, buy The Mothman Prophecies.
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