Cosmic Test Tube: Extraterrestrial Contact, Theories & Evidence

Rating:
Summary: A useful (and often funny) compendium
Review: By his own account, Randall Fitzgerald put "Cosmic Test Tube" together due to his frustration with what he sees as the extremes of irrationality represented by most UFO believers and UFO skeptics alike. To that end, he provides summaries of literally hundreds of published books concerned with all aspects of the UFO phenomenon--ancient astronauts, UFO sightings, contactees and abductees, crop circles, cattle mutilations, and even the works of skeptics like Philip Klass and Curtis Peebles. By and large, these summaries are presented with a straight face and with no editorial or other subjective comment, although in the case of some books that I have also read I believe his selection of what to emphasize may not completely dovetail with what is emphasized in the books themselves. Since nearly all of "Cosmic Test Tube" is made up of these entries, one can view this book as a sort of "Cliffs Notes" on UFOlogy.

The book is divided into several convenient sections (ancient astronauts, general UFO sightings, contactees and abductees, and skeptics), and each section is preceded by an article-length discussion of one or a few of the subjects covered by the entries within. So, for example, the section on ancient astronauts is preceded by a more substantive and editorialized discussion of the so-called "monuments" of Mars and of Robert Temple's "Sirius Mystery," in which it is claimed that the Dogon tribe in West Africa possesses astronomical knowledge that could only have been obtained by the use of a telescope; similarly, the section for skeptical works is preceded by a discussion of the evidence (or lack thereof) for an extraterrestrial connection to crop circles and cattle mutilations.

"Cosmic Test Tube" is genuinely entertaining in places--many of the summaries of UFO-related works are quite funny, especially when presented in such a deadpan manner. It isn't clear to me, however, exactly how "Cosmic Test Tube" points to some sort of "middle way" between believers and skeptics, especially when all it does is reproduce the basic arguments of each side with little in the way of real evaluation. And, of course, it should go without saying that in the modern age of the internet not all of the pertinent information is to be found solely in published books--for example, the paranoia and self-delusion evident in Richard Hoagland's "The Monuments of Mars" pales in comparison with the fantasies and conspiracy-mongering to be found on his web site for "The Enterprise Mission."

Regardless, those with more than a casual interest in UFOlogy will find in "Cosmic Test Tube" a useful reference work that will point them toward other, more detailed books on whatever subject they find most interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Useless, but helpful
Review: Cosmic Test Tube covers everything from Erich von Daniken to Carl Sagan. Whether it's bees from Mars, Nazi flying saucers from the north pole, the grays, or secret military aircraft, Cosmic Test Tube has it all. Which might be too much, actually.

It's helpful in that it can save you years of research. However, you won't be any closer to the "truth" after reading it.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting compendium!
Review: I never thought that I would actually see a compendium for Ufo's and other space/alien related material. However, this title and book in question, i.e., Cosmic Test Tube : Extraterrestrial Contact, Theories & Evidence by Randall Fitzgerald, Paul Mendoza (Illustrator), does just that. It is a compednium that lists numerous titles that deal with the mentioned subject, i.e., aliens and other worldly life forms. Recommended.