Rating: 
Summary: Conspiracy Groups
Review: If you are interested in the psychology of paranoid conspiracy groups and new New Age religion then this is a good book for you to read. I suspect Patton does not believe very strongly in UFO's but leans more toward the black aircraft scenario. A refreshing read from the current glut of hi-paranoia UFO abduction and/or hard-tech pseudo-science.
Rating: 
Summary: Aerial Anthropology
Review: If you feel that the Cold War years were some sort of bad dream, and you catch yourself wondering what it was all about, this is a great book for waking up. Patton uses Area 51 as an entry into the psychology of the era. The skunk works, strange lights in the sky, the secrecy and paranoia all come together in a sane and down to earth commentary on those times. I especially enjoyed the history of Area 51, the workings of the Lockhead SkunkWorks, and the story of the U2 and other spy planes. I was distrubed by the book's portrait of Curtis Lemay (of Dr. Strangelove fame)and his nightly bombing raids on American cities. Strange things indeed were happening in the skies. They may still be going on. Patton's style is on the level and humorous at times, a delight to read. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Aerial Anthropology
Review: If you feel that the Cold War years were some sort of bad dream, and you catch yourself wondering what it was all about, this is a great book for waking up. Patton uses Area 51 as an entry into the psychology of the era. The skunk works, strange lights in the sky, the secrecy and paranoia all come together in a sane and down to earth commentary on those times. I especially enjoyed the history of Area 51, the workings of the Lockhead SkunkWorks, and the story of the U2 and other spy planes. I was distrubed by the book's portrait of Curtis Lemay (of Dr. Strangelove fame)and his nightly bombing raids on American cities. Strange things indeed were happening in the skies. They may still be going on. Patton's style is on the level and humorous at times, a delight to read. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Fearless Musings on Trespass, Privacy, and Certainty
Review: Less a book than a collection of impressionistic musings, Phil Pattoon's "Dreamland" is magnificent stuff. He dives deep inside the great, dark pool of post-war American military secrecy, and returns to the surface festooned with strange and startling stuff. While those wishing for bodies being snatched, circles being made in the crops, and things that generally go swish in the night will almost certainly be disappointed, a more savvy and accurate tour guide through the cross-connected synapses of Cold War America -- and its consequences -- you will be hard-pressed to find.
Rating:
Summary: Good starter book on this stuff
Review: Liked this read as an introductory book to this type of material. It seems fairly up to date with the latest known insights about this "secret world". The information on the U-2, SR-71, and known and projected spy plane development was my favorite part of the book. The other interesting stuff was material from author's association with some ufo'ers and black project speculators with an interesting look at these folks too. There is not a lot of delusional speculation or similar ufo/et thought, if you were wondering. Finally this book is not very technical either, just a more laid back look at this subject.
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting but still not what'd you expect.
Review: Ok, for those interested in the subject: if you expect to read all about aliens, conspiracies about strange beings governing from below, strange otherwordly craft being tested, or any such info, well, choose another book if this is what you seek. If you happen to be a planespotter this book should be precisely right for your money. Furthermore, if you're looking for the purely conventional history of "area 51" then you've hit the bull's eye as well.
But this calls for some specification here. It all comes down to what you're ready to assume, believe, expect. Area 51 may have an unconventional side to it and it may not. This is all extremely open to discussion and anyone who has delved deep into all this phenomenon will know very well that this subject could span to lenghts and depths unimaginable. If it comes down to purely concrete evidence then area 51 remains a blurry subject, more so that other sides of the bigger scheme for which way more evidence exists. Now, summing it all up, i find the cover of this book ridiculously misleading. Why put an alien on the cover if this precisely what you are NOT talking about inside this book??? This alone, leads me to thoughts it shouldnt lead me, it puts me in suspicion about the motives of the author. If you're going to go on for 400 some pages explaining that all that area 51 is is a secret giant facility for testing secret (but earthling made!) aircraft than what's with the alien hint on the cover mr.Patton? I found myself reading an extremely interesting book about the history of fighting aircraft, stealth aircraft, cold war intrigues, test pilots of dangerous aircraft etc. For this i rate this book highly. But i still think that it doesnt address the ever-underlying question about "other" functions of the so called area 51. "Dreamland" does touch this underlying question but in a vrey superficial and selfunderstood dismissing way as if it was never an issue to begin with. Problem is, it IS an issue, and there are enough reasons for that (wrong or right, they aren't adequately dealt with in the book, to put it mildly).
Rating: 
Summary: Full of details but lacking style
Review: Pattons book offers an in depth look at the history of black projects developed at Area 51. Aviation buffs will probably find this interesting but the rest of us will just be left longing for something more. The only new revelation Dreamland brings is its attempt to link the infamous Roswell crash to Area 51. The major failing in this book is that Dreamland is told without any conviction or style, which despite all the information in offers, makes it a rather dull read. For a much more personal and entertaining book on the subject I recomend David Darlingtons "Area 51: The Dreamland Chronicles."
Rating:
Summary: Balance in an unbalanced world
Review: Phil Patton has done a good job of describing the 'culture' and psyche of those who spend significant time and effort at the edges of government facilities peering in. A combination of voyeurism, paranoia and need to fill a spiritual void seems to motivate this mixture of UFO-believers and government-conspiracy advocates. Area-51 does sound interesting, and there is no question that some highly secret work has been performed there and at similar locations. But the human need to find meaning and relationships, even when none exist, make this book more of a commentary on humanity than on Martians. Is it the influence of culture or neurophysiology that causes this odd pursuit to be almost exclusively male? Ben Rich�s �Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed� provides a wonderful story of how Area-51 came into existence.
Rating:
Summary: Balance in an unbalanced world
Review: Phil Patton has done a good job of describing the 'culture' and psyche of those who spend significant time and effort at the edges of government facilities peering in. A combination of voyeurism, paranoia and need to fill a spiritual void seems to motivate this mixture of UFO-believers and government-conspiracy advocates. Area-51 does sound interesting, and there is no question that some highly secret work has been performed there and at similar locations. But the human need to find meaning and relationships, even when none exist, make this book more of a commentary on humanity than on Martians. Is it the influence of culture or neurophysiology that causes this odd pursuit to be almost exclusively male? Ben Rich's 'Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed' provides a wonderful story of how Area-51 came into existence.
Rating:
Summary: Patton creates a fantastic sense of place.
Review: Reading Dreamland is like entering into a dream. Fact, fiction, speculation and fantasy are all comingled into one amazing sense of a floating world.
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