- Publisher : Cedar Fort, Inc.; Illustrated edition (July 8, 2010)
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1599554054
- ISBN-13 : 978-1599554051
Do UFOs really exist? Shedding new light on the UFO mystery, noted biologist Frank B. Salisbury, in collaboration with Joseph Junior Hicks, brings to life dramatic eyewitness accounts that address this timeworn puzzle.
Written in the context of modern science, Utah UFO Display includes countless interviews of people who adamantly insist they witnessed a flying saucer or were abducted by extraterrestrial beings.
Prepare to be hooked from the first page!
Well, I have to admit that for the most part this was a good read but Salisbury admits himself that he had retired and been out of the UFO field some time -hence his being dropped as consultant by Bigelow and the Skinwalker ranch group. In fact, Hicks, whose work the Skinwalker team used a lot as background and credited got the big heave-o and that rings weird. It's akin to a businessman stating he is in heavy financial trouble and he knows a friendly accountant but screw him -"I'll go it alone!" Most of the leg work and investigation work was carried out by Joseph Junior Hicks.
The problem I find is that in the years since this book first appeared Ufology has moved on (slightly) but in the table of cases we see "saw a silvery figure in house" and that's it. Even a UFO sighting recounted early in the book does not mention the fact that a entity was reported...well, it is a kind of side note at the end of the section. Everything else is pretty much "UFO standard" and it does not appear to have entered Salisbury's mind that the phenomena reported in many cases may be a natural phenomenon. This is where old Ufologists tend to make the mistakes as they conclude that every "unexplainable" is intelligently controlled or nuts and bolts.
Where we get to something new and very relevant to UFOs in 2022 is the chapter on Skinwalker Ranch itself. The family that owned it from the 1930s (not 1950s as the current myth goes) had never encountered strange phenomena of any kind and certainly not UFOs and the brother of the late owner (Garth Meyers spoke to Salisbury) had even worked on the ranch as a young man and encountered nothing unusual. Everything changed after the family of the deceased couple who owned the ranch sold it (they were all quite old so running a ranch was beyond them). Salisbury seems to suggest that the new owners accounts may have some truth in them but to my reading it read as if there was a huge pile of bovine excrement and now some denial from that source ('Tom Gorman').
Where things get bad is when George Knapp and Colm Kelleher got involved. Allegedly, Knapp had never spoken to 'Tom Gorman' but heavily embellished accounts and 'Gorman' did not even know about the book until after its publication. As I wrote at the time after reading Knapp and Kelleher's book; I do not believe a word of it. No photographs, absolutely no evidence what-so- ever (as Knapp has been recorded as stating when pushed on the subject.
It comes down to this; someone was taking the money and making the most out of false accounts and reports -even from the "crew" who were supposed to be investigating the ranch. That Bigelow actually called Meyer a liar when he stated that there was NEVER any strange phenomena at the ranch from 1930-1990s and its sale but later sold the ranch on to another "entrepreneur" says a lot. I think Bigelow caught on to the con at some point. The "must not dig in certain areas before consulting the seller" is nothing spooky but is something put into land contracts in the area due to oil deposits!
This is an interesting read for those who do read these days and do not rely on the lies found on the internet and You Tube. This book does note that some observed odd lights near the ranch but this sounds like natural phenomenon.
Conclusions about UFOs all fall into the same "I'm a nuts and bolts man and this does not seem to fit" category. The same "false gods of Ufology" are quoted (seemingly people are unaware of how their data is inaccurate or corrupted) and the same old theories pop up including how religion can help (Salisbury is a Mormon).
An interesting read as I note and the greate4st contribution to modern Ufology (again) is to the Skinwalker Ranch farce.
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