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jktstoll's review against another edition
3.0
I thought the stuff on the development of stealth was really interesting. The stuff on aliens was pretty weird.
ccriss12's review against another edition
5.0
It’s safe to say I’m obsessed with Annie Jacobsen. She is a brilliant researcher and this book was incredibly fascinating. I have already bought two more of her books, gifted two of her books, and convinced a friend and my boss to buy one of her books. Going into this I knew absolutely nothing about the history and development of US spy planes and black operations beginning during World War II. I got a little bored when she reached the Vietnam war but that is only because of my lack of interest on that particular time period. I also disagree with her theory on Roswell, but I can appreciate her putting something totally different out there. Overall, fascinating read and I can’t wait to read the rest of her books!
eilis's review against another edition
4.0
so many cons but ultimately this was soooo interesting
-kind of all over the place in term of organization,, didn’t seem to necessarily follow events in chronological order all the time and this was a bit confusing
-“clandestine” was used probably 163647373 times
-giving actual merit to the alien situation in the last like 10 pages seemed kind of crazy and maybe could have done w more research/info
-but overall so much interesting history im obsessed
-kind of all over the place in term of organization,, didn’t seem to necessarily follow events in chronological order all the time and this was a bit confusing
-“clandestine” was used probably 163647373 times
-giving actual merit to the alien situation in the last like 10 pages seemed kind of crazy and maybe could have done w more research/info
-but overall so much interesting history im obsessed
foofers1622's review against another edition
5.0
A very interesting book. You hear of "Area 51" you think UFO's but it's so nuch more than that.
efthymis's review
challenging
dark
informative
slow-paced
5.0
What can I say... Let me start with the book itself and the writing.
I enjoyed the style, it was easy to read and follow, except for the so many names in it. It's expected, though, since there were/are so many people involved in what occurred in Area 51.
Since I am not American, or familiar enough with its politics and military, I have to accept that the author did her best in her research. Some things I accepted as fact; others I cannot stomach, or I'm having serious difficulty accepting.
I got enraged in quite a few places in the book, especially about the tests on human beings --willing tests subjects or not. I also have a hard time understanding why the US seem to be obsessed with seeing everyone else as a threat. The book paints a picture where army officials seem too eager to jump the gun. And I believe she sugar-coated it a lot; i fear it's worse than that in reality.
Now, as for what is said about Area 51 in this book. Sure, I believe everything about the nuclear tests, the experimental planes, the weapons tech that was being researched, the secrecy. I cannot believe, though, the reports about the Roswell UFO. I just can't buy it, even though I would like to finally find out what really happened then. But I guess we will never find out, not only about that incident, but many others too, and I'm not only referring to UFO stuff.
So, to sum up: nice book, nice writing, lots of sources, lots of exposed data, but not nearly enough to scrap the surface of Area 51. I recommend it to those who would like a timeline of events about this subject matter.
I enjoyed the style, it was easy to read and follow, except for the so many names in it. It's expected, though, since there were/are so many people involved in what occurred in Area 51.
Since I am not American, or familiar enough with its politics and military, I have to accept that the author did her best in her research. Some things I accepted as fact; others I cannot stomach, or I'm having serious difficulty accepting.
I got enraged in quite a few places in the book, especially about the tests on human beings --willing tests subjects or not. I also have a hard time understanding why the US seem to be obsessed with seeing everyone else as a threat. The book paints a picture where army officials seem too eager to jump the gun. And I believe she sugar-coated it a lot; i fear it's worse than that in reality.
Now, as for what is said about Area 51 in this book. Sure, I believe everything about the nuclear tests, the experimental planes, the weapons tech that was being researched, the secrecy. I cannot believe, though, the reports about the Roswell UFO. I just can't buy it, even though I would like to finally find out what really happened then. But I guess we will never find out, not only about that incident, but many others too, and I'm not only referring to UFO stuff.
So, to sum up: nice book, nice writing, lots of sources, lots of exposed data, but not nearly enough to scrap the surface of Area 51. I recommend it to those who would like a timeline of events about this subject matter.
jkn303's review against another edition
2.0
EDIT!!! EDIT!! Where the heck is an editor when you need one???