For as long as extraterrestrial and paranormal phenomena have been investigated, the official government response to any events deemed "otherworldly" or unexplainable has been well documented: DENIAL. Not because they aren't interested in UFOs, monsters, and psychic abilities -- but because they have their own secret agendas for using this knowledge.

In this thoroughly researched compendium of conspiracies and cover-ups, the remarkable findings that have been documented (and supposedly debunked) by the governments of the United States, Great Britain, and the former Soviet Union are finally revealed, including

• Attempts by the U.S. Air Force to build a fleet of nuclear-powered flying saucers...

• The British military's files on the Loch Ness monster and other mysterious beasts...

• The Cold War race between the CIA and the KGB to create the perfect psychic spy/assassin...

• The real story behind the enigmatic "Men in Black," who terrify UFO witnesses into silence...

For anyone who wants to know the truth -- or the truth behind the truth -- Strange Secrets is the ultimate resource to understanding exactly what the government doesn't want us to know -- and why they want to keep us in the dark.

For general readers unaware of the interest that
the intelligence network has had in these unexplained
cases, this book is a revealing insightful look at that
topic. For those who are extremely knowledgeable
about a wide spectrum of the unexplained, they will
be disappointed if they set the yardstick on "newness"
- an objective that is not that of the authors.

The casual reader will be interested in the texture
of the material that actually intrigues the government,
and this book reviews the evidence that such, indeed,
has been a concern of spies, spooks, and bureaucrats.

The style, also, is easy to read.


Watching the Watchmen   July 2, 2003
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

I felt this book was worth the time spent reading for what was left out as much as what it contained. It dwells on the reams of unclassified files from American and British archives and the strange things studied by these governments. The authors go out of their way to say that they have not uncovered evidence of Bigfoot, the Greys, or psychic powers. Considering the subject area, these disavowals keep the overall tone of the book impartial and believable.

That is NOT to say that both the American and British governments were never interested in these and other subjects. The authors dwell on actual files discussing crop circles, the Mt. Ararat anomaly, UFOs, psychic phenomena, cattle mutilation, the Loch Ness monster, and spontaneous human combustion. There is extensive quotation from such documents throughout the book, which provides an insightful look at how our governments approached these issues. In a few places the authors put forth plausible theories behind certain events, but never do they cross the line into overblown speculation.

Our society's fascination with the paranormal is as important as paranormal events themselves. This book is a great resource for someone interested in how official investigations have tackled the subject.


Is the truth in there?   July 7, 2003
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

Authors Redfern and Roberts have done a masterful job of compiling government files, both British and American, about everything from UFOs to Spontaneous Human Combustion, shedding much light on what there governments really know (at least, based on files that were released to the public). Though some mysteries are solved or, at least, given plausible explanations, others still remain up in the air (so to speak).

The book could have benefitted a little by being fleshed out with outside material. The chapter on Men in Black is intriguing, but ultimately leaves some nagging questions. And a few case histories from medical literature could have helped the chapter on spontaneous human combustion. The section on UFOs is well done, but those looking for insights into Roswell, MJ-12, or the Rendlesham/Bentwaters incident will find nothing here (though, in all fairness, each of those topics have been the subject of numerous books of their own).

Despite these caveats, and the fact that this book will be disappointing to the hardcore conspiracy buff (who will, no doubt, distrust just about anything the government says), this book is highly recommended for those looking for solid answers based on genuine research and solid reasoning.


Nothing Special About This Book   October 18, 2008
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Like the title says, nothing special about this book. It briefly touches on a few subjects, and I mean Very BRIEFLY, such as crop circles, Noah's ark, spontaneous combustion, flying saucers, the government black-baggers, Mind Science (Telekinesis, Telepathy), and the Loch Ness Monster.

This book is for someone who absolutely has never heard of any of this stuff, and is just looking to skim the surface on a few topics. Nothing more. The information in this book is not very detailed at all and hardly presents any useful information to someone actually studying these topics.

Personally this book did not keep my attention at really any point in time. Though, it didn't take me long to read because there's hardly any info on each page. It's almost as though they were just trying to fill a certain amount of pages.

To sum it all up, if you've ever caught some of the documentaries shown on the Discovery Channel or History Channel, where the entire show is dedicated to providing bias and non-biased so-called facts about phenomenon and by the end of the show, the narrator leaves you hanging with "Will we ever really know if blah blah blah really exists??!?!". Well, yeah, that's this book. But hey, it's only 99 cents on amazon. So if you're looking for a book to maybe fill one of those "waiting on the good book to arrive in the mail" weeks, then this is your book.




Not really very sensational   October 14, 2006
 0 out of 1 found this review helpful

The official standpoint of the governments of England, the U.S. and former Soviet Union regarding the paranormal might not be very detailed. But appearances are deceptive. In fact, for a long time all three of did, and still do, actively investigate and document everything from the Loch Ness Monster, Men in Black, alien abductions, the alleged existence of Noah's ark, and much more.

Nick Redfern and Andy Roberts, two British ufologists, have collected a large amount of governmental documents from the three countries, and these documents clearly show how paranormal discussions and theories have been present at the highest levels of each government. And some of these documents reveal quite startling facts, such as the struggle of both East and West to find psychic spies, the interest in unexplained entities by the British government, and America's attempts to construct saucer-shaped aircraft.

Each chapter is jampacked with quotes and citations from previously classified documents, and from time to time the sheer amount of these reach such a level that the role played by the authors feel more or less redundant; in the sense that the reader gets the feeling the entire chapter is not really written but instead copied straight from the documents. This has a negative impact on the book, despite the interesting content, because official documents have a tendency to be monotonous and boring. Just because the content is exciting doesn't automatically result in exciting reading, a sad fact which most people with an interest in the paranormal are very well aware of.

All in all, the book isn't actually that sensational. Because nothing sensational is revealed, besides the fact that the world's leading governments have had, and still has, an interest in things that many people perhaps believed the governments cared nothing about. But if you're looking for a book about the unexplained and paranormal you're well advised to go look somewhere else.