UFOs, Aliens, and Other Confounding Phenomena

By Kat La Mantia | February 23 2023 | Pop CultureBlogAdultsChildren'sGeneralAllGift

Hey, what’s going on right now? Spy balloons? Weather balloons? Something else? No one seems to know, or be willing to say, and that means one thing: UFOs.

Of course, in a quite literal sense, a UFO is anything in the air we can’t, or don’t want to, identify. Sure, it doesn’t HAVE to mean aliens, but also… it could. After all, the odds that we’re alone in the universe are incredibly small. And the odds that Tom DeLonge was right about a government UFO coverup get higher every day.

If you have questions about these “balloons” being shot down, or maybe you haven’t gotten over the official release of those declassified UFO videos yet, or you long for any sign that there’s a better world out there than this one, we have books to feed your curiosity.

9780593387559
The What Do We Know About? series explores the mysterious, the unknown, and the unexplained. Are there really aliens visiting Earth to observe and interact with humans?
$6.99 US
Jul 11, 2023
5-5/16 x 7-5/8
Paperback
112 Pages
Penguin Workshop
Age 8-12 years

9780593519264
The What Do We Know About? series explores the mysterious, the unknown, and the unexplained. Will we ever learn the truth about what actually landed at Roswell? From the #1 New York Times Best-Selling Who Was? series comes Where Is?, a series that tells the stories of world-famous landmarks and natural wonders and features a fold-out map!
$6.99 US
Mar 07, 2023
5-5/16 x 7-5/8
Paperback
112 Pages
Penguin Workshop
Age 8-12 years

9780593310526
In her first novel since winning the Newbery Medal for When You Trap a Tiger, Tae Keller offers a gripping and emotional story about friendship, bullying, and the possiblity that there's more in the universe than just us.
$17.99 US
Apr 26, 2022
5-1/2 x 8-1/4
Hardcover
288 Pages
Random House Books for Young Readers
Age 8-12 years

9780593429464
Aliens, sassy hedgehogs, and unexplained disappearances . . . Oh, my! Discover the secrets of the universe in this hilariously illustrated, Edgar Award-nominated middle-grade series.“Epically fun!”—Max Brallier, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Kids on Earth
$14.99 US
Sep 13, 2022
5-1/2 x 8-1/4
Hardcover
304 Pages
Delacorte Press
Age 8-12 years

9780593569320
LOOK OUT! An adorable ALIEN has crash-landed in YOUR book--now in paperback! Get ready for another lively, interactive read-aloud in the Who's In Your Book series!
$8.99 US
Aug 30, 2022
10 x 10
Paperback
32 Pages
Dragonfly Books
Age 3-7 years

Color Cosmic Kingdoms
9780593472101
Illustrator extraordinaire Kerby Rosanes is here with his most far-out book yet, the third installment in his brilliant, internationally bestselling Worlds series, in which he'll transport colorists back into the Kerby-verse, dreaming up new alien worlds drawn in his signature super-detailed style.
$17.00 US
Mar 28, 2023
10 x 10
Paperback
96 Pages
Plume

Two Lost Hours Aboard a UFO: The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill
9780593468234
TWO LOST HOURS ABOARD A UFO—THE ABDUCTION OF BETTY AND BARNEY HILL • One of the most extraordinary UFO tales of our time—a thrilling, otherworldly, and wildly entertaining adventure that enraptured America and stands as the quintessential extraterrestrial encounter
$18.00 US
May 10, 2022
5-3/16 x 8
Paperback
464 Pages
Vintage

9781684057108
Aliens are coming for you! For the first time ever, read how aliens have invaded pop culture in all its guises and forms in this definitive history spanning over 100 years. See how depictions of aliens have evolved over the years in popular and pulp magazines, comics, on TV, and in movies!
$34.99 US
Nov 17, 2020
8-1/4 x 9-1/2
Hardcover
176 Pages
IDW Publishing

9781789094831
Thrill your friends and frighten your family with 50 delectable recipes inspired by the cult sci-fi Alien series! 
$34.95 US
Sep 07, 2021
8 x 10
Hardcover
144 Pages
Titan Books

9781803361130
The first-draft Alien screenplay by William Gibson, the founder of cyberpunk, turned into a novel by Pat Cadigan, the Hugo Award-Winning “Queen of Cyberpunk.”
$16.95 US
Dec 06, 2022
5-1/8 x 8
Paperback
432 Pages
Titan Books

9781910620694
A deep dive into the world of Ufology--the study and search for extraterrestrial life--with a fun, informative, humorous look at the history of this strange world of conspiracy.
$19.99 US
Oct 06, 2020
7-1/4 x 9-5/8
Hardcover
128 Pages
Nobrow
Age 16 and up

9780262538435
Are we alone in the universe? If not, where is everybody? An engaging exploration of one of the most important unsolved problems in science.Everything we know about how planets form and how life arises suggests that human civilization on Earth should not be unique. We ought to see abundant evidence of extraterrestrial activity—but we don't. Where is everybody? In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, science and technology writer Wade Roush examines one of the great unsolved problems in science: is there life, intelligent or otherwise, on other planets? This paradox (they're bound to be out there; but where are they?), first formulated by the famed physicist Enrico Fermi, has fueled decades of debate, speculation, and, lately, some actual science. Roush lays out the problem in its historical and modern-day context and summarizes the latest thinking among astronomers and astrobiologists. He describes the long history of speculation about aliens (we've been debating the idea for thousands of years); the emergence of SETI (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) as a scientific discipline in the 1960s, and scientists' use of radio and optical techniques to scan for signals; and developments in astrobiology (the study of how life might arise in non-Earth like environments) and exoplanet research (the discovery of planets outside our solar system). Finally, he discusses possible solutions to the Fermi Paradox and suggests way to refocus SETI work that might increase the chances of resolving the paradox—and finding extraterrestrials.
$19.95 US
Apr 07, 2020
5 x 7
Paperback
240 Pages
The MIT Press

What They Didn't Want You To Know
9780425240113
UFOs do exist. They are found in Renaissance art, on ancient coins, etched on cave walls—and even reported in the Bible. Even more surprising is where they are documented most: in times of armed conflict....   Accounts of hovering objects, when war is imminent, reach as far back as 312 A.D. when seen by Roman Emperor Constantine I as he led his troops to battle. They supposedly aided George Washington in winning the American Revolution. UFOs were also reported flying over Normandy on D-Day, and were dubbed “foo fighters” by World War II pilots. In Vietnam, an Air Force commander said they were “plagued” by UFOs. Even today, the reports continue to pour in, as noiseless objects are seen darting over the battlegrounds of the Middle East.   These sightings, as inconceivable as they may seem, are made by high ranking officials, soldiers and news reporters. Why do these reports spike so drastically during wartime? Could it be mistaken aircraft? Or is someone, or something, looking in on us.... Includes incredible photographs of UFOs
$9.99 US
Dec 06, 2011
4-3/16 x 6-3/4
Mass Market Paperback
320 Pages
Berkley

Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record
9780307717085
The New York Times bestseller. Impeccably researched by veteran journalist Leslie Kean, this fascinating journalistic endeavor reads like the best science fiction and investigates the existence of--and government reactions to--UFOs.
$20.00 US
Aug 02, 2011
5-3/16 x 8
Paperback
352 Pages
Crown

What They Don't Want You to Know
9780440236139
Spaceship...Aliens...Cover-up or Hoax? What Really Happened at Roswell?New witnesses! New evidence! A shocking conclusion!Did an extraterrestrial spacecraft really crash in the New Mexico desert in 1947? Were alien bodies found...and, if so, was there a secret autopsy? Are the recent Art Bell revelations true?For fifty years the mysteries of Roswell have tantalized the public. Now UFO and paranormal researcher Kal K. Korff reveals the real story. Through his exclusive access to military records, previously classified material, and real eyewitnesses, he explodes the lies and lays bare the truth. The result is a revelation powerful enough to change public opinion forever! Find out about: The actual objects found at the crash site--including real-life photos New, disturbing information about Roswell eyewitness Maj. Jesse Marcel The original "flying disc" newspaper story, reprinted in its entirety...and who "killed" it The startling analysis of "spacecraft" fragments sent anonymously to Art Bell Aliens at Roswell: Were bodies found? Did any survive? What experts now say about the autopsy film The real Air Force cover-up...the whole truth for the first time!
$8.99 US
Mar 07, 2000
4-3/16 x 6-7/8
Mass Market Paperback
352 Pages
Dell