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another, sometimes drastically so, by this interaction with the "impossible." They are all baffled and want answers to the same serious questions as the 4 6 a m4 rest of us, but usually for their own reasons. Each one began his relationship to the UFO issue as a natural skeptic, and even though many are now retired from their official jobs investigating UFOs, most have not been able to disengage from the intense drive to want to find out what UFOs are. They remain involved in various ways. One is planning to teach a course on UFO history at a prominent university; another is contacted frequently by the media to be a spokesperson on the issue; a former NASA scientist heads a research group studying anomalous aerial phenomena; a former government investigator is often called via cell phone by nervous Air Force personnel observing strange phenomena in remote locations. So in this sense, these men are not really fully "retired." And some are now captains working for commercial airlines. I noticed that many, even the ones I came to know well, were hesitant to reveal the emotional aspect of their experiences dealing with UFOs. Some witnesses struggle for years with the impact of a mind-boggling close encounter. It was my job to nudge as much as I could from the minds of these reticent military men and Air Force pilots not prone to disclosing their fears. These are men oriented toward duty first, and the significance of their statements cannot be overemphasized. This courageous group is breaking a huge story for the world. Over many years they have all discovered a great deal about UFOs, despite the phenomenon's ability to remain unidentified even while making repeated, tantalizing appearances in so-called waves, or engaging in cat- and-mouse chases with Air Force pilots. The objects come and go, sometimes leaving a blip on radar, an image on film, or an imprint on the ground. This diverse group can provide as intimate and factual a look at this mysterious phenomenon as we can ever hope to acquire as outsiders. None of these writers were privy to the others' statements, nor, to my surprise, have any ever asked me what the other contributors were writing about. Even so, striking similarities exist, not only in their reports of the UFOs themselves, but also in their interpretations, attitudes, and ideas for future resolution. To me, this uniformity validates the worldwide nature of the phenomenon, and it also shows that when properly investigated, the same conclusions are drawn no matter where the investigation takes place. There exists a universal curiosity, increasing over time, about the UFO mystery. I have seen it grow, and have observed an improvement in straightforward media coverage about UFOs since I began this study ten years ago. The more we learn, the more confounding it becomes. Still, many people continue to think the subject is based on fantasy or mistaken identity, or is some kind of a joke and therefore a waste of time. My deepest hope is that these people in particular will read through this entire book, sticking with it from beginning to end, and then draw a conclusion. We can all agree, I assume, that no one is entitled to dismiss a subject