I just finished reading an astonishing and remarkable book, The Day After Roswell. Written by Col. Philip J. Corso, a retired US Army officer about his own experiences with the Roswell incident and its aftermath, this book is a readable “inside” account. On July 1, 1947, an alien spacecraft crashed into the New Mexico desert outside Roswell, New Mexico. US Army personnel from nearby 509th airfield retrieved the debris as well as the bodies of small alien creatures.

Within hours the military hierarchy began coverup stories of what had happened and what had actually been retrieved in the desert. That cover up has been accepted and believed to this day. A few people who knew the story have begun to relate their memories as they grow older, before they die. Such is the case with this book. Corso wrote these memoirs in 1996, and died within a year of its publication.

I don’t think anybody today actually believes the cover stories initially provided by the military, but there is still tons of speculation of what actually was found in 1947. And of course, the implications of that find are still being debated. So much disinformation has arisen that it is very difficult to sort out fact from speculation.

With his book Corso provided a huge aid to this dilemma. While he was not in New Mexico in 1947, he encountered bits and pieces of the story over his years in military intelligence. His biggest contribution to the facts of the story come from a couple years in the early 1960’s when he was stationed in the Pentagon in the R & D department under the authority of Lt. General Arthur Trudeau. Trudeau gave Corso a file cabinet which had been neglected for years. Inside this were files about the Roswell incident, and a few pieces of debris which had been recovered from the site.

What Corso was instructed to do was to research this information and to develop as much as could be gleaned for purposes of the US Army. What Corso did in most cases was to feed information into streams of R & D already occurring in order to speed up development of weapons and defense mechanisms. What resulted from this work, largely done behind the scenes, were huge leaps in the development of transistors, integrated circuits, night-vision goggles, bullet-proof material (like Kevlar), laser beams, particle-beam weapons, etc.

Along the way reading about all of this, we get a glimpse into some behind-the-scenes workings of the cold war environment in the US military. There were constant tug-of-war struggles occurring between Russia and the US. The CIA and KGB spy agencies had infiltrated each other to the extent that military higher ups would not trust their own intelligence agents. This resulted in much secrecy within various agencies within their own governments. Even the four branches of the US military would not trust one another, and kept many secrets from each other, while trying to ferret out secrets from the other branches.

Today this sounds like pure insanity. But while Corso is telling his story, it becomes clearer what the atmosphere was like through the 1950’s and 60’s. Much of the insanity of the cold war rhetoric becomes easier to understand when seen in context.

One thing which became clearer to me, something I had not been very aware of at all, was that throughout the cold war, an underlying agenda behind the arms race, the space race, the intelligence race, between Russia and the US, was their common need for defenses from alien attacks from outer space. Neither country knew exactly how much the other knew about the EBE’s (the term Corso uses for the alien creatures) and their advanced technology. Each country was afraid that the other would gain a technological advantage, and that the alien societies would see the other one as the superior power and would therefore negotiate with them rather than their own country when it came to contact and use of the Earth as a planet of interest.

Therefore, when developing weapons using the Roswell technology, always in the background was how this particular device could help in defense against EBE’s. Of course none of this could be stated publicly. When appealing for budgets from the civilian government, they had to be very circumspect when stating their arguments. Presidents Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy knew fully about alien encounters and some of the technology being gleaned. But publicly, of course, they had to be careful what they said or implied.

Corso’s opinion, after retiring from the military, is that the US development of the Strategic Defense Initiative (“Star Wars” in popular perspective) under President Reagan allowed both the US and the Soviet Union to end the cold war. The SDI had implemented sufficiently advanced technology to counter the perceived threat from EBE’s. Therefore both countries could relax a bit in the race between them in areas of arms and space exploration.

I highly recommend this book! It is written with enough tech information to satisfy curiosity, but not so much as to be unreadable. I found it a very readable account of an aspect of society still largely in the shadows. The fact that it parallels my own life span makes it even more compelling. I was born within a year of the Roswell incident! All of the stuff Corso writes about has occurred within my lifetime. Having grown up in the US it helps explain a whole lot of stuff I never knew about. It broadens the perspective of my own experience.

Wow! I hardly know where to begin! The book, Millennial Hospitality, is an astounding story! Written by former US Airforce weather observer Charles James Hall, it details his few years spent at the USAF Desert Center Air Base in Nevada.

During his time there in the 1960’s he encountered extraterrestrial beings who were using the Nevada desert as a base, coming and going on a regular basis. But he was not told initially that he would encounter these beings. He found out only by hearsay that former weather observers stationed there had had terrifying encounters with something out on the ranges where they had to go to make their weather observations.

A long time after his years out there in the desert, the author began to record his experiences. He mainly was doing this to provide an account for his own children. When his wife discovered that he was writing these stories down, and began reading them, she insisted that he get them published. The couple decided to self-publish these stories. So far they have five books printed.

These stories are well-told; they are gripping accounts of the initial terror he experienced when encountering the unknown. They are written in very simple language. Reading them is like reading perhaps junior-high level writing. But they are entirely gripping stories, well-worth reading. The only criticism I have is that they are a bit hard to access. My local library had no copies. I had to order this first book online; I will order subsequent books as I finish them.

I heard about these books from an interview the author had on the Coast to Coast AM radio program. George Noory, the host of this overnight program, had also enlisted a person who specialized in debunking alien encounter stories. After the interview with Charles Hall, she said he was entirely authentic. There was nothing in his story which caused her to doubt him.

This first book is published as fiction. After hearing the interview with him, and the subsequent discussion, this surprised me a bit. But I suppose he might have to pose these stories as fiction in order to evade security concerns, I don’t know. He stated that he had received no restrictions on writing down what he experienced at Desert Center. Nothing he learned was classified in any way. I guess publishing them as fiction also allows readers to just enjoy the stories for what they are, and not have to try and get their heads around what incredible accounts these are.

This first book details his growing exposure to these alien creatures. At first he refused to believe what he was experiencing. He was somewhat terrified by these encounters as had been his predecessors. He kept putting them off as mental apparitions. “I’m just seeing things out in the desert in the middle of the night.” But the longer he was there, the more he began to realize that there was something very real about these beings.

Because he treated these visions as not real, and didn’t freak out about them, he had more of them, over a longer time period, than had his predecessors. And the fact that he did not overreact, or try to attack the aliens, they began to respect him and their encounters with him. He began to get orders from the Pentagon in Washington to allow these encounters. Apparently these beings had reasons for wanting human encounters. And they had agreements with high-level military regarding these.

Because this first book deals only with the very initial encounters, I am very anxious to read more. I know from his interview that he discovered a whole lot of interesting things about how these aliens live, how their societies are structured, family dynamics, and so on.

This is certainly the most detailed account I have encountered about alien beings. I have absolutely no trouble believing they are among us. I am fascinated in discovering details about them, and want to know more!!

I highly recommend these books to anyone with similar curiosity.

My goodness!! Went to hear this little Texas girl with the big voice the other night. I have heard her gospel/blues renditions three or four times in the past few years. And every time is awesome! Ruthie has such a big, big voice I can hardly believe it every time I hear her. As my wife says, it’s like her voice comes right up out of the earth and exits through her mouth.

She ended her concert the other night with a long-time favourite, “Death Came Knockin'”. The chorus of this song is, “Hallelujah! Done, done my duty!” Sounds to me like an acknowledgement of someone who has come to earth to accomplish certain things, and is aware of that fact. When it comes time to die, they just buckle up their shoes and get on with it! I done, done my duty. I have accomplished what I came here to do. Hallelujah! I can let go of this life, and get back to my natural home.

I love the concept! That is certainly how I view life, our earthly life. We come here to do some thing, some task. When it is done we can be released of this life, strip off this body like a wetsuit, and return to where we belong.

And Ruthie Foster captures that idea in her signature song.

I urge anyone reading this: if you ever have a chance to go see this woman in person, do it! Do not hesitate for a moment! She is worth hearing, especially in person. She is an amazing presence on stage. Her voice is unparalleled. Truly entertaining!

Efforts have been made by scholars for over two millennia to pare away the pious stuff in the Bible and get at the true nature and life of Jesus. This author makes yet one more try at doing that. And does a credible job, one which is an entertaining read.

Zealot: the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, by Reza Aslan, 2013, is the full name of the book and author.

One of the ways in which Aslan makes the book quite readable is to not footnote everything. He then has a copious notes section at the back of the book which those interested readers can check for sources, other viewpoints, or for further research. Indeed, his book seems extremely well researched. He seems to have taken into account many divergent viewpoints in coming up with his own version of events.

I greatly appreciated this feature of the book (no footnotes), although I must not have paid much attention when beginning to read. I was caught by surprise at the extensive notes! 54 pages worth! But it certainly made the book a more flowing read; it was quite a pleasure, actually.

I certainly did not find myself agreeing with all of Aslan’s points. Thinking back over the book, I would say the point I most strongly disagreed with is that of Jesus being a mostly poor, likely illiterate, peasant labourer from Nazareth. From things I have been reading more recently the picture is emerging of Jesus being fairly well-educated, learning from scholars in Egypt, perhaps India, including Greek and Hebrew scholars closer to home. Being a carpenter, Joseph likely was fairly well-to-do for his place and time.

But there was much, much to like in this book. (And I must say that I don’t read only books that I agree with!!!) One is the overall picture of life in first-century Palestine. The author lays out in very readable, entertaining ways the multitude of forces at work at that time. It certainly gives me a much clearer idea of what life was like for Jesus when he was growing up, and for the people around him.

Another feature of the book I appreciated was the image of James the Just, brother of Jesus. James became leader of the believers in Jerusalem. He was killed around 62 C.E., for disputes with the priestly rulers of the temple. James very much seems to have carried on Jesus’ message and been an able leader of the earliest church.

He also is the most likely author of the epistle of James in the Bible. Reza Aslan says, “That would make James’s epistle arguably one of the most important books in the New Testament. Because one sure way of uncovering what Jesus may have believed is to determine what his brother James believed.” (p 204). Some points where Jesus and his brother agree is, 1) the “. . . passionate concern with the plight of the poor”, in James’s epistle. 2) Another point is James’s “. . . bitter condemnation of the rich.” (p 204). 3) Jesus and James also seem to be “. . . in agreement [over] the role and application of the Law of Moses.” (p 205). “The primary concern of James’s epistle is over how to maintain the proper balance between devotion to the Torah and faith in Jesus as messiah.” (p 206).

While Peter is often held up as the primary leader of the first Church, James almost certainly deserves that title. There is no evidence of Peter ever being a leader of the Church in Jerusalem. It was not until after his move to Rome that Peter became recognized as a Church leader. So, while James was the leader in Jerusalem, Peter was becoming the leader in Rome. Of course, once Jerusalem was destroyed and its inhabitants scattered, James’ role, and that of his successors, diminished, and Rome gradually came to be seen as the center of the Church.

Fascinating stuff! As I said above, an articulate picture of the earliest days of the Church emerged from reading this book.

One of the most powerful moments for me in reading this book came in the Author’s Note at the beginning. Reza Aslan explains how he found Jesus as his Saviour at the age of 15. Born into a lukewarm Muslim home in California after being displaced from their native Iran,

“. . . our lives were scrubbed of all trace of God. That was just fine with me. After all, in the America of the 1980’s being Muslim was like being from Mars. My faith was a bruise, the most obvious symbol of my otherness; it needed to be concealed.

Jesus, on the other hand, was America. He was the central figure in America’s national drama. Accepting him into my heart was as close as I could get to feeling truly American. (p xviii).

He became very evangelical and fervent in his new-found faith. In college, however, as happens to so many of us, he began to have doubts about the biblical account. Initially, “. . . like many people in my situation, I angrily discarded my faith as if it were a costly forgery I had been duped into buying.” (p xix). As he continued academic work in religious studies he found himself increasingly drawn to the life of the historical Jesus. So now, in addition to discovering some life in the Muslim faith of his forefathers, he also finds himself fascinated with the life of Jesus. “. . . two decades of rigorous academic research into the origins of Christianity has made me a more genuinely committed disciple of Jesus of Nazareth than I ever was of Jesus Christ. My hope with this book is to spread the good news of the Jesus of history with the same fervor that I once applied to spreading the story of the Christ.”     (p xx).

What really touched me in his Note was that Reza Aslan travelled such a similar path to my own. The only difference is that what took him probably five years or less, has taken me four decades to realize! Along with Aslan I find myself increasingly questioning the biblical stories and more and more attempting to model my spiritual life on that of Jesus himself. Jesus is worthy of following; the Church’s portrayal of him not so much.

I encourage anyone interested in the earliest bases of the Christian faith to read this book. It is certainly enlightening.

I just finished reading a most remarkable story. It is published under the title, A House in the Sky. Written by Amanda Lindhout, it is her story of being held hostage for over a year in Somalia.

Amanda grew up in Alberta, so it adds interest to read about landmarks with which I am familiar. And the story is incredibly well-written. It is a fabulous job of storytelling. It reads like a suspense novel; so much so that at times it was difficult to believe that someone actually underwent the horrendous experiences being related.

Amanda does not dwell on the horror; she rather allows the reader to experience it from a distance. In fact, the means Amanda used to retain her sanity and her spirit is demonstrated by the book’s title. She was able to build a “house in the sky” in her mind, one attempt at maintaining her will to live and her incredible spirit. Though she understandably considered suicide while in the depths of the brutality, she was able to develop the ability to remove her mind from the horrors of her situation and maintain some semblance of sanity and psychological health.

And the book is not at all bleak or only dark. The first half of the book deals with her craving to travel and experience the world. She grew up in a very dysfunctional family, but came out of that environment with a zest for life. She wanted to experience the wider world, and set about to do that. She would waitress in high-end bars and restaurants, earning high tips, which she diligently saved for her travels. While working she would research places to go, and gather her travel resources.

Then she would quit her job, and go! After a few years of this she began to develop her skills for writing and photographing her travels, selling her stories freelance. This is what eventually took her to Somalia. She and another journalist were kidnapped and held for over 400 days, beaten, tortured, treated very brutally by Muslim extremists.

And most incredibly, Amanda came out of this experience with her spirit whole. In fact, she has established an organization to help educate women and children in Africa, and returns there frequently to oversee this effort. I was quite blown away by how mentally healthy she was after coming through this absolutely horrific experience.

I highly recommend this book. Read it and be encouraged by the strength of the human spirit! This book is a real page-turner, holding the reader’s interest right through to the end.

I recently finished reading a book by Shirley MacLaine, called, What If . . . : A Lifetime of Questions, Speculations, Reasonable Guesses, and a Few Things I Know for Sure. I found this to be a delightful read. Fairly light, compared to lots of what I read. But Ms MacLaine asks a lot of the same questions I live with. And speculates on a lot of the same things I do.

Shirley MacLaine muses on a broad spectrum of topics. From her career in Hollywood to celebrities she has known, politics to the mundanities of life, from religion to spirituality, she asks “what if . . .” She is non-judgmental, light-hearted, irreverent at times, thought-provoking.

I quite enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone wanting a lighter look at what this world and life are all about.