The Close Encounters Man: How One Man Made the World Believe in UFOs

by Mark O'Connell

Overview

The wildly entertaining and eye-opening biography of J. Allen Hynek, the astronomer who invented the concept of "Close Encounters" with alien life, inspired Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster classic science fiction epic film and is the subject of History Channel's Project Blue Book, and made an entire nation want to believe in UFOs.

In June 1947, private pilot Kenneth Arnold looked out his cockpit window and saw a group of nine silvery crescents weaving between the peaks of the Cascade Mountains at an estimated 1,200 miles an hour. The media, the military, and the scientific community—led by J. Allen Hynek, an astronomer hired by the Air Force—debunked this and many other Unidentified Flying Object sightings reported across the country. But after years of denials, Hynek made a shocking pronouncement: UFOs are real.

Thirty years after his death, Hynek’s agonizing transformation from skepticism to true believer remains one of the great misunderstood stories of science. In this definitive biography, Mark O'Connell reveals for the first time how Hynek’s work both as a celebrated astronomer and as the U. S. Air Force’s go-to UFO expert for nearly twenty years stretched the boundaries of modern science, laid the groundwork for acceptance of the possibility of UFOs, and was the basis of the hit film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. With unprecedented access to Hynek’s personal and professional files, O’Connell smashes conventional wisdom to reveal the intriguing man and scientist beneath the legend.

Tracing Hynek’s career, O'Connell examines Hynek’s often-ignored work as a professional astronomer to create a complete portrait of a groundbreaking enthusiast who became an American cult icon and transformed the way we see our world and our universe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062484178
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	06/13/2017
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	1,081,842
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Mark O’Connell is a screenwriter, teacher, and blogger. He wrote episodes for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and has developed feature film projects with major studios, including Walt Disney and DreamWorks Animation. He is also the founder of the UFO blog High Strangeness. He lives in Wisconsin with his wife, Monica, and teaches screenwriting at DePaul University in Chicago.

Table of Contents

Author's Note ix

Prologue 1

Chapter 1 Under the Dome 13

Chapter 2 Unusual Stars 25

Chapter 3 The Crowded Sky 39

Chapter 4 Debunked 51

Chapter 5 Scintillations 63

Chapter 6 Project Henry 79

Chapter 7 Hynek in Wonderland 95

Chapter 8 Flying Saucer Conspiracy 115

Chapter 9 Interaction 133

Chapter 10 Obscuring Influence 141

Chapter 11 Burned Brush 159

Chapter 12 Will-O'-the-Wisp, Part One 175

Chapter 13 Will-O'-the-Wisp, Part Two 191

Chapter 14 MR. UFO 207

Chapter 15 Signal in the Noise 219

Chapter 16 Invisible at Last 231

Chapter 17 The UFO Experience 251

Chapter 18 The Spur 267

Chapter 19 Purple Peach Trees 283

Chapter 20 Hynek vs. Sagan 301

Chapter 21 Close Encounters 307

Chapter 22 Arizona 323

Chapter 23 The Supersensible Realm 339

A Timeline of Events in the Book 351

Acknowledgments 357

Motes 363

Index 387

Editorial Reviews

Mark O’Connell’s compelling biography of lone wolf Air Force investigator J. Allen Hynek is a testimony to the complex nature of belief and its effect on the human condition.” — Leslie Kean, bestselling author of Surviving Death and UFOs

“No serious study of the UFO phenomenon could be complete without a look at Dr. J. Allen Hynek. O’Connell has done a masterful job of interweaving the life of this scientist, star-gazer, and space pioneer with an engaging encapsulation of the UFO phenomenon. This is not to be missed.” — Jim Marrs, author of the world’s top-selling non-fiction UFO book Alien Agenda

“This book reveals why Dr Allen Hynek’s fight for a UFO science needs to be understood and turned into a powerful momentum for change. Hop on board the wild UFO comet ride of our lives.” — Bill Chalker, “UFO writer” and author of The OZ Files: The Australian UFO Story, Hair of the Alien, and UFOs and Government

“In telling the life story of Hynek, the ‘astro-beatnik,’ O’Connell winds up with a stunning panorama of the UFO movement and its colossal impact on pop culture and modern science.” — Vice

“A book that smartly refuses to simplify anything. The mystery of UFOs persists, as does the mystery of J. Allen Hynek. Yet thanks to Mark O’Connell, the latter is now a bit less mysterious.” — The Los Angeles Review

“Tracing Hynek’s career, O’Connell examines Hynek’s often-ignored work as a professional astronomer to create a complete portrait of a groundbreaking enthusiast who became an American cult icon and transformed the way we see our world and our universe.” — The Guardian

“Hynek’s story is one that deserves to be written in the stars instead of stuffed in a filing cabinet in a basement, where O’Connell found much research material for this book. O’Connell’s book is a good step to making that happen.” — Shepherd Express

“O’Connell’s book also is notable as a methodical history of the UFO phenomena in America—a story so often overshadowed by the Roswell incident.” — The Millions

From the Publisher

O’Connell’s book also is notable as a methodical history of the UFO phenomena in America—a story so often overshadowed by the Roswell incident.

The Millions

In telling the life story of Hynek, the ‘astro-beatnik,’ O’Connell winds up with a stunning panorama of the UFO movement and its colossal impact on pop culture and modern science.

Vice

Hynek’s story is one that deserves to be written in the stars instead of stuffed in a filing cabinet in a basement, where O’Connell found much research material for this book. O’Connell’s book is a good step to making that happen.

Shepherd Express

No serious study of the UFO phenomenon could be complete without a look at Dr. J. Allen Hynek. O’Connell has done a masterful job of interweaving the life of this scientist, star-gazer, and space pioneer with an engaging encapsulation of the UFO phenomenon. This is not to be missed.

Jim Marrs

This book reveals why Dr Allen Hynek’s fight for a UFO science needs to be understood and turned into a powerful momentum for change. Hop on board the wild UFO comet ride of our lives.

Bill Chalker

Mark O’Connell’s compelling biography of lone wolf Air Force investigator J. Allen Hynek is a testimony to the complex nature of belief and its effect on the human condition.

Leslie Kean

A book that smartly refuses to simplify anything. The mystery of UFOs persists, as does the mystery of J. Allen Hynek. Yet thanks to Mark O’Connell, the latter is now a bit less mysterious.

The Los Angeles Review

Tracing Hynek’s career, O’Connell examines Hynek’s often-ignored work as a professional astronomer to create a complete portrait of a groundbreaking enthusiast who became an American cult icon and transformed the way we see our world and our universe.

The Guardian

06/01/2017
O'Connell (To Be a Machine) examines astrophysicist and forensic investigator J. Allen Hynek's trajectory from UFO skeptic to believer. In 1949, Hynek was given a contract with the U.S. Air Force to work with Project Sign, the first of three UFO studies, and to distinguish which unidentified flying objects were simply of natural causation. Hynek separated the science from fiction, slowly providing a more socially acceptable platform for discussing the subject. Among his greatest achievements were the founding of the Center for UFO Studies in 1973 and the invention of the cataloging tool named the "Close Encounters Scale," after which the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind was named. O'Connell succeeds in bringing Hynek to the forefront of the field of astronomy and analyzing his life's work. Unlike Hynek's The Hynek UFO Report, O'Connell's more vibrant title doesn't stop at dry scientific facts but also explores the social impact of Hynek's studies. VERDICT Scholastic and casual readers will find this fact-packed biography informative and enjoyable; highly recommended for school science departments.—Bonnie Parker, Southern Crescent Technical Coll., GA

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