Area 51

by David Darlington

Book Overview

Area 51, Dreamland, Groom Lake, Paradise Ranch, Watertown Strip, the Box: all refer to the top-secret research installation, located a hundred miles north of Las Vegas, which, for many, has come to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0805047778
• ISBN13: 9780805047776
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
• Length: 281 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.7"

Customer Reviews

A humorous and informative look at Area 51

David Darlington has written what is my favorite book on the most secretive place on earth. He mixes fact with fiction, in the form of what the self-proclaimed Area 51 "experts" believe to be fact.His research into this book is meticulous. He recounts a pretty good history of the base up through the first flights of the F-117. Many people whose names have become synonymous with Area 51 appear in this tale. Glenn Campbell, Tom Mahood, and Mark Farmer are portrayed as being more rational, while others,such as Bob Lazar, are shown as the charlatans that they are.Fact is often stranger than fiction, or so they say. If that is true, it also means that fact is funnier than fiction. Darlington captures the colorful personalities of the people who call Dreamland their home. I was particularly amused by Glenn Campbell's affinity for Las Vegas buffets (and Bob Lazar's affinity for Las Vegas brothels...)If the book can be faulted, it can be said that Darlington writes it from a somewhat skeptical point of view. But he really lets the characters write the story for him. Everyone has their own theory abut the mysterious base. The entertainment comes from these stories.Don't let the title fool you. This book's really about the Area 51 fanatics, not the base. But, based on our limited knowledge of what really happens at Area 51, the Area 51 sub-culture has taken the base's place in our hearts and minds.

Excellent.

A very well written and enojyable account of the characters, crackpots and theories that surround Area 51 and the American UFO industry.Dark Eagles by Curtis Peebles complements this book nicely.

The Hunter Thompson of Area 51?

This book is remarkable for maintaining a foot in wonderland and a foot outside in the mundane and boring world -- and Darlington, our observer, seems ready to go whichever way the evidence finally points -- but it keeps pointing back and forth across that strange boundary. At first I thought that Darlington's style was inching toward self-display, but now I would praise his prose as brilliant and evocative. He paints a fascinating portrait of the culture surrounding Area 51, a portrait that is aesthetically vivid, intellectually stimulating, respectful of the wildlife and tongue-in-cheek, all at the same time -- perhaps his characterization of Glenn Campbell is a bit of a projection: "even as he wallowed in the tackiness . . .he somehow managed to remain detached, . . .recognizing and embracing his own alienation."If you want to think some new thoughts, read this book.

Great starter for learning about Area 51

This book gave me a good look at Area 51 from a strictly researched point of view. Darlington did what he could to imform us about this secretive sight and fill us in on what supposed insiders know about the place. The book lured me to take my family to Rachel this summer, climb Tikaboo Peak and witness a terriffic black plane air show complete with black military helicopters. We had a great time, bought the T-shirts and some UFO books at the Area 51 research center and met some of the people mentioned in the book.

A great book about the Area 51 subculture

Everyone has heard the stories about UFO's and top secret spy planes being tested at Area 51, but what makes this book so great is it looks beyond that and focuses on the unusual band of characters that have come to be associated with the not-so-secret base in nevada. This book covers everything from the creation of the base to the dedication of the E.T. Highway, and everything inbetween, right down to the politics and petty bickering in the tiny town of Rachel just outside of area 51. This is not a book where you will find a whole lot of UFO stories, but just about everything else is covered here.