Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had been very much looking forward to this book, as it has been marketed as a sensible, real-life account of the history of Area 51. Boy, was I ever disappointed. What Ms. Jacobsen has given us is simply another twist on the tired old fairy tale about captured alien spacecraft being hidden away for study and reverse-engineering; although I will admit hers is an original take on it. I won't go too far into detail, but the short version is that in 1947, Soviet Premier Josef Stalin somehow arranged for a saucer-like craft to crash in the New Mexico desert carrying what Jacobsen describes as "child-sized aviators." Yep. Roswell was a communist plot. Now, whether you believe the Roswell incident (or this variant of it) actually took place as the conspiracy theorists describe is irrelevant, for the simple reason that it occurred in 1947. Area 51 was not built until 1955. There is no connection between Roswell and Area 51. Period. The original story, by the way, was that the Roswell wreckage was taken to Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio. When Area 51 gained public notoriety in the late 80s to early 90s, people who didn't know any better glued the two together. But I'm drifting here. Again, this book is a massive disappointment. The real story of Area 51, a research and development base for advanced technology aircraft and related systems, would easily stand on its own as a great read for those who are truly interested in the subject. Area 51 was originally built as a place to secretly develop and operate the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft in 1955. It soon became the home for the CIA-owned A-12, which later evolved into the legendary SR-71 Blackbird. At the height of the Cold War, US pilots evaluated captured Soviet fighters in the secure airspace of the Nevada desert, and ultimately an entire squadron of such aircraft were flown in an adversary training role against front-line US fighter pilots. The F-117 stealth fighter was first flown at Area 51, and the new generation of pilotless aircraft (drones/UAVs) that are operating in combat zones today were developed (and are still being developed) there. Why can't someone write a definitive history about the real story of this incredible place? Enough with the sci-fi.