The 37th Parallel by Ben Mezrich

The 37th Parallel

by Ben Mezrich

"This real-life The X-Files and Close Encounters of the Third Kind tells the true story of a computer programmer who tracks paranormal events along a 3,000-mile stretch through the heart of America and is drawn deeper and deeper into a vast conspiracy. Like "Agent Mulder" of The X-Files, computer programmer and sheriff's deputy Zukowski is obsessed with tracking down UFO reports in Colorado. He would take the family with him on weekend trips to look for evidence of aliens. But this innocent hobby takes on a sinister urgency when Zukowski learns of mutilated livestock, and sees the bodies of dead horses and cattle--whose exsanguination is inexplicable by any known human or animal means. Along an expanse of land stretching across the southern borders of Utah, Colorado, and Kansas, Zukowski discovers multiple bizarre incidences of mutilations, and suddenly realizes that they cluster around the 37th Parallel or "UFO Highway." So begins an extraordinary and fascinating journey from El Paso and Rush, Colorado, to a mysterious space studies company and MUFON, from Roswell and Area 51 to the Pentagon and beyond; to underground secret military caverns and Indian sacred sites; beneath strange, unexplained lights in the sky and into corporations that obstruct and try to take over investigations. Inspiring and terrifying, this true story will keep you up at night, staring at the sky, and wondering if we really are alone ... and what could happen next"--

Reviewed by jamiereadthis on

1 of 5 stars

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WTF was that ending? An unsatisfying gimmick of a book with an even more unsatisfying gimmick of an ending. It almost works as a character study, but the way Mezrich skips around and sloppily compiles the narrative out of anecdotes without other sources is insulting. The upsides are: I got it from the library, so it was free, and the book is so brief it didn’t waste much of my time. And honestly, I probably would have still given it two stars just for my interest in the subjects it covers, if not for that damn middle finger of an ending.

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  • 29 December, 2017: Reviewed