Appalachian Case Study: Book Review

Title: Appalachian Case Study: UFO Sightings, Alien Encounters, and Unexplained Phenomena
Author: Kyle Lovern
Publisher Data: Woodland Press, 2008

While a very slender volume, this book is packed full of interesting UFO encounters from Southern West Virginia!  Sixteen chapters follow sixteen witnesses as they recount their tales, spanning a wide period of time, but not exactly a wide geographical area.  The author, a reporter and writer from Mingo County, devotes much of the book's content to the southern coal fields.

While I'd like to see a wider geographical area covered (perhaps in the next book? *wink*), I appreciate the rapport the author has with his interviewees, and his ability and drive to get their stories told.  Oddly enough, right before purchasing this book, I was discussing with a fellow West Virginian how deep our UFO lore goes, but there seems to be a lack of official reporting of sightings, especially in the area covered by the book.

The final chapter covers an interview and partial lecture from the famous Stanton Friedman, who is a regular speaker at the annual Braxton County Monster Festival.  And again...oddly enough, part of his speech covered WHY West Virginians are so hesitant  to speak of their UFO experiences!

This is a well-written book, and covers a subject that is definitely close to my heart.  I enjoyed being able to recognize many of the places discussed in the sightings,  and finding the similarities between the witnesses encounters, not only to each other, but to other famous cases in UFOlogy.  This is definitely a book I'd recommend to anyone with an interest in the paranormal, but also to anyone living in West Virginia, despite a lack of belief or interest in UFO cases, as a piece of our waning folklore.

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