Introduction

Abstract Since 2017, UFOs (or UAP, as they are now being called) have become a focus of interest for the media, American intelligence agencies, and some prominent scientists. But public interest in UFOs has been around since the Cold War, and it has been a global phenomenon. The history of UFOs is as much about the way UFOs have been investigated and discussed as it is about sightings and encounters. This book chronicles the rise and spread of the world’s preoccupation with UFOs. It begins with a series of unsettling reports of unusual flying objects spotted soon after World War II that first captivated the world’s attention about the prospect that aliens might be visiting earth. It then follows how UFO reports were transformed into mysterious stories that traveled the globe to become the subject of debate and controversy.