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OPERATION TROJAN HORSE: The Classic Breakthrough Study of UFOs Kindle Edition

by John Keel (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 466 ratings
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OUR SKIES ARE FILLED WITH TROJAN HORSES...

“The real UFO story must encompass all of the many manifestations being observed. It is a story of ghosts and phantoms and strange mental aberrations; of an invisible world that surrounds us and occasionally engulfs us; of prophets and prophecies, and gods and demons. It is a world of illusion and hallucination where the unreal seems very real, and where reality itself is distorted by strange forces which can seemingly manipulate space, time, and physical matter—forces that are almost entirely beyond our powers of comprehension.”

When this book was first published in 1970, it shredded the then trendy nuts-and-bolts extraterrestrial hypothesis for UFOs in favor of one that linked UFOs to a variety of paranormal and supernatural phenomena that have taken place throughout history. Keel was one of the first to note that the UFO phenomenon appears in different disguises--and that one could not begin to decipher this great mystery without first taking into account its many and varied deliberate deceptions. Other than a few corrections, this Anomalist Books edition essentially follows the original 1970 edition of UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse.

About the Author:
John A. Keel (March 25, 1930 - July 3, 2009) was an American journalist and influential UFOlogist best known as the author of The Mothman Prophecies. In the 1950s, he spent time in Egypt, India, and the Himalayas investigating snake charming cults, the Indian rope trick, and the legendary Yeti, an adventure that culminated in the publication of his first book, Jadoo. In the mid-1960s, he took up investigating UFOs and assorted forteana and published his first knockout UFO book, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse.
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

John A. Keel (March 25, 1930 - July 3, 2009) was an American journalist and influential UFOlogist best known as the author of The Mothman Prophecies. In the 1950s, he spent time in Egypt, India, and the Himalayas investigating snake charming cults, the Indian rope trick, and the legendary Yeti, an adventure that culminated in the publication of his first book, Jadoo. In the mid-1960s, he took up investigating UFOs and assorted forteana and published his first knockout UFO book, UFOs: Operation Trojan Horse.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00CYOW6ZW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Anomalist Books (May 22, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 22, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 901 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 357 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 466 ratings

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John A. Keel

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
466 global ratings
Keel was a strange one...
4 Stars
Keel was a strange one...
...but he rarely failed to entertain.This was a very influential book in its day. Throughout the 1970s there was a shift from the "nuts and bolts" extraterrestrial spaceship UFO theories to the more vague and fuzzy psychic and occult explanations. This book, along with Vallee's "Passport to Magonia" launched that trend. At the beginning of the 1980s the pendulum swung back as crashed saucers and abductions ushered in a new conspiracy/paranoid UFO culture that is still very much with us.Keel's thesis is that the extraterrestrial hypothesis just doesn't hold water. The reports, he maintains, are just too inconsistent, too bizarre, and just too downright silly to be reduced to such an explanation. Most skeptics would agree with him here and start to argue for a psychological/sociological explanation instead. But this is John Keel we're talking about! He posits that UFO are actually "ultraterrestrial" in origin and ties them to fairies, ghosts, poltergeists, vampires, leprechauns, and just about every other legendary or mythic folklore creature he can come up with. One is left wondering just what would make Keel say "Oh, come on, I'm not buying that!"That's what makes this book so charming and entertaining. One has the distinct feeling that one's leg is being pulled. Keel makes the most outrageous statements like Lincoln was a spiritualist who used seances to make decisions during the Civil War and Hitler saw himself as the antichrist. He contradicts himself at numerous points. He never tries to prove his thesis with evidence; he just tries to prop up one unknown (UFOs) by invoking other unknowns (you name it). Keel considers himself a Fortean and like most Forteans you just can't really decide what he truly believes.If you like tightly reasoned, well researched, and meticulously documented studies this is definitely not the book you want to read. But if you like outrageous speculation, incredible anecdotes, and bizarre claims delivered tongue-in-cheek with a wink (but maybe he was serious!), which infuriated skeptics and believers alike, you'll like this one.
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Top reviews from the United States

Bill Weaver
5.0 out of 5 stars Scientists will not be convinced.
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2022
Verified Purchase
Keel really sells this material in a campfire-ghost-story kind of way: “Dabbling with UFOs can be as dangerous as dabbling with black magic.” (p. 238) I admit, as a ‘dabbler’ in ufology, this part of the book scared me. Some famous ufological research has ended badly for the investigators, this we know for sure. There is something profoundly Lovecraftian about all this. Check for San loss. Rinse. Repeat. Oddly enough, Lovecraft was an atheist. Perhaps so long as I keep this within the boundaries of ‘sociology’ and ‘folklore’, I will be okay. Humans want to believe in the esoteric it seems to me, because the esoteric is more entertaining than the mundane. Incredibly, Keel claims that the “mundane explanation” is that we are dealing with extraterrestrials. He is talking about a more “fantastic concept”. (p. 325) Which is more entertaining- that some ‘ultraterrestrial’ phenomenon caused “blood and frogs and slag” to rain from the sky in 1846 (p. 271) or that it could have been the result of a tornado? Aside from an abundance of historical research, it seems much of Keel’s real time data was gathered during his famous Mothman fact-finding of 1966-69 or thereabouts. There are a couple of mentions of Mothman / Point Pleasant herein. Though this book offers more of a history of ufology, the contemporary events cover much of the same time period, close to and after the collapse of the Silver Bridge. Reading just the Mothman book first, for me Keel came across as sincere if somewhat overblown in his conjecture at times. This first book too feels so real, so palpable, that I want to embrace all of it. Some of the personal tales in here, about “mysterious strangers calling day and night to deliver messages ‘from the space people’”, about finding “a dark apparition standing over [him] in the middle of the night [and being] unable to move”, about questioning his own sanity (p. 297) - such personal confessions are utterly believable and terrifying, and appear beyond dispute. There is no question that Keel’s thesis about the UFO phenomenon being all about ‘ultraterrestrials’ perpetrating a “cosmic hoax” (p. 324) upon mankind is truly mind-shattering. “If flying saucers are a cosmic hoax, then it follows naturally that many of man’s basic beliefs may be based on similar hoaxes.” (Id.) However, the weakness of this book, which is common to most books in the genre, even other classics such as this, is that much of the mystery may depend upon incomplete data, or an observer’s lack of knowledge or perspective. For example, Keel tells the story of a mysterious death in Sweden of an army officer who wandered away from his tent and equipment to die. “What impelled an experienced skier and outdoorsman to abandon his equipment and head into the mountains on foot?” This might seem rather mysterious. Indeed, Keel answers his own question in the next sentence with an ominous “We'll never know”, as if to suggest something sinister or even unnatural occurred. (pp. 137-38) This unfortunately appears to be a statement made largely in ignorance on Keel’s part. Having read a couple of solid books on the subject of survival under extreme circumstances, I can say that this is not at all mysterious and that I have read of victims in such cases who often are known to exhibit strange behavior, such as wandering away from shelter or even tearing off breathing masks underwater with air still in their tanks! This is of course the difficulty with all of these ufology books - the ‘unexplained’ often depends upon incomplete information. There are no experts in the field of ufology! It demands a generalist’s sensibility but also a specialist's knowledge. Keel admits he is “not a scientist, theologian, or philosopher [but] only a reporter.” (p. 334) Similarly, I won’t claim I have the right combination to unlock the key to every single unexplained item within these pages, yet one can extrapolate from this one example to point out the difficulty with much of this material, which may not be mysterious at all, but as I said, merely incomplete. This is a problem common to conspiracy books as well. I found Keel’s description of the Rev. Arthur Ford’s solution to Harry Houdini’s spiritualism challenge to be oversimplified and essentially disproven by multiple sources available online. Keel offers many newspaper accounts of events witnessed by ‘thousands’ of ordinary people, yet why are there not more ordinary private records offered up from history about any of these major sightings? Are there no independently written diaries or letters that can be offered to corroborate these airship sightings of the period? Keel admits that at least some of the newspaper items concerning the airship sightings of 1897 were hoaxes yet he seems compelled to suggest that we must account for “all” of the data, including the airship sightings. It seems possible that not all of the data is from a single source here. As Keel admits that some of the data is the result of hoaxes, how can he claim that “all” of the data must be included? If Keel includes credulous accounts of events which are now known to be hoaxes or have likely natural explanation, doesn’t this throw at least some of his ‘ultraterrestrial’ thesis into disrepute? At least to be scientific we must entertain the possibility that UFO data can come from a variety of sources, some explainable and yes, some inexplicable. It is this letter category that troubles the ufologist. Scientists are perhaps content to merely say “we don’t know enough” or “there is some missing information”. Ufologists are inclined at this point to offer wild conjecture about all manner of unnatural or extraterrestrial phenomena. Scientists offer conjecture too, but they call it a theory, and until consistent observable data backs up the theory, that is all it will remain. Sociological or historical data certainly has value but what does it prove about this “unseen world”? (p. 212) When Keel discusses “the puzzle of the anomalous anchors” he acts as if it is inconceivable that people across history could imagine such sky ships dropping anchor onto terra firma. Such speculation is central to the human imagination. The idea that we have stumbled across a pattern that proves the existence of such sky ships appears far fetched to me. Keel admits the distinction is one of ‘poppycock/mystery’. (pp. 183-86) Indeed one of his central points seems to be “that the absurd cases are the most important”. (p. 276) Keel accepts “much of this evidence as purely circumstantial.” (p. 277) Inevitability this becomes nearly a religious question. Keel speculates about both God as “a pure energy state” (pp. 208-09) and the Devil as a Lovecraftian creature that may have dwelt on earth “before man arrived or was created”. (p. 235) Whether you accept all of Keel’s data as credulous or not, if you are at all religious like me, this book may resonate. Scientists will not be convinced.
19 people found this helpful
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MarkenDarkstar
5.0 out of 5 stars A new / old theory revisted on how UFOs / UAPs relate to other paranormal activity.
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
I remember reading and hearing about John Keel but didn't really know much about him or his research. Boy did I miss out not reading Operation Trojan Horse sooner, like in the 90's. This guy did the research. He was the epitome of a researcher. Now adays I feel most people are so called armchair researchers. John Keel interviewed thousands of people. He poured through thousands or new reports, articles, and witness statements. I am guessing that he didn't have much of a home life but he really put himself out there and its to our benefit that he did. This book tells the mostly forgotten story of all the UFO events that occurred in the 1800's and 1900's and how the US government may not have really been lying when they said that UFOs were not flown by aliens from outer space. A lot of the most recent research into UFOs, now UAPs, seems to be leaning to an inter/extra dimensional explanation which seems to have been a large part of the US governments conclusions in the 1950's - 1960's. John Keel not only reveals the mostly now forgotten history of modern UFO events but goes on to explain them in the context of the current level of technology of each time period from Biblical times to the 1800's and then onto the atomic age. He proposes some really interesting connections between the phenomenon and the rest of the paranormal and makes a lot of sense. After you read this, you may question the popular belief that benevolent aliens are coming to visit us, and may begin to suspect that someone or something is really messing with us and it doesn't make a lot of sense. Highly recommended as a historical/coming back around again take on that may shine some light on what is happening today. You may even start to worry a bit as it seems our government may have a very valid reason for not telling us everything they know. Everyone interested in UFOs / UAPs should read this book and also look into Jacques Vallee and his similar research.
4 people found this helpful
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dray83
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good read on an interesting topic
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2017
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John Keel does a very good job documenting the UFO phenomenon and then comparing it to demonology. I won't go into all the details and spoil the book, but I do believe that he is right. Too many aspects of the UFO topic do not make logical, physical, or any other kind of sense. Not to mention that Keel comes to the same conclusion that others like J. Allen Hynek & Jacques Vallee had already hypothesized: it's not interplanetary visitation, it's interdimensional.

All of that being said, I do wish Keel had given us more on the demon/interdimensional aspect and had explained what he theorized was their purpose. And how they are crossing into our reality from their own. He gets a little technical at times for my liking and tends to give way too many examples. I understand the need to document cases to support your theory but you literally get all chapters in the book minus the final chapter all citing numerous examples of cases. I'd prefer maybe one or two chapters devoted to hard cases that were unexplained and the rest giving us a good theory for the how, what, who, and why. Still, a very good base theory supported by mountains of circumstantial and tangible evidence.
33 people found this helpful
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Violet Bunny
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Good One...
Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2023
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...from John Keel. While I don't agree with most of his opinions, nevertheless, he does a great job of describing each situation in this book. He's easy to read; in fact, most of the time, I have a case of "I-can't-put-it-down" syndrome. His books are beyond interesting; he investigates the paranormal (which he claims to not believe in), then reports fairly on each subject.
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Marciobez
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente! Junta muitas pontas.
Reviewed in Brazil on February 19, 2023
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Em alguns momentos pode ser um pouco repetitivo, pois doma muitos relatos. Mas os conceitos são excelentes, e as conclusoes bastante pessoais.
One person found this helpful
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Vanayssa Somers
5.0 out of 5 stars VERY INTERESTING
Reviewed in Canada on October 10, 2021
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Lots of info in this book I never heard of. I use it for bits and pieces reading when I just want something to engage my head. Every page has something new I did not know.
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Michele
5.0 out of 5 stars Una raccolta di casi e dati interessanti
Reviewed in Italy on September 22, 2023
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Visto gli ultimi avvenimenti possiamo definire il libro di Keel più che attuale. Numerosi casi riportati a partire dalla fine del 1800, dettagli e casistica accurata, dovrebbe essere uno dei primi libri da leggere in merito al fenomeno UAP
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Circassia
5.0 out of 5 stars Operation Trojan Horse
Reviewed in France on August 13, 2018
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C'est un livre passionnant à lire. John A. Keel a été le premier, à son époque, à comprendre ce qui se tramait derrière le phénomène ovni, et à faire le rapprochement avec le paranormal. Toutefois, je ne suis pas d'accord avec lui quant à sa description de ces entités manipulatrices, et leur origine.
Le livre est paru en 1996, et il est possible que pendant les années qui ont suivi, il a compris que ces entités avaient un corps physique... ce qui explique les mutilations de bétail, entre autres...
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Simon Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary Reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 1, 2016
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If you believe as I do that flying saucers, triangles etc may be in part inter-dimensional this is the book for you. Keel presents the theory that "other"entities manifest themselves according to our current understanding and prevailing ideas. So the entities can be fairies or angels or aliens, or "19th Century" airship pioneers. Keel puts across some interesting stuff about this last group that few UFO enthusiasts are probably aware of. It always has puzzled me that Germany almost certainly were developing saucer technology during he middle of the last century and yet there is always an "ET" association with this phenomenon. Could the "interdimensionals" have originally being trying to mimic German technology like they were mimicking 19th century airship pioneering, or earlier on in history tapping into religious beliefs ?

I first came across John Keel when reading "The Mothman Prophecies". He wrote at a time before abductions became extensively known and written about in ufology. It seems humans have been genetically modified for some time. If I was to recommend two books on the UFO subject it would be this and "Secret Life" by David Jacobs on the subject of abduction.

Keel was a thorough researcher and dug up some facts that I also believe support the abduction phenomenon idea. According to him saucers were/are more often seen on Wednesday nights, Saturday nights and certain times of the year. More likely to land later in the evening and more likely to land in remote places.
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