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Area 51 Mailing List Digest v096.n017, 24 Oct 1996
01 - campbell@ufomind.com (Gl - "Catchers of Heaven" - A Preliminary Review")
02 - Tom Mahood <tmahood@netco - ("Catchers of Heaven" - Unbelievably Bad")
From: campbell@ufomind.com (Glenn Campbell, Las Vegas)
Subject: Catchers of Heaven - A Preliminary Review
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1996 14:39:10 -0700
"The Catchers of Heaven: A Trilogy" By Micheal Wolf (1993, 1996)
(Dorrance Publishing, Tel. 412-288-4543, $24)
Preliminary Review by Glenn Campbell, 10/18/96
Area 51 Research Center, [https://https://.ufomind.com]
I have finally received my copy of "Catchers of Heaven," a novel
supposedly by a physician who worked with ETs for the government.
Receiving the book is one thing; reading and decoding it is another.
It is 402 dense pages of mostly philosophical musings. I have spent
several hours with the book, but I cannot say I have read it. I've
just skimmed it for key words and tried to read the parts that
pertain to E.T.'s and government programs.
There are a _lot_ of key words here: MJ-12, S4, Dulce, NSA, NPO,
DARPA, "The Company" (CIA), KGB, Reticulum. There are praises in
the book's Dedication for Whitley Strieber, John Mack, David Jacobs,
Budd Hopkins, Steven Spielberg and many other prominent UFO names,
including Walt Andrus and Billy Meier (which shows to me a certain
lack of selectivity). Is he dropping well-known names just to seek
credibility? Curiously, I see no mention of Bob Lazar, whose story
this one seems closest to.
If I can sum up the book in one word, it is "Strieber-esque".
This is presented as a "roman a clef," a book written as a novel but
purporting to contain facts that the author cannot otherwise talk
about -- being, as he claims, under the restrictions of National
Security. The author presents himself as a multi-disciplinary
researcher: M.D. in neurology, PhD in theoretical physics, another
degree in computer science, jet pilot, etc. The protagonist has
done it all: flown recon missions over 'Nam, protected war orphans,
cloned prototype soldiers in unethical medical experiments, served
as a courier for the CIA to East Germany, created "organic"
computers, worked with ET's, etc. Not since James Bond has one man
done so much. He is an abductee from the age of 11, and has spent a
lifetime working on Black projects. He has even worked out his own
theory of the universe.
The book jacket says only:
Dr. Wolf, Chancellor Emeritus of The New England
Institute for Advanced Research, maintains memberships
in The New York Academy of Sciences and the American
Association for the Advancement of Science, the latter
as a patron member. He currently resides in Connecticut,
where he writes and continues his work on a variety of
projects.
(I wonder how much you have to donate to become a "patron member" of
AAAS. $200?)
Dorrance Publishing appears to be a vanity publisher, and the jacket
says that all royalties from the book will go to the "The Daniel
Wolf Memorial Foundation for the Children, Inc." The author hints
that he is dying and that he has nothing much left to live for
anyway. So why doesn't he just come out with it? Why this
novelization?
Here are the goals of the book, as stated in the introduction:
The "Catchers of Heaven: A Trilogy" is not a long title
for a three-volume history of mankind and his place in
the universe; a history of time in the universe; the
natural laws and forces of the universe; an argument
against the Big Bang Theory of creation of the universe;
and an argument for a new Grand Unified Theory (GUT) of
everything in the universe.
This work describes the neighbors in the universe that
have come to visit man and how they are able to get here
- the nearest neighbor being thirty to thirty-two light
years away; and why some of these neighbors chose to
come to this planet (specifically those who have an
interest, vested or invested, and those who are only
tourists passing through).
This is an attempt to shed light on the human equation,
what it means to lose a beloved wife and son; and,
finally, what is the answer to life?
Needless to say, the book doesn't quite live up to those ambitious
goals, but that is not to say it is worthless. As a novel or
philosophy book, some of it is quite intriguing and thoughtful --
far more so, at least, than the one-dimensional dreck of William
Cooper, "Val Valerian," "Dr." Frank Stranges and other pretending
insiders. At least this guy has a brain. His book is far more
compelling and readable, I think, than Strieber himself, whose work
I have never been able to grasp.
The many scientific catch words seem to be used appropriately,
although I wish the protagonist would go into some technical detail
on any of his supposed academic specialties. There are hints of
talented writing here and some real passion for philosophical
issues. Although this novel could use a lot of editing, the author
has a distinctive and sophisticated style which suggests to me that
he has written novels before.
I searched for anything "new" regarding the government UFO cover-up
(or folklore thereof) and didn't find much that hasn't been
published before. Everything the book has to say about aliens and
government programs could fit in a dozen pages, not the 402 alloted.
A sample (page 280):
At the meeting, I stood stiffly at the head of a long,
oak table. The heads of the support teams sat wordlessly
reading the contents of the prepared briefing manuals,
the selected briefing papers bound as Assessments. There
was much to read; I felt increasingly the pressure of
time.
"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may interrupt for a moment,
I'd like to take you first to the section entitled, 'The
Fire-Fight,' when one EBE was killed by a gunshot, a
sloppy misunderstanding by the colonel in charge of
guarding the so-called aliens, while there was a
demonstration of a small anti-matter reactor."
Colonel Etienne DuPont of the French Secret Service
raised his hand for a question. I had wanted to get this
awful part of the presentation over with as soon as was
possible, with no questions taken until the end. He was
a young-looking man of forty, apparently a little
apprehensive about a suggested engagement with aliens. I
nodded and asked what it was he wanted to know.
"Sir, did you say an alien was _killed_?"
I tried to smile, but could not. "I'll answer this, but
your briefing documents cover everything, and I would
appreciate any questions to be voiced after the
presentation, as well as after your perusal of all the
documents. As to your question, Colonel, yes, one alien
was killed. It was a power-play on the part of our
so-called elite military personnel and guards. There
were two scientists present and the EBEs, specifically,
the Reticulian Four entities, were demonstrating the 100
percent power-producing annihilation reaction in a
relatively small anti-matter reactor, using a
super-heavy element, bombarding it with protons.
"You must remember that our nuclear bombs, both fission
and fusion, do not yield anything near 100 percent
energy, so the power being demonstrated was almost
unthinkable to the two scientists observing the
demonstration," I told them.
"The one Ret. Four - for short; you also see them
designated as the 'Greys' - was doing the display and
asked first that all rifles and especially the bullets
in them be removed from the room, and I'm sure all here
could see the possible implication of a gunshot during
this display of enormous power. The - and I must stress
this again - so-called elite military guards refused,
and in the chaotic disorder and commotion that ensued,
one alien, the two scientists, and forty-one military
personnel were killed, simply because the colonel in
charge of security refused the Grey's request. This
occurred one May, nineteen hundred seventy-five, in
Nevada."
So, the question is, Was this book written by someone with "inside
knowledge" of a government E.T. program? I can't say. Even if
true, a "novelization" of the facts doesn't help much, since the key
to real research is being able to connect any given claim to our
existing base of knowledge. In ufology, anyone can claim anything
-- that they were abducted, that they worked for a nonexistent
government program, or even that they are aliens themselves. Because
of the "para-normal" nature of these claims, you can't prove that
any of them are false. All you can say is "I can't pursue that
right now." What distinguishes the more pursuable stories is the
presence of specific details that can realistically be connected to
the known world.
In spite of the many names it drops and the technical words it uses
competently, this book still lacks enough specific detail to let me
do anything with it. About the only way I can think of to
investigate this book is to check out the background of the author
himself. Of course, he insists in the book that the government can
completely wipe out the indentities of anyone it chooses, posing
obvious complications for any background check. There is also the
problem with "fictionalized" truth that you don't know what is
fiction and what is truth, so you don't know what to check. About
the only things stated as fact are on the book jacket, namely that
he is "Dr." Wolf of the "New England Institute for Advanced
Research" and that proceeds from the book will be given to "The
Daniel Wolf Memorial Foundation for the Children, Inc.," which must
have been registered with a state to get that "Inc." designation.
Alas, the lack of specific claims in the book doesn't give me the
motivation to look into it right now. I cannot say that I have
figured this book out, but I'm more inclined to let things "sift"
than to actively pursue it myself. With other investigations
competing for attention, I'd rate this as a low priority.
I don't carry this book in my own line of catalog items, because I
sell only products I would personally recommend to my friends, and I
still haven't decided about this one.
-----------------------------
Copyright (c) 1996, Glenn Campbell, PO Box 448, Rachel, NV 89001.
May be freely reproduced on the internet provided entire message is
kept intact, but no hard-copy publication or for-profit use is
allowed without permission.
+------ U F O M I N D -------+
| Glenn Campbell campbell@ufomind.com |
| AREA 51 RESEARCH CENTER - Las Vegas & Rachel, Nevada |
| UFOs - Gov't Secrets - Philosophy - Psychology |
| Box 448, Rachel, NV 89001 |
+------------------------------------------------------+
From: Tom Mahood <tmahood@netcom.com>
Subject: Catchers of Heaven - Unbelievably Bad!
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 1996 18:51:53 -0700
I finally had a chance to go through "The Catchers of Heaven" by Dr.
(allegedly) Michael Wolf. I can't recall when I've read a more bizarre
book. It's a rambling stream of (un)consciousness that manages to be very
articulate and incoherent at the same time. Just part of the fun is that he
seems incapable of using only a single title for a chapter. Some chapters
have 8 (!!) titles. Imagine the worst piece of New Age garbage you've ever
read, then square the effect.
This thing is supposedly a fictionalized account of the author's life.
While in college, he was recruited by the "Company" (i.e., the CIA) where he
earned extra book money by acting as an occasional courier to Europe. While
keeping his affiliation with the CIA (and eventually the NSA) he completed
medical school and became a Neurologist. But that wasn't enough for our
humble author. He continued his schooling (he never says where) and
obtained a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics. I was looking to see if he also
headed up a rock band, in which case we would be dealing with Buckaroo
Banzai! Do you get the idea that maybe the guy is some sort of genius?
Ahhh, THAT'S the point!
So where are the aliens and what does this have to do with Area 51?
Unfortunately, not much. About two thirds to three quarters of the book are
spent with the author whining about his dead wife and son, who were killed
in a car accident while he happened to be driving. He escaped with a two
week coma. (I speculate they deliberately yanked the wheel to end their
misery of being related to this clown!) To hear him describe his
beyond-perfect family life (at least until kills them mercifully off) makes
"Leave it to Beaver" look like the Manson Family. Oh yeah, then there's the
non-sexual, semi-homosexual relationship he enters into with his son's best
friend, after his son's death. I can't begin to explain all THAT to you.....
However, every so often, his medication must have kicked in and there are a
few coherent pages about aliens. Not many, but a few. He does mention S-4
and the mode of operation of the discs, but in a very odd way. While he
does mention a few of the elements of the Lazar story, in no instance does
he add anything at all beyond what is already public knowledge. Everything
is EXACTLY as Lazar described, and nothing beyond. He even precisely
repeats some of Lazar's terminology, to the point it's all very suspicious.
I'd expect a few differences in viewpoint or terminology from someone who
had been in the program for many years. I should point out he makes only a
few mentions of things that Lazar has told of. Lazar's is a far richer
tale. But in no case does he mention anything Lazar didn't see or was told.
Also, curiously, he NEVER mentions Bob Lazar. Odd, since he's telling the
same story.
The same occurs with his mention of his activities under the MJ-12 group.
All the references he makes and terminology he uses is straight out of the
MJ-12 papers, which if valid, are over 40 years old. It doesn't seem likely
that the organization or names of groups would remain the same after the
amount of public disclosure that has occurred.
And author Wolf seems to have a liking for the movies, beyond his already
mentioned "Buckaroo Banzai" status. At one point, he is appalled to
discover the presence of autopsy tables in alien receiving areas having tie
down straps. He realizes you only need straps if what you're slicing an'
dicing is still wigglin'. Anyone remember that same scene out of the movie
"Starman"? Later in the book he remarks, " Humans are at their best when
things are at their worst", a line ripped off directly from "Starman".
A final curiosity for your consideration. The author claims to be terminal
with colon cancer that has already metastasized to his hip. That actually
is a pretty nasty situation and at that point you are pretty close to
headin' into the light. However the book was first printed in 1993, and
printed and copyrighted again in 1996. It would seem this guy is lingering
around a record amount of time for someone in his condition.
Bottom line: This guy (whoever the Hell he is) tells us nothing new at all.
If anything, the wild manner in which this is written lessens what little
credibility the topics he touches upon might have already had. This book is
a major waste of time to read and a waste of money to buy. I cannot begin
to explain why this book was even printed. Aside from that, it was great!
Tom
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