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Need To Know by Timothy Good
01/10/2006 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
pub: Sidgewick and Jackson. 452 page hardback. Price: £18.99 (UK). ISBN: 0-283-07034-X. Buy Need To Know in the USA - or Buy Need To Know in the UK  check out websites: www.panmacmillan.com and www.timothygood.com
I still occasionally keep an eye on some of the UFO books that come out, especially when they come through the door as in the case of Timothy Good's latest offering, 'Need To Know'. I also have to confess that there's a lot of the early stuff that I already knew but there is some corroboration from the American freedom of information backing it up this time. There is also the contradictory elements using pages from things like the USAF manuals as to what to do when seeing a UFO against the official line that there is no such thing which has largely brought out the conspiracists. It's rather interesting that Timothy Good himself does not raise any comment on the material he's got here. Whether it is to allow the readers to make up their own minds or not is debatable but it has made me rather eager to interview the author on the subject.
There's odd facts that arise from the number of aircraft that are sent out to intercept UFOs, not always spotted on radar, that have crashed or just disappeared. You'd have thought it would have been easy to track the pilots by the obituary columns and official reasons. Looking at the figures here, you'd end up wondering about the cause of every military accident not to mention how or if it was covered up. It is noted in this book about how problematical it is to cover up anything in this day and age, especially in political circles, providing they hear about it. This is slightly contradicted by how many personal accounts, albeit with disguised names, are here with little to say if any punitive action was taken against them. A disguised name won't hide linking to the event after all.
The one thing that struck me the most was the consistency of the reports or rather, the ones recorded here. There is a consistent shape for the typical flying saucer, the open-ended cigar and the more recent dark triangle - all vary as to size and what lights they exhibit. The suggestion that there is several alien species watching the Earth seems somewhat contradicted unless they are sharing the same sort of vessel. Of course, these are from mostly military and aviation pilot sightings so it could be suggested that one set of aliens only are watching them. Certainly none of them resemble the early 'foo fighters' although there is a strong hint that not all of these UFOs are manned neither. The spread of the reports across the world by different people, especially a couple decades back where although there were UFO books about showing a diverse range of vessels, but end up being consistent does strongly suggest there has to be something going on than seeing odd cloud formations. Speed, radar traces, etc must have helped build some ideas.
When it comes to crashes, it also seems to indicate that UFO pilots aren't much better than some terrestrial car drivers. Well, at least at slow speeds. Outside of nuclear testing areas, there has rarely been given any indication what they are looking for on some extended observations neither. It's certainly not observing people.
The major disappointment is the lack of UFO photos. The two photo sections would have pleased 'Jane's Book Of Aircraft' enthusiasts but I'm sure anyone flicking the pages in a bookshop would have preferred to see something backing up the text. Whether this is because of expense, permission, etc is hard to say.
For those interested in the subject, this is good simply because most of the book is left for you to make your own judgement. It only covers UFO sightings rather than abductions and personal contact but there's enough here to make you think. If something is going on, what is it?
GF Willmetts
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