Richard Dolan Book Signing Review!!!!!!

-his·to·ri·an
Pronunciation: hi-'stor-E-&n, -'stär-
Function: noun
1 : a student or writer of history; especially : one who produces a scholarly synthesis
2 : a writer or compiler of a chronicle

Every once in a while you come across a person that forever leaves a good imprint on your mind. Until yesterday afternoon I had never even heard of Richard Dolan until Miahx had posted that he would be doing a book signing in my hometown. So I said “what the heck, its something to do”, and in my mind I went expecting to meet another UFO conspirasist. To my surprise, instead I met an intellectual historian that was as humble as he was personable. Instead of a bunch of consumers waiting in line for a celebrity we all sat around as Richard introduced himself to each person. As we sipped coffee Richard shook hands with each person that he met and imparted his historical knowledge of any question we had for him. Whether it was Baseball, the CIA, the Iraq War, The Great Pyramids, and yes UFOs, Richard did not hesitate to put out all the information he knew from all the different perspectives people held. Never have I met such an open-minded intellectual that could present information from all perspectives with such ease. Whether it was his assessment for other individuals in the UFO field or descriptions of organizations, Richard new what people wanted to hear but never at the same time exploited there beliefs for his own benefit. I’ve come to find out that Mr., Dolan actual runs a small business writing professional resumes by day while laboring intensely by night for his true love and profession history.
I asked Richard if he was a member of MUFON and he did answer yes. He does acknowledge the fact though that this organization and many others are compromised. The only reason he joined was that when he first got into this field he was utilizing MUFON'S resources so much that he felt guilty about literally reading through everything this organization possessed, and he felt it would be in bad taste not to pay the organizations Dues.
I was astounded by how much time Richard spent pointing out the compromises in this field as much as he did the possible truths. This was a breath of fresh air though because he is able to be intellectually and scientifically sound while at the same time very open minded. For any one that has never heard him speak or actually read an entire chapter from one of his books, you would be doing yourself a disservice to try to assess him before hand. Richard is not about entertaining your imagination with UFO what ifs but is more about presenting historical documentation of UFOs and letting you come to your own conclusion. With that said Richard is more than willing to stand in the ocean of possibilities. He is more than happy to talk with you about reptilians, Serpo, moonlandings, 911 conspiracies etc., get his feet wet but never get swept away by the current. One would get the impression that he is just as much as interested in sifting through all the crap as you or I but he is always open to new information.
In conclusion I think Richard is a vital asset to an accurate historical account of the UFO phenomenon with its concern to National Security. He is working intensely on second portion of his book, which looks to have more pages than the bible, lol. I am very excited about hearing him speak at my old junior high at the end of the month. Miahx, I got signed book for you that I’m gonna ship out Monday. Richard does read posts on these forums but at the same time does acknowledge that he doesn’t like to be associated with organizations because they can compromise your integrity (this includes MUFFON). I just started reading his first book tonight and its very sobering to not have to sit through sensationalism wild myths or wild claims for once. I can not recommend this author enough. If you have any questions or find inaccurate information in his writings you can always email him. Or call him and talk about it if you are lucky enough to get his number from his perky, go- go publicist.

Great post. I'm glad to hear volume 2 is still in the works. Part 1 is excellent but of course it doesn't have anything from the last 30 years. He is an excellent author. You're very lucky to have met him.

Originally posted by mindrewind2002
Miahx, I got signed book for you that I’m gonna ship out Monday.

OMG I can't wait to get it! Thanks again!

I don't know a ton about him yet either, but from what I had seen on him he seemed like another Stanton Friedmon. You have confirmed this for me, so I can't wait to read this SIGNED book of his!

Did you get to ask him any of the questions? Video?

[edit on 17-2-2007 by MiahX]

I didn't get a video. When I had called I couldn't get much info from the owner of the coffee shop; turns out my sister had worked at this place and another coffee shop similar to it. I had the places mixed up and it the other place had the owner that was a dick and the owner of this place is a genuine nice guy who just didn't know any thing about the event except that it ended up be good publicity; seeing that a couple news stations showed up. Anywise Richard ended up talking for about 4 hours straight and I so wish I had brought a tape recorder because I didn't know it was going to be so personal. I have to call Richard before the next lecture at the end of the month to find out if I can videotape him and see what copyright implications will be involved. I understand that the few lectures he does have on DVD are a fair price and he does have to make a living (he has a wife and 2 kids) so maybe I can post the lecture maybe not. As for the first book only containing info up to 1973 that was the point. He actually had to cut it down and the second part he has been laboring intensely on. I personally didn’t ask him any questions besides the questions you guys had. He is a very smart man though and knows how to read peoples intentions very well, and avoids confrontation if possible. But again like I posted earlier, he does it in a way that he presents different viewpoints. It hard to tell what he believes because the man is so dam objective about the information he puts fourth but its never boring. Take for instance his book, which I just started reading. The first 24 pages he spends preparing you philosophically for the information he is about to put forth. How many authors in any subject matter spend more than 6 pages at the most on an introduction? Maybe Richard has stood back and watched what happens when these other prominent egotistic, arrogant UFO ologist have shot there own credibility one by one, and instead he decided to take a more achademic approach. “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it”; Richard being a historian has defiantly observed the history of UFO ology. He is a man that is defiantly aware of the fact that being in the publics eye means being held accountable for everything you say, so watch what you say. But hey, every one makes mistakes and you can’t fault a person for that, but just don’t keep repeating the mistake. LOL.,,,, also he said that he doesn’t waste his effort posting on a lot of these forums because it takes away from time better well spent researching, which I don’t blame him. Ironically I don’t see why you would try to debate with someone who hasn’t stubbornly maid up his mind like other people in this field. Stanton Freidmon is like him you say, well I guess that means there are two people in this field of study that are genuine class acts!

By the way MiahX, how do you get negative ATS points?? Your signed book will be sent out Monday afternoon also.
[edit on 17-2-2007 by mindrewind2002]
[edit on 17-2-2007 by mindrewind2002]

[edit on 17-2-2007 by mindrewind2002]

Well done on meeting Richard. I haven't heard of him. I'll try and source out a local copy of his book.

I saw Stanton present a lecture here when he toured here in 1997 (or was it 1998?), that was cool, although I didn't get to personally talk to him.

I can only hope that Richard decides to tour overseas some day!

Originally posted by tezzajw
I can only hope that Richard decides to tour overseas some day!

He's going to be in Milan, Italy in a few months.

Originally posted by mindrewind2002
By the way MiahX, how do you get negative ATS points?? Your signed book will be sent out

The mods hit me for "advertising" on ATS for talking about a PRESS CONFERENCE, you can see the thread I reposted with the same info here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...
The mods ripped the original thread completely.

There is a problem with freedom of speech on this board, I am bucking and kicking it because there is no reason to be a part of it if I cannot express my opinions here and spread news.

It's like saying that I was advertising for Dolan in this thread. I complained to the site directly about it, but they never respond.

Anyhow, what did Dolan have to say about the Dan Aykroyd/O'Hare pics and vid?

[edit on 18-2-2007 by MiahX]

The mods hit me for "advertising" on ATS for talking about a PRESS CONFERENCE, you can see the thread I reposted with the same info here:

-If this is true it is definitely not very cool. It’s the stuff like that on their part that might make you think twice about donating money to this website. I guess I should probably go back and read all the stipulations fore posting on these forums.
Now concerning the official O’Hare pics and vids, he has seen none himself and said that ATS did a pretty good job debunking the fake ones that were put out so quickly. He has though, heard the same rumors that one of the pilots actually took pictures. I guess we are just going to have to wait for Dan Aykroyd to come out with his next movie. Remember, Dolan is more a historian than a journalist for this field so he has no new info yet.


[edit on 18-2-2007 by mindrewind2002]

Whoah, does that mean that he read ATS's debunking of the O'Hare pics? If so, HI RICHARD!

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[edit on 18/2/07 by masqua]