Books › The Stranger at the Pentagon
The Stranger at the Pentagon
First published 1967 · 201 pages
A breathless, retro-futuristic plunge into the shadowy corridors of mid-century American power, where cosmic salvation meets government cover-ups.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like unearthing a classified dossier from a dusty, forgotten filing cabinet in the basement of the Pentagon. It hums with the specific, uncanny paranoia of the Cold War era, blending the earnestness of a spiritual tract with the sensationalism of pulp science fiction. The narrative moves at a brisk, breathless clip, presenting world-altering cosmic interventions and shadowy government cover-ups with a straight-faced, authoritative cadence. You are immersed in a retro-futuristic atmosphere where the threat of nuclear annihilation is met by messianic extraterrestrials walking the halls of American power. It is a fascinating, deeply atmospheric artifact for anyone captivated by vintage UFO lore, mid-century conspiracy theories, and the enduring human desire for salvation from the stars.
- Mood
- retro-paranoid
- uncanny
- awe-struck
- shadowy
- Tone
- earnest
- conspiratorial
- authoritative
- sensational
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- Cold War anxiety · government secrecy · cosmic salvation · hidden histories · messianic intervention
- The writing
- The writing blends the dry, authoritative cadence of a mid-century bureaucratic report with the breathless earnestness of a religious testimony.
- The arc
- The reader is plunged into a startling alternate history, swept up in the awe of cosmic intervention, and left with a lingering sense of paranoid wonder about what the government hides.
- Who it's for
- Readers fascinated by vintage UFO contactee lore, Cold War conspiracy theories, and the uncanny intersection of American politics and cosmic spirituality will devour this.
Content notes
- conspiracy theories
- Cold War paranoia
About the book
The Stranger at the Pentagon, by Dr. Frank Stranges, a theologian, psychologist, and criminologist who also happens to be the founder of a national committee dedicated to the investigation of UFOs, is an astonishing account -- complete with photos -- of an "alien" landing in Virginia in the year of 1957. According to his account, the ship was captained by an extra-terrestrial named "Valiant Thor," who came with guidance and instructions for our planet in its post-nuclear era. Commander "Val" allegedly remained for three years, as a guest of the Pentagon, and spoke to various members of the Eisenhower administration, including then-Vice President Richard Nixon, who apparently greeted him with the quip, "You certainly have caused a stir -- for an out-of-towner."
The information contained in Strangers' account was supposedly classified, although much of it is available in other classic accounts of alien sightings/encounters following the explosion of the first atomic bomb in New Mexico in 1945. Stranger's story coheres with the claim that President Kennedy was assassinated in order to prevent him from exposing the military cover-up to the public, and also with the claim that as president, Nixon was poised to stake his place in history by disclosing all he knew just before the Watergate scandal pre-empted both his statement and any credibility that it might have carried.
After three years, alien Val's invitation to reside at a sumptuous, Pentagon-based suite expired, and he was requested to go back to his own planet. According to the author, he nevertheless returned to earth many times, and personally oversees many others like him who continue to infiltrate and observe our planet. The author also claims to have visited one of their spacecraft, and relays the information he has learned from them in an earnest, straightforward manner infused with the religion he claims that they share.
It goes without saying that we need to keep an extremely open mind about this last point especially, but if there are extra-terrestrials, there is no reason to assume that they would be any less religious than "earthlings." And given that the extra-terrestrial described here was tasked with infiltrating our society, it seems reasonable to assume that he would couch his knowledge -- which after all defies the laws of physics as we know them -- in terms that his audience could understand. What cannot be disputed is that the factual information conveyed here coheres nicely with accounts from hard-line World War 2 Army Air Force pilots, engineers, and scientists of the era, and is equally fascinating. The photos, also, are compelling.
Description from Open Library.
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