An ambitious investigation that invites us to reconsider what we think we know about UFOs
Gary S. Moshier isn’t relitigating the possibility that UFOs exist. They’re Here: UFOs and Their Occupants approaches existence as a foregone conclusion and jumps right into bigger questions. For Moshier, these are: What are UFOs? Who is running them? Why are they here? And what, if anything, should humanity do about it?
Readers seeking a neutral survey of UFO research or one that caters to skepticism will likely be disappointed with They’re Here. However, if you pick this text up with those terms in mind, you’ll find a meticulous and fairly unique approach to the subject by a writer well credentialed to make the case. Moshier knows that skeptical readers may want “sober and solid evidence.” He readily acknowledges that he highlighted the strongest recorded cases in the name of persuasion: “I’ve cherry-picked the best cases to convince the reader that UFOs are real. And my answer is yes. I do hope to bring undecided readers around to my line of thinking.”
Moshier approaches his subject with a balance of professional and personal experience. According to his biography, he holds a degree in mechanical engineering, a master’s degree in physics, spent thirty years working for the Department of Defense, and led a team of engineers and scientists developing weapons systems. Moshier traces his interest in UFOs to a sighting in his youth when he and a friend watched seven silent objects cross the sky in formation. After retiring from the Department of Defense, he began studying UFO literature seriously, drawing on books, government documents, reporting, and the work of numerous independent researchers.
They’re Here covers a lot of ground, and that would be daunting were it not for the book’s structure—it’s remarkably easy to follow. Broken first into four “Parts,” then further organized into chapters, Mosier has given readers an accessible text that can easily be referenced and cross-referenced without it feeling like a textbook.
Part 1 covers the basics, the material idea of UFOs. Moshier surveys well-established sightings and government investigations. His engineering background is obvious in his careful overview of the logistics of UFO travel, which he does, at least in part, by examining reported flight characteristics to present possible explanations for how UFOs could cross interstellar distances. Moshier discusses a range of possibilities from near-light-speed travel and wormholes to warp-drive theories. However, he ultimately concedes that their actual means of propulsion remains unknown.
Moshier’s argument turns to specific occurrences and research in Part 2, as he explores some of the best-known cases in UFO research, including the Rendlesham Forest incident, the Belgian UFO wave, and the USS Nimitz encounters. He pairs these more historical cases with the Pentagon’s recent interest in unidentified anomalous phenomena. After delving into the crafts themselves, Moshier shifts to their occupants, examining both well-established and lesser-known encounter records. He touches on the Betty and Barney Hill case, the history of alien-abduction research and the use of hypnotic regression to ask what, if anything, those accounts can tell us about the beings allegedly inside the UFOs.
The second half of They’re Here moves further into speculative territory. Part 3 pushes past the relatively well-documented world of military sightings and government reports into what many consider more fringe or esoteric experiences. Moshier studies reported cases of cattle mutilations, crop circles, and hybridization programs. He also investigates theories about why extraterrestrials might be interested in Earth in the first place.
Part 4 turns directly to the question of response and what governments and ordinary people should do if Moshier’s analysis is, in fact, correct. He calls for more sweeping disclosure, expanded scientific research, international cooperation, and coordinated preparation for formal contact. By this point, the text has widened considerably in scope. It begins with the familiar question of strange objects in the sky and eventually becomes an attempt to construct a broader theory of extraterrestrial activity and humanity’s place in it.
They’re Here is most convincing when Moshier relies on material readers can independently examine. In early chapters, he references radar records, military witnesses, photographs, government investigations, and officially acknowledged UAP incidents. He surveys a variety of data associated with decades of sightings, including radar tracks, infrared images, video, and physical effects. Most of these are well cited and easy for an interested reader to explore autonomously.
Later chapters, however, depend heavily on testimony, interpretation, and the controversial field of recovered memories. Moshier openly acknowledges that anecdotal evidence is weak and that hypnosis can be unreliable, but he argues that the number and similarity of reported experiences make the abduction phenomenon persuasive. It’s a reasonable subject for the book to explore, but it doesn’t solve the evidentiary problem. Patterns and similar stories can provide compelling data without necessarily proving a shared cause. At several points, Moshier skips from documented uncertainty to a specific extraterrestrial explanation faster than a skeptical reader is likely to follow, even a skeptical reader who willingly accepts the idea of extraterrestrial life.
That said, Moshier is explicit about what he is doing and never claims to be writing from a neutral position. That admission doesn’t entirely remove the need for counterargument, but it establishes the terms of the book. There’s no sleight-of-hand or bait-and-switch here. Readers aren’t being handed a peer-reviewed study only to find a collection of theories and personal anecdotes. They’re Here is, overall, delivered as promised.
Moshier’s exploration of the mechanisms of travel in Part 1 is impressive; however, his professional background shines most brightly in his organizational skills. In most circumstances, I wouldn’t mention structure more than once in a review, but a subject this broad can so easily become a Rorschach blot of names, dates and theories. They’re Here has a clear roadmap. Each part asks increasingly larger questions. Extensive notes and bibliography give readers plenty of places to continue investigating the cases and researchers he discusses. Definitions, categories, and technical explanations are presented step-by-step, and concepts are scaffolded section by section. Anyone with interest can follow this book.
Despite his academic and professional credentials, Moshier doesn’t write like a physicist trying to impress other physicists. Theories a layperson might not be familiar with, like relativistic travel and unusual propulsion, are explained for general readers. He pauses often to summarize what he’s already covered before moving on. You don’t need prior knowledge of Project Blue Book, the five observables or the major figures in abduction research to follow Moshier’s argument.
In subject and audience, They’re Here sits comfortably beside Leslie Kean’s UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record, and Richard Dolan and Bryce Zabel’s A.D. After Disclosure. Moshier himself recommends A.D. After Disclosure to readers who want to continue exploring the subject.
Readers will find real value in the questions Moshier raises. The book’s case is more persuasive as an argument for continued investigation than as proof that Moshier has solved the mystery, and I’m not sure that he’s even claiming to have done so. Even when his conclusions outrun the available evidence, They’re Here makes a clear case that the questions themselves deserve serious attention.
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