Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis

Annie Jacobsen

Mar 2017 · Sold by Little, Brown

About this ebook

The definitive history of the military's decades-long investigation into mental powers and phenomena, from the author of Pulitzer Prize finalist The Pentagon's Brain and international bestseller Area 51.

This is a book about a team of scientists and psychics with top secret clearances.

For more than forty years, the U.S. government has researched extrasensory perception, using it in attempts to locate hostages, fugitives, secret bases, and downed fighter jets, to divine other nations' secrets, and even to predict future threats to national security. The intelligence agencies and military services involved include CIA, DIA, NSA, DEA, the Navy, Air Force, and Army-and even the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Now, for the first time, New York Times bestselling author Annie Jacobsen tells the story of these radical, controversial programs, using never before seen declassified documents as well as exclusive interviews with, and unprecedented access to, more than fifty of the individuals involved. Speaking on the record, many for the first time, are former CIA and Defense Department scientists, analysts, and program managers, as well as the government psychics themselves.

Who did the U.S. government hire for these top secret programs, and how do they explain their military and intelligence work? How do scientists approach such enigmatic subject matter? What interested the government in these supposed powers and does the research continue? Phenomena is a riveting investigation into how far governments will go in the name of national security.

Ratings and reviews

From most other authors, I would have passed on this one: the genre of conspiracy/paranormal/fringe books tend to be long on paranoid speculation but short on narratives that reflect scholarship or historical accuracy. This is not a book from that genre. Annie Jacobsen's books manage to weave remarkable sourcing, undiscovered evidence and much-needed skepticism to create a compelling narrative that allows the reader to at least contemplate the possibility of what seems crazy, unlikely or impossible. Jacobsen's book on Area 51 is so revealing that it should be recognized as reframing the history of the Cold War era. Her work exploring DARPA did the same for explaining the information revolution in which we now live. I feared this book would fail to meet the high bar of these prior works, and my skepticism could not have been more entrenched against the subject Jacobsen tackles here. She broke my skepticism within the first 50 pages, and once again forces the history we know to absorb the amazing new perspectives and events she puts forth. Thoroughly enjoyable and recommended without hesitation... surprise yourself.

About the author

Annie Jacobsen is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Area 51 and Operation Paperclip and the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Pentagon's Brain. She was a contributing editor at the Los Angeles Times Magazine. A graduate of Princeton University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.