ANIMADVERSIONS ON A BOOK REVIEW

This document is a book review by John M. Lade of 'Phenomena' by John Michell and Robert J.M. Rickard. The review discusses the authors' approach to anomalous events, noting their tendency to group occurrences and their skepticism toward conventional explanations. Lade uses the review to explore the tension between scientific materialism and the reporting of unexplained phenomena. The text includes two specific case reports as examples of the types of incidents discussed in the book. The first is a report from September 1973 involving a jockey named Peter at Epsom Downs, who observed a disc-shaped object hovering 20 feet above the ground. The object emitted a strange noise, a blue haze, and flashes of yellow sparks, and the witness reported that it appeared to have a 'burnt electric hand drill' on its upper part. The second report, detailed in a note, involves David and Pamela Bance, who observed a large, fluorescent, orange-coloured object while driving near Sevenoaks in September 1974. The object was described as a 'big object, about the size of a terraced house' that eventually shrank to the size of a pinhead and disappeared. The document serves as both a critique of the literature surrounding UAP and a repository for anecdotal sighting reports.