The Abduction of Betty and Barney Hill

“Bowman honours both Barney and Betty with richly detailed, deeply human portraits.”—Mark Pilkington, Fortean Times

“Excellent and exhaustive.”—Colin Dickey, Slate

“In this unconventional chronicle of Cold War America, historian and religious scholar Bowman examines evolving societal relations between science, religion, and race through the lens of one interracial couple’s encounter with the supernatural. . . . It adds up to a potent deconstruction of mid-20th-century American politics and culture.”—Publishers Weekly

“Timely, topical, and telling.”—Mormon Land (podcast), Salt Lake Tribune

“A well-researched and well-organized book [that] helps the reader gain better insight into what might have happened to Betty and Barney Hill on that lonely road in 1961.”—Dawn Hutchinson, Nova Religio

“The story of the Hills has been dissected and exploited by both promoters and debunkers of alien visitation. Bowman offers instead a sensitive and rich biography of the couple that both fascinates and enlightens.”—Greg Eghigian, Penn State University

“Matthew Bowman situates the story of Betty and Barney Hill, whose experiences originated modern UFO abduction narratives, within their identity as a Unitarian interracial couple, and in doing so demonstrates how their lives reveal transformations within American economics, politics, religion, and race relations. Far from just a story about flying saucers, Bowman’s book traces themes of authority, conspiracy, science, religion, gender, and media.”—Benjamin E. Zeller, author of The Handbook of UFO Religions