Book Review: Captured-The Betty and Barney Hill UFO Expericence by Friedman and Marden

Last summer I had the pleasure of meeting the famous nuclear physicist, Stanton Friedman, and famous niece of Betty Hill, Kathleen Marden, at the Alien Museum in Roswell, New Mexico. They were selling several books.  I bought Captured and had them sign the inside cover.  

The book is the true story of America's first abductees, Betty and Barney Hill, in 1961.  Perhaps others were at one time abducted in this country, but this interracial couple of 1961 were credible and had evidence of the visit.

Me with Marden and Friedman

The book is not written like a story, but rather like a documentary/persuasive essay in which Friedman and Marden set out to prove Betty's and Barney's story while refuting all those who have debunked the so-called abduction in the past.  We learn about Betty's and Barney's interracial marriage which was frowned upon in the early '60s.  They start their marriage off with an alien siting in New Hampshire.  A UFO came down and studied both Barney and Betty.  They were taken in the ship and medically examined.  Afterward, they went home and were hazy about the events that took place.  Their car had weird splotches on it, Betty's dress had a powdery residue and the zipper was torn, their watches stopped, and Barney's shoes were scuffed.  Both oft the Hills could not remember what happened.  Through dreams and then hypnosis, their memories came back.  Pease Air Force base got involved.  
Betty and Barney slowly revealed what they remembered aboard the spaceship.  Both of them shared a similar story that seemed to suggest the aliens were studying their reproductive parts.  Betty was shown a book they had written.  The characters in the book were unrecognizable to her.  The lead alien showed her a star map of where they were from that was later on drafted by Marjorie Fish.  Betty who was a social worker would not have had the knowledge of constellations to accurately make up a star map.  The planets and stars she described really did exist by the Reticuli.  Barney who did not want to make their siting public became active in civil rights and then later died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1969.  After her husband's death, Betty continued looking for other abductees and alien sightings.  There were a few times after the initial siting that the aliens seemed to come back, wanting to communicate with her.
My Review:
The story remains one of the most fascinating stories in modern day.  It could have been written in a more compelling format, almost like a novel instead of a scientific proof, but then maybe that was the point.  The authors went out of their way to make it sound like a report rather than a story so that it remained credible.  I loved how they included what people said about the Hills during the respective time era.  There were several pictures, drawing, and documents to go along with the Hills' story.  What if we were being watched by extraterrestrials?  What if we were one big experiment?  This is a must read for all alien believers.  5/5 Stars