Area 51
by Annie Jacobsen · first published 2011
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It is the most famous military installation in the world. And it doesn't exist. Located a mere seventy-five miles outside of Las Vegas in Nevada's desert, the base has never been acknowledged by the U.S. government-but Area 51 has captivated imaginations for decades. Myths and hypotheses about Area 51 have long abounded, thanks to the intense secrecy enveloping it. Some claim it is home to aliens, underground tunnel systems, and nuclear facilities. Others believe that the lunar landing itself was filmed there. The prevalence of these rumors stems from the fact that no credible insider has ever
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I read a history of Area 51 that had several interesting stories in a similar vein. The book struck me as down-to-earth and well researched. http://www.amazon.com/Area-51-Uncensored-Americas-Military/d...
on “CIA declassifies hundreds of UFO documents” ↗If you're curious about the development of Oxcart as well as Area-51, check out Amy Jacobson's Area 51 book[1]. Appears like a solid detail of Skunkworks and spy plane history. [1] https://www.amazon.com/Area-51-Uncensored-Americas-Military/...
on “The SR-71's predecessor used cesium-laced fuel to create radar-absorbing exhaust” ↗legend is that president johnson got it confused in a press conference and called it the sr-71 so instead of correcting him they just changed the name. "skunk works" is a great read. i'm almost done with "area 51" by annie jacobsen and it's quite the interesting read as well, though it does get dry at times. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL15839422W/Area_51
on “Mach 3.5 Over Libya in an SR-71 Blackbird” ↗…you'll find this fascinating and spend the next couple hours clicking links - you're welcome!). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_holocaust#Likelihood_o... Annie Jacobsen is awesome, her book about Area 51 was riveting, but I also cannot unsee "Capitalist Realism" and the idea that we keep picturing civilization-ending catastrophes because we don't want to go to work in the morning, and walking/biking everywhere…
on “AI Can Now Design Functional Viruses. Should We Worry?” ↗This sounded so ridiculous that I had to check. The book is Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base. This unflattering contemporary review, retrieved from the Wayback Machine, has an excerpt: https://web.archive.org/web/20110713153629/https://www.washi...…
on “US closely monitoring case of lab worker who possibly died of plague in Siberia” ↗…and to power the new US Space Force as it ramps up in Los Angeles. This is creating a lot of activity and opportunity for LA-based aerospace companies. https://www.foxnews.com/tech/exclusive-inside-area-51-the-se... > Jacobsen, a contributing editor and investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times Magazine, interviewed the former Area 51 employees in 2008 and 2009, shortly after the CIA declassified…
on “Work begins on a $12B high-speed rail line between Las Vegas and Los Angeles” ↗Annie Jacobsen Book "Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military has an interesting take on UFOs. The government actively perpetuated rumors about sightings to keep people from thinking top secret projects flying…
on “Military's UFO-hunting aerial surveillance system detailed in report” ↗