Call it a direct consequence of my inquisitive nature, or just the desire of an "inquiring mind that wants to know." But I've always been kind of a sucker for a good conspiracy theory. Whether it's UFOs, alien abductions, the secret government, or just those damn Republicans — count me among the true believers who know that "the truth is out there."

I've just always had a sneaking suspicion that there was a lot more to things like Roswell, Area 51, and the like than whatever the government was officially letting on. Besides all of that, I also just happen to love a good story.

Which is why I jumped at the chance to review UFO, Conspiracy & Beyond by Dr. Donald Ryles, an author I have otherwise never heard of despite the fact that I'm fairly well versed in the fringes of UFOs and conspiracy theory. In this book, Ryles compiles a series of anecdotal reports and opinions which come from a number of undisclosed (and unidentified) sources.

The biggest problem with this format comes from the lack of a forward or introduction letting the reader in on just what's going here, choosing instead to jump right into the content itself. The end result is a narrative that runs non-stop from one account to the next, offering little in the way of an explanation on how to distinguish one from the other. 

What the book does tell you from the get-go however, is that Ryles is some sort of PhD, although there was nothing I found either in the book itself or the press materials to verify this. In fact, there is precious little here that tells you much about the author at all. No inside or back cover bios. Pretty much, no nothing.

A quick internet search did reveal that Ryles does have a website, and that he also has another book called Hidden Secrets Of Many But One, where the events of 9/11 were apparently prophesied by a spirit guide in 1997. At about this point, that inquiring mind I mentioned earlier was starting to grow increasingly skeptical.