The 37th Parallel

The Secret Truth Behind America's UFO Highway

By: Ben Mezrich

Narrated by: Ben Mezrich

A real-life mix of The X-Files and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mezrich “writes vividly and grippingly…A terrific story…[that] will make a heck of a movie” (The Washington Post). Here is the “fascinating” (Publishers Weekly) true story of a computer programmer who tracks paranormal events in remote areas of the western United States and is drawn deeper and deeper into a mysterious conspiracy.

Like Agent Mulder of The X-Files, microchip engineer and sheriff’s deputy Chuck Zukowski is obsessed with tracking down UFO reports in Colorado. He even takes the family with him on weekend trips to look for evidence of aliens. But this innocent hobby takes on a sinister urgency when Zukowski learns of mutilated livestock—whose exsanguination is inexplicable by any known human or animal means.

Along an expanse of land stretching across the southern borders of Utah, Colorado, and Kansas, Zukowski documents hundreds of bizarre incidences of mutilations, and discovers that they stretch through the heart of America. His pursuit of the truth draws him deeper into a vast conspiracy, and he journeys from Roswell and Area 51 to the Pentagon and beyond; from underground secret military caverns to Native American sacred sites; and to wilderness areas where strange, unexplained lights traverse the sky at extraordinary speeds. Inspiring and terrifying, Mezrich’s “dramatic narrative…connects dots we didn’t even know existed…Something’s clearly happening out there in the high meadows and along desert highways” (Kirkus Reviews). The 37th Parallel will make you, too, wonder if we are really alone.

cmon Ben pay a professional to narate! please do

really enjoyed this story and your other books. You didn't act in the movies that were made from your stories so why narration? Go ahead and hire professional so there's some custo to the great story

Irrelevant story of grassroots UFO hunting.

Any additional comments?

This was an entertaining book but the story didn't have a traditional narrative. I'm not sure what made Ben Mezrich choose this story for his next book as it is so far removed from his normal subject matter. He didn't do a bad job with the story there just wasn't much story to tell. The book sets up a situation where the reader thinks some kind of conflict will arise to make the "plot" more interesting but it never happens. The "characters" are exactly the same at the end as they are at the beginning. I know this is a "true" story so it won't follow traditional story line but usually when someone's story is true and worth telling is is because of its extraordinary situation. While the subject matter is extraordinary the story itself was not. If someone is deeply interested in the UFO or government conspiracy subject matter then this book is a worthy read but for someone who is either a Ben Mezrich fan or someone looking for a UFO based fiction than there are much better books out there. For the UFO and/or government conspiracy reader there are also better books to read first but this is a decent addition to ones library for simply its grassroots UFO hunting storyline.

I thought it was a study or documentary

Bought it expecting a study or documentary instead I got a novelised account of the life of someone that felt 99% fiction. Not at all what I expected or hoped for.

Great Lakes Native

As a person who grew up on an Indian Reservation, with Native teachings and lore... And someone who also is fascinated with science... This book echos everything I personally feel to be not just coincidence but also in concert with the beliefs of my people. If you too feel there's much more to "the story" than the authorities would lead you to believe, then this book is for you!

Where are we going??

I found some of this book interesting. Did it lead me to do investigations from his data? No! I didn't hear anything that would be considered new or revealing. In the end will you find that the 37th is truly what he thinks it is? Only if you decide to spend the summer on it. Can't truly recommend the book.