As someone who was, for a number of years, a firm believer in the theory that some UFOs were extraterrestrial spacecraft, I gave much thought to the reasons why (when my good friend and the author of this book, Jonathan Downes, asked me to) I agreed to write the Foreword for the original edition of The Rising of the Moon - a book that was first published in merry old England back in 1999 and that postulated so manifestly different a theory to explain the ever-present UFO mystery on our planet.

But the answer is simple: the book is an excellent read - at times funny, disturbing, tragic, but ultimately cathartic.

And having just finished reading the completely revised and updated 2005 version of Rising of the Moon, I can say with absolute certainty that this is still a book you definitely need to read. Arguably more so, now that it is available for a wider, international audience that was perhaps not aware of its existence 6 years ago.

But what can I say with respect to the book without giving away too much of its content? I would first have to say that if you thought you had spent your hard earned money on a straightforward UFO book, you would be very wrong. The Rising of the Moon is anything but a straightforward UFO book!

Rather it is an intensely personal attempt by Jon (and, it should not be forgotten, by Nigel, too) to get his head around - and make sense of - all manner of weird activity including UFOs, animal mutilations, lake monsters, crop circles, Bigfoot, mysterious big cats, and other associated strangeness that forever plagues those of us who are engaged in the investigation of the incredible.

Of equal significance, however, is the fact that the writing of the book also played a key role in Jon's ultimately successful attempts to exorcise his own personal demons; demons that took him to the very edge of sanity and nearly to the point of no return. Moreover, Jon is to be applauded for revealing to one and all the stark facts surrounding this aspect of his life and his writing career.

So, what does Jon's quest tell us? First and foremost, as anyone who knows Jon will be aware, he not only has a love of all things Fortean, but he also has a vast knowledge of such things, too, and this shines throughout the text.

Jon and Nigel begin by acquainting us with the facts surrounding a spectacular wave of UFO encounters that occurred almost on their respective doorsteps during 1997, and they go on in workmanlike fashion to chronicle the quite literally astounding number of strange reports that subsequently followed, including encounters with strange balls of light zipping around the ancient British counties of Devon and Cornwall; UFOs rising out of the sea at the nearby Otter Cove; whale mutilations; ghostly black dogs; and diabolical creatures seen roaming the wilds of Britain's West Country.

This, as you can imagine, was no standard UFO wave. Rather, it turned out to be just one piece of a very large - and infinitely complex - jigsaw that was to stretch Jon and Nigel's investigative skills to their limit; and that led them to propose a highly ingenious and plausible theory to explain the mysteries of this world and beyond.

For those with an interest in the subject of UFOs and official cover-ups, you will be intrigued to see that our intrepid pair also looked into a variety of rumors relating to British Government involvement in a number of purported UFO cases that Nigel had found that dated back to the beginning of the 20th Century, when specific parts of Britain were plagued by so-called "Phantom Airships" that were very similar to the American wave of the late 1890s.

The Rising of the Moon also takes us to the furthest depths of the human psyche, and gives us a disturbing and alarming look at the mind-monsters that possibly lurk within all of us, and what can happen when those same mind-monsters break free of their constraints and begin to roam wildly as emotion-feeding, and utterly insane, Tulpas.

So, if you enjoy reading about unidentified flying objects, fantastic beasts, strange life-forms soaring amid the upper atmosphere, dark-robed figures creeping around the British countryside in the dead of night, black-masses held secretly in ancient woods, and much more, including the engagingly diabolical and amusingly nefarious activities of Jon's beloved (and now very-sadly-departed) pet dog, Toby, then this book will not disappoint.

Indeed, it has something for everyone: the UFO devotee, the Charles Fort fanatic, the H.P. Lovecraft disciple, the Aleister Crowley crowd, and just about anyone and everyone else who has ever contemplated the mysteries of our planet. Buy the book. Disappointed you will never be. And you'll make Toby - bless his little soul wherever it now plays and runs - famous across the western world. Actually, make that infamous across the western world...