Chasing Aliens - by Daniel Lavelle (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From Orwell Prize-winning journalist Daniel Lavelle comes a wild road trip chasing aliens through the UFO heartlands into the soul of America

"Enthusiasm, deft writing and an attention to the strange, fascinating details of ordinary lives." --THE TELEGRAPH, BOOKS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2026

The US government has been investigating unidentified aerial phenomena in a secret division of the Department of Defense. A former intelligence official urged the US to disclose evidence of UFOs after saying the government has possession of 'intact and partially intact' alien vehicles. And what about those sightings of Tic Tac, Gimbal, Go Fast and the infamous Oumuamua? Had an alien invasion been going on right under our noses?

Danny Lavelle, our charming, borderline-bewildered investigator, sets out on a road trip through America's UFO heartlands to get some answers (thankfully around 41% of Americans believe aliens have made contact, so he has plenty of sources to choose from). Talking to those in the know in government and the wider UFO scene - often the same thing - Danny follows everyone from Lue Elizondo to Jeremy Corbell, whilst attending sky watches (sometimes falling asleep in the American desert), listening to the stories of alien abductees and chatting with Starseeds (those human beings who claim to be actual aliens).

Whether he's smoking weed whilst holding dumortierite crystals to access his interdimensional past, or discussing the make-up of 'space beads' with the Harvard astrophysicist who's convinced he's found evidence of alien life, or investigating the clandestine Skinwalker Ranch, Danny's journey becomes a deeper story about our unshakeable fascination with little green men - and our deepest wishes not to be alone in the universe.

Encountering a fair amount of religiosity, conspiratorial thinking and plain old magical thinking, Chasing Aliens is a wild journey into the heart of America - where aliens are as American as George Washington and warm apple pie. This is a book for anyone who's interested in our (possible) neighbors in the universe, and our ongoing search for meaning and answers to life's great mysteries, trapped as we are in the uncertainty of our short, mortal lives.

Review Quotes

Lavelle, a young British journalist, won an Orwell Prize in 2023 for his reporting on homelessness (including his own experience). This book may seem like a swerve: he takes a road-trip across the United States, not only to investigate why more than 40 per cent of Americans believe aliens have made contact, but to meet some who claim it's happened to them. But the same journalistic skills are at play: enthusiasm, deft writing and an attention to the strange, fascinating details of ordinary lives--Cal Revely-Calder & Lucy Thynne "The Telegraph, Books to Look Forward to in 2026 "

About the Author

Daniel Lavelle is an Orwell Prize-winning freelance feature writer from Manchester. His first book, Down and Out, was published in 2022 and won a Royal Society of Literature award for non-fiction writing. He has covered topics such as mental health, homelessness and culture for the Guardian (where he co-authored the series 'The Empty Doorway'), NewStatesman and the Independent. He received the Guardian's Hugo Young Award for an opinion piece on his experience of homelessness. 'The Empty Doorway' won Feature of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2019 and was nominated for the same award at the National Press Awards 2020.