Daniel Lavelle

Lavelle’s travelogue echoes the documentaries with which Louis Theroux made his name, by inquiring into the dotty beliefs of maverick Americans . . . Chasing Aliens . . . speaks eloquently to an age in which airy nothings and weaponised lies predominate

A highly enticing . . . sleeper tour through “America’s superstition and conspiracy belt”. Lavelle mixes sardonic wit with genuine curiosity as he . . . hears about secrets that should never be made public, about an encounter near RAF Woodbridge in Rendlesham Forest in Suffolk that believers claim is “more significant than the infamous Roswell incident”, and former intelligence officer David Grusch’s revelation that the US government possesses UFOs “the size of football fields”

Lavelle is careful to treat everyone he interviews with respect, being as neutral as possible in testing the evidence. Indeed, he admits that part of him wants to find proof of alien visitors – it would be the biggest journalistic scoop ever . . . the book’s value lies in what it reveals about the people who believe

Daniel Lavelle dives headfirst into America’s UFO fever dream and comes back with something rarer than alien wreckage: clarity. Chasing Aliens is hilarious, humane and quietly devastating, a road trip through sky watches and Skinwalker Ranch that becomes a deeper reckoning with belief, loneliness and the stories we tell to make the cosmos feel less empty

Eliot Higgins, author of WE ARE BELLINGCAT

Many of us have questions about aliens. Are they real? Have they visited? Who's covering them up? In Chasing Aliens, Daniel Lavelle tackles all of these with the relish of a believer and the diligence of a sceptic. But beyond that he answers the question that really matters: what is it we're talking about when we're talking about aliens?

Lavelle's quest for the truth about the UFO phenomenon involves a fascinating journey across the United States where he meets a colourful cast of characters who are at least as interesting as the UFO mystery itself. A hugely entertaining, gonzo-style examination of UFOs, ufology and ufologists

A wild trip into the unknown and the surreal with Oldham’s answer to Hunter S. Thompson, except with more laughs, more heart and less bullshit. An essential book from one of the best non-fiction writers in the UK

Chasing Aliens is an exhilarating adventure into the dusty heart of American conspiracy land, where Daniel Lavelle tries to parse alien myth from government secrecy from captivating lunacy. Lavelle’s investigation is, at the same time, utterly serious and totally berserk. His rip-roaring, edge-of-your-seat narration is injected with as much serious research as there is joy, humour and intrigue. I’m recommending this book to everyone I know

With equal measures of sincerity and scepticism, Daniel Lavelle takes us into the UFO heartlands of America. But what begins as a journalistic quest for extraterrestrial evidence develops into a tender exploration of the question: are we alone? I loved going on this road trip to find 'the little green men' in Lavelle's funny, heartfelt and clear-eyed book

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

The Telegraph, Books to Look Forward to in 2026 

Faith and Conspiracy in the UFO Heartlands

ARE WE ALONE IN THE UNIVERSE? Daniel Lavelle sets out on a wild road trip through the UFO heartlands to find out. 
 
'A hugely entertaining, gonzo-style examination of UFOs, ufology and ufologists' NICK POPE 
 
'Lavelle mixes sardonic wit with genuine curiosity . . . he hears about secrets that should never be made public' INDEPENDENT, NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE MONTH 
 
'Hilarious, humane and quietly devastating' ELIOT HIGGINS 
 
The US government has been investigating unidentified aerial phenomena in a secret division of the Department of Defence. A former intelligence official urged the US to disclose evidence of UFOs after saying the government possesses ‘intact and partially intact’ alien vehicles. And what about those sightings of Tic Tac, Gimbal, Go Fast and the infamous Oumuamua? 
 
Danny Lavelle, our charming, borderline-bewildered investigator, sets out on a road trip through America’s UFO heartlands to get some answers (thankfully 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 UFO scene – often the same thing – Danny follows Lue Elizondo, Jeremy Corbell, attends sky watches (sometimes falling asleep in the desert), listens to alien abductees and has coffee with Starseeds (human beings who claim to be actual aliens). 
 
Whether he’s smoking weed whilst holding dumortierite crystals to access his interdimensional past, or discussing ‘space beads’ with the Harvard astrophysicist who’s convinced he’s found evidence of alien life, 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 magical thinking, Chasing Aliens is a wild journey into the soul of America – where aliens are as American as George Washington and warm apple pie. This is a book for anyone interested in our (possible) neighbours 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. 
 
'Enthusiasm, deft writing and an attention to the strange, fascinating details of ordinary lives' THE TELEGRAPH, BOOKS TO LOOK FORWARD TO IN 2026

Daniel Lavelle

Praise for Chasing Aliens

Lavelle’s travelogue echoes the documentaries with which Louis Theroux made his name, by inquiring into the dotty beliefs of maverick Americans . . . Chasing Aliens . . . speaks eloquently to an age in wh ...

A highly enticing . . . sleeper tour through “America’s superstition and conspiracy belt”. Lavelle mixes sardonic wit with genuine curiosity as he . . . hears about secrets that should never be made public, < ...

Lavelle is careful to treat everyone he interviews with respect, being as neutral as possible in testing the evidence. Indeed, he admits that part of him wants to find proof of alien visitors – it would be the bi ...

Lavelle’s travelogue echoes the documentaries with which Louis Theroux made his name, by inquiring into the dotty beliefs of maverick Americans . . . Chasing Aliens . . . speaks eloquently to an age in wh ...

A highly enticing . . . sleeper tour through “America’s superstition and conspiracy belt”. Lavelle mixes sardonic wit with genuine curiosity as he . . . hears about secrets that should never be made public, < ...

Lavelle is careful to treat everyone he interviews with respect, being as neutral as possible in testing the evidence. Indeed, he admits that part of him wants to find proof of alien visitors – it would be the bi ...

Lavelle’s travelogue echoes the documentaries with which Louis Theroux made his name, by inquiring into the dotty beliefs of maverick Americans . . . Chasing Aliens . . . speaks eloquently to an age in wh ...

A highly enticing . . . sleeper tour through “America’s superstition and conspiracy belt”. Lavelle mixes sardonic wit with genuine curiosity as he . . . hears about secrets that should never be made public, < ...

Lavelle is careful to treat everyone he interviews with respect, being as neutral as possible in testing the evidence. Indeed, he admits that part of him wants to find proof of alien visitors – it would be the bi ...

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