CNN - Review: 'UFOs, JFK, and Elvis'

(CNN) -- When I first saw the title of Richard Belzer's new book "UFOs, JFK, and Elvis," I thought "Cool, The Belz has written a funny book filled with witty musings about little green men and movies in which Kevin Costner has a bad haircut." Sure, Belzer has made a turn toward the serious with his series "Homicide," but wasn't this the same man that was in the 1988 classic "The Wrong Guys"? I was in no way prepared for what I was about to read.

Within the first few pages I was reading details about claims of heinous atrocities and government conspiracies. This was not the lighthearted work that I expected. From the very beginning, Belzer makes his goal clear. He urges the reader to "seek out suppressed evidence ... interpret independently everything you hear, read, and even what you see ... question authority."

Even if you are not a conspiracy theory enthusiast (I know I wasn't), it is hard not to get caught up in the depth of Belzer's research and insights on the JFK assassination and alien visitors. Just as he promised, I was "transformed from a cheerful trusting soul with unflagging faith in the powers that be into a suspicious, angry skeptic and cynic that can't sit through a 30-second news teaser without muttering and gesturing and foaming at the mouth." Well, maybe that is taking it a bit too far. But it made me think and look at the situations in question in a new light.

For those who are not big on conspiracy, the information is presented in a way that would make even Lee Harvey Oswald chuckle. The book is both informative and entertaining, with sections entitled "The Fluke of Earl," "Just a Simple Nightclub Owner with a Dream " and "The Men Who Mooned the World." This book had me laughing one moment and afraid for my life the next. And after all, isn't that what America's all about?

Catherine Alexander is a community coordinator with CNN Interactive.

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