Secrets in the Fields : Science and Mysticism of Crop Circles

They appear at night, complex designs mysteriously imprinted on fields of almost ripened grain. Nobody knows how they got there, or why. They leave the grain stalks in swirls, virtually undamaged. They exhibit mathematical precision. They demonstrate principles of geometry. They portray ancient religious symbols.

Since the 1980s, some 10,000 crop circles have appeared, seemingly by magic, in England and 25 other countries. Each year the count grows, and the designs get more intricate, even fantastic. Governments tell us they're hoaxes, but the evidence shows that most are not.

What is going on?

Author Freddy Silva lives in Wessex, the four-county area of southern England that has been host to 90 percent of the world's crop circles. In Secrets in the Fields, he takes us on an exhilarating firsthand field trip into the heart of the mystery. Silva takes us to the scene of the enigma, before, after, and during the appearance of a fresh circle. He introduces us to farmers, researchers, scientists, mystics, hoaxers and debunkers. He tells:

• how to distinguish a hoaxed circle from a genuine one
  
• what the magnetic field disturbances might mean
  
• what time distortions observed at crop circles might mean
  
• how sound, light and microwave energy may be involved
  
• how a theory of music may account for their creation
  
• what the circle images mean