Richard Dolan, author of UFOs and the National Security State, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1962. He holds a master's degree in history from the University of Rochester and a bachelor's degree in history from Alfred University. He earned a certificate in political theory from Oxford University and was a Rhodes Scholar finalist.

Before developing his interest in anomalous phenomena, Dolan studied U.S. Cold War strategy, Soviet history and international diplomacy. In 2000, Dolan published a 500-page study entitled UFOs and the National Security State. Dolan has published numerous articles on anomalous phenomena, science and the intelligence community for UFO Magazine.