The World of Flying Saucers: A Scientific Examination of a Major Myth of the Space Age
by Lyle Gifford Boyd Donald H. Menzel
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About This Book
In 'The World of Flying A Scientific Examination of a Major Myth of the Space Age,' editors Lyle Gifford Boyd and Donald H. Menzel offer an incisive anthology that explores the phenomena of UFOs from a rigorously scientific standpoint. The collection bridges a spectrum of literary styles, from empirical analyses to theoretical explorations, embedding the enigmatic subject of flying saucers within the broader literary context of scientific skepticism and inquiry. The anthology stands out for its comprehensive examination of UFO sightings, deconstructing the mythos surrounding these events throu...
Chapters (416)
- THE WORLD OF FLYING SAUCERS
- Acknowledgments
- PREFACE
- THE WORLD OF FLYING SAUCERS
- Chapter I THE SAUCER WORLDS
- UFO Reports and the Air Force
- The Scientist’s View
- The Question of “Evidence”
- Various Types of UFO
- Descriptions of UFOs
- A “Baedeker’s Guide” to Saucerdom
- Chapter II LO!
- Arnold’s Nine Disks
- The Great Shaver Mystery
- The Maury Island Fragments
- Science Fiction Adopts the Saucers
- Mirage or Wave Clouds?
- Chapter III AIR-BORNE UFOS: BALLOONS TO BUBBLES
- The Mantell Tragedy
- A Probable Solution of the Mantell Case
- A Radiosonde over Virginia
- Skyhook and Pibal UFOs
- The Guantánamo “Dogfight”
- The Wallops Island UFO
- Weather Balloons and Saucers
- Plastic UFOs and the “Stack of Coins”
- Jets and Contrails
- The Killian Case
- ... And Kites and Soap Bubbles
- Chapter IV THE SPANGLED HEAV’NS: STARS AND PLANETS
- A Mirage of Sirius
- Earth’s Distorting Atmosphere
- The “Whipping Girl” of Saucerdom
- The Ryan Case
- Venus as a Morning Star
- Venus as an Evening Star
- The Rotating Lights of Japan
- UFOs and the Opposition of Mars
- The Gorman “Dogfight”
- Only a Balloon?
- Jupiter through a Jet Trail
- Chapter V OUT OF THE SKY: METEORS AND FIREBALLS
- Stones from Heaven
- Meteor Streams and Showers
- The Green Fireballs
- Meteors in the Records
- Fallacies about Meteors
- Facts about Meteors
- Unusual Fireballs
- Great Meteor Processions
- The Chiles-Whitted Sighting
- Other Flaming UFOs
- Chapter VI LIVING LIGHTS
- The Luminous Owls of Norfolk
- Things That Glow in the Dark
- Sea Gulls as UFOs
- The Lubbock Lights
- The Lubbock Pictures
- Other Winged UFOs
- The Tremonton Movies
- Chapter VII PANIC
- Growth of a Panic
- The Scoutmaster’s UFO
- Monster in West Virginia
- The Panel of Civilian Scientists
- Chapter VIII PHANTOMS ON RADAR
- Radar as a Reporter
- The Principle of Radar
- Weather and Radar Echoes
- The Kinross Case
- The “Invasion” of Washington, D.C.
- Radar Experiments in Washington
- “Simultaneous” Radar-Visual Reports
- “Ghosts” and “Angels” on Radar
- The Rapid City Sighting
- Chapter IX E-M AND G-FIELDS IN UFO-LAND
- Stormy Weather in Texas
- The Phenomenon of Ball Lightning
- E-M and Non-E-M Saucers
- The Saturnian Visitors
- Surveillance by Flying Eggs
- Saucerdom’s Miraculous Electromagnetic Force
- Effects and Causes
- “G-Fields” and UFO Propulsion
- The G-Field Myth
- Electricity, Magnetism, and Gravity
- Chapter X CONTACT!
- Earthlings and Extraterrestrials
- The “Contactees”
- Adamski’s Travels
- Photography and the UFO
- The Isle of Lovers Hoax
- The Trindade Island Saucer
- The Brazilian Naval Ministry
- The Icarai Submarine Hunting Club
- The Trindade Photographs
- Project Ozma
- Chapter XI ANGEL HAIR, PANCAKES, ETC.
- Angel Hair and Spiders
- Other Varieties of Angel Hair
- The Wisconsin Pancakes
- The Moon Bridge
- “Pieces of Saucers”
- Silver Rain in Brazil
- Other Mysterious Fragments
- Chapter XII SPECIAL EFFECTS
- The Role of Unusual Coincidence
- The Problem of Unknown Lights
- Michigan’s Flying Bird Cage
- UFOs from Reflections
- Sundogs in Utah and France
- Bright Spots on Films
- Unfamiliar Lights on Planes
- Inversions in California
- The Chesapeake Bay Case
- A Possible Explanation of the Nash-Fortenberry Disks
- Other UFOs in “Stack” Formation
- The Tombaugh Rectangles
- Chapter XIII INVESTIGATORS: AIR FORCE AND CIVILIAN
- Official Study of UFOs
- Civilian Saucer Groups
- NICAP
- The “Conspiracy” Fantasy
- UFO at Sheffield Lake, Ohio
- “The Fitzgerald Report”
- The Open Mind
- APPENDIX UFO AND OTHER INCIDENTS REFERRED TO
- INDEX
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