The Flying Saucers are Real
Donald Keyhoe
MP3 CD
(IDB Productions, Jan. 1, 2016)
One of the very first writings to discuss the phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects, Donald Keyhoe’s The Flying Saucers Are Real is a groundbreaking book, thoroughly researched, well-organized and written in a novelistic style that captivates the reader. Keyhoe has written spy fiction and mystery as well and was considered to be a very talented narrator, talent that shows in this book, too, but without becoming overtly romantic or mysterious – the facts are presented in a credible, matter-of-fact way, without exaggerated emotional involvement by the author. Keyhoe was also an engineer – he graduated in Annapolis from the Naval Academy, so his book makes a credible source when it comes to the description of the technologies used in aeronautics. The text is relatively short, with an extensive apparatus. The author cites magazine and newspaper articles as well as official press releases and records kept in Air Force archives, and he offers the reader his own views about UFO sightings and similar events recorded until 1949 (the book was published in 1950). The message that Keyhoe wants to convey is that extraterrestrials have been visiting our planet for at least two centuries, but the authorities kept the reports that document these visits secret. Extraterrestrial visits became more frequent after the nuclear weapon tests in 1945 and this phenomenon has led to a change in official policy regarding close encounters and other such events – the existence of the events is no longer denied, the public being progressively let in on these former secrets. This book elevated Donald Keyhoe among the most prominent civilian UFO researchers of his time and established him as an expert who grounds his conclusions in documented facts - so much so that, in 1957, he was named the leader of the National Investigations Committee on Aerial Phenomena (NICAP).