Flying Saucers From Outer Space

Information

By Donald Keyhoe

Published by Hutchinson, UK, 3rd reprint

Hard cover with no dustwrapper

Used – solid reading copy

Keyhoe's article "Flying Saucers Are Real" published 12/26/49 caused a sensation. Though such figures are difficult to verify, USAF Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, 1st head of Project Blue Book, reported: "It is rumoured among magazine publishers that Don Keyhoe's article in True was one of the most widely read & widely discussed magazine articles in history." Capitalizing on the interest, he expanded the article into a book, The Flying Saucers Are Real ('50). It sold over half a million copies in paper. He argued the Air Force knew that flying saucers were extraterrestrial, but downplayed reports to avoid public panic. In his view, the aliens—whatever their origins or intentions—didn't seem hostile & had likely been surveilling the earth for over 200 years, though he wrote that their "observation suddenly increased in 1947, following the series of A-bomb explosions in 1945." Dr. Michael D. Swords characterized the book as "a rather sensational but accurate account of the matter."

Keyhoe wrote several more books about UFOs. Flying Saucers from Outer Space ('53) is perhaps the most impressive, being based on interviews & official reports vetted by the USAF. It included a blurb by Albert M. Chop, Air Force Pentagon press secretary, who characterized him as a "responsible, accurate reporter" & further expressed guarded approval for his arguments in favor of the extraterrestrial hypothesis. Such endorsements only cemented beliefs that the Air Force's mixed messages about UFOs were due to a cover up.