...Flying Saucers Are Real!

by Jack Womack, William Gibson (Introduction), Michael P. Daley (Editor)

Flying Saucers Are Real! is a catalogue of the Jack Womack UFO library and a history of one of the 20th century’s most pervasive subcultures. The collection presents an unknown wealth of images taken from mid-century flying saucer books and extensive text by the author-collector outlining the history of the UFO phenomenon and opining on the selections. The book also features an introduction by science fiction author William Gibson.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Paranormal, Science Fiction Fantasy

285 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2016

About the author

"Womack's fiction may be determinedly non-cyber, but, with its commitment to using SF as a vehicle for social critique, it definitely has a punky edge. William Gibson once said that he thought he was more interested in basic economics and politics than the average blue sky SF writer. That counts double for Womack, whose fiction is packed with grimly amusing social satire and powerful little allegories exploring urban breakdown, class war and racial tensions".
--Jim McClellan (from an interview with Jack Womack, 1995).

Reviews

[Snakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty entertaining stuff. A jaunt through the idiocy that was “The Flying Saucer Craze” between about the 1930s to the 1980s. Lots of book cover photos of old books that were self-published or should’ve never been published at all. Books with the most unbelievable titles and topics. Snippets about colorful characters who wrote them. But a little short on exposition.

[Willy Boy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ecstasy Of George Adamski and friends ... Possibly anxious not to offend the sensibilities of their bourgeois consumer base, Peter-like denials have been issued from the publisher. These unnecessary caveats only serve to solemnise the contents of this stylish, coffee table survey of the Modern Apocrypha and underline it's undiminished power. True 'alternative' culture - measurable in the amounts of fear and ridicule it generates in the faithless. A doorway to joy and mystery, ecstatic madness and inspired delusion - the night sky again, always, a thing of wonder, and not simply a series of clinical measurements and airless, patronising 'explanations'. Whether or not you 'actually believe', or are capable of belief, is irrelevant. This is pure revelation. It is dynamite. Smuggled into thousands of chic homes, to sit snugly and smugly beside the Beastly Boys Book, or The Poster Art of Paris '68, or sundry other half-century priced expressions of unimpeachable 'good' taste, next to which this collection stands as proudly unclean. This volume documents an expression of a subculture that is a defiant brick launched into the mask of a spurious 'objective' 'rationality'. Space is a medium through which to draw down fantastic visions, to commune with our collective and individual unconscious. Your laughter is rapture. Human history may be concieved as the battle between two hemispheres of the mind, each of which seeks to deny the existence of the other, let alone admit they are one and the same. In their sparring, these combatants are like dancers in the dark, making profound breakthroughs and discoveries almost incidental to their intentions, as if their idiot movements were a kin to a divinely guided comedy ...

[Charles Dee Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was in seventh grade, I wanted to believe in flying saucers. It was the early 1960's. and I got what books I could from my school library. One of these was the government report that debunked the whole phenomenon. Unlike a true believer, I did not immediately assume a government cover-up. It made sense to me, and so I grew up watching the fashions in UFOlogy shift from dangerous aliens, to benign alien messengers, to ancient aliens, and of course those aliens with an unhealthy interest in the human anus, wondering all the time, "Why do people beieve this stuff?"

Jack Womack has an in depth collection of UFO literature, and this book is the catalog that accompanied an exhibition of his collection in New York City. It is not an analysis of the phenomenon, but rather a pictorial guide to how devotees, scam artists, and the occasional sceptic got the word out. The material is at times strangely touching and often hilarious. Only those who still take notes while watching ancient astronaut documentaries will not be entertained.

[Ignacio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catálogo de libros sobre platillos volantes que, tal y como están ordenados, se convierte en un pequeño repaso histórico y temático a su evolución hasta finales de los 80. Las cubiertas, además de la referencia bibliográfica, vienen acompañadas de breves fragmentos y notas de Womack que pone cada libro en contexto desde una deliciosa ironía. Es una lectura muy divertida para quienes sentimos curiosidad por el tema pero nuestro interés (y tiempo) empieza y termina ahí. Womack tiene un ojo clínico a la hora de seleccionar el material.

[Bill FromPA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great pictures of book covers and interior illustrations, some of which need more context. The text is uneven, probably because the authors of earlier books, like Arnold and Kehoe, are well documented while later books, which are increasingly fringey, are from more obscure sources. A quirky collection, not really comprehensive, focused on more "out there" and obscure publications.

[Elliott · Rating 5 out of 5]

To paraphrase Sir William Gull from From Hell, ‘The surest place UFOs exist is in men’s own minds.’
This is a delightful collection of paperback covers, blurry photos, hoaxes- both painful, and hilarious with a superb tongue-in-cheek commentary.
As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it whereupon I read it through and then immediately went through it again.

[Arthur B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the aesthetics of vintage UFO literature. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/201...

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

A coffee table book photographically documenting and describing highlights from the author Jack Womack's extensive collection of rare UFO books, pamphlets and ephemera which dates back to the immediate post-WWII era. The history and development of the UFO phenomenon is something that interests me, but I haven't really done that much deep reading on the topic. This was like a cavalcade of weird and wonderful new things for me. Seeing examples of slightly weird popular culture from previous eras is something that fascinates me, so I enjoyed this overview immensely.