Fact, Fiction, and Flying Saucers: The Truth Behind the Misinformation, Distortion, and Derision by Debunkers, Government Agencies, and Conspiracy Conmen

by Kathleen Marden, Stanton T. Friedman, Chris Sorensen (Narrator)

There is a clear conspiracy to deny the existence of UFOs. The mainstream media has misinformed us for years about UFO studies conducted by highly regarded scientists associated with some of the finest universities in the country. There is significant evidence that the U.S. government has covered up the alien presence through misinformation, distortion, obfuscation, and ridicule. Some prominent, politically connected scientists have engaged in the cover up. And a few professional writers have helped to successfully label any scientists who have been persuaded by the evidence and brave enough to take a stand as unscientific charlatans, fanatics, and kooks. Fact, Fiction, and Flying Saucers examines the wealth of archival documents that clearly demonstrate this cooperative disinformation effort and refute the false claims made by these professional scoffers. Stanton T. Friedman and Kathleen Marden set the record straight by examining politically motivated misinformation and presenting compelling evidence that separates fact from fiction.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Mystery, History, Aliens, Paranormal, Conspiracy Theories

10 pages, MP3 CD

Published March 1, 2021

About the author

Ufologist specialising in the alien abduction phenomenom.

Marsen is considered to be one of the leading experts on the Betty and Barney Hill UFO Experience.

In 2012 she was awarded for "Ufologist of the year" by MUFON.

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trying to debunk skeptics is a flawed project when you flat out admit your bias in believing UFO's to be extraterrestrial. Are most skeptics wrong for the same reason - yes. Are some stories still unexplained after decades and countless experts looking into them-- yes. Can there be an answer that is both non-weather/venus/swamp gas/ balloons/ drunk people- related and NOT aliens- sure. Is there anything truly new in this book - nope. Unless it is new to you that the government has reason to lie to us.

[Erik Graff · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a science-based, extra-terrestrial approach to the UFO phenomena, Friedman is a good source. This book, co-authored with Betty Hill's niece, focuses on the hoaxers and debunkers who attempt to give 'ufology' of this sort a bad reputation. P. Klass and H. Menzel are discussed at length.

[Eric Wojciechowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all the people in the UFO game, Stanton Friedman has been at the top of the people I'm always interested in hearing from. Over the decades he's demonstrated the willingness and determination to get out of the chair and do some real detective work. Regardless of his conclusions, you have to admit, he gets out there and conducts the interviews, combs the archives, turns over lots of stones. It's admirable and why I continue to follow his work.

Regarding the co-author, Kathleen Marden, I must admit ignorance on her reputation other than to have knowledge she co-authored two other books with Friedman, one other with Denise Stoner and that her aunt was Betty Hill, famous abductee.

The arch-nemesis, if I may, of Stanton Friedman has always been, among others, Philip J. Klass. And the curse of Philip J. Klass goes like this: "To ufologists who publicly criticize me, ... or who even think unkind thoughts about me in private, I do hereby leave and bequeath: THE UFO CURSE: No matter how long you live, you will never know any more about UFOs than you know today. You will never know any more about what UFOs really are, or where they come from. You will never know any more about what the U.S. Government really knows about UFOs than you know today. As you lie on your own death-bed you will be as mystified about UFOs as you are today. And you will remember this curse."

In the present volume by Kathleen Marden and Stanton T. Friedman, we can see this to be true. Despite the many new books on UFOs released each year, I can't say I don't know any more that I did in the 1990s. But this shouldn't stop anyone from reading them.

"Fact, Fiction and Flying Saucers" is a good book if you're new to the subject. There is no new information for those of us who have been in the game for the past several decades. But with that said, it is worth the read if only to be reminded that debunking shouldn't be what the game is about. Being skeptical, yes. But the goal of any subject should be complete analysis. Not just assumptions. So despite what the noisy negativists say (I always did like Friedman's term for his critics), there are a lot of cases that are not easily explained.

The book begins with the big UFO sightings in the 40s and 50s, then launches into chapters on the main UFO antagonists in history. We get a chapter on Donald Menzel, the first astronomer/physicist who actively tried to debunk the subject. The book notes that Menzel had quite the ties to the intelligence community along with security clearances. This made him more than just an academic. The insinuation, of course, is that Menzel may have been working to keep up the Cosmic Watergate - keeping ET visitors a secret.

Then we're off to a chapter on Philip J. Klass. This book has lots of Phil Klass. The present volume reminds us that Klass would go out of his way to more than discredit, but to do so in a bullying fashion, those he didn't agree with. He also went out of his way to explain as much as he could even if his explanations were sometimes stretched to the imagination. For Klass, it was more about ridicule instead of investigating each case to see where the evidence led to.

And then Edward Condon and the Condon Committee. This was the final, public, government funded study of UFOs. And it started off with several admissions from Condon himself that the intent wasn't necessarily to be objective but to squash the subject once and for all, blaming the whole thing on misperceptions. Well, it worked and after the final report came out in 1969, the Air Force closed Project Blue Book and the government got out of the UFO business officially.

After this, we are treated to examination of three of the most popular cases in UFO history: The Lonnie Zamora sighting, the abduction of Travis Walton and the Cash/Landrum case. These all center on Philip Klass's involvement and, according to the authors, his insistence from the start these were all hoaxes and to have conducted no actual research.

Finally rounding out the book are examinations on the possibilities of star travel, why aliens haven't landed on the White House lawn, etc. We also brush with the nonsense of "contactees" and other hucksters like Philip J. Corso and Bob Lazar. We get glimpses into how the media mocks the subject and we finish with speculations on Disclosure.

The bottom line and summary of the present volume is this: The field of UFO research is practically irreparable due to the damage committed by hoaxers, frauds and debunkers alike. If more people had been willing to conduct honest investigations instead of coming at the subject seeking fame/fortune or with preconceived notions, we might have a better grasp on whether or not we have something going on or if it's really all inside our heads. The authors are clearly of the opinion that extra-terrestrials are surveying the planet. I, however, remain unconvinced but in the game non-the-less. It remains a fascinating subject matter.

[Richard West · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent primer for someone who has never read any books on the UFO phenomenon and would like to learn of the many attempts to debunk believers and those who have viewed these mysterious "whatever's" in the sky. If, however, you've read other books on the subject, you may safely bypass this one since there isn't much that is new.
For many years, Stanton Friedman has been an outspoken advocate of the fact these flying (we'll call them "saucers" since that is the most popular term) do exist are are more than likely of otherworldly origin. He is, without a doubt, one of the most respected - if not the most respected - voice in the UFO community who is demanding answers from the government as to just exactly what these flying saucers are and where they come from.
In short, Friedman and his co-author, take 245 pages to tell who the major debunkers are and what might be motivating them. Basic information that is available in his other books and those by others as well.
Sadly, much information is repeated and its apparent the authors never got together to discuss who was going to address what topic, so it gets repeated. Additionally, and I found myself actually counting these as I went along, there are numerous typos, misspelled words, words repeated, words left out and incorrect words used. Examples: in one chapter you're reading along and suddenly see "that that" which makes little sense. Or, the use of "there" when "their" was the correct word to use. If you should pick this up, start counting near the beginning! Obviously, the publisher's proofreaders were asleep when going over the book.
All that aside, as mentioned, a good primer for someone who hasn't read much on the topic - otherwise, read one of Friedman's earlier works.

[Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While imperfectly written, edited, and somewhat repetitive, the authors make a case that scientific inquiry in the US into UFOs/UAP in the past was systematically hidden by the military from public view, but also deliberately undermined publicly with ridicule, minimization, or sidelined evidence. They also state that prominent debunkers like Donald Menzel and Philip Klass were unscientific and worse, compromised; Menzel by clandestine connections and ongoing work with intelligence agencies, while Klass had personal biases and preconceived agendas to destroy the character of any reportee or researcher in the topic, especially against one of the authors. Their archival research seems solid. The bigger problem with this topic is that mostly anecdotal evidence and case studies exist as proof. Sightings reported by credible and experienced observers are still subjective and hard to satisfy the extremely high standards of proof required for such a controversial topic. Even with a consistent pattern of unexplainable unknowns appearing even in recent times, there is no way to truly understand what is actually happening, especially if a large subset of evidence is possibly squirreled away into archives of military secrets, as claimed by the authors. One can only hope that with the new effort by the US Congress at delving into the issue, perhaps more concrete evidence will come to light somehow and the authors' claims can be settled once and for all.

[Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book by Stanton I have read.

The history of UFOLOGISTS is fascinating. The issue should be either UFO are real or not based upon correlating empirical data. But this is not the case. Ufology filled with fabricators, ego trips, disinformation, con men and generally bad science.

Staton is a trained and experienced physicist. His ability to reason and apply empirical and theoretical science is evident. He has methodically researched people and subjects. He calls out those names in the ufo field who are untrustworthy, deluded, lazy or just purposely disinform.

I can see why he has so many enemies. I would recommend as on of the best on the topic.

[Patricia Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provided a lot of information about UFOs that I didn’t know. The authors go into great detail about the people who have provided disinformation over the years.

There is a lot of repetition in the book — which is why it took me so long to read it. I would fall asleep at night reading, just trying to get through information that I had already read four or five times. Also, there was poor proofreading, which meant re-reading a sentence to have it make sense

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a good book for the topic it covers. I take it with a grain of salt. Do I believe there is life out there? Yes. Do I believe everything every book I read on the subject? No, not really. I read for information and not for my viewpoints to be swayed one way or the other. This book does give me the information that other books don't cover.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just O.K. could have skipped this one.

[Nashie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stanton Friedman's books are always worth reading. The chapter about Philip Klass was particularly interesting, as was Friedman seemingly softening his stance on Bob Lazar.

[Phillip Fitzsimmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine book. This is compelling.

[Omer Yavetz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book, for first time reader

Read all of Friedman's books, including the last two. This book almost reveal almost no new information. I expected to learn new developments, instead I found again Blue book quotes, and old information from the 60's-80's. Klass and Mendel are dead, and it important to look at the leaving debunks and deal with them.

All and all, it's a good book, but I have expected Marsden and Fridman to deal with the big amount of new information such as the serious COMETA report. many cases discussed by LESLIE Kean and DR Maccabi and other important writers. The book was published in 2016, it seems that it's a missed opertunity to give the riders some new information. In that regard the book I believe, miss the point, and this is unfortunate.