Book · 1950
The Flying Saucers Are Real
Donald E. Keyhoe · Fawcett (Gold Medal)
Glimpses
The mere existence of some yet unidentified flying objects necessitates a constant vigilance on the part of Project ‘Saucer’ personnel, and on the part of the civilian population.
I believe that the Air Force statements, contradictory as they appear, are part of an intricate program to prepare America—and the world—for the secret of the disks.
For the past 175 years, the earth has been under systematic close-range examination by living, intelligent observers from another planet.
The American people have proved their ability to take incredible things. We have survived the stunning impact of the Atomic Age. We should be able to take the Interplanetary Age, when it comes, without hysteria.
The Flying Saucers Are Real (Fawcett, 1950) expanded Donald Keyhoe's article in the January 1950 issue of True, one of the most widely read magazine pieces of its time. Written as a first-person investigation, it follows Keyhoe, a retired Marine aviator, as he interviews pilots, officials and engineers about the sightings since 1947, the death of Capt. Thomas Mantell chasing an object over Kentucky in 1948, and the Air Force's shifting statements, quoting from Project Sign's report.
Its conclusion is that the saucers are interplanetary craft observing the earth and that the Air Force knows more than it admits but is preparing the public for the truth. It was the founding text of the cover-up thesis in American ufology. Ruppelt, who ran Blue Book soon after, wrote that Keyhoe generally had his facts right but not his interpretation of them, and the Mantell case is now usually attributed to a classified Navy Skyhook balloon. The book's copyright was not renewed and it is in the public domain in the United States; the full text is in this archive's search.
Sources: Keyhoe, The Flying Saucers Are Real (Project Gutenberg) · Wikipedia — Donald Keyhoe · Menzel and Boyd (1963) on Mantell
Facts and claims
- claimed Keyhoe concludes that the Air Force's contradictory statements on flying saucers are part of a program to prepare the public for the truth about them, which he believes is that they come from another planet. — Donald Keyhoe Source: keyhoe-flying-saucers-are-real.html
- claimed The book reprints the conclusions of his True magazine article, the first of which is that for 175 years the earth has been under systematic close-range examination by observers from another planet (chapter 16). — Donald Keyhoe Source: keyhoe-flying-saucers-are-real.html
Connected files
People
- Donald Keyhoe (authored by)
Programs
- Project Sign (about)
Mentioned in this file
- Edward J. Ruppelt (Person)
- Project Blue Book (Program)
- Donald H. Menzel (Person)
More books
- UFOs and the National Security State: Chronology of a Cover-up, 1941–1973
- Fact, Fiction, and Flying Saucers: The Truth Behind the Misinformation, Distortion, and Derision by Debunkers, Government Agencies, and Conspiracy Con-Artists
- Unidentified: The UFO Phenomenon — How World Governments Have Conspired to Conceal Humanity's Biggest Secret
- Conspiracy of Silence: From Roswell to Project Blue Book — What the Government Doesn't Want You to Know About UFOs
- The World of Flying Saucers: A Scientific Examination of a Major Myth of the Space Age
- Out of the Shadows: Revealing the Truth About Non-Human Intelligent Life