About the Author

Benson Saler is professor emeritus of anthropology at Brandeis University and the author of Conceptualizing Religion. Charles A. Ziegler is a senior research associate in anthropology at Brandeis University. Charles B. Moore is professor emeritus of atmospheric physics at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.

Reviews

“Illuminates an intriguing fact of what it means to be human: to want—to need—stories, tall tales, myths, answers . . . hope.”—San Diego Union-Tribune

“A sound case study of contemporary . . . mythmaking, as well as an excellent and objective account of a very curious, and potent, period in American history.”—Journal of American Folklore

“UFO Crash at Roswell . . . searches for answers about why so many believe in the crash of a flying saucer at Roswell, how these beliefs came to be, and their meaning. Highly recommended.”—Curtis Peebles, author of Watch the Skies!

“UFO Crash at Roswell persuasively explains the wreckage that is key to Roswell; the later tales of alien intrusion; and the varying assumptions, hopes, and fears that likely motivate these tales.”—Stewart Guthrie, Professor of Anthropology, Fordham University

“After reading this groundbreaking book, you can’t look at the Roswell Incident the same way, whether you’re a believer, a skeptic, or uncommitted.”—Albuquerque Journal

“Thought-provoking reading.”—Anthropological Forum

"Illuminates an intriguing fact of what it means to be human: to want-to need-stories, tall tales, myths, answers . . . hope."-San Diego Union-Tribune

"A sound case study of contemporary . . . mythmaking, as well as an excellent and objective account of a very curious, and potent, period in American history."-Journal of American Folklore

"UFO Crash at Roswell . . . searches for answers about why so many believe in the crash of a flying saucer at Roswell, how these beliefs came to be, and their meaning. Highly recommended."-Curtis Peebles, author of Watch the Skies!

"UFO Crash at Roswell persuasively explains the wreckage that is key to Roswell; the later tales of alien intrusion; and the varying assumptions, hopes, and fears that likely motivate these tales."-Stewart Guthrie, Professor of Anthropology, Fordham University

"After reading this groundbreaking book, you can't look at the Roswell Incident the same way, whether you're a believer, a skeptic, or uncommitted."-Albuquerque Journal

"Thought-provoking reading."-Anthropological Forum

It's not just skeptics who will relish this examination of the supposed crash of a UFO near Roswell, N. Mex., in 1947, and of the myth that has grown up around it. The crash and the alleged ensuing cover-up by the U.S. government has become a lynchpin among conspiracy theorists and those who believe in invading aliens. The three authors, all university professors, never deny the possibility that there was in fact a crash of an alien spacecraft, with alien victims (though they point toward the crash of a military balloon as a more likely explanation for the Roswell phenomenon). They argue, however, that the Roswell "technomyth" serves several functions as a "folk narrative," including the reinforcement of beliefs in omnipotent beings, and the channeling of anti-government sentiment. The myth, they say, is carefully and contentiously tended by a community of "ufologists" who act as "culture heroes" in attempting to liberate the truth from the government's clutches. One chapter further argues that the myth and community have many of the hallmarks of a religion. Despite its impeccable explanations about myths, however, the book's turgid prose will do little to dissuade the vast number Americans who believe that extraterrestrials have landed on Earth. (Aug.)