UFO Crash at Roswell The Genesis of a Modern Myth

by Saler, Benson; Ziegler, Charles A.; Moore, Charles

• ISBN13: 9781588340634
• ISBN10: 1588340635
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-06-22
• Publisher: Smithsonian Books

Summary

In the summer of 1947 something mysterious crashed in the New Mexican desert near the town of Roswell. Whether it was an alien spacecraft manned by tiny humanlike beings or -- the U.S. government's official explanation -- a scientific research balloon has long been a subject of passionate debate. Transcending the believer-versus-skeptic debate, anthropologists Benson Saler and Charles A. Ziegler contend that the Roswell story is best understood as a modern American myth. They show how the story -- and its continual retelling -- tap into modern fears about the power of technology, the duplicity of the government, and the power of the media. UFO Crash at Roswell also includes physicist Charles Moore's meticulous account of how 1947 experiments to launch balloon-borne radar reflectors may have led to the Roswell UFO myth. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Benson Saler is professor emeritus of anthropology at Brandeis University 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

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables	vii
Acknowledgments	viii
Introduction	ix
Mythogenesis: Historical Development of the Roswell Narratives	1	(29)
The Form and Acquisition of the Myth	2	(2)
The Roswell Myth (1996)	3	(1)
The Myth's Historical Core	4	(6)
The ``Real'' Cover Story	10	(2)
Genesis of the Myth	12	(18)
Version 1 (1980)	17	(2)
Version 2 (1988)	19	(1)
Version 3 (1991)	20	(2)
Version 4 (1992)	22	(3)
Version 5 (1994)	25	(2)
Version 6 (1994)	27	(3)
Analysis of the Roswell Myth: A Traditional Folk Motif Clothed in Modern Garb	30	(44)
Parallels with Traditional Folk Narratives	34	(18)
Motivations of the Mythmakers	52	(13)
Functions of the Myth	65	(7)
A Cultural Perspective	72	(2)
The Early New York University Balloon Flights	74	(41)
Background	75	(2)
The First NYU Balloon Flights	77	(3)
The June 1947 Balloon Flights from Alamogordo	80	(28)
An Analysis of the Roswell Incident Debris	108	(5)
Conclusion	113	(1)
Epilogue	113	(2)
Roswell and Religion	115	(35)
Conceptualizing Religion: An Orientation	115	(5)
A Matter of Belief	120	(6)
A Religious Dimension of Roswell: Nonhypothetical Truths	126	(5)
Aliens as Superhuman Beings	131	(7)
Situatedness	138	(4)
Emotional Tones	142	(2)
Flying Saucers and Religion	144	(6)
Three Images of Roswell	150	(19)
The Public Image: A Case of Mistaken Identity	150	(3)
The Scholarly Image: A Case of Dubious Historicity	153	(7)
The Believers' Image: A Case of Embattled Truth	160	(4)
Portents and Omens	164	(5)
Appendix 1: The Origins of the ML-307B/AP Pilot Balloon Targets	169	(6)
Appendix 2: Later Experiences Pertaining to the Roswell Incident	175	(6)
Notes	181	(4)
Bibliography	185	(8)
Index	193