UFO Crash at Roswell: The Genesis of a Modern Myth
ISBN: , SKU: , AUTHOR: Saler, Benson / Ziegler, Charles A. / Moore, Charles, PUBLISHER: Smithsonian Books (DC), An intriguing look into how ong>ong>theong>ong> mysterious Roswell Incident and oong>ong>theong>ong>r UFO stories became part ong>ofong> America's popular ong>mythong>ology. In ong>ong>theong>ong> summer ong>ofong> , something mysterious crashed in ong>ong>theong>ong> New Mexican desert near ong>ong>theong>ong> town ong>ofong> Roswell. Wheong>ong>theong>ong>r it was an alien spacecraft manned by tiny humanlike beings or - ong>ong>theong>ong> U.S. government's ong>ofong>ficial explanation - a scientific research ballon has long been a subject ong>ofong> debate. True believers regard ong>ong>theong>ong> so-called Roswell Incident as a massive effort by ong>ong>theong>ong> government to conceal evidence ong>ofong> a UFO, and consider ong>ong>theong>ong> Roswell Incident to be ong>ong>theong>ong> single most important UFO incident in history. Since it gained widespread attention in ong>ong>theong>ong> s, many versions ong>ofong> ong>ong>theong>ong> story have circulated, ong>ong>theong>ong> government conducted a lengthy investigation, and more than a quarter ong>ofong> American adults say ong>ong>theong>ong>y believe aliens have visited ong>ong>theong>ong> Earth. Transcending ong>ong>theong>ong> believer-versus-skeptic debate, anthropologists Saler and Ziegler contend that ong>ong>theong>ong> Roswell story is best understood as a modern ong>mythong>. Raong>ong>theong>ong>r than trying to prove or disprove ong>ong>theong>ong> UFO ong>ong>theong>ong>ory, ong>ong>theong>ong>y examine ong>ong>theong>ong> story's similarities to traditional ong>mythong>s in transmission, structure, and motif, while also analyzing ong>ong>theong>ong> tale's modern elements - faith in technology and distrust ong>ofong> ong>ong>theong>ong> government. ong>ong>Theong>ong>y show how, like a religious ong>mythong>, ong>ong>theong>ong> Roswell story provides an "unfalsifiable" narrative about ong>ong>theong>ong> existence ong>ofong> superior beings. ong>ong>Theong>ong> UFO Crash at Roswell provides not only an examination ong>ofong> a ong>mythong>'s evolution, but a window into American beliefs and values.