HomeUFOs

April, 2004

This is the 3rd revised and extended version of by work-bibliography, which in its own quiet way has grown through the years as a result of my other work within the field of UFOs, a subset of the 20th Century's "occulture". In other words, a "byproduct" of my interest. A very large part of the many thousand books I have held in my hand, when I entered them in my database, which presently ends with the year 2002. There might have sneaked in a few works from 2003 - take it as an added value.

This bibliography can among things be used to verify many titles on the grey market of the "off-beat literature", which by searching online databases would demand a wealth of different keywords, and nobody would know for sure what to look for.

I have kept several of the annotations from my earlier versions. They are therefore not always neutral in relation to the annotated work, but marked by my often critical view. Often, it is merely to "earmark" the work.

It is not a complete bibliography - that would be an impossible task. But it is a bibliography which includes all of the most essential literature, which I have established from several German and English bibliographies. I have also checked my bibliography in relation to several of the principal works in UFOlogy and astro-archeology, as well as sales catalogues from some American second-hand book shops, and hard-to-find booksellers who specialize in off-beat literature. Finally, I have had much use for AFU, which undoubtedly is the biggest private archive and specialized library in Europe, and probably the world, when it comes to UFO literature and similar aspects. AFU has Sweden as their primary area of service.

The main emphasis is on works within the English and German languages, and of course the Scandinavian as well. There are some books from other European countries, as well as from the Spanish-speaking areas, which also partly covers South America. Likewise, you will find Polish, Hungarian and even Japanese titles. These are included to supply the reader with a lead, if you are interested in these particular areas.

The bibliography is organized primarily by author, or the first mentioned author, if there are more than one. Edited works are sorted by title or which organization has published it. The notes will refer to other editions, content or description of content.

I have primarily sought to refer to the newest edition, and then other editions in the same or different languages, if they were known to me and could be verified. You will be able to find all titles, though. There are references to co-writers and editors, as well as acronym and pseudonym-references.

Additionally, you will find a smaller register, which refers to articles written by authors in anthologies or congress reports etc.

UFOlore

This biography basically reflects the UFO-lore, which is to say, the anecdotal material: Accounts of observations of unknown flying objects, and the theories, speculations and belief systems attached to them. The UFO-lore is still nurtured by the reflective influence following different how interest groups treat the subject, on several levels - a form of thematical inbreeding, which, in my opinion, progressively degenerates the profile of the traditional UFO-lore.

There are two main interest groups, who feed off the UFO-lore: The Cultists and the UFOlogists.

• The Cultists do not consider UFO-lore as their main course, but rather as a supplement to their traditional background in a mix of religiosity and occultism. For them, the UFO accounts are often a modern element in an otherwise established and partly self-created picture of the world.

• The UFOlogists, on the other hand, build a world around the UFO-lore by stating hypotheses, theories and claims based on accounts from people with UFO experiences. But the UFOlogists also are a diverse group: The IFOists and UFOists.
  • The IFOists often have established their picture of the world at a very early stage, and they take whatever part of the UFO-lore that fits this picture as the literal truth. Often, the IFOists have connections to cultish groups, where they also get inspiration from. The borders are often diffuse or mixed.

  • The UFOists are more materialistic, and focus more on collating and filing UFO-lore, using this to prove to themselves as well as the rest of the world that our planet is visited by other worlds. There are a very large number of more or less fantastic hypotheses and speculations. Often, the UFOistic speculations mirror aspects from the IFOistic circles, and they also feed from the rationalists. In addition, especially in the US, a subset of fanatical UFOists, who work tirelessly from the idea that the authorities keep something hidden.

Skeptics

The skeptics are also a very diverse group. Some do all they can to demolish the whole spectre of UFOlogy and cultism. If we can speak of fanaticism within the cultish part of the UFO-theme, then there is a fanatical scientism among a certain group of skeptics. Some of these skeptics are founded in the Christian fundamentalism. Other skeptics approach the subject with an open mind, but demand evidence based on scientific research, and can often have a fruitful cooperation with the more serious and rationally operating UFO-organizations.

Forteanism

There is also a certain angle, that isn't categorized that easily: Forteanism. Forteans are often, almost by principle, fiercely disagreeing among themselves and is primarily individualists with an anarchistic attitude to the whole spectre. Nothing is sacred to them, and they often come up with heretic hypotheses as well as penetrating critique. But they can also be myth-makers, and have as such achieved to make their mark in the UFO-lore, when a myth starts taking a life of its own. The term Forteanism comes from the American writer, Charles Fort.

Bringing home the bacon

Finally, there are works from writers, for whom it is their way to support themselves by writing speculative non-fiction. They often succeed in shaking a myth-creating cocktail in a convincing way, and not that few let themselves get drunk from it.

A Feedback Loop

The combined filtering of the UFO-lore and the additions from the various interest groups, become a product propagated by publications, books and the mass media. In that form, it returns to those people who have had, or will have a UFO-experience, but they can now, with a reference to what they have read or heard, put in words what they experienced, and thereby expect something from it. This convinces the interest groups that they are on to something.

UFO-literature

UFO-literature consists of many things. UFOlogy, which is the study of UFOs, is a many-armed octopus. New arms constantly grow, while some of the old wither away. Sometimes, some regenerate and take on bizarre forms. That is why it is no simple matter to define the subject without inexpedient amputations.

I have tried in this bibliography to include literature about the so-called archaeo-astrology, or pre-astronautic, with references to historic visits and influences from other planets. Likewise, literature about modern myths like the Bermuda Triangle, which also relates to the UFO-theme, as well as literature about mystical creatures or UFOnauts. Also included are a few non-fiction books about life in the universe, books that to some extent have been reference works for UFOlogists throughout the years, but can also be used as an antidote. Finally, a few novels, tangential to the UFO-theme; Either novels which erroneously have been viewed as non-fictious, or novels which contribute to a wider understanding of a writer's collected works.

As one can guess, this bibliography is necessarily also a many-armed octopus, since it mirrors the UFOlogical universe.

There are incredibly many small publications, but I have chosen to de-select those less than 6 pages long, unless they have played an important role. That is my subjective estimate, determined by the tracks these publications otherwise have laid in the ongoing UFOlogical debate.

UFOlogy has many interfaces. E.g., I have omitted literature about angels, which otherwise could link to more contact accounts. Also newer literature about "personal guides" and "channelling", which also has many similarities to the contact accounts without decisive physical contact.

The House that Willy Built...

I have tried with this bibliography to lay down a carpet, wall-to-wall, in an asymmetric room, on one floor, in the skyscraper of the paranormal, where UFO-lore is assumed to dwell. Some places, the carpet reaches the wall, other places are not covered completely, and in some places, perhaps reaches a bit up the wall.

The house has many floors, above and below ground level, and an innumerable number of rooms, closets and labyrinthic hallways. I even suspect it has secret passages in hollow walls, and unknown elevators, pretty much like in a computer game. All the time, more building takes place, with modernizing and renovating, and it all happens without an architect or blueprints.

I entered this house almost 30 years ago, purely driven by curiosity, and I am still there, somewhere in this huge building, that has grown constantly around me. The question that pops up from time to time is, if this house over the years has become the house of normality, while that outside is the paranormal world?

But is it really necessary to distinguish? When you consider the number of books written about the so-called paranormal world, let it be a tribute to human fantasy and imagination, a conglomerate of genius and madness. Like Charles Fort once said, "I cannot say that truths is stranger than fiction, because I have never had acquaintance with either".

Willy Wegner is a member of Skeptica , the Danish network of independent skeptics.