Review

One of Apogee Books' most popular titles, The Spaceship Handbook (2001), focused on 20th-century rocket and spacecraft designs, both factual and fictional. Now, authors Jack Hagerty and Jon C. Rogers turn their attention to another type of airborne object - flying saucers. Their new book, The Saucer Fleet, is a 328-page hardcover with more than 400 color photos and images.

Hagerty and Rogers are far from being the raving fanboys some would expect to be so fascinated with imaginary spacecraft. In fact, their credentials are quite impressive: Hagerty is a consulting engineer to the semiconductor and medical equipment industries; Rogers has an extensive history in the electronics and aerospace industries. The wealth of knowledge and wisdom that these gentlemen have brought to the book is, at times, overwhelming.

Many regular folk would turn and run at the mere mention of a book dedicated to flying saucers and their place within the modern psyche. I'm glad I'm not that regular because I read this book cover to cover and found it to be wonderful! Firstly, though, from the book's preface: "It's not about Area 51, Roswell, or almond-eyed Greys." Phew!

No, this book is an extraordinarily well-researched look at the development of the flying saucer as a popular, instantly recognizable icon and a look at the people responsible for the most well-known designs in various media - newspapers, film and TV - along with many lateral leaps, including relevant occurrences in the history of the entertainment business and within the larger picture of history.

I learned so much. For example: Did you know that before George Pal finally brought "The War of the Worlds" to the big screen in 1953, some of the other moviemakers who had made a start on the project included Cecil B. DeMille, Sergei Eisenstein, Alfred Hitchcock and Ray Harryhausen?

Or were you aware that a man named Fred Barton makes and sells full-sized, exquisitely detailed reproductions of many famous robots, including Robby the Robot from "Lost in Space," Gort from "The Day the Earth Stood Still," and many others? I'm scared to ask the prices, but I just gotta have me a Robby one day! Or a Gort guarding my front door!

And I bet you didn't know that the Jupiter 2 from "Lost in Space" is the only space vehicle known to include a bathroom. I would suppose that, like me, you did occasionally wonder what happened when nature called - way out there in all that emptiness, without even a tree to crouch behind!

The Saucer Fleet is sensibly presented, beginning with a foreword, preface and introduction. The opening chapter, "The Coming of the Fleet," explains the intention of the book, where the information within stands from an historical perspective and why it's important. The rest of the book then focuses on a carefully selected group of famous flying saucers from various mediums.

First is "The Day the Earth Stood Still," followed by "Twin Earths" - a remarkable looking adventure strip that was apparently syndicated worldwide but which sadly I don't believe ever reached my own homeland of New Zealand. Then come "War of the Worlds"; "This Island Earth"; "Forbidden Planet"; "Earth Vs. Flying Saucers"; a famous Disneyland ride featuring fly-'em-yourself saucers (with a new version possibly in the making); "Lost in Space"; and finally, "The Invaders." Each chapter follows a similar pattern, which might include a breakdown of the story, a look at the vehicles, an "archeological report," a modeler's note and an epilogue.

The wealth of information Hagerty and Rogers have brought to the book is, at times, almost overwhelming. But they can both also write - really well! For example, there's a beautiful tale told by Jon Rogers, who recounts the recovery of a memory due to a recurring dream involving his grandfather and flying saucers.

And although I was not expecting to read the segments relating to the finer details of the designs and the suppositions made about what could be in those areas of the spacecraft that the audience was not allowed to see turned out to be quite fascinating.

This book is not just aimed at sci-fi model makers, although for them it will be a virtual godsend. I have a large box filled with model kits I'm hoping to build on a rainy day - or realistically, maybe a rainy year or two. My models are mostly sci-fi designs - many are Gerry Anderson vehicles - but all are TV- and movie-related.

For example, one of my favorites is a model kit of Jupiter 2, the spaceship from "Lost in Space," and now, with the aid of this marvelous book, I can actually see myself doing a pretty decent job of its construction (and I am by no means a modeler) largely due to the beautifully rendered data drawings into which Jon Rogers has put a mind-boggling amount of detail based upon, one must suppose, literally days of research.

There were times when I began to wonder if it was healthy or even sane for grown men to spend so much time and effort on the study of machines which are, at the end of the day, just props for the telling of an entertaining, and occasionally thought-provoking, story. I'm sure that their wives must have pointed this out to them once in a while!

But then I would be brought back to Earth - sorry, I had to say that - by the book's quality and the seriousness of the context in which they were placing all this research. They make very convincing arguments as to how the development of these concepts and designs were very closely linked with the overall state of mind of the people of the time - Americans in particular. The impact of the McCarthy witch hunts, the Cold War, the constant threat of atomic annihilation and many other factors all had a direct bearing on why these films and television programs were made and why the public was so intent on seeing them. That really is the crux of the whole book, in some ways.

Other than that, it's also a very loving look at an incredible time in the entertainment industry and the amazing talents of a handful of people who created visions that still resonate with many to this day. I must admit, I was doubtful as to whether the concept of the "flying saucer" as a popular icon could make for interesting reading - let alone there being enough material relevant to that topic to fill a book - and I was pleasantly surprised to find I was wrong. This was a fun yet fascinating read, and not just for those with an interest in popular culture or science fiction.

Complaints, I hear you ask? Proofreading could have been a little more thorough. No mention was made of the Gerry Anderson TV series "UFO," which was seen in many parts of the world, had scary aliens like "The Invaders," and featured really unique alien spacecraft. Still, I understand that the authors couldn't include all the flying saucers from the last 50 years, and it was obviously not their intent to do so.

What they have done is create a wonderfully informative, very entertaining and visually splendid survey of a somewhat overlooked aspect of modern civilization - and they really couldn't have done a better job. I am thankful.

Now, what about a similar treatment on robots?

Anyone interested in the entertainment industry will find this book an excellent addition to their collection; modelers will find this an invaluable reference.