Why should someone in 2014 care about a man who studies UFOs a half-century ago?
To ease my worries, I did a little research. Turns out there are new UFO books coming out all the time, and I decided to look at a few and see if any of the "mainstream" UFO writers pay any attention to Hynek at all. If they don't, I'm screwed...
Here's what my research revealed:
"UFOs and Government" by Michael Swords & Robert Powell (with a team of contributors), published in 2012, mentions or quotes Hynek 45 times.
"Inside the Real Area 51" by Thomas J. Carey & Donald R. Schmitt, published in 2013, invokes Hynek's name over 100 times.
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I've been wanting to use this picture for a while now. I guess today is the day! |
Fantastic!!!! That's almost 1,000 mentions! At least from my point of view.
Of course, just as important as how many times they mention him is what they say about him. You will probably not be surprised to learn that I disagree with a lot of what is said and insinuated about Dr. Hynek in these books.
"UFOs and Government" portrays him as weak and timid, a clueless lackey of the Air Force. A favorite expression of the authors is "Poor Allen!" However... I have spoken to Michael Swords about this, I presented my case for why I think Hynek was actually quite brave, and in the end we agreed that Hynek had indeed "evolved."
"Inside the Real Area 51" perpetuates the age-old myth that Hynek worked on the Air Force's debunking "Project Grudge" UFO study. Hynek actually worked for its predecessor, "Project Sign," but by the time he submitted his final report to the Air Force "Sign" had been replaced by "Grudge," and so Hynek's report was included in the "Project Grudge" final report. Furthermore, Hynek didn't return to work for the Air Force until after "Grudge" had been replaced by "Project Blue Book." Also, the authors can't resist a chapter heading that screams, "Dr. J. Allen Hynek: Dupe or Accomplice?"
"UFOs for the 21st Century," aside from portraying Hynek as just about the least-trusted guy ever involved in UFOlogy, gets some important facts wrong. The book says that Hynek declared in 1948 that fighter pilot Thomas Mantell crashed while chasing a Skyhook balloon, when in fact Hynek agreed with the Air Force's judgement that Mantell had been "chasing" the planet Venus. The book also states that when Hynek went to investigate the famous 1966 Dexter-Hillsdale "swamp gas" incident, he held the now-infamous press conference immediately upon arriving in Michigan, but the truth is he arrived in Michigan on Tuesday and held the press conference on Friday, three days later.
These aren't little details to me. They rankle. Now that I've become such a devoted researcher of Hynek's life, it irritates me when I see someone making an inaccurate statement or insinuation when all they had to do was dig through a few file cabinets, search bluebookarchive.org or flip through one of Hynek's books--all available on Amazon!--to get the real story.
(And, yes, I realize full well that I may end up making a few mistakes in my own book, and I fully expect to have them pointed out to me!)
Oh well, you know what they say:
"The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about."Despite my disagreements with some of the material in these books, I want to thank every one of these authors, deeply and sincerely, for keeping the name of Dr. J. Allen Hynek in front of contemporary readers who will eventually go out and buy my book!
Thanks, everyone!
10 comments:
My book, UFO Investigations Manual mentions Hynek:
https://www.facebook.com/UFOInvestigationsManual
I, for one, welcome our new Marciano overlords.
I am surprised at some of these statements about Hynek. My impression had been he was treated like Paul: a persecutor who saw the light and changed sides, then was later sainted.
I wonder the more one traffics in government conspiracy theory, the more one loathes Hynek.
My take on is that a lot of people are still angry at him for the 1966 "swamp gas" incident in Michigan. People who so hoped that that incident would prove the reality of UFOs were incensed that Hynek didn't go there. Because he seemed to be taking the lead in a government cover-up, he was immediately branded a traitor to the cause. Naturally, that feeds right into Richard Dolan's popular "Disclosure" movement...
Why do those buxom space chicks have prolific pubic hair on the OUTSIDE of their costumes???
It's just a trick of the lighting!
If abductions are indeed purely a psychological phenomena, how come men have never reported nocturnal visitors looking like these ?
Good point, Yvan. One would think that if an abduction was some sort if wish-fulfillment fantasy, the aliens would be fantasy figures as well, just for consistency's sake.
> if an abduction was some sort if wish-fulfillment fantasy, the aliens would be fantasy figures as well
You forget the very first reported abduction was a sex romp.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant%C3%B4nio_Vilas_Boas
Oh, I remembered it, alright. I don't think that alien woman looked like these gals at all.
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