Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Weird Science

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Rockets and Ray Guns: The Sci-Fi Science of the Cold War

Part of the book series: Science and Fiction ((SCIFICT))

  • 817 Accesses

Abstract

In which that most archetypal of all sci-fi themes, the arrival of visitors from another planet, spills over into the real world—as the start of the Cold War coincides with a sudden upsurge in sightings of unidentified flying objects. Were they extraterrestrial spacecraft, top-secret spyplanes, an exercise in disinformation or just another symptom of Cold War paranoia? Whatever the case, UFOs weren’t the only “weird science” development that looked like it had been plucked straight from the pages of SF. The Cold War also saw serious attempts being made to exploit extra-sensory perception and other superhuman powers to military ends.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 27.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Keyhoe had no great affection for the Air Force, having been a pilot in a rival service—the Marine Corps.

References

  1. N. Redfern, The Roswell UFO Conspiracy (Lisa Hagan Books, Bracey, VA, 2017), p. 23

    Google Scholar 

  2. D. Clarke, UFO Drawings from the National Archives (Four Corners, London, 2017), p. 8

    Google Scholar 

  3. S.D. Tucker, Space Oddities (Amberley, Stroud, 2017), p. 153

    Google Scholar 

  4. D. Clarke, How UFOs Conquered the World (Aurum Press, London, 2015), p. 38

    Google Scholar 

  5. D. Keyhoe, The Master of Doom, in Weird Tales (May 1927), pp. 581–600

    Google Scholar 

  6. D. Clarke, A. Roberts, Flying Saucerers (Alternative Albion, Loughborough, 2007), p. 19

    Google Scholar 

  7. D. Keyhoe, The Flying Saucers are Real (Project Gutenberg, 2004), http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5883/5883-h/5883-h.htm

  8. S.D. Tucker, Space Oddities (Amberley, Stroud, 2017), p. 152

    Google Scholar 

  9. E.H. North (screenplay), The Day the Earth Stood Still (Twentieth Century Fox, 1951)

    Google Scholar 

  10. S.D. Tucker, Space Oddities (Amberley, Stroud, 2017), pp. 146, 147

    Google Scholar 

  11. M. Pilkington, Mirage Men (Constable, London, 2010), p. 105

    Google Scholar 

  12. M. Pilkington, Mirage Men (Constable, London, 2010), p. 84

    Google Scholar 

  13. M. Pilkington, Mirage Men (Constable, London, 2010), pp. 296, 297

    Google Scholar 

  14. E. Lovick, Radar Man (iUniverse, New York, 2010), p. 128

    Google Scholar 

  15. E. Lovick, Radar Man (iUniverse, New York, 2010), p. 157

    Google Scholar 

  16. J. Randles et al., The UFOs that Never Were (London House, London, 2000), p. 60

    Google Scholar 

  17. J. Spencer, The UFO Encyclopaedia (Headline, London, 1991), p. 92

    Google Scholar 

  18. J. Randles et al., The UFOs that Never Were (London House, London, 2000), pp. 74, 75

    Google Scholar 

  19. R.A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers (Hodder, London, 2015), pp. 245–247

    Google Scholar 

  20. D. Clarke, Britain’s X-traordinary Files (Bloomsbury, London, 2014), p. 95

    Google Scholar 

  21. R.A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers (Hodder, London, 2015), p. 252

    Google Scholar 

  22. R.A. Heinlein, Project Nightmare, in 14 Great Tales of ESP, ed. by I.P. Stone (Coronet, London, 1970), pp. 111–136

    Google Scholar 

  23. M. Leinster, Short History of World War Three, in Astounding Science Fiction (October 1958, UK edition), pp. 107–118

    Google Scholar 

  24. J. Marrs, Psi Spies (New Page Books, Franklin Lakes NJ, 2007), pp. 95–96

    Google Scholar 

  25. P. Straughan (screenplay), The Men Who Stare at Goats (Momentum Pictures, 2009)

    Google Scholar 

  26. J. Marrs, Psi Spies (New Page Books, Franklin Lakes, NJ, 2007), pp. 97, 98

    Google Scholar 

  27. J. Marrs, Psi Spies (New Page Books, Franklin Lakes NJ, 2007), p. 101

    Google Scholar 

  28. D. Clarke, Britain’s X-traordinary Files (Bloomsbury, London, 2014), p. 111

    Google Scholar 

  29. N. Cook, The Hunt for Zero Point (Arrow, London, 2002), p. 162

    Google Scholar 

  30. J. Marrs, Psi Spies (New Page Books, Franklin Lakes NJ, 2007), p. 153

    Google Scholar 

  31. J. Marrs, Psi Spies (New Page Books, Franklin Lakes NJ, 2007), p. 208

    Google Scholar 

  32. J. Marrs, Psi Spies (New Page Books, Franklin Lakes NJ, 2007), p. 166

    Google Scholar 

  33. R. Garrett, L.M. Janifer, Brain Twister (Carroll & Graf, New York, 1992), back cover copy

    Google Scholar 

  34. H. Kuttner, Mutant (Mayflower, London, 1962), pp. 7–32

    Google Scholar 

  35. R. Silverberg, Mutants (Corgi, London, 1977), p. 9

    Google Scholar 

  36. P.K. Dick, Planet for Transients, in A Handful of Darkness (Panther, London, 1980), pp. 46–60

    Google Scholar 

  37. P.K. Dick, The Hood Maker, in Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams (Gollancz, London, 2017), pp. 117–134

    Google Scholar 

  38. S. Sontag, C. Drew, Blind Man’s Bluff (Arrow, London, 2000), pp. 286, 287

    Google Scholar 

  39. P.K. Dick, Foster, You’re Dead, in Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams (Gollancz, London, 2017), pp. 138–162

    Google Scholar 

  40. T. Milne (ed.), The Time Out Film Guide (Penguin, London, 1989), p. 595

    Google Scholar 

  41. M.J. Pérez Cuervo, The Politics of Monsters, in Fortean Times (Christmas 2017), pp. 30–37

    Google Scholar 

  42. C. Moss, Captain America, McCarthyite, The Atlantic (April 2014), https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/04/captain-america-mccarthyite/360183/

  43. S. Howe, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (Harper Perennial, New York, 2012), p. 43

    Google Scholar 

  44. Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Flying, http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/flying

  45. B. Clegg, Ten Billion Tomorrows (St Martin’s Press, New York, 2015), pp. 92, 93

    Google Scholar 

  46. S. Lee, Origins of Marvel Comics (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1974), p. 28

    Google Scholar 

  47. S. Howe, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story (Harper Perennial, New York, 2012), p. 39

    Google Scholar 

  48. S. Lee, Origins of Marvel Comics (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1974), p. 142

    Google Scholar 

  49. B. Bodhi (ed.), A Comprehensive Manual of Abhidhamma (Buddhist Publication Society, Sri Lanka, 1993), p. 344

    Google Scholar 

  50. J. Channon, My First Earth Battalion Comes to Life in The Men Who Stare at Goats, The Guardian (November 2009), https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/nov/02/men-who-stare-at-goats1

  51. J. Channon, The First Earth Battalion (1979), https://archive.org/stream/FirstEarthBattalionManual/First_Earth_Battalion_Manual

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Crewkerne, UK

    Andrew May

Authors
  1. Andrew May
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

May, A. (2018). Weird Science. In: Rockets and Ray Guns: The Sci-Fi Science of the Cold War. Science and Fiction. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89830-8_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation