Searching for the String: Selected Writings of John A. Keel

New Saucerian Press proudly presents "Searching For the String," a collection of articles by John A. Keel, the man many consider to have been not only the premiere investigator of all things unusual and “Fortean,” but who was also our own, 20th-century “Mark Twain.”

Many of the articles in this anthology and its companion volumes, "Flying Saucer to the Center of Your Mind," "The Outer Limits of the Twilight Zone," "The Great Phonograph in the Sky," "The Passionate Percipient: Illusions I Have Known And Loved," and "The Perspicacious Percipient: How to Investigate UFOs and Other Insane Urges," were revolutionary, and explored ideas popularized in Keel’s classic books. Written in Keel’s engaging trademark style, they are sure to delight fans with their fresh, unparalleled insights into the nature of reality.

In these pages, John Keel displays the keen observational skills and investigative tenacity that long made him the "enfant terrible" of ufology. In this no-holds-barred analysis – much of it written decades ago – Keel shreds most of the sacred-cow beliefs still held by many in ufological and “cryptozoological” circles today, and presents theories so radical that they are only now becoming accepted: the “4-D” or “interdimensional” thesis; the “breakaway civilization” theory; the possible role of “ancient aliens” in human history; the synthetic and/or hallucinatory nature of many “alien abduction” and “Men in Black” encounters; the role of spy agencies in paranormal research; and the alarming connection between UFOs, animal mutilations, and attacks on unsuspecting humans.

"Searching For the String" showcases not only Keel’s wit and charm, but also his incisive and impassioned intellectual capabilities. This 2014 edition features an expanded “Letters” section, several photographs, and introductions by the editor, Andy Colvin, and saucer pioneer Gray Barker.

“Shoots straight, from multiple dimensions…” –Rear Admiral Claymore Finch

“Scientific and sexy, yet pointedly humane …” –Thornton M. Vaseltarp, Ph.D.

"Concretizes the hallucinatory nature of reality…" –Dr. Thaddeus L. Farnboggle


CHAPTER TITLES

-The "Flap" Phenomenon in the United States (1968)

-The UFOs Nobody Talks About: Deadly Fireballs in the Sky (1968)

-Astronauts Report UFOs in Outer Space (1967)

-The Strange Case of the Pregnant Woman (1968)

-UFOs: 30 Years of Investigation (1978)

-Unidentified Former Humans: 3000 Years of Investigation (1978)

-Are UFOs Using Earth For a Garbage Dump? (1967)

-West Virginia's Enigmatic "Bird" (1968)

-An Unusual Contact Claim From Ohio !1968)

-A New Approach to UFO Witnesses (1968)

-Is the "Electromagnetic Effect" a Myth? (1968)

-Problems of Identity: The Aliens Among Us (1977)

-Problems of Etymology: Ufology Terminology (1977)

-Problems of Methodology: UFOs in 1952 (1977)

-Problems of Distortion and Distention: The Time-Cycle Factor (1977)

-The Man Who Invented Flying Saucers (1986)

-A "Devil's Triangle" in Idaho? (1977)

-The Night the Sky Turned On (1967)

-This American Town is UFO Target No.1 (1970)

-The Flying Saucer Subculture (1975)

-Our Skies Are Filled With Junk (1969)

-22 UFO Sightings Hushed Up: Is This Flying Saucer "D-Day?" (1970)

-Flap Dates, Kidnappings, and Secret Bases (1967)

-Were Flying Saucers Here Before Man? (1977)

-Close Encounters of the Religious Kind (1977)

-The Principle of Transmogrification (1969)

-The Superior Technology (1969)

-The Glendale, California Contact Claim (1969)

-The Cosmic Blog: Letters To and From John A. Keel

-Mothman and Other Curious Conspiracies (2003 Interview)