The Saucer Fleet (Apogee Books Space Series, Vol. 2) (v. 2) [Hardcover]

Jack Hagerty (Author), Jon Rogers (Author), Dr. Phil Plait (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2009

An ideal companion for any sci-fi fan, space buff, or alien aficionado, this movie guidebook discusses six of the most famous and significant science fiction films ever produced. Each film’s backstory and production histories along with plot synopses and detailed analyses of the featured flying saucers are included. Featuring film classics such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, Forbidden Planet, This Island Earth, and War of the Worlds, this guidebook also includes an extensive look at the groundbreaking television show Lost in Space.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* By the time you’ve finished reading this work, you will know, beyond any doubt, that flying saucers are real. That’s because they’re lofted into the skies by Earth-based media magic (movies and television, especially), not creatures from other worlds. This book, following on the success of the authors’ highly acclaimed Spaceship Handbook (2001), begins with the true origins of the flying-saucer scares of the 1940s. Looking at the interrelationship between cold-war politics, human imagination, and media exploitation, Hagerty and Rogers treat flying saucers as cultural icons. They target some of the most popular flying-saucer appearances in film and print, taking into account their historical context. In a solidly researched and superbly illustrated work, the authors present detailed looks at media ranging from the menacing film The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951); Twin Earths, an early saucer-based comic strip; and the 1960s television series Lost in Space. This is not a book about unidentified flying objects. UFOs are exactly that, unidentified. Modelers will love the engineering-quality drawings of some of the most famous saucers, including the classic C57-D from Forbidden Planet. For anyone interested in flying saucers, real or imaginary, this is a great book and a necessary companion to Spaceship Handbook. --Elliott Swanson

Review

"Target[s] some of the most popular flying-saucer appearances in film and print, taking into account their historical context . . . a solidly researched and superbly illustrated work."  —Booklist Online

"A painstaking, loving, profusely illustrated tribute to the great screen flying saucers of SF . . . many hours of reading/browsing pleasure . . . I love, love, love this book!"  —Robert Sawyer, Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author

"Focuses on the fictional armada of flying saucers that dominated comics, movies and television during the '50s and '60s . . . Dedicated model-builders can use these diagrams to build their own reproductions."  —Discover

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc.; 1St Edition edition (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894959701
• ISBN-13: 978-1894959704
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #508,314 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saucer Suprise!, March 15, 2009

By 

Albert A. Jackson "AAJIV" (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Saucer Fleet (Apogee Books Space Series, Vol. 2) (v. 2) (Hardcover)

The Saucer Fleet, hmmmm!, not another UFO-olgy book! Well it is NOT! This is the book about Flying Saucers you did not expect!
This book is a must reference for any movie or TV buff in the first place, and industrial strength fun for the scale molders out there.
Hagerty and Rogers establish the historical context of the Saucer/UFO phenonomenology. However most space is devoted to a detailed history
and analysis of films such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, War of the Worlds (1953 version), This Island Earth , Forbidden Planet. Science Fiction fans will find a wealth of detailed and sometimes amusing details about the origin and design of films and televison that featured space ships that qualified as `saucers' (even a Disyneyland ride!).
A unique and much needed contribution about that special effects genius Ray Harryhausen's contribution Earth, Earth vs. Flying Saucers ( a somewhat lackluster film, totally made enthrallingly watchable by Harryhausen!). You will read with glee Jon Roger's `Archeological Reports' on the various ships used in films accompanied by
sets of beautiful drawings and analytical diagrams. Discover the delightful homage to the 1950's comic strip TWIN EARTHS, a clever graphic story that is alas almost lost in the memory of the history of popular media. The book is stunningly printed chock full of an almost uncountable number of stills and drawings.
Be one a UFO debunker or a Saucer sheep this book is for you, and if you just need a great reference book about Flying Saucers you can't do any better than this!
-Al Jackson

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More a Supplement than a Sequel, February 23, 2009

By 

Jack Bohn "-Jack" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Saucer Fleet (Apogee Books Space Series, Vol. 2) (v. 2) (Hardcover)

The Spaceship Handbook by the same authors is a textbook-sized volume, listing specs of more than 70 vessels, mostly of the "rocket" variety. The Saucer Fleet is a more manageable size, detailing 14 saucer-shaped spacecraft (and one ground vehicle, the Martian fighting machine from George Pal's movie of The War of the Worlds).

In addition to the shows listed in the product description, the book includes the underrated TV series, The Invaders, and two surprise entries, the comic strip Twin Earths, and a legendary Disneyland saucer ride. Missing is the Gerry Anderson series, UFO, not so much for its simplistic UFOs, but for a survey of the spacecraft of SHADO. (If they would be given. Although The Spaceship Handbook included non-ship stations and pods, The Saucer Fleet does not include non-saucer vehicles such as Lost in Space's pod nor the Metaluna's enemy's ship.) One can hope they are saving it for a Gerry Anderson supplement.

You don't need my review: If you liked The Spaceship Handbook, you want this book. If you think you might like either one, this is the cheaper option to check out before ordering both.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Saucer Fleet, March 2, 2009

By 

Louis D. Armour (Tupelo, MS United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Saucer Fleet (Apogee Books Space Series, Vol. 2) (v. 2) (Hardcover)

Fantastic reference book! I was not expecting the depth to which the authors would go into on each ship, but they have done a fantastic job. I was most interested to see the chapter on the C-57D from Forbidden Planet. I have most everything ever written about this film and this book's one chapter covered everything that's really worth knowing. The book is beautifully printed and has some photos which I have not seen before- and I've seen most all of em'. Highest recommendation!