The Australasian Ufologist Magazine 1/2002 [antikvár]

Editorial New book On George Adamski Colin Bennett summarises this book when he says that "the problem here is that in the 20ih century we have lost the relationship between imagination and fact" In a literary tour-de-force, Colin Bennett advances the daring thesis that the defining moment of the twentieth century will prove to be 12.30 pm on Thursday, 20 November, 1952, when George Adamski met Orthon, a longhaired youth from Venus. It happened in the Californian desert in the presence of witnesses. From that moment the cat was out of the bag, the space people were among us, and nothing has ever been the same since. The effects of this on popular culture are to be seen everywhere. In the modern imagination the UFO is a constant, not just a space-craft but a reminder that the world is not as rational as our educators pretend. [Adamski] was an impressive old rogue, like Madame Blavatsky and in the same tradition. Such people, according to Plato are the kind whom the gods choose to enlighten us." Bennett will be viewed as either an apologist for an obvious and outrageous fraudster (George Adamski), or as having the insight to see beyond the superficial straw that Adamski worked with to perceive the small but priceless quantity of gold produced. In fact both views are correct. In other words we are in contradictory territory here and Bennett is a wise guide. In discussing the power of metaphor (central to his thesis) Beimett says attempts to alter meaning will cause "forces beyond all belief to be summoned". This is truly stated and can be easily inverted to produce an equal truth. Such is the nature of this perplexing book - all is ambiguity. "The old showman that was George Adamski deserves this book. It offers a wonderful, rich, rewarding and finally fabulous journey to the dream/reality factory." from the Foreword by John Michell, author of The New View Over Atlantis and Who Wrote Shakespeare? Colin Bennett lives in London, and he is the author of two novels. The Infantryman's Fear of Open Country and The Entertainment Bomb. His book on Charles Fort, Politics of the Imagination is to be published by Head Press Manchester (e-mail:[email protected]) in May 2002. This book has a Foreword by John Keel, author of The Mothman Prophecies, now made into a major film starring Richard Gere. Colin Bennett will be giving a talk, Scepticism as Mystique at the Fortean Unconvention in April this year. Copies of Looking for Orthon may be obtained from Amazon, Arcturus Books (email:rgirard32 [email protected]), or in Great Britain from: Susanne Stebbing, 41 Terminus Drive, Heme Bay Kent CT 66 PR email:[email protected] Lionel Beer, 115 Hollybush Lane, Hampton, Middlesex TW12 2QY (020 8979 3148) Turnaround Publisher Services, Unit 3, Olympia Trading Estate, Coburg Road, Wood Green, London N22 6TZ 0208 829 3000.