Are you a flying saucer fiend looking for a ripping good read? Well, you can’t go wrong with the booklet, UFOMANIA (1998), by the late Allan J. Manak.

The subtitle sums up the basis of this fascinating tome: THE LORE AND LEGEND OF UFOLOGY. The subtitle sums up the basis of this fascinating tome: THE LORE AND LEGEND OF UFOLOGY. Manak collected all sorts of bizarre UFO tales and while he doesn’t try to promote every incident as objective reality, neither does he completely discount every one.

In the preface he states “...a true study of the UFO enigma must include a study of all encounters and incidents, not just the cases that support a specific theory. One must not overlook the ‘nut factor’ or ‘way out factor’ just because one cannot include it in his own way of thinking.”

UFOMANIA presents an array of the weird, from jelly creatures dancing around their saucer to six inch tin can beings eying a stranded driver before scooting away on their tripod legs and taking off in a rocket. Of course, some tales, like the Aurora crash, have been proven to be hoaxes, but they still remain entertaining, especially when illustrated by an artist named Benita Carrol Owens.

My favorite is the saucerfolk food incident in which the experiencer claimed that the visitors gave him some pancakes before they departed. In an editor’s note Manak says he saw a piece of a space pancake in a display case at the U.S. Air Force Museum. Now can Aunt Jemima make a similar claim to fame? Nope. No mention of any of her pancakes being put on display by the government at www.auntjemima.com .

UFOMANIA can be ordered for four bucks, postpaid, from Rick Hilberg, 377 Race Street, Berea, Ohio 44017 .