GODS DEMONS AND UFO'S by Eric Norman

"The Pope is a speed freak!" Wowza! Warren Smith returns as Eric Norman for some far out space nuts and a smorgasbord of Saucerian surprises. His big bombshell story is about the mysterious (and nonexistent) Dropa Stones, a supposed carved record of alien contact in Ancient China which is sadly too good to be true. Smith interviews a Saucer Cult in California, digging into some of the theological nuances of UFO saviors, and gives the usual rundown on OOP Artifacts that should prove extraterrestrial intervention in our history. This includes a standby of misquoted verses from the Bhagavad Gita which "prove" the existence of prehistoric nuclear warfare. As researcher Jason Colavito illustrates, these mangled verses have been passed down through multiple paranormal texts, including Erich von Daniken's, ever since Pauwels and Bergier's seminal The Morning of the Magicians was published in 1960.

In contrast to Frank Edwards' turgid tome Strange World from yesterday, Smith's writing crackles with mad energy that threatens to run off the rails. Everything hangs together even with such editing gaffes as Carl Sagan's name consistently misspelled as "Sagen" and ancient astronauts compared to "powerful lizards" ... that's supposed to be wizards! Smith would later recycle his entire chapter on Nebraska highway patrolman Herbert Schirmer's UFO encounter for his UFO Trek and a bit on the "mysterious" origins of the Eskimo for his The Hidden Secrets of the Hollow Earth, both from 1976.

Sometime in the early 70s Lancer would reissue Smith's book under the title Gods, Demons and Space Chariots, a quickie facelift designed to cash in on the popularity of Chariots of the Gods? by the previously mentioned von Daniken, from whom Smith originally lifted many of the stories for his text. Now there's something else to make your head spin! Available to read and download at archive dot org.

Table of contents:

1.  Angels, Spacemen and UFO's (5)

2.  The New Age Belief (23)

3.  Legends of the Sky People (43)

4.  UFO's and the Puzzle of the Pyramids (63)

5.  Angel's, Demons, and UFO Entities (81)

6.  Mysteries, Oddities and Curiosities (119)

7.  When Giants Walked the Earth (139)

8.  Giants From the Skies (155)

9.  An Incredible UFO Contactee Case (169)

10. Guidelines for the Future (195)

Lancer Books, 1970