I used to have a number of copies of this book, but through the years I divested myself of them through my largesse. In other words, I lent 'em out but never got 'em back!
The book centered on a flying saucer cult in 'Lake City' in an unspecified state. (I use the word cult in it's actual dictionary meaning, which is a synonym for religion) For reasons of privacy the actual location in which this psycho-social study unfolded was not divulged. The players in this fascinating drama were still alive when the book was published.
The first several chapters dealt with a number of fringe religious groups in the past that had given specific dates for the end of the world, and explored how the members of these groups reacted when their apocalyptic expectations were dashed. Surprisingly (and I do mean surprisingly), most of the rank and file of these mini-movements did not lose faith when the prophecy failed. Quite the opposite. Most members became even more fervent in their millennial madness, renewing their efforts to warn the doomed, and rallying around their leader.
Most such fringe groups were able to survive a number of such disconfirmations. Most did eventually fold under the weight of disappointment and disillusionment, but a number of them did not. Some, such as the Second Advent movement, spiritualized the prophecy and became more or less a mainstream movement. Others took the same route but eventually the group dissipated in spite of the spiritualizing.
The flying saucer cult on which the book focuses centered upon a woman who engaged in 'automatic writing' through which the space brothers communicated with her telepathically. Two sociology majors were assigned to infiltrate the cult and perform an actual field study. I was engrossed by the group because of my own similar experience as a Jehovah's Witness, and saw the same psychosocial dynamics at work. The credulity of the true believers, their willingness to suspend their critical thinking faculties in the face of ludicrous claims, made an indelible impression on my mind. I was quite surprised this book was not republished after the Heavens Gate mass-suicide., another saucer cult.
If you come across a copy of this book, buy it and don't lend it out. It's a classic, and a good reminder of why you reclaimed your mind and life from the grasp of the lunatic fringe.
Believe what you will if you're religious, reality will roll over you and your beliefs and continue on its way, heedless of your beliefs, hopes, and dreams.
Data nearly 50 years old, but still seems valid..., February 20, 2002
Great sociological study of a modern millenarian group., August 1, 1998