Frank Edwards' Books

This is a review of all of Frank Edwards' work.

When I was a young adolescent, my mother would take the train to work. At the station, there was an area that offered paperback books by the library and other commuters. The idea was to borrow a book and also one could donate a book. My mother would get the old Frank Edwards books and I would read them after her.

I recently got a few copies of the original books by Frank Edwards. They are flawed by many standards, but they introduced many of us at a young age to paranormal and UFOs. Many of the stories are second hand at best, and there are no citations at the end of the book. But that didn't matter, as one was taken into the style.

Some read like mini horror stories (finding a purplish blob reminded me of the movie "The Blob"), and others were simply terrifying like the Flatwoods Monster. At times, I would read the book at night (which was a big mistake at times) and find myself cringing to every little noise I heard wondering if it was an alien.

The books themselves are quick reads for the most part, and have little to back them up. However, they receive the highest marks for the memories they bring and for getting me involved in these phenomena. For that, I am forever thankful to Mr Edwards.

Frank Edwards should also play well to the ATS crowd here. They can be found at many garage sales and libraries.

The best titles are:

Stranger Than Science

Strangest of All

Flying Saucers - Serious Business

The Frank Edwards' book, Stranger Than Science, certainly brings back memories. Not that the book was memorable, it's just that this book was the book that sort of introduced me to the world of "alternative science".

I was in my early adolescence -- about twelve or thirteen -- when the book came out. I was a science fiction addict at the time and I bought the book because I thought it was a "sci-fi" book. It had a Frank Frazetta cover (my favorite artist) so it was sort of an "honest mistake. What a fortuitous accident it was! The book introduced me to entire new realm of thinking. Whereas Sci-Fi, was about what might be..... Stranger Than Science was about what was but which just didn't fit into what was accepted science.

Yes, the book was sort of shy of real evidence and it relied heavily upon conjecture, but it was enough to convince a young, impressionable mind about the very real possibility of UFO's, life on other planets, cryptozoology and, well, many of the topics that we discuss right here on ATS. Considering that after all of these years, I'm still discussing these very same topics, this was a very important book in my life.

reply to post by benevolent tyrant


That is the main reason I wrote this critique. The books were the only ones out there for us who were curious about these subjects. It is true they were not cited, and many of the stories were conjecture.

But they kept us up at night reading them and opening our minds to the many different possibilities out there. For that reason alone, I am forever grateful for these books.

Yes, Frank Edward's books were certainly among the first that introduced the ideas of an 'alternative science' or the possibility of an "alternative history". Of course, if my chronology is not mistaken, he was quickly followed by Von Daniken's Chariot of the Gods and, of course, there were, literally a plethora of imitative books in that genre. But Edwards, in my estimation was the first that broke the main publication markets.

As a kid, however, I didn't really pay much attention to who was first on the news stands with the first UFO book or that sort of thing. I just wanted to quench my thirst for "knowledge. To that end, I was always bringing home such "pulp" mags like True Magazine and Fate Magazine as well as an assortment of magazines that a variety of publishers "knocked off" to capitalize on the UFO crazes that took place in the 60's. I had stacks of these mags alongside of my comics, paperback books, Mad magazines and, of course, LP's.
Those were, indeed, mind-expanding days.

Stranger Than Science came out in 1959, and that had some UFO stuff in it. While it was not the first UFO book, it delved into many other mysteries out there.

As a kid, I also didn't pay much attention to who was first. I just loved it when my mother would bring home a book by Frank Edwards.

I have found many really good copies of his books still in excellent condition. I would hope many out here try to find those books and read them. Great entertainment also.