author

Donald E. (Donald Edward) Keyhoe

1897–1988

A former Marine aviator who turned real-world flight experience into popular writing, he later became one of the best-known early voices in UFO literature. His career moved from aviation journalism and Charles Lindbergh’s orbit to bestselling books that helped shape mid-20th-century flying-saucer culture.

1 Audiobook

The Flying Saucers are Real

The Flying Saucers are Real

by Donald E. (Donald Edward) Keyhoe

About the author

Born in Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1897, Donald Edward Keyhoe graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1919 and was commissioned into the U.S. Marine Corps. After an airplane crash in Guam injured his arm, he began writing during his recovery, and that hobby grew into a full-time career.

In the late 1920s, he managed Charles Lindbergh’s coast-to-coast tour and turned the experience into Flying With Lindbergh (1928). He went on to publish aviation articles and fiction in a range of magazines, building a reputation as a lively writer with a strong feel for flight and adventure.

Keyhoe is now best remembered for his UFO books, especially The Flying Saucers Are Real (1950) and Flying Saucers from Outer Space (1953). In the 1950s he became a major public advocate for the idea that the U.S. government should release more information about UFO reports, making him a central figure in early popular UFO history.