In Advance of the Landing: Folk Concepts of Outer Space

This selection of more than 60 photos (26 in color) depicts how saucer lore has permeated North American culture, from UFO-style houses in Chattanooga and Pensacola and a so-called abductee's ""fiberglass replicas of the aliens who abducted her,'' to UFO-detection stations and a mural alongside Houston's Flying Saucer Pie Co. As Wolfe notes (in an introduction typographically designed in a saucer shape), Canadian photographer Curran has ``discovered an exotic world,'' in which his subjects ``struggle to rise above the plain facts of their lives here on Earth.'' Curran documents the artifacts and rituals of UFO cult grups, including efforts to summon UFOs with a ``cosmic brain battery'' and a ``Welcome Space Brothers!'' sign at a lonely ``landing site.'' Overall, this is an amusing, deadpan look at UFO cultism that avoids condescension or mockery of the believers. (April)