The Fourth Invasion

"The Fourth Invasion" by Henry Josephs is a science fiction novel written during the mid-20th century. The book explores themes of mass hysteria and public gullibility regarding extraterrestrial encounters, using the backdrop of academic settings and a fictional alien invasion to critique societal tendencies to believe sensational stories without verification. The story revolves around a group of university students who report seeing unidentified flying objects and their interactions with Dr. Clayton, a professor who attempts to debunk these claims. As the narrative unfolds, it is revealed that there is a deeper conspiracy at play, with Dr. Clayton and Professor Elton orchestrating a plan to manipulate public perception of alien invasions. They aim to exploit instances of mass panic surrounding reported sightings to enhance the belief in a larger threat from outer space. In doing so, they seek to control the narrative and shape humanity’s response to potential extraterrestrial threats, raising questions about the nature of truth and belief in the face of fear. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Robert Augustine Ward "Doc" Lowndes was an American science fiction author, editor and fan. He was known best as the editor of Future Science Fiction, Science Fiction, and Science Fiction Quarterly, among many other crime-fiction, western, sports-fiction, and other pulp and digest sized magazines for Columbia Publications. Among the most famous writers he was first to publish at Columbia was mystery writer Edward D. Hoch, who in turn would contribute to Lowndes's fiction magazines as long as he was editing them. Lowndes was a principal member of the Futurians. His first story, "The Outpost at Altark" for Super Science in 1940, was written in collaboration with fellow Futurian Donald A. Wollheim, uncredited.