TTSA’s ‘So-Called’ Non-Fiction Books

Collin
Collin
Nov 7 · 3 min read
From ToTheStarsAcademy.com

Being able to tell the difference between fiction and non-fiction works (especially writing) is essential. These two labels determine what it is we look for when we walk into a bookstore or read an article online etc.

The same goes for the fiction and non-fiction produced and distributed by To The Stars Academy of Arts and Science.

I think everyone can agree on the nature of what ‘fiction’ is. Fiction is, effectively, a story told through imaginary events and characters.

The difficulty in understanding comes with non-fiction. Non-fiction, contrary to some individual’s beliefs, does not necessarily mean true-to-fact events and characters. It would make logical sense if that were the case, but sadly, that’s not how it works.

Let me give you a couple examples.

An obvious one is the work Zecharia Sitchin. There aren’t many individuals who take Sitchin’s work to be true-to-fact. But his books are still classified under ‘non-fiction.’ It even says ‘non-fiction’ on the back of his mass market books.

What does this mean?

What this does not mean is that they are objectively true.

Being marketed as ‘non-fiction’ means that the events in the work are based on true events. In other words, they are (however loosely) based on facts. But that is not to say that the work, as a whole, is to be taken as fact.

Another example is a book called A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again by David Foster Wallace. (If you happen to be a reader who has not yet checked out DFW’s work, I encourage you to do so.)

David Foster Wallace was known for inserting embellishments in his non-fiction for dramatic effect. The events, as a whole, were real and true, but that does not mean each and every detail of the work is real and true.

Now…

Let’s take a look at TTSA’s non-fiction selection. So far, there are only three books TTSA has had a part in distributing that they have considered to be non-fiction.

They are Sekret Machines: Gods, Sekret Machines: Man, and of course, the controversial book by Bob Lazar, Dreamland: An Autobiography.

The two Sekret Machines books fall into the same category of the Sitchin books. They are meant to push back against the mainstream cosmological narrative prominent in the scientific community. The Sekret Machines books are not necessarily trying to convince someone of some fringe ideology. They are meant to make one think outside the box. They are putting forth ideas and interpretations that are possible based on the available material.

Do not confuse true-to-fact material with non-fiction. They are not necessarily the same things (although they can, and often do, overlap).

The Bob Lazar book is a different issue altogether. It is an autobiography. Therefore, we are to assume that Lazar believes everything in the book really happened. That the events are factual. And I am not prepared to disagree with him on his own life.

Front cover of Lazar’s book

Some have asked why TTSA created an imprint (Interstellar) to publish Dreamland. Some suggest that TTSA was ashamed to have produced the book.

This is wholly absurd. If TTSA felt ashamed about publishing Lazar’s book, they wouldn’t have published it. TTSA answers to no one (as far as what they publish) save for those in the company itself.

I would like to suggest that the reason they created another imprint for Dreamland is because it is the first book TTSA has produced that didn’t have Tom DeLonge’s name attached to it.

I see Interstellar, moving forward, as being an imprint that will publish TTSA-endorsed material that is outside DeLonge’s creative control. Dreamland falls into this category. It is not DeLonge’s story. It is Lazar’s (and, perhaps, in some way, George Knapp’s).

Do not confuse the genre of non-fiction with a science textbook.

Collin

Written by

Collin

MFA grad student. Fiction writer. Occasional scribbler of thoughts. Pessimistic/Existential philosophy. Absurdist/Metamodern lit. Political views: Pending.

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