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Books...
The
Anomalist Awards
for the Best Books of 2000
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I'm
going to do something a little different this year. (I do something a
little different every year.) Like last year, I am again the
sole reviewer (I don't get any offers clamoring to help). I even review
some of my own books. (You don't have to read them; you don't have to
buy them.) But this year I'm only going to give out the awards to a
tiny handful of books--those that really stand out from the rest.
That's not to say the rest aren't worthy of your attention--and for
that reason I will append my mini-reviews to most of the other books
submitted for consideration as well as a few that were not.
If you have a book you would like considered for the Anomalist Awards
2001, send it to: The Anomalist, PO Box 577, Jefferson Valley, NY
10535--Patrick Huyghe
The 2000
Award
Winners
 The Magic of Shapeshifting
by Rosalyn Greene
Explores the myth, legends, sightings, and New Age beliefs
about shapeshifting, then compares it to other occult phenomena,
including spirit materialization and out-of-body experiences. The author clears away misconceptions and is clear
about the sources of her information--which happens to includes
personal experience. The perspective may at times make shapeshifting
seem like a semantic game, but it's obviously more than that with the
author providing ample warning of its dangers. The book turns into a
how-to guide to our own inner animal selves, which in some cases, like
the author's, is a werewolf, and includes information about a
subculture of shapeshifters. Yes, the book is new agey and way
out-there, but it's also straightforward, groundbreaking, and totally
original.
 Captain Edward J. Ruppelt: Summer of the Saucers-1952
by Micahel D. Hall and Wendy A. Conners
An extremely detailed biography of Edward Ruppelt that focuses on his
years of service as the head of Project Blue Book and the year 1952 in
particular. Contains lots of material from Ruppelt's personal papers,
quotes from early drafts of his Report on Unidentified Flying
Objects, and interviews with those who knew and served with
Ruppelt. But it is not without faults--it contains too many "thank you"
throughout the text, captions, everywhere, in fact, and the tone is
sometimes too personal--"Have you seen The Day the Earth Stood Still?"
Ruppelt's book is a key text in the history of UFOlogy and this book is
now the indispensable companion to any reading--and understanding--of
that classic book.
 Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet
by Sidney D. Kirkpatrick
Kirkpatrick is an excellent storyteller, Cayce was one of the century's
most remarkable men, and the author had access to transcripts
of Cayce's trances as well as his personal letters and papers. That makes for an absolutely winning combination.
Though the author doesn't pass judgment on the legitimacy of Cayce's
psychic powers, he is clearly partial towards his subject. This book
certainly won't convince any skeptics, and you'll either love or hate
it. Despite it's faults, I think it's an excellent biography.
 The Pk Man: A True Story of Mind-Over-Matter
by Jeffrey Mishlove
Many, many years ago, while I edited a publication
called UFO Commentary, a strange man making strange claims
contacted me. His name was Ted Owens. He claimed that he could control
the weather, the outcomes of NFL games, and a whole lot more thanks to
his friends in high places--the "Space Intelligences" up there in
flying saucers above the Earth. I immediately put his correspondence in
the nut file. But Jeffrey Mishlove didn't. The budding psychologist
found in Owens an ideal subject. He struck up a friendship and a began,
with the help of Scott Rogo, a study of Owen. It was a rather informal
study, made so in large part by Owens' volatile personality. In reading
this fascinating work I found Mishlove a bit gullible at times. And I wish he had done a more thorough job
of trying to understand his subject. But who am I to talk? What a story
it is. The story of a man whose PK powers seemingly ranged to the
criminal. Staggering.
 Unexplained Phenomena: A Rough Guide Special
by Bob Rickard and John Michell
If you missed the their 1977 work, Phenomena, or their
follow-up five years later, Living Wonders, then Rough Guides
have done you a big favor.The authors have combined chapters from both
and updating the whole. So you'll find a lot of old favorites like
teleportation, frog falls, and spectral armies, as well as many new
topics that have emerged in the past two decades like crop circles,
chupacabras, and more. Rickard and Michell are at the top of their form
here, insightful, reasoned, and humorous. They also bring a much needed
long-term perspective to the field, noting, for example, that while
crop circles were nearly non-existent before 1980, other phenomena like
sea serpents have decreased dramatically, while still others like rat
kings and toads-in-the-hole are now virtually non-existent. This
excellent volume rivals Jerome Clark's The Unexplained as the
best one-volume examination of fortean phenomena. I just wish they had
spelled my name correctly in the index.
 Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience
by Willaim F. Williams (editor)
More than 2,000 entries--from Alien Abductions to Zone
Therapy, as the subtittle explains, and covering phenomena,
personalities, events, topics, places, and more--were written by a
variety of contributors who were allowed their own points of view. For
the most part the entries are balanced, offering both pro and con
comments and a bibliography--the exceptions are obviously slanted
toward the skeptical. Not all the entries are successful or as complete
as some would like, and the photo captions are horrendous, but I found
many entries covering subjects that were new to me. Some readers have
expressed shock to find entries on scientific subjects in this
volume--on Louis Pasteur, the big bang theory, biofeedback,
continental drift, and Sir Isaac Newton, for instance--but that
illustrates just how thin the line between
science and pseudoscience really is. A top-notch, though pricey, one
volume encyclopedia of the anomalous.
 Ancient Mines
of
Kitchi-Gummi
by Roger Jewell
We know that 20 million pounds of copper was mined and removed from the
Lake Superior region 4,500 years ago. But where did all the copper go?
It's not in North America. By following the clues back to their source,
Roger Jewell marshals a wealth of
evidence all pointing to Minoan traders. Though the book is marred by
poor production values, this is one the best presented and most
convincing theories of pre-Columbian visitors to the New World I have
ever read. (Available from Arcturus Books; for info send email.)
Other Noteable Books
The Ghost Rocket File
Jan L. Aldrich (compiled by)
This book is really nothing more than a compilation of government
documents and news articles on the strange objects seen over
Scandinavia in the pre-Kenneth Arnold year of 1946. But with more than
1,500 reports of this "ghost rocket" phenomenon made to the Swedish
Defense Staff, the period qualifies as a major UFO event that provides
some much-needed perspective on what came after. (Available from
Arcturus Books; for info send email)
The Dragon's Tail: Rediscovering the Tenth Planet
by Anthony Austin, Brian Crowley
On tap here is a tale of Planet X. According to the authors, every 892
years the Earth suffers some dire calamity--Atlantis sinks, the flood
(Noah's ark), plagues in Egypt, Little Ice Age, and more. These
disasters are caused by the passages of an outermost planet the authors
call Draco. While there very probably is a tenth planet out there, I
doubt it's responsible for the variety of calamities cited here. In any
case, I'll never know the truth and neither will you--Draco is not due
to make its next pass until 2115.
The End of Time : The Next Revolution in Physics
by Julian B. Barbour
Do you have doubts about that wonderful creation of
modern physics called "space-time"? Independent physicist Julian
Barbour certainly does and goes even further than that. He says, "time
does not exist at all, and ...motion itself is pure illusion." The book
seeks support in physics for this controversial view. I personally think that our limited understanding of
time is what makes many mysterious phenomena so mysterious in the first
place.Worth serious consideration.
The Coming Global Superstorm
by Art Bell and Whitley Strieber
A well-written exploration of a frightening
topic--could global warming lead to a humongous superstorm that reeks
havoc on civilization? The book goes in two directions at once. It
looks into the past for other possible examples of superstorms and
frankly doesn't uncover any definite examples that could not have
alternate explanations. And it details a fictional scenario of what
such a superstorm would be like today. Terrifying, yes, but the science
is rather thin.
More Chicago Haunts: Scenes From Myth and Memory
by Ursula Bielski
50 Chicago haunts, each a "true encounter told by the encounter," but
the author either introduces or paraphrases most of the
accounts--thankfully. Each tale has a photograph illustration of some
kind. Good for what it is, but I wish there was more an of effort to
come to grips with the phenomena--at least a summary statement of some
kind.
Global Brain: The Evolution of Mass Mind from the Big
Bang to
the 21st Century
by Howard K. Bloom
Science writer Bloom advances the maverick notion that all
lifeforms are part of an emerging global consciousness. It's happened, he says, via group selection,
which is arguably more convincing than individual selection. Bloom
dazzles with his broad knowledge, which gives the book great historical
and scientific scope, but the central theme is never clearly spelled
out. Bloom concludes by warning of an
approaching war that pits mankind against bacteria.
But is this "war" really all that new?
The Truth Never Stands in the Way of a Good Story
by Jan Harold Brunvand, Erik Brunvand
If you have his others books, like the classic The
Vanishing Hitchhiker, then this one may come
as a disappointment to you. He has covered most of these
legends before in his previous books, but those
he does discuss he seems to go into greater depth than usual. This one
is more of a textbook and it's very light on the paranormal, but it's
top-notch urban legend fare.
Varieties of Anomalous Experience: Examining the
Scientific
Evidence
by Etzel Cardena, Steven Jay Lynn and Stanley
Krippner(Editors)
This American Psychological Association volume is an
attempt to examine a category of phenomena--tales of strange,
extraordinary and unexplained experiences--that have fallen between the
cracks of contemporary mainstream psychology. While much of the book
deals with conceptual and methodological issues, it covers a range of
subjects from hallucinatory experiences, synesthesia, and lucid
dreaming, to out-of-body, psi-related , alien abduction, past-life,
near-death, mystical, and anomalous healing experiences. All are
written by recognized scholars whose focus is on psychological factors
and whose aim is to show that these topics can be approached
scientifically. Will this book serve as a wake-up call for
psychologists who tend to ignore such phenomena? Probably not, but it's
a worthy volume nonetheless.
Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the
Ancients
by David Hatcher Childress
As usual Childress takes the kitchen-sink approach, throwing together
everything imaginable relating to the topic, this time "technology of
the ancients," meaning such subjects as ancient flight, megalith
building, ancient high tech weapons, their use of electricity, and much
more. He draws his material from reliable and unreliable sources, as
usual. Speculates freely and wanders off-subject. He does provide lots
of illustrations, altogether making it a good place to start
exploring the subject.
Extraordinary Encounters: An Encyclopedia of
Extraterrestrial
& Otherworld Beings
by Jerome Clark
Do alleged extraterrestrials belong in the same book as fairies and
other "oherworldly beings"? Perhaps. Do entries on "Elvis as Jesus" and
"Gef," the talking Mongoose? Probably not. Clearly Clark knows his
stuff when it comes to UFO-related matters, much of it recycled from
his UFO encyclopedias. But for a book that tries to go beyond the usual
UFO material, it fails miserably when it comes to including personality
profiles, for instance, of anyone outside the UFO field. In fact, there
is very little mention of those who have grappled with and tried to
come to terms with this kind of material--the works of Hilary Evans,
Thomas Bullard, Jader Pereira, and Katherine Briggs, for instance, are
either mentioned briefly or not at all. There is a plethora of entries
on channeled entities, which suggests to me that there are probably
many more not in this book. And some entries are simply
inadequate, like the entry on Sasquatch, which doesn't even mention the
work of Jack Lapseritis, regardless of what you think of him or the
possibility of a Bigfoot-extraterrestrial connection. I am a big fan of
Clark's work, but this one is a miss, especially at this price. Then
again this book is not intended for the casual consumer but for
libraries and comparable institutional markets.
Leap of Faith: An Astronaut's Journey into the Unknown
by Gordon Cooper
Our interest in this book obviously, is: what does this
famous astronaut have to say about UFOs? Quite a bit actually. About
20% of this book is devoted to the subject. He recounts his own
sighting, which took place in Europe in 1951, and about some other UFO
incidents he heard about or was peripherally involved with, including
some photos of a crashed saucer taken by an Air Force master sergeant. But I lost all faith in his accounts when, after
meeting contactee Dan Fry, he actually expected to go out into the
desert with him and take a ride in a saucer. Didn't happen.
Java Man: How Two Geologists Changed the History of
Human
Evolution
by Garniss H. Curtis, Roger Lewin, Carl C. Swisher
I never saw this book, but it's one of three
cryptozoology-related titles that Loren Coleman recommends.
Biographies of Scientific Objects
by Lorraine Daston (editor)
The item of greatest interest her is the editor's own contribution:
"Preternatural Philosophy," the predecessor
of the science of anomalies. She traces how a miscellany of rare
phenomena was consolidated into a into a coherent category of
investigation in early modern natural history and natural philosophy,
how specific cultural circumstances charged these strange facts with
significance, and finally how and why Preternatural Philosophy
dissolved in the early 18th century. Interesting discussions of how
topics become of interest to science then sometimes fall out of favor.
The Zuni Enigma
by Nancy Yaw Davis
I have yet to see this book in a store and the
publisher hasn't seen fit to send me a copy, but William Corliss offers
it to his Sourcebook list, so it must be good. This book, which he said
is "meticulously researched," presents evidence such as common symbols,
blood links, and dentition to support the notion that about 700 years
ago a group of Japanese reached the west coast of North America, moved
inland, and were absorbed by the local inhabitant, creating a mix we
know as the Zuni.
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient Earth Mysteries
by Paul Devereux
In this beautiful, well-illustrated book, Paul
Devereux explores a range of topics from death roads to the Nazca
lines, spirit traps to rock art, psychic archeology to the bicameral
mind, crop circles to hallucinogens--all dealing in some way with earth
mysteries. Readers will be familiar with many but not all of these
topics, though in any case Devereux's analysis of each is a delight to
read. While he rightly debunks some oversensationalized topics, he adds
depth to our fascination with others. Though not ground-breaking in any
sense, it's a very solid work.
UFOs and the National Security State
by Richard M. Dolan
An excellent first volume (1941-1973) of a proposed two-volume set on
UFOs and the intelligence and military communities. Puts the UFO issues
in a historical context. While not more objective than David Jacob's
seminal history of the subject, The UFO Conspiracy in America,
it certainly is more complete and up-to-date, given the wealth of
information that has become available on the subject since the release
of Jacob's book in 1975. Manages to be reasonable and reasoned despite
the fact that Dolan is obviously a believer in a government UFO
conspiracy and the alien presence. But UFOs were just a pawn in a
national security game of cat and mouse played by the US and the USSR;
they don't have to exist in any other sense of the word to have
been--or continue to be--a national security concern.
The Field Guide to Ghost and Other Apparitions
by Hilary Evans and Patrick Huyghe
Can't very well review my own book, now can I? Of course, I can! I
won't tell you how great it is--you already know I would say that--but
it's a good read and deals rationally with the many puzzles ghost pose,
including their relation to time. The book contains at least one
fascinating case that has never been published before and many other
obscure ones. I think you'll find that it is at once the most
historical and most up-to-date volume on the subject currently
available.
Lives of the Psychics: The Shared Worlds of Science
and
Mysticism
by Fred M. Frohock
Frohock's treatment of paranormal topics--from out
of body experiences and healing, to ESP, alien abductions and
mysticism--will please neither believers nor skeptics. That kind of
attitude makes us stand up and pay attention. The author has conducted
many in-depth interviews, which are especially valuable, though you
might find that his theoretical discussions on the nature of reality,
consciousness, and the limitations of scientific inquiry go on a bit
too long. It's the personal touch that makes this volume so
distinctive. Not only are there accounts of the author's personal
experiences he cannot explain, but in the last chapter he analyzes the
success and failure of psychic predictions for his own life. A truly
undogmatic and refreshing look at these topics from an academic.
Did Adam and Eve Have Navels? Discourses on
Reflexology,
Numerology, Urine Therapy, and Other Dubious Subjects
by Martin Gardner
I never received a review copy of this book so
I can't be too specific. But I've read Gardner's pieces in Skeptical
Inquirer and many of the past volumes in the series and I'm sure
these chapters on "dubious subjects," as he calls them, are
well-written, informative, and highly opinionated. That's what makes
them intereresting, of course, even if the heavy-handed skeptical point
of view turns your stomach at times.
The Undergrowth of Science : Delusion, Self-Deception
and
Human Frailty
by Walter Gratzer
We did not receive a copy of this book for review, but we feel it's
worth noting. It's about how good science goes bad--at least according
to the author--and shows how sober mainstream scientists can be wildly
off the mark. Topics covered include cold fusion, N-rays, polywater,
spoon bending, mitogenic radiation, and more.
Champ Quest 2000: The Ultimate Search Field Guide
&
Almanac for Lake Champlain
by Dennis Jay Hall
A little field guide to Champ by one who claims to have seen Champ on
20 occasions! Gives background and historical information, some details
on a dozen recent sightings, photographs, and some search tips on when
you've got the best chance to see Champ from the shores of Lake
Champlain in Vermont. For the real lake monster buff only.
The International Directory of Haunted Places
by Dennis William Hauck
Hauck is back with a round-the-world version of his United States
survey, Haunted
Places: The National Directory. As you might
expect, most of the 700 entries involve places in Great Britain, North
America and Australia; most get a one paragraph description saying that
this or that place is haunted and by whom. Actually, most of the places
aren't strictly "haunted," in other words a ghost may have been seen at
a place once or twice, but this really doesn't qualify as a haunt. I
think the phenomenon is largely transient; location being a artifact.
Haunted Michigan: Recent Encounters with Active Spirits
by Reverend Gerald S. Hunter
An ordained United Methodist minister investigates 29 modern ghost
stories--all in Michigan. The stories are okay, but "Rev. Gerry's
official Haunt Meter" rankings, from a one star meaning "pretty lame
haunting" to a five star "watch your backside," was a turn-off.
Especially since nothing in the book gets less than two-and-a-half
stars.
UFOs and Abductions: Challenging the Borders of
Knowledge
by David M. Jacobs (editor)
Jacobs designed this book for scholars and scientists who wouldn't
normally think twice about this controversial subject. It's got
contributions from all the big and/or respectable names in the field
including Michael Swords, Jerome Clark, John Mack, Thomas Bullard and
Budd Hopkins. But a few surprises, too, like the essay by Michael
Persinger, who is not a true believer by any means. Nothing new here
for the UFO hard-core but overall a fine presentation of the issues in
and around this amazing subject.
Catastrophe: A Quest for the Origins of the Modern
World
by David Keys
Keys, a journalist, reveals the literal meaning of the words "Dark
Ages." In this book he argues that sometime in A.D. 535, a
worldwide disaster--he favors a great volcanic
eruption (mega-Krakatoa) rather than an impact event--struck and
uprooted nearly every culture then extant. Orthodox
historians will call Keys' thesis "challenging" at best and
"catastrophic" at worst, but Keys effectively marshals environmental,
demographic, political, and religious material in support of his
historical detective tale, which unfortunately is not always well-told.
An important work, nonetheless.
Through the Labyrinth: Designs and Meanings over 5,000
Years
by Hermann Kern
This big, beautiful, well-illustrated book deserves praise as "the
ultimate source" on labyrinths. It deals with all the historical,
architectural, astrological, mathematical, and mythological aspects of
the subject matter. Jeff Saward and John Kraft do a terrific job of
updating the original 1982 German edition by the late Hermann Kern. I
find labyrinths and mazes endlessly fascinating and if you do, too,
you'll find this volume well worth the hefty price of admission.
Father Ernetti's Chronovisor: The Creation and
Disappearance
of the World's First Time Machine
by Peter Krassa
Did an Italian Benedictine monk named Father
Pellegrino Maria Ernetti build a time machine--the chronovisor--which
allowed him to watch Christ die on the cross, and attend a performance
of a now-lost tragedy, Thyestes, by the father of Latin poetry, Quintus
Ennius, in Rome in 169 B.C.? So claims Krassa, a German journalist.
This is a fun read, like a Umberto Eco
mystery, only real. But is it?
Visitations from the Afterlife: True Stories of Love
and
Healing
by Lee Lawson
A touching collection of first-person accounts about "visitations,"
those a spontaneous encounters with a departed loved one. The accounts
are framed by Lawson's comments and her attractive artwork. Most
interesting was the chapter entitled "Evidential
Visitations: The Unknown Made Known," the rest being mostly in the
"love and healing" category.
UFOs and Popular Culture: An Encyclopedia of
Contemporary Myth
by James R. Lewis
No question about it, UFOs and its associated phenomena have had a
widespread and profound(?) inpact on popular culture--from movies to
literature and advertising. There are hundreds of entries on the
subject here, and for the most part it's quite well done. Lewis tries
to draw the connections in an Introduction, which he wrote, and in a
Foreword by Thomas Bullard, but I would think that a narrative would
have better served the author's purpose than all these separate
entries. I would also argue that a large part of this cultural
influence comes more--and more directly--from science fiction than from
UFOlogy per se. But then for some people there is no difference.
UFO/FBI Connection
by Bruce S. Maccabee
The FBI angle is a bit of a come on. The truth is the FBI files aren't
that interesting; they basically fill in a few holes in the early
history of the US government's involvement and illustrate the
inter-agency squabbles that characterized the times. Maccabee
essentially uses the FBI files to tell the story of the Air Force's
growing involvement in UFOs. And because the FBI was often just one of
the many recipients of a document that originated at another agency,
Maccabee is forced to speculate about the FBI's reactions--"one can
only imagine" or "one wonders what Hoover." That sort of thing only
goes so far--and we know where Maccabee is coming from. An interesting
history nonetheless.
The Psychic Battlefield: A History of the
Military-Occult
Complex
by W. Adam Mandelbaum
This volume is a history of psychic spying from the Old Testament to
the CIA of the 1990s by a "New York attorney, practicing psychic, and
former intelligence officer." There are some juicy tidbits here and
there, including some interesting profiles of the big names in remote
viewing, but if you've followed the literature of the subject
recently--and there have been a number of books on the subject--you
won't find much new here.
Rule by Secrecy: The Hidden History That Connects the
Trilateral Commission, the Freemasons, and the Great Pyramids
by Jim Marrs
I want you to know where I'm coming from: I'm not one to believe in
conspiracies; small ones, yes; but big ones spanning all of history,
including the power to start and stop wars--I don't think so. Yes, the
author's overview of the history of secret societies and the
power they have wielded--and continue to wield--is a page turner, as
histories of this kind are generally pretty turgid. The end of the book almost reads like a cross between
his Crossfire and Alien
Agenda works, but I don't for a
minute buy his documentation to prove that we come from aliens.
Remote Viewing Secrets: A Handbook
by Joseph McMoneagle
When it comes to remote viewing, McMoneagle is one of the best in the
business. Unlike his previous books, like his excellent Mind
Trek, this one has no narrative. It's a
handbook, a how-to-do-it book that's well organized and very useful. If
you seriously want to do remote viewing, this book is a must.
Weird Georgia
by Jim Miles
Wow, a nice fat book of fortean incidents! It's like Loren Coleman's
classic, Mysterious
America, only it contains a lot more UFO
material and is devoted entirely to Georgia. Georgia? Limiting
your collection of fortean events to a single state is, of course,
rather meaningless. It's a literary convenience. But it does show that
you can take almost any slice of earthly real estate and come up with a
wealth of fortean and otherwise anomalous events to ponder. The big
drawback to this collection is that unlike Mysterious America,
it's just a collection; out of more than 400 pages of material you only
get a handful of pages of analysis.
Searching For Eternity: A Scientist's Spiritual
Journey to
Overcome Death Anxiety
by Don Morse
A scientist searches through as much of the evidence
as he could find to document the possible existence of God, a surviving
soul, and an afterlife. After shifting through
tons of information, summarized in this 400-plus page book, he
concludes that some form of afterlife does exist. I don't think that
anyone has covered the subject of overcoming the death anxiety in as
much depth as Morse. It's worth noting that he considers NDEs
the best scientific evidence for survival, not OBEs, apparitions,
dreams, channeling, or reincarnation.
The Farfarers: Before the Norse
by Farley Mowat
Mowat relies heavily on the work of a maverick Canadian archeologist to
show that the earliest European settlement in North America preceeded
the Vikings by several centuries.Using longhouses --which probably used
leather boats for roofs--and ancient stone beacons as his evidence,
Mowat theories that the Canadian Artic and Newfoundland were first
settled by a group of capitalist voyagers he calls the Albans. Mowat is
a great writer and I'm willing to buy into his thesis, but I'm not a
fan of the fictional vignettes he uses to fill in the gaps of the
historical record.
The Roswell Encyclopedia
by Kevin Randle
Nuff said.
Best Evidence
by Michael Schmicker
The subtitle
says it
all: "An Investigative Reporter's Three-Year Quest to Uncover the Best
Scientific Evidence for ESP, Psychokinesis, Mental Healing, Ghosts and
Poltergeists, Dowsing, Mediums, Near Death Experiences, Reincanation
and Other Impossible Phenomena That Refuse to Disappear." Schmicker has
done an excellent job condensing an enormous amounts of material and
picking cases he views as the "best evidence" for each of the topics in
his subtitle. All in all a good primer accessible to everyone. I only
wish he had delved deeper into each of those best evidence cases.
The UFO Book of Lists
by Stephen Spingnesi
Not eye-candy, not ear-candy, but UFO-candy. Nearly 50
lists on UFO subjects, some interesting--"13 Possible Explanations for
Daylight UFO Sightings," and "24 Medical Procedures Performed
on UFO Abductees"--but many are rather silly or way off the mark--"9
Oceanic Names for Landmarks of Our Arid Moon," (What?) "6 Baffling UFO
abduction Cases" (They're all baffling), 9 Steven King Stories about
UFOs or Aliens (So what?), and the "95 chapters of Jerome Clark's One
Volume Encyclopedia of the Extraterrestrial" (Big Deal.). For rabid UFO
buffs only.
The Field Guide to UFOs: A Classification of Various
Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon
by Dennis Stacy and Patrick Huyghe
Yeah, another one of my books. I'll just say this about it. There's a
lot of junk in this field and very few honest efforts to grapple with
the phenomenon that's been on display for the past 50 or so years. We
are skeptics and believers. We are merciless at throwing out
the junk, and cautious in displaying the gems. There's something going
on here. There are lots of things going on here. We provide
some reasonable answers.
Mysteries of the Sacred Universe
by Richard Thompson
Is ancient India's Puranic literature only mythological? Or did this
sacred text encode information about the terrestrial, astronomical, and
spiritual planes all at once? You can guess what point of view Thompson
argues in great detail. Of course, all this ties-in with the notion of
the existence of an ancient, scientifically advanced civilization
presently unrecognized by today's historians. Seems at times like
Thompson is reading too much into things, but his thesis is certainly
worth serious consideration by scholars.
A Glimmer of Light from the Eye of a Giant
by Joseph Turbeville
In number tables created by the author, Turbeville
finds representations of many of the exact measurements made at the
Great Pyramid of Giza, as well as in natural
forms like petal counts and pine cones.
Looks like the pitfalls of playing with numbers to me--reading too much
into numbers, in other words--but then what do I know? Great title
though.
The Eighth Continent: Life, Death, and Discovery in
the Lost
World of Madagascar
by Peter Tyson, Russell A. Mittermeier
I never saw this book, but it's one of three
cryptozoology-related titles that Loren Coleman recommends.
Odyssey of the Gods
by Erich Von Daniken
Two dozen books later (post-Chariots of the Gods) and our good
Swiss guide to the ET wonders of the ancient world continue. This time
Von Daniken focuses on Ancient Greece and its stories, like Atlantis.
The Greek Gods were ET beings, he agues, and interbred with humans and
produced those mythological creatures we know as centaurs and Cyclops.
While Von Daniken's thesis has become more detailed over time, it has
not become more convincing.
A Fish Caught in Time: The Search for the Coelacanth
by Samantha Weinberg
I never saw this book, but it's one of three cryptozoology titles that
Loren Coleman recommends.
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