tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31117018728490129082024-03-18T03:01:23.932+00:00REVIEW ARCHIVEUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger792125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-40819716531879492752023-11-23T19:59:00.003+00:002024-02-15T16:13:48.162+00:00Professional PrickersP. G. Maxwell-Stuart. Witch Hunters: Professional Prickers, Unwitchers and Witch Finders of the Renaissance. Tempus, 2003. In this study of learned and folk witch hunters, Maxwell-Stuart continues his revisionist examination of the witchcraft panic, arguing that we cannot judge those involved from the Olympian peaks of the the twenty-first century.▼They must be judged as members of their Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-24655588827396853702023-11-23T19:49:00.006+00:002023-11-23T19:49:57.023+00:00Leap too FarGordon Cooper with Bruce Henderson. Leap of Faith: an Astronaut's Journey into the Unknown. HarperCollins, 2000. Mercury and Gemini astronaut Gordon Cooper's day of fame was nearer to 40 than 30 years ago, which is perhaps why his memoirs are spiced up with UFO stories.⛛Among his adventures are a run with a beautiful woman who claims to be channelling an extradimensional intelligence. It Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-35998682490170451782023-11-23T19:43:00.003+00:002023-11-23T19:43:37.760+00:00Georgia on my MindJim Miles. Weird Georgia: Close Encounters, Strange Creatures, and Unexplained Phenomena. Cumberland House, 2000. Some of the best Fortean writing these days takes the form of regional studies, and this one by Jim Miles, who is an economics teacher by profession and a historian and Fortean by avocation, has produced a huge round up of Georgian Forteana. ▼Some of this material has come Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-28585424297387989302023-11-23T19:36:00.008+00:002023-11-23T19:36:56.278+00:00Bad AstronomyPhilip Plait. Bad Astronomy: misconceptions and misuses revealed, from astrology to the moon landing 'hoax'. John Wiley and Sons, 2002.In the first of series of books on 'bad science', astronomer Philip Plait examines a range of misconceptions about astronomy, including a range of pseudo-sciences from Velikovsky to UFOs.⛛Including the conspiracy theories about the moon landing and astrology. OK Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-36530096363734280392023-11-23T19:27:00.002+00:002024-02-15T23:58:17.977+00:00Sense on ConspiraciesDavid Alexander. Conspiracies and Coverups . Berkely Books, 2002. A popular introduction to the world of conspiracy theories, with sections on everything from the sexual politics of the JFK and FDR eras, to the wild tales of Roswell. ▼The result is a book in which the author seems to be reasonably balanced and sceptical about most of the wilder theories, but which shows a surprising Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-82983921845493030552023-11-23T19:16:00.003+00:002023-11-23T19:16:52.876+00:00All Together Now!Robert Trundle. UFOs: Politics, God and Science. European Press Academic Publishing, 2000.When someone who lays claim to being an academic philosopher writes a book on any topic, however controversial, the reader might expect to see logically presented, cogently argued points, and a superior ability to critically evaluate evidence and sources. Surely even a UFO book by such a writer should be oneUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-64819256409248139422023-11-23T19:03:00.002+00:002023-11-23T19:03:50.745+00:00Remote From RealityTim Rifat. Remote Viewing: what it is, who uses it and how to do it. Vision Paperbacks, 2001.Tim Rifat's formula for writing this stuff is to take some old fashioned magic and superstition, dress it all in a coating of technical sounding verbiage from a variety of disciplines to blind with science, and serve with a salad of paranoia and conspiracy theories, with a topping of motivational and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-66238479365950390902023-11-23T18:57:00.001+00:002023-11-23T18:57:08.312+00:00Hearing ColoursJohn Harrison. Synaesthesia: the Strangest Thing. Oxford University Press, 2001. £16.99.A leading authority on the subject of synaesthesia outlines the research and experiments conducted by his mentor Simon Baron-Cohen and himself on this curious confusion of senses. ⛛Their research has largely been in the field of 'seeing' sounds as 'colours', though Harrison concludes that this 'seeing' isUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-18041068488258446812023-11-23T18:43:00.003+00:002023-11-23T18:43:22.067+00:00American MonstersPhilip L Rife. America's Loch Ness Monsters. Writers' Club Press, 2000. Philip L Rife. Bigfoot Across America. Writers Club Press, 2000.Philip L Rife. America's Nightmare Monsters. Writers Club Press, 2001 ⛛This trio of books shows different patterns in the dissemination of monster stories, and how these can be seen to gradually seen to drift away from the paws and pelts Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-59420681440254575472023-11-23T18:33:00.001+00:002023-12-19T11:51:00.144+00:00Sex and SaucersC L Turnage. Sexual Encounters with Extraterrestrials: a Provocative Examination of Alien Contact. Timeless Voyager Press, 2001. C L Turnage is not, as you might expect from the books title, a male writer for Playboy or Hustler, but a female American ufologist and member of the Ancient Astronaut Society. ⛛Her book recounts abductees alleged sexual relations with aliens, by far and away Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-44840569064275111942023-11-23T18:24:00.005+00:002023-11-23T18:24:44.557+00:00The Middle GroundEva Pocs. Between the Living and the Dead: a perspective on witches and seers in the early modern age. Central European University Press, 1999.⛛Eva Pocs' study of Hungarian witch trials, shows that these trials were rather more transparent than those in the West, allowing more of the folkloric background to be discerned behind the ecclesiastical presuppositions. The folklore of most interestUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-29593186054460466802022-02-04T18:45:00.004+00:002022-02-04T18:45:44.609+00:00Old Time UfologyBrad Steiger. Project Blue Book: The Top Secret Findings Revealed. Ballantine, 1977. 🔻Despite the sub-titles claim, this collection of Blue Book documents contains nothing sensational. The cases reviewed are all well-worn classics; the book lacks an index, and the photographic reproduction is poor. The discussion of the Socorro case reveals one interesting point – where Zamorra. denies having Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-51158375270167637132022-02-04T18:40:00.001+00:002022-02-04T18:40:17.038+00:00Fair to MiddlingLen Ortzen. Strange Stories of UFOs. Arthur Barker. 1977 🔻Len Ortzen 's other works, listed in this book, include Strange Mysteries of the Sea, Famous Arctic Adventures, Stories of Famous Survivals, and Your Guide to the Loire Valley, so we are obviously dealing here with a professional, who can turn out a competent job on almost anything. And by and large this is what we get, a competent job. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-8366328994870173042022-02-04T14:37:00.008+00:002024-02-16T00:00:24.680+00:00A Book of WondersBob Rickard and John Michel. Phenomena: a Book of Wonders. Thames & Hudson, 1977. 🔻Tantalising hints of the contents of this book have been appearing in Fortean Times over the past year or so, making us eager for its appearance. The wait was worth it. In this large format, lavishly illustrated Fortean primer, the authors have concentrated on establishing and demonstrating the fundamental Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-84592192542679371592022-02-04T11:51:00.006+00:002022-02-04T11:51:49.307+00:00All About Mysteries.World of The Unknown Series. All About UFOs; All About Ghosts; All About Monsters . Usborne Books. 1977.🔻Although written for children, and using a largely pictorial presentation, these books nonetheless offer a more intelligent and level-headed approach to their subjects than many allegedly aimed at adults, and could safely be recommended to the casual reader of any age seeking a simple Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-13387664615473890992022-02-04T11:44:00.002+00:002022-02-04T11:44:20.136+00:00Without a ClueCharles Berlitz. Without a Trace. Souvenir Press, 1977. 🔻Berlitz's first book on the Bermuda Triangle was conclusively demolished by Laurence Kuesche in his Bermuda Triangle Mystery Solved. Now Berlitz is back, pausing only for a brief sneer to the effect that Kuesche has never been to the Triangle.True; what what are you expected to actually see there – vanished ships? He trots out all the 'Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-71008230705855234822022-02-04T11:20:00.004+00:002022-02-04T11:20:35.637+00:00UFO OccupantsCoral and Jim Lorenzen. Encounters with UFO Occupants. Berkley Medallion, 1976. 🔻The Lorenzen 's latest book is basically an update of Flying Saucer Occupants, published in 1967, with the addition of much new material. As such it makes a useful popular introduction to the contentious subject of CEIII cases. 164 cases are listed , perhaps 10% of the total sample.As a serious work the present Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-28899917400234748922022-01-20T17:50:00.001+00:002022-01-20T17:50:05.901+00:00For Your Coffee TableRoy Stemman. Visitors from Outer Space. Aldus Books, 1973.🔻Some UFO books are sensational and silly; some are very silly. Yet others are more ridiculous than anything dreamed up by the Monty Python team. There are other UFO books which are worthy and informative, but they make heavy demands on the casual reader. So how do you get your friends to share your informed interest in UFOs? The answer Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-84472100157036636002022-01-20T17:35:00.002+00:002022-01-20T17:35:22.850+00:00Iberian InvestigationsVincente-Juan Ballester- Olmos. Catalogue of 200 Type-1 UFO Events in Spain and Portugal. Center for UFO Studies, 1974.🔻This new edition of Snr Ballester 's catalogue of Iberian Type-1 reports (first published in FSR special issue 4) has now doubled in size . The result shows an excellent cross-section of the nature of the Type-1 experience , with reports starting from 1914. The cases presented Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-55556558204028188682022-01-20T17:23:00.004+00:002023-08-03T12:04:23.183+01:00Nothing to See HereMichael Hervey. UFOs, The American Scene. Hale, 1976.🔻Ufology is such a fascinating, intellectually stimulating subject of such wide scope, that it is a marvel how many people manage to write such damn boring books about it. This is one such. It purports to be a survey of UFO activity in the USA from the 50 's to about 1971, with a few excursions into the prehistory of the subject. 1897 is Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-9219552602844239902022-01-20T12:46:00.002+00:002024-02-16T00:01:20.151+00:00The Past is HumanPeter White. The Past is Human. Angus & Robertson, 1975.🔻It is perhaps inevitable that books refuting the claims of von Daniken and his confreres shall be written in a more sober style, less amenable to those who take their information on such matters in easily consumed nuggets of sensation. So it is with this book, to a disappointing degree. Curiously, like its major predecessor on theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-74468750394676399312022-01-20T12:31:00.002+00:002022-01-20T12:46:42.060+00:00Looking for LifeCarl Sagan. ( ed) Communication with Extraterrestrial Intelligence (CETI). MIT Press, 1976.🔻This is the proceedings of a conference on the subject indicated in the title, sponsored jointly by the American and Soviet Academies of Sciences, held in Russia in September 1971. The conference was mainly concerned with two questions; the probability of the existence of extra-terrestrial civilizations, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-87825665362791092032022-01-20T12:13:00.001+00:002022-01-20T12:13:23.904+00:00Biblical BlundersEric von Daniken. Miracles of the Gods. Souvenir Press, 1975.🔻Von Daniken in this book moves on from ancient astronauts to argue that religious visions are in fact merely attempts at communication by extraterrestrials, although it is not very clear whether this is by ESP, or some technological means. Unlike von Daniken's previous books, this one has an extensive bibliography, which however givesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-1758553606994384352022-01-19T23:37:00.006+00:002022-01-19T23:37:47.090+00:00History LessonDavid Michael Jacobs. The UFO Controversy in America. Indiana University Press, 1975.🔻As the title suggests, this book is about the UFO controversy rather than the UFOs themselves. Professor Jacobs is an historian and has written what will probably come to be regarded as the definitive history of the UFO controversy in America, covering the period from 1947 to 1973. The first chapter discusses Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3111701872849012908.post-29728898575814534792022-01-18T23:16:00.004+00:002022-01-18T23:16:55.284+00:00Pendulums and MegalithsT. C. Lethbridge. Legend of The Sons of God. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972. 🔻In this book Mr Lethbridge, the author of several books on parapsychology, advances the now familiar theory that various legends and ancient structures are connected with prehistoric visits by extraterrestrials. However this book is different from most others in this field in that the author is a trained Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0