Lies [and delusions] from the Attic
347832
The story line is a bit tedious, weird; it is entertaining in places but drags much too long in details that do not add a great deal to the story line.  The ending is somewhat predictable as clearly the protagonist is obsessive, deluded and manipulative throughout the story.  Other than that it is interesting.
1184942
This book provides a bleak glimpse into the minds of some extremely deluded people. It purports to be a "practical guide to deliverance," an instuction manual on casting out demons from the possessed. In fact, it is a book-length recipe for disaster, an amalgam of dangerous misinformation. For example, schizophrenia (incorrectly identified as multiple personality disorder) is explained as a "nest of demon spirits," and the book presents illustrated instructions on how to drive these demons out. Can you imagine the harm done to children with mental disorders? If you doubt that fundamentalist Christianity is a repressive mind-control system, read this book.
4408677
These modern conspiracy theories are nothing more than the latest manifestation of magical thinking.  Humanity has enslaved itself to superstitious nonsense since it crawled down from the trees. The brain stitches together accidents and coincidences into convincing patterns to support its notions of unseen demons of the spirit world.  Just so, the modern conspirators are equally hidden and mysterious, and invariably interconnected by a byzantine network of coincidences and apparent chains of cause and effect.  This is likely due to our origin as scared monkeys trembling at the unseen leopard, imagining threats at every turn.  Don't be scared monkeys!  The author has spun his tale so thick he's lost in his own web.  Where is the author's skepticism of his own skepticism?  As Carl Sagan said, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence".  Where is the evidence?  No doubt, it was destroyed with 100% efficiency by the unidentifiable conspirators.  Where are the whistle blowers?  Every one is cowed by threats of death, no doubt.  I believe there may also be elements of racism involved in this.  These conspiracy theorists can't believe that Arabs could possibly execute such a complex plot without the assistance of the white man, or worse yet, being mere dupes of the white man.

As an exercise in creative writing, it's quite entertaining, but a product of reason it is not.  How easily we might slip back into the dark ages.
4293071
If you enjoy reading true ghost stories, you will probably find this book by Brad Steiger an interesting collection. There are numerous stories, and many of them are quite creepy. On the other hand, the photos were less impressive. I am by no means an expert in photography, but I must say in all honesty that some of the photos included in this book appeared to be faked (and badly at that). This, in my opinion, somewhat compromised the credibility of the rest of the book. Apart from that, "Real Ghosts" still makes for a good read, especially on a dark and stormy night. In addition to this book, I highly recommend "A Witch's Guide to Ghosts and the Supernatural" by Gerina Dunwich. It also contains many true tales of ghost sightings and haunted places, and examines the paranormal from a neo-pagan perspective without forcing any particular belief system upon the reader.
2951273
This memoir contains so many eyebrow-raising moments it's hard to know where to begin. What parts of it are fact; and what parts of it are fiction?

Let's start with the fact that Asia McClain was the subject of the first episode of "Serial: The Alibi". This eventually led to the reopening of the already denied post conviction relief hearing of Adnan Syed. Ms McClain did testify in February of 2016 in a proceeding in Maryland. The judge's revised ruling has not even been rendered yet. However, as strange as it may seem, Ms McClain has a book, not only ready for publication but already published, less than four months later. Ms McClain has noted in the preface of the book: "My lawyer Gary Proctor says it's better to not add fuel to the fire ...". One cannot help but agree. Any alibi Ms McClain may have been for Adnan Syed has now been tarnished ... forever.

This review will not address the truth or fallacy and all the inconsistencies of Ms McClain's alibi regarding the Adnan Syed case. That has been addressed elsewhere ad nauseum; and the prosecutor at the PCR hearing certainly did an amazing job of calling her entire story into question. What this review does address is the content of the 272 pages of McClain-Chapman's book. It is truly impossible to cull the fact from the fiction when the author can't even seem to do so herself.

During her dialog on "Serial", Ms McClain refers to a time in 2010 when an investigator for Adnan Syed came to her door to ask her to testify at the first PCR hearing. In that dialog, she says that her fiance answered the door and relayed her message that she did not want to speak with them. Strangely enough in the book Ms McClain says that she married her husband in 2009. How can a man be her husband in 2009 and her fiance in 2010?

Ms McClain writes about the Magnet Program at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore. Adnan Syed was a part of the program; but Asia McClain refers to herself as an "honorary magnet kid." Is there such a thing as an honorary magnet kid?

In Chapter Five: The Recommitment, Ms McClain discusses a time when she was visited by the ghost of the murder victim: Slowly I felt the temperature change in my bedroom. And then: There, floating in midair, about four feet directly above me, was Hae Min Lee." Really?

There are a ton of other questionable statements in the book which leaves this reviewer unable to separate what is true and what isn't. If you are interested in reading about the birthday party of a nine year old or the antics of a teenager in late 20th century Baltimore, this book may be for you. For myself, and likely most others, I wish I could get my money back.
2408718
The dialectic of Enlightenment is a history of false appearances. For Adorno & Horkheimer, trying to explain the world in its totality is equal to try to dominate it. Totality becomes totalitarianism. The authors present history as a tool of domination. Myth and reason both hide the deception of trying to make all things equal. By this logic -of identity/identification- everything is not, but must be the same. Knowledge is mythical because it promises a happiness that can never be achieved in knowledge's terms. The central argument of this wonderful book is that myth is already enlightenment because it tries to explain the world and gain utility from it; and enlightenment is already myth for it tries to exclude anything that is different or contradicts Enlightened Reason. As Adorno & Horkheimer put it: "Enlightenment has a mythical horror to myth." Enlightenment obsessively tries to free itself from myth, but in doing so it becomes also mythical. This obsession takes the form of a saturating, technical rationality that ends in the horror of ethnic genocide. This is, as Habermas said, "the black book of Western philosophy."
4237863
I'm quite knowledgeable about the literature concerning Home (past, present, long-past) and I would say that Dr. Lamont gives him a very fair treatment. His reservations are withheld until the end, where he asserts that he thinks that Home was a fraud whose "feats have never been adequately explained". However, he admits that he may be wrong (a truly skeptical position).

  In this book he evaluates some of the claims made by others in the past about Home and the attempts to discredit him, ranging from Podmore to Stein. This is essential, as the earlier books made a lot of unbridled assumptions (and even misrepresented facts at times -see Hall, Stein, etc) one way or the other -strictly supporting Home's authenticity as a medium or simply discarding that possibility in spite of the seemingly strong evidence that he may have been psychic.

  Anyone who wants an enjoyable and good read on the life of Home and the controversy underlying his "case" should buy this book -I'd be surprised if you'd find the time to put it down. It certainly is the most thorough compilation and evaluation of the case that I've yet come across.
3207514
This is a compilation of doom and gloom interviews from a variety of New Age thinkers.  If you're interested, act now because in 2012 you'll have other things to worry about besides watching a documentary.

Or not?  There's some pseudo-science going on here, and some lapses in logic.  The big one, which I find disturbing--and puts these thinkers in the same camp as fundamentalists--is the claim that because science is unable to explain everything, what it can explain must be a huge hoax.

Play this on a double-bill with Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth and see who you believe.

Also, these philosophers have in common with many fundamentalists the belief that we are somehow "special," that we live in "special times" for some reason.  This just seems like narcissism, self-importance and pride to me.

But despite the disagreements, I give this DVD three stars for making me think.
2171591
The greatest loss is not the death of a loved one but the actual deception of someone you thought was true-blue, but was entirely a made-up deception on a whole town. We believed in him and what he had to write, he couldn't speak as he was never trained as a public speaker. But we were led to believe that he did "research" and wallowed in "micro fiche" of old newspapers. False! Finally, the truth wills out when he admits that I don't know him. He really is the office boy (lackey) I thought the first time I met him. Two others had claimed to be the writer, but it was various and sundry who did the actual columns, not just one person. He sure fooled me. He is supposedly someone calling himself.  First, he self-published two books of tabloid columns purportedly by him but now he is giving credit to others as follows: Knoxville's Secret History by Jack Neely, Aaron Jay, and Lisa Horstman (Paperback - Nov 1, 1995), and Secret History II: Stories About Knoxville, Tennessee by Jack Neely, Ed Richardson, and Lisa Horstman (Paperback - Nov 20, 1998). Lisa Horstman must be the maiden name of Janet, but who is Ed Richardson. That's a new one on me.

What was supposedly history of old happenings in this town he admits to me is pure fiction based on the book, Sutree. Sordid and scandalous events which never happened except in his imagination. He is no Kipling but "borrowed" Paul Theroux's Secret History book as the title of the tabloid columns since 1995. He has created a sordid and scathing "past" which didn't happen. He has been on a sex craze from times gone by also which didn't happen as he wrote. He even promoted a fictional account of a prominent person who helped to write Harbrace Handbook for English. He is merely the office boy and others do the writing for which he gets credit. When he tries to talk to literary groups, he hems and haws and never says anything substantial as he can't remember what it was he wrote. Now, he has written about gay marriage. He tricked me, as he has tricked the newcomers to this sordid town. It is turning into a drug culture in the downtown area. One of them (actually two counting the wife) are now in prison for marjuiana sales and the properties they managed to pull over the officials as legitimate. People like them have ruined this town. And they have used the services of one Neely who is a pretender. Cas Walker would turn over in his grave if he knew what this person has done to appear as someone from a century ago who existed only in his imagination.  The trashy pieces are written by others using his name so as to have some authesity.  He has built a career with writings by other people.  He inherited a great deal of loss, which was forcoming for his deception.
1933066
Apocryphal and Pseudepigraphical works relating to the Bible abound (e.g.,&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Lost-Books-of-the-Bible-and-The-Forgotten-Books-of-Eden/dp/B0044XVCA6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Lost Books of the Bible and The Forgotten Books of Eden</a>,<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Nag-Hammadi-library-in-English/dp/9004054340/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Nag Hammadi library in English</a>, etc.).  Many of them actually have sincere pious intentions, such as filling in "details" which the canonical books of the Bible omit (e.g., giving details about Jesus' childhood).

This volume is one of many reprinted editions of this 1884 book, written (and in some cases, plagiarized) by Rev. William Dennes Mahan (1824-1906), a Presbyterian minister in Missouri.  Its fraudulent nature is recounted in books such as&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Strange-New-Gospels/dp/1258142317/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Strange New Gospels</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Strange-tales-about-Jesus-A-Survey-of-Unfamiliar-Gospels/dp/0800616863/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Strange tales about Jesus: A Survey of Unfamiliar Gospels</a>.

Mahan states in his "Discovery of the Records" chapter, "Another reason why these writings have not been brought before the world is that no man has searched for these chronicles as I have done... I made the investigation of these questions my special business for ten years---corresponding with many historians and scholars... sparing neither time nor expense to acquire a knowledge of them." (Pg. 36)

He adds, "I do not see why these records should have been destroyed... I was convinced the Jews must have looked into this matter, and that it would be found recorded somewhere. I knew that if there was such a man as they represented Jesus to be, he could not be tried in the high priest's court and condemned to death, and executed by the Roman authorities, unless there were some record made of it by both the Jews and Romans. Here we have the whole of these records, and why are they not true? They comport with the Bible; they are just the records we should expect from the Scriptures... Now, if all this is so, why are they not true? I offer this bok to the public feeling assured it can do no harm to anyone or to any church, but that it will be read by thousands with great interest, and will convince the infidel of the truth of the Scriptures." (Pg. 41-42)

If Mahan had simply presented this book as "fiction," it might have made interesting reading for Christians (such as Lew Wallace's novel&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Ben-Hur/dp/146634816X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Ben-Hur</a>; which, interestingly, is one of the books that Mahan plagiarized). As it is, it is reprinted endlessly and sometimes perhaps taken as "genuine" by trusting readers.
2002254
This is the fifth of David Griffin's books on the events of 9/11. Despite the overwhelming evidence against the official account, Dr Griffin has been criticised on the grounds that as a theologian rather than a physicist, architect or engineer, he is not qualified to question the government account. Using a similar defence, many people in Congress and the press duck and run for cover when confronted with the issue, claiming inability to comment because of a lack of the necessary technical expertise.

In his latest, incisive polemic, Dr Griffin focuses on the welter of contradictions and inconsistencies of the official story. By adopting this approach, he shows that the only way to cling to the official story is to believe that it is possible for two mutually contradictory statements to both be true.

Griffin has thus placed members of Congress and the press in an extremely awkward position. If they accept that mutually contradictory statements are consistent with the official story, they demonstrate that they are intellectually unfit for duty. On the other hand, if they continue to ignore the contradictions they show that they are morally unfit, by underlining their complicity in the coverup of the greatest mass murder in United States history.
2577873
This short book pulls together two essays on the subject of Polish history and literature, and its horrific effects on German relations. Else Loeser is someone who had certainly earned the right to talk of such matters--she had lost her brother and both parents to murder by Poles in a former German territory. Loeser details the lies of Polish history--the mysterious ancient Poles were no such thing, but were derived from Germans or Prussians who had made the land arable and had established all the civilized institutions in the area. The cloister chronicles were re-written with "Slavic"-sounding names. The Germans were then denigrated with the most ridiculous school playground name-calling. Hating Germans became a complete philosophical system. The Poles, incessantly egged on by their clergy and intelligentsia, then performed numerous acts of atrocity, such as Bromberg Bloody Sunday. Unfortunately, in the long run, all this anti-German hate propaganda was then dovetailed into standard WWII Allied war propaganda, and one of the great lies of history was made complete. This will be an unsettling read for many; it may enrage some. Let us now learn from the past, shall we?
2669552
Strange intermingling of data- and fact- driven analysis with total conjecture.  The author appears sure of himself at the times it seems he has the weakest foundation to do so.
2295100
This "documentary" is brought to you by the same folks who made the infamous conspiracy film ZEITGEIST.  Yes, that one: the mother of all conspiracy films, the most insane of them all, and the most widely debunked film in history.  Go look it up.  It's like every conspiracy theory known to man all rolled up into one lunatic movie.  9/11 truthers, anti-Semite world bank mind control, some random Da Vinci Code stuff about Jesus, it's all in there.

The director of the "documentary" Burzynski will do anything to prevent you all from knowing that his career is that of a conspiracy theory peddler.  He used a false name for his role in Zeitgeist, and will delete any comment on youtube or vimeo who mentions this part of his filmography.  But the fact remains (and is easy to verify if you google it): Eric Clinton Merola = Eric Clinton (on the Zeitgeist IMDB page).  He made ZEITGEIST, and made a ton of money selling DVDs of ZEITGEIST, with his brother Peter Joseph Merola --  who goes by Peter Joseph.

So let's leave the science aside for a second.  And you tell me: does a real doctor hire a known conspiracy crank to make a documentary about him?

Another way of asking my question would be:  Yes, I know there are a lot of vested interests and corrupted aspects of the mainstream scientific community.  But ultimately, who would you rather believe:  the mainstream scientific community, or the lunatics who made ZEITGEIST who never met a conspiracy theory they didn't love and has NO PROBLEM ETHICALLY with just lying outright in his films (as proven in the past)?

Of course, it is up to you.
4025712
I just read the book. I had heard about it for years, but didn't realize it had been published. Extremely disappointed in the telling of this story. I wish they had reached out for a better author. There are more truths than are in this book and quite a few details left out. I was in the house for a family gathering once (they didn't entertain often, as you can imagine) and was extremely nervous about the utility room in the basement. What ever entity (I believe demonic) that was/is in the home attached itself to me and has bothered me several times over the years and I believe has targeted my Mother after an interaction with it. After my first interaction, I called one of the girls and described the entity and where the 'heart' of the house was, before allowing her to tell me anything. Both descriptions were accurate. I was able to hear Warren and Lorranne Warren speak and took away some defensive strategies to deal with this entity. Sadly, one of the daughters took up with people that did regression therapy, past lives, and has dabbled in the occult readings. The Father now, after several years, has the ability to 'witch' unmarked graves. This story did not end.
1913006
A cobbled collection of unsubstantiated claims, guesswork, opinion, wild and unproven theory bereft of any historical, archeological or linguistic proof. A house of cards that collapses with exposure to simple logic or research.
Associations made between Egypt, Sumer and Freemasons are very tenuous at best, more often simply ridiculous - supported only by the authors' curious interpretations, assumptions or simply guesses. Claims are not backed by proper documentation, authority or creditable references. What starts as a wild guess in one chapter becomes a "conclusion" by the end, then treated as "fact" thereafter.
This is a flight of fancy; the authors lack basic credentials or training in any of the fields they discuss. It is a fantasy that contains little more than sequential leaps of blind faith from one rickety supposition to another. The result is  stunning only in its ability to defy the gravity of evidence.
Leave this book on the same shelf as Von Daniken and other silly forays into the alleged unknown - only the most gullible will credit any of its claims. It isn't even entertaining enough to read as humour.
3792800
Many of the stories contained in David Domine's HAUNTS OF OLD LOUISVILLE center around former mansions that have been converted into bed & breakfast or apartment buildings. The stories are ones for which little verification can be located except for word-of-mouth or the folklore of an old neighborhood.
I grew up in an 1860-1862 house in another KY city and no one ever had an experience with a ghost, but we did have squirrels in the attic stealing walnuts my father had laid out to cure. A few scary nights of strange sounds until the problem was discovered.
I did appreciate the aside information Mr. Domine included on residual haunting and orbs, both of which I've had either heard or seen. As best as I can tell both of these relate to energy fields attached to a place.
All three of these titles make for enlightened reading if you have an interest in the paranormal from a researcher's point of view. Mr. Domine mentions two friends of ours who have been active collecting and writing about KY ghosts for many years.
Thank you for some good ghostly reads.
Nash Black, author of SANDPRINTS OF DEATH.