Book picks similar to
Evidence of the Gods by Erich von Däniken
history
non-fiction
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Alien Agenda: Why They Came Why they stayed
Steve Peek - 2012
Real history and real science make this story compelling and not easily dismissed even by UFO reports most cynical critics.The evidence eventually leads to answer the big questions: What brought the visitors, why have they stayed, what do they want?Hunted by a high-tech FBI unit, the narrator eludes capture and sets a kidnapping in motion that reveals the existence of Melanie, a ten year old girl prized by the visitors and held captive by the government.More liberators than kidnappers, the group narrowly escapes numerous international agencies engaged in pursuit and delivers Melanie to a remote part of the world where she is safe - for now.A sequel, Alien Agenda: Reunited, is in the works.
Five Myths about Nuclear Weapons
Ward Wilson - 2013
This groundbreaking study shows why five central arguments promoting nuclear weapons are, in essence, myths. It is a myth: • that nuclear weapons necessarily shock and awe opponents, including Japan at the end of World War II • that nuclear deterrence is reliable in a crisis • that destruction wins wars • that the bomb has kept the peace for sixty-five years • and that we can’t put the nuclear genie back in the bottle Drawing on new information and the latest historical research, Wilson poses a fundamental challenge to the myths on which nuclear weapons policy is currently built. Using pragmatic arguments and an unemotional, clear-eyed insistence on the truth, he arrives at a surprising conclusion: nuclear weapons are enormously dangerous, but don’t appear to be terribly useful. In that case, he asks, why would we want to keep them? This book will be widely read and discussed by everyone who cares about war, peace, foreign policy, and security in the twenty-first century.
The Devil and Dr. Barnes: Portrait of an American Art Collector
Howard Greenfeld - 1987
The Devil and Dr. Barnes traces the near-mythical journey of a man who was born into poverty, amassed a fortune through the promotion of a popular medicine, and acquired the premier private collection of works by such masters as Renoir, Matisse, Cézanne, and Picasso. Ostentatiously turning his back on the art establishment, Barnes challenged the aesthetic sensibilities of an uninitiated, often resistant and scoffing, American audience. In particular, he championed Matisse, Soutine, and Modigliani when they were obscure or in difficult straits. Analyzing what he saw as the formal relationships underlying all art, linking the old and the new, Barnes applied these principles in a rigorous course of study offered at his Merion foundation. Barnes's own mordant words, culled from the copious printed record, animate the narrative throughout, as do accounts of his associations with notables of the era--Gertrude and Leo Stein, Bertrand Russell, and John Dewey among them--many of whom he alienated with his appetite for passionate, public feuds. In this rounded portrait, Albert Barnes emerges as a complex, flawed man, who--blessed with an astute eye for greatness--has left us an incomparable treasure, gathered in one place and unforgettable to all who have seen it.
Egyptian Myths and Mysteries
Rudolf Steiner - 1961
In this sense, today it is especially relevant to look at ancient Egypt with fresh eyes. The evolution of Western civilization has been profoundly influenced by Egyptian myths through the Greek mysteries. Because of other influences, however, this heritage has degenerated; thinking has mummified and and myth has all but disappeared. Consequently, it is important to revive the seed of goodness passed down to us from ancient Egypt.Through true imagination, it is our task to renew human knowledge related to the creative forces in nature, which the Egyptians attempted through the Osiris-Isis myth, and the Greeks through the myth of Demeter. This is what Rudolf Steiner attempts in this lecture cycle.Steiner's subjects include: experiences of Egyptian initiations; esoteric anatomy and physiology; the stages of evolution of the human form; and much more. The final lecture is on the Christ impulse as the conqueror of matter.This volume is a translation from German of ��gyptische Mythen und Mysterien im Verh�ltnis zu den wirkenden Geisteskr�ften der Gegenwart� (GA 106).C O N T E N T SLecture 1. Spiritual connections between the culture streams of ancient and modern timesLecture 2. The reflection of cosmic events in the religious view of human beingsLecture 3. The old initiation centers; the human form as a subject of meditationLecture 4. Experiences of initiation; the mysteries of planets; descent of the primeval worldLecture 5. The genesis of the trinity of Sun, Moon, and Earth; Osiris and TyphonLecture 6. The influence of Osiris and Isis; facts of occult anatomy and physiologyLecture 7. Evolution in the human organism up to the Moon's departureLecture 8. States of evolution in the human form; the four human typesLecture 9. Influence of the Sun and Moon spirits and the Isis and Osiris forcesLecture 10. Ancient myths as images of cosmic facts; dimming of spiritual consciousnessLecture 11. Ancient Egyptian doctrine of evolution; cosmic view of the organsLecture 12. The Christ impulse as conqueror of matter
The Nephilim and the Pyramid of the Apocalypse
Patrick Heron - 2007
The are the fallen angels and their children - the Nephilim. The author examines ancient texts from Genesis to the Book of Enoch to Revelations to once and for all establish the true identity of this mysterious lost race of giant beings.
The Cryptoterrestrials
Mac Tonnies - 2010
At the same time, this groundbreaking work attempts to reconcile the mythological and contemporary accounts of "little people" into a coherent picture. "For too long, we've called them 'aliens,' assuming that we represent our planet's best and brightest," writes Tonnies. "Maybe that's exactly what they want us to think."
A 1980s Childhood: From He-Man to Shell Suits
Michael A. Johnson - 2012
This amusing and entertaining collection of reminiscences will jog the memories of all who grew up in the same decade where greed was good and mullets were cool.
Alien Interview
Lawrence R. Spencer - 1899
Army Air Force interview transcripts and personal notes I received from the late Matilda O'Donnell MacElroy. Her letter to me asserts that this material is based on a series of interviews she conducted with an extraterrestrial being as part of her official duty as a nurse in the U.S. Army Air Force. During July and August she interviewed a saucer pilot who crashed near Roswell, New Mexico on July 8th, 1947. The being identitied itself as an officer, pilot and engineer of The Domain Expeditionary Force, a race of beings who have been using the asteroid belt in our solar system as a intergalactic base of operations for the past 10,000 years.
A Death on Diamond Mountain: A True Story of Obsession, Madness, and the Path to Enlightenment
Scott Carney - 2015
He also delves into the unorthodox interpretation of Tibetan Buddhism that attracted Thorson and the bizarre teachings of its chief evangelists: Thorson’s wife, Lama Christie McNally, and her previous husband, Geshe Michael Roach, the supreme spiritual leader of Diamond Mountain University, where Thorson died. Carney unravels how the cultlike practices of McNally and Roach and the questionable circumstances surrounding Thorson’s death illuminate a uniquely American tendency to mix and match eastern religious traditions like LEGO pieces in a quest to reach an enlightened, perfected state, no matter the cost. Aided by Thorson’s private papers, along with cutting-edge neurological research that reveals the profound impact of intensive meditation on the brain and stories of miracles and black magic, sexualized rituals, and tantric rites from former Diamond Mountain acolytes, A Death on Diamond Mountain is a gripping work of investigative journalism that reveals how the path to enlightenment can be riddled with danger.
The Presidents and UFOs: A Secret History from FDR to Obama
Larry Holcombe - 2015
Now, as governments around the world open their files and records on internal UFO investigations, the US remains steadfast in its denial of interest in the UFO issue. As more of the world's population accepts the possibility of an extraterrestrial presence, the demand is building for disclosure from the United States.Using newly declassified and Freedom of Information Act documents, eyewitness accounts, interviews, and leaked documents being authenticated, THE PRESIDENTS AND UFOS details the secret history of UFOs and the corresponding presidential administration. Starting in 1941 with the Roosevelt administration, author Larry Holcombe examines the startling discoveries facing a president preoccupied by WWII, the explosion of UFO sightings during the Truman years, first contact during the Eisenhower administration, and the possibility of a UFO connection to the Kennedy assassination. In 1975, the Nixon administration came very close to admitting that UFOs exist by funding a documentary by Robert Emenegger. Almost 40 years later, this book will examine Emenegger's findings.For the first time, the involvement of all of the modern presidents up to and including President Obama, and the rise and then fall of their influence on UFO issues, are told in one story that is an integral part of the fascinating UFO tapestry.
Climbing Mount Improbable
Richard Dawkins - 1996
What drives species to evolve? How can intricate structures such as the human eye, the spider's web or the wings of birds develop, seemingly by chance? Regarding evolution's most complex achievements as peaks on a metaphorical mountain, Climbing Mount Improbable reveals the ways in which the theory of natural selection can precisely explain the beautiful, bizarre and seemingly 'designed' complexity of living things.And through it all runs the thread of DNA, the molecule of life, responsible for its own destiny on an unending pilgrimage through time. Accompanied by evocative illustrations, Dawkins's eloquent descriptions of the living world's astonishing adaptations throw back the curtain on the mysteries of 'Mount Improbable'.An alternative cover edition for this ISBN can be found here.
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt: The History of a Civilisation from 3000 BC to Cleopatra
Toby Wilkinson - 2010
We see the relentless propaganda, the cut-throat politics, the brutality and repression that lay behind the appearance of unchanging monarchy.
The UFO Phenomenon
Time-Life Books - 1987
Beautifully illustrated investigation of the UFO phenomenon from its earliest days.
Life in a Medieval Castle
Joseph Gies - 1974
The Gieses take us through the full cycle of a medieval year, dictated by the rhythms of the harvest. We learn what lords and serfs alike would have worn, eaten, and done for leisure, and of the outside threats the castle always hoped to keep at bay.For medieval buffs and anyone who wants to learn more about this fascinating era, Life in a Medieval Castle is as timely today as when it was first published.
Miracles and Massacres: True and Untold Stories of the Making of America
Glenn Beck - 2013
Thomas Edison was a bad guy—and bad guys usually lose in the end. World War II radio host “Tokyo Rose” was branded as a traitor by the US government and served time in prison. In reality, she was a hero to many. Twenty US soldiers received medals of honor at the Battle of Wounded Knee—yet this wasn’t a battle at all; it was a massacre. Paul Revere’s midnight ride was nothing compared to the ride made by a guy named Jack whom you’ve probably never heard of. History is about so much more than memorizing facts. It is, as more than half of the word suggests, about the story. And, told in the right way, it is the greatest one ever written: Good and evil, triumph and tragedy, despicable acts of barbarism and courageous acts of heroism. The things you’ve never learned about our past will shock you. The reason why gun control is so important to government elites can be found in a story about Athens that no one dares teach. Not the city in ancient Greece, but the one in 1946 Tennessee. The power of an individual who trusts his gut can be found in the story of the man who stopped the twentieth hijacker from being part of 9/11. And a lesson on what happens when an all-powerful president is in need of positive headlines is revealed in a story about eight saboteurs who invaded America during World War II. If the truth shall set you free, then your freedom begins on page one of this book. By the end, your understanding of the lies and half-truths you’ve been taught may change, but your perception of who we are as Americans and where our country is headed definitely will.