Muses, Madmen, and Prophets: Rethinking the History, Science, and Meaning of Auditory Hallucination


Daniel B. Smith - 2007
     Auditory hallucination is one of the most awe-inspiring, terrifying, and ill-understood tricks the human psyche is capable of. Muses, Madmen, and Prophets reevaluates the popular conception of the phenomenon today and through the ages, and reveals the roots of the medical understanding and treatment of it. It probes history, literature, anthropology, psychology, and neurology to explain and demystify the experience of hearing voices, in a fascinating and at times funny quest for understanding. Daniel B. Smith's personal experience with the phenomenon-his father heard voices, and it was the great torment and shame of his father's life-and his discovery that some people learn to live in peace with their voices fuels this contemplative, brilliantly researched, and inspired book. Science has not been able to fully explain the phenomenon of auditory hallucination. It is a condition that has existed perhaps as long as we have-there is evidence of it in literature and even pre-literate oral histories from across all times and cultures. Smith presents the sophisticated and radical argument that a negative side effect of living as we do in this great age of medical science is that we have come to limit this phenomenon to nothing more than a biochemical glitch for which the only proper response is medical, pharmaceutical treatment. This "pathological assumption" can inflict great harm on the people who hear voices by ignoring the meaning and reality of the experience for them. But it also obscures from the rest of us a rich wellspring of knowledge about the essential source of faith and inspiration. As Smith examines the many incidences of people who have famously heard voices throughout history-Moses, Mohammed, Teresa of Avila, Joan of Arc, Rilke, William Blake, Socrates, and others-he considers the experience of auditory hallucination in light of its relationship to the nature of pure faith and as the key to the source of artistic inspiration. At the heart of Smith's exploration into the many extraordinary, strange, sometimes frightening and sometimes almost supernatural aspects of auditory hallucination is his driving personal need to comprehend an experience that, when considered in good faith, is as profound and complex as human consciousness itself.

Breaking the Code: A True Story by a Hells Angel President and the Cop Who Pursued Him


Pat Matter - 2014
    An honest, hard-working cop. Both of their lives on totally different paths until their worlds collide..."With no holds barred, Omodt and Matter ripback the curtain of seedy reality and toss you headlongintothecomplex relationships of biker gangs and the cops whose job it is to pursue them. The writing is graphic, truthful, revealing and explores both sides of the law-the right side, and the wrong side-with equal detail. For lovers of true crime writing this is a must-read." - Mark Reps, author, Sheriff Zeb Hanks crime series"The story of an adversarial relationship that turned into one of the most unlikely, remarkable friendships I've ever been exposed to. And, as written by the two protagonists, BREAKING THE CODE is told in the most authentic voice you'll ever read. Beyond the true crime audience, this is a story filled with so much humanity it must be experienced by all readers." - Ali Selim, writer and director of the award-winning film, Sweet Land"Up until BREAKING THE CODE I knew Pat Matter to be a formidable but fair motorcycle drag racer and a competent professional as leader of Minneapolis Custom Cycle. This book fills in the blanks about the other 'dark' side of his life as a Hells Angel-a must-read to get the whole story." - George B. Smith, Executive Chairman and CEO of S&S Motor Company, Viola, WI"BREAKING THE CODE takes you on a real-life crime adventure ... a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Hells Angels, and what it took to take down one of their most prominent leaders." - Tom Chorske, retired NHL player and commentator for FSN Sports

Secrets of the Monarch: What the Dead Can Teach Us About Living a Better Life


Allison DuBois - 2007
     If you want to understand life, you must understand death. In Secrets of the Monarch, Allison DuBois shows readers how communicating with the dead has taught her important lessons about life and how readers can apply those principles to their own lives. Although we are all products of our predecessors, Allison stresses that every person's life is part of a bigger story, stretching past family and friends to neighbors, community members and society as a whole. By making the most of your life now, Allison says, you can positively affect that story. It is your legacy to pass the fire in your eyes and heart to your children, your siblings' children, your friends' children. After all, if you already know that the story will end, why not make the content a true masterpiece?

The Boat That Wouldn't Float (Illustrated Edition)


Mowat - 1976
    

The Phoenix Lights


Lynne D. Kitei - 2004
    Amber orbs in formation. It was a massive triangular array of lights moving silently but in unison as though they were connected. Many people throughout Phoenix and across the state of Arizona saw them.Optical illusion? Unlikely. Military aircraft? That's what the U.S. government wanted her to think. UFOs? That's what her evidence and subsequent years of careful research, interviews, and documentation, including photographic proof, strongly suggest. The result is The Phoenix Lights, a sober, well-researched account, both personal and scientific, of the story behind the lights, of the theories and cover-ups, the facts and denials that surrounded this event.Kitei, a well-respected Phoenix physician, had always thought of herself as grounded and practical, not one to be taken up with new age interests. But her firsthand experience and the undeniable reality of the photographs she took changed all that. She found herself a key insider in a complex mystery that has baffled humanity for centuries. What are UFOs? Who are the beings presumed to fly them? What do they want? How does it change your life to see one?The answers to these questions and more are found in The Phoenix Lights. Over the years since the sightings, she's become an ardent, tireless researcher into the truth of the Phoenix Lights and an advocate for public disclosure by the government about the subject of unexplained phenomena.

The Holographic Universe


Michael Talbot - 1991
    Now, two of the world's most eminent thinkers -- University of London physicists David Bohm, a former protege of Einstein's and one of the world's most respected quantum physicists, and Stanford neurophysiologist Karl Pribram, one of the architects of our modern understanding of the brain -- believe that the universe itself may be a giant hologram, quite literally a kind of image or construct created, at least in part, by the human mind. This remarkable new way of looking at the universe explains not only many of the unsolved puzzles of physics, but also such mysterious occurrences as telepathy, out-of-body and near death experiences, "lucid" dreams, and even religious and mystical experiences such as feelings of cosmic unity and miraculous healings.

Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain


Sheila Ostrander - 1970
    They offer evidence indicating that the Russians have been successful in harnessing psychic energy and show how Russian scientists advised Pentagon officials on controlling the thoughts of David Koresh during the 1993 Waco, Texas standoff.

Incident at Devils Den, a true story by Terry Lovelace, Esq.: Compelling Proof of Alien Existence, Alleged USAF Involvement and an Alien Implant Discovered Accidentally on X-Ray


Terry Lovelace Esq - 2018
    Written by Terry Lovelace, a 64 year-old lawyer and former assistant attorney general. In 2012 a routine x-ray of my leg found an anomalous bit of metal the size of a fingernail with two tiny wires attached. What followed were horrific nightmares, spontaneous recall and intrusive thoughts surrounding a 1977 camping trip I took with a friend to Devils Den State Park in Northern Arkansas. For fear of losing my job and my standing in the legal community I've kept this secret for 40 years. But the 2012 discovery of this object, one and one-half inches deep in my thigh, initiated a flood of nightmares I could not control. My poor health and the horrific memories were the catalyst to come forward and finally disclose what happened back in 1977. My friend and I were on a two-day camping trip to photograph eagles and wildlife. Rather than stay in the campground we chose to drive deep into an isolated area and set-up our camp on a high plateau that offered a scenic view of the wilderness. Late in the evening of our first night in camp a group of three very bright stars in the western sky caught our attention. Arranged in a triangle configuration we speculated as to what it could be? We eliminated aircraft lights due to the triangle configuration. Then it moved. The three stars rotated as if on an axis and slowly ascended upward. As it rose the three points of light spread apart, each equidistant to the others. The stars grew larger and brighter. As the triangle passed over stars they would blink-out for a moment and then blink-back again as it moved over them. The area inside the triangle was black, darker than the night sky. As the points expanded they were eventually devouring entire fields of stars as it traveled higher and moved closer to our camp. It eventually halted directly over us. It was huge. A third of the sky was covered by this black triangle overhead without a single star in between the three points. It was as if someone had cut an enormous triangle out of a sky filled with a billion stars. It descended until it was about thirty feet over the floor of the meadow. The size of the object was unbelievable. Each side of the triangle was a city block in length. I estimated its height at fifty feet or more. The size of a five story office building it sat motionless above the floor of the meadow. What followed was a horrific abduction experience. We both suffered badly from burns and dehydration and were hospitalized for two nights. I was interviewed by special agents from the USAF Security Police's "OSI" or Office of Special Investigations. They mistakenly believed I had photographed the object and I was viciously interrogated by two of their special agents. They demanded my film. My home and car were searched by consent and I was hypnotized to assist my recall. It was a nightmare that left my wife and I sour on the whole UFO and the allegations surrounding our experience. I never intended to tell anyone. But the events of 2012 opened a door to memories about the abduction experience I had long forgotten and had no desire to even remember. In 2016 and in poor health I decided it was the right time to disclose everything I knew and everything we experienced. The piece of metal in my leg was the genesis of this story. There is so much more that happened.

Beneath the Bamboo: A Vietnam War Story


Stan Taylor - 2012
    Two of the enemy soldiers, which we often referred to as gooks, quickly came after me. As I quickly mowed them down with my automatic rifle, I crawled backwards away from the enemy gunfire, using my helmet to push sand in front of me as I went, which made it possible to look behind me. But as I looked back, I realized that my safety net was no longer safe. I saw my entire company falling like dominoes. Medics were running left and right, risking their lives to help others with bravery that even the most amazing soldier couldn’t hope to match. Some of the events I witnessed during that moment were beyond comprehension. I watched a young, courageous black medic take an 81-millimeter round to his head, and his whole body instantly turned to smoke. Young nineteen and twenty year old kids were crying like children, but fighting like someone had raped their sisters. So many things were going through my head at that moment, and in one single heartbeat I was overwhelmed with a flashback of my entire life. This is my story, from point A to B, of my life and times in the midst of hell on Earth.”

South: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the Pole


Hunter Stewart - 2015
    South, by historian Hunter Stewart, chronicles the competition between two fierce rivals - Robert F. Scott and Roald Amundsen - to secure their place in history as the first man to lead an expedition to the most uninhabitable place on earth. South dramatically tells the story of the quest that is marked by heartbreak, greed, ego, and bravery - not only by Scott and Amundsen but by the courageous crews and financial backers who supported them. The journey to reach the South Pole was truly, as it was later called, "The Heroic Age of Arctic Exploration."

Einstein: A Life of Genius (The True Story of Albert Einstein)


Alexander Kennedy - 2016
    He pioneered modern physics, created the Theory of Relativity, and became a world-renowned celebrity. Enjoy the surprising and entertaining true story of Albert Einstein and rediscover one of history's most prolific figures... Buy Now & Start Reading the Incredible Story of Albert Einstein Overview Chapter 1: A Rebel Gets an Education Discover the events that transformed an average boy into a man who would become synonymous with genius. Did you know Einstein failing math as a child is actually a myth? Chapter 2: 1905: The Miracle Year Learn how Einstein revolutionized the world of physics and our understanding of the universe. Did you know Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity while working part-time as a patent clerk? Chapter 3: Professor Einstein Join Einstein as he shares his fascinating ideas with an audience and strives to earn the recognition he deserves. Did you know the Theory of Relativity did not achieve widespread acclaim until years after it was published? Chapter 4: The International Celebrity See Einstein as a pop-culture icon who captured the hearts and minds of people all around the world. Did you know Einstein often pretended to be someone else when asked for an autograph? Chapter 5: The Search for the Grail Accompany Einstein on his journey for a theory that would unite the world of physics and explain the inner-workings of the universe. Did you know Einstein worked on the Unified Field Theory until the day he died? Chapter 6: The Scientific Search for God Find out how Einstein reconciled his scientific knowledge with his religious beliefs. Did you know Einstein believed in God? Chapter 7: The Pacifists Fight Review Einstein's unique perspective as a humanitarian who lived in a time of war. Did you know Einstein encouraged the United States to develop the atomic bomb? Introduction “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein His image is iconic. His face appears on posters and tee shirts, coffee mugs and calendars, album covers, web pages, and bobble heads. His appearance — the frazzled hair, rumpled trousers and old sweater, coupled with a heavy German accent — is the quintessential image of mad scientists and absent-minded professors. He was, wrote a journalist for Time magazine, a “cartoonists dream.” So famous was his appearance that, during his lifetime, total strangers would approach him on the street and ask him to explain his famous theory of relativity. “Oh no,” he would declaim in his heavily accented English, “Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein,” no doubt leaving his questioner more mystified than before... Buy Now Read Now: Your book will be delivered to your Kindle device or free Kindle software automatically. Money Back Guarantee: If you start reading the book and are not 100% satisfied with your purchase, simply return it to Amazon within 7 days of purchase for a full refund.

Night Siege: The Hudson Valley UFO Sightings the Hudson Valley UFO Sightings


J. Allen Hynek - 1987
    Now you can discover the truth that will rip open the entire UFO phenomenon, when you read "Night Siege" by Dr. J. Allen Hynek, Philip J. Imbrogno, and Bob Pratt. The late Dr. Hynek was a famous astrologer who was a consultant to the Air Force's "Project Blue Book" UFO investigation and later had a cameo in the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." He began the research that was continued by science educator Imbrogno and journalist Pratt. What they uncovered was that thousands of people have been seeing strange objects in the sky--and sometimes even contacting strange beings--in the Hudson Valley just north of New York City. -Seven thousand reported sightings -Witnesses from all walks of life -Reports from strangers corroborate what others saw -A huge object that hovers and floats through the sky almost silently -Encounters with entities who looked like they had gray skin . . . or were reptilian -Physical evidence that something strange took place The first edition of "Night Siege" is widely known as a classic in the UFO field for its in-depth reporting. It has now been updated to cover the latest sightings and close encounters. The book features sixteen photos, including one of a UFO taken by a law enforcement official. To this day, the military, the media, and scientists have remained silent about the Hudson Valley phenomenon. If you want to find out the amazing secrets of UFOs just minutes from New York City, you must get "Night Siege.

Paco: The cat who meowed in space


Homer Hickam - 2012
    But when Paco was struck down by a disease that left him unable to walk, Hickam was faced with a terrible decision, let his beloved cat live in misery or put him to sleep. Before that decision could be made, the space mission Hickam was working on needed to be rescued and there was only one sure way to save it: Paco's magic meow! This is a true story of the space age that is also a delightful tale of the love between an engineer and his cat.

John Dee and the Empire of Angels: Enochian Magick and the Occult Roots of the Modern World


Jason Louv - 2018
    Laying the foundation for modern science, he actively promoted mathematics and astronomy as well as made advances in navigation and optics that helped elevate England to the foremost imperial power in the world. Centuries ahead of his time, his theoretical work included the concept of light speed and prototypes for telescopes and solar panels. Dee, the original "007" (his crown-given moniker), even invented the idea of a "British Empire," envisioning fledgling America as the new Atlantis, himself as Merlin, and Elizabeth as Arthur.But, as Jason Louv explains, Dee was suppressed from mainstream history because he spent the second half of his career developing a method for contacting angels. After a brilliant ascent from star student at Cambridge to scientific advisor to the queen, Dee, with he help of a disreputable, criminal psychic named Edward Kelly, devoted ten years to communing with the angels and archangels of God. These spirit communications gave him the keys to Enochian, the language that mankind spoke before the fall from Eden. Piecing together Dee's fragmentary spirit diaries and scrying sessions, the author examines Enochian in precise detail and explains how the angels used Dee and Kelly as agents to establish a New World Order that they hoped would unify all monotheistic religions and eventually dominate the entire globe.Presenting a comprehensive overview of Dee's life and work, Louv examines his scientific achievements, intelligence and spy work, imperial strategizing, and Enochian magick, establishing a psychohistory of John Dee as a singular force and fundamental driver of Western history. Exploring Dee's influence on Sir Francis Bacon, the development of modern science, 17th-century Rosicrucianism, the 19th-century occult revival, and 20th-century occultists such as Jack Parsons, Aleister Crowley, and Anton LaVey, Luov shows how John Dee continues to impact science and the occult to this day.

Patrick Moore: The Autobiography


Patrick Moore - 2003
    The man behind the much-loved, larger-than-life personality; not only an astronomer but also a self-taught musician and talented composer, and passionate supporter of cricket.