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Post by ripper on Dec 3, 2020 13:48:27 GMT
Phenomena: A Book of Wonders by John Michell and Bob Rickard (Thames & Hudson, 1977)
Without doubt, this book is a classic of Fortean literature. Covering a myriad of mysterious phenomena such as vanishing people, spontaneous human combustion, unknown animals, curses, teleportation and so many more. It is heavily influenced by the work of Charles Fort, unsurprisingly, though more readable and to the point than that author's works. It leans heavily on presenting cases and shys away from explanations, the authors being content to leave it to the reader to make of it all what they will. It contains quite a few cases that have become familiar to those interested in Forteana, but at the time of its publication would have had only a limited publicity.
I bought the paperback version in the summer of 1978 while on holiday in North Wales. It impressed me greatly at the time; I was already interested in strange mysteries, but this book introduced me to many new categories, such as the aforementioned spontaneous human combustion, as well as my first hearing of Fort himself.
Whatever you think about the veracity of the cases, and I am far more sceptical nowadays, it is a cracking good read, easy to just dip into when you feel like it. Highly recommended for those who are interested in mysteries, and a good 'jumping-off' point if you wish to study a particular category further.
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