ESP Books

This is a fantastic book from an excellent author. In "Intentions", Prudence Calabrese provides the reader with a deeply personal prospective into the realm of Remote Viewing. Her work and her epiphanies are startling. She also provides an excellent feminist view with regard to her journey. This is a great book, you must buy it, and I hope to see more work from Ms. Calabrese in the future.

I'll have to admit that this is one book that almost never got read. For several months after it was given to me, there it sat, waiting to be explored, and when finally I got around to reading it - WOW - I couldn't put it down. Pru's precise and definitive writing style, her entertaining dialogue and the bite-sized chapters (that she calls "wave forms") make this book easy to read and a pleasure to digest. The way in which this book was written will bring noteworthy enjoyment for the curious reader.

So, what is the book about, you may ask? That is hard to describe. Like a good movie, this is the book that has it all. It is about Pru's life story, her experiences, and tribulations, and yet so much more. She tells her story from young childhood, some early paranormal experiences, her upbringing, marriages, children, her scientific background (designing magnets for particle accelerators), her work at FarSight, and with something called remote viewing, and then there's the Grey Dude.

This book is half about Pru and half about the Grey Dude, an interdimensional grey alien being that appeared in her bathroom for three years revealing the history of the universe and the future of humanity. Pru has become a reluctant emissary, delivering the Grey Dude's important message to mankind. Just what that declaration is? You'll have to read the book. As the title suggests, keep a copy in your bathroom for entertainment purposes, you won't regret it.

Tedd

This is the best remote viewing and ET book I have ever read. It's one of the best books period that I have ever read. It's an incredible and moving story.

There are three people whose written contributions to new
thought have inspired awe, wonder and the utmost respect in me:

Shirley MacLaine, for being one of the first well-known
people to expose her unconventional beliefs to society,
and having the strength to deal with the negative effects;

Whitley Streiber, for going through hell, progressing
through total fear to understanding his own role in
creating his nightmares, while bringing
worldwide attention to a phenomenon that

completely defies conventional explanation;

and now Pru Calabrese, for exposing her intensely personal
experiences completely and honestly for all to see,
and for being at the forefront of teaching techniques
that enable people like me to experience this magical stuff.

I read this book in one sitting. I could not put it down.
It reads like ... like .... well, words just
don't express it. I could literally feel her own
frustration at being unable to express her experiences
in words herself -- but she does a tremendous
job anyway.

She is a unique, compelling, visionary, tortured,
intense, sexual, honest, open being.
She is on the leading edge.
She is the woman of the future.

Sophisticated, exciting, sexy, funny, tragic, cosmic, compelling and altogether entertaining. This book has it all. Pathos, Ethos, Mythos and a helluva story.

I don't think I've ever read a better book by a first time author.
She makes you live the story along with her. You know the pain, share the laughs, feel the heat and tremble at the treachery as she spins her tale of magnificent scope and dimension.

Everyone has looked up at the moon on occasion and wondered about that milky white orb and how it got there. Pru tells you in no uncertain terms!

This Grey Dude is either one of the great characters of literature or a cosmic actor of immense proportions. But I don't want to give too much away. My advice is - read this treasure and read it again! It actually gets better each time!
And you get a damn fine lesson in the art and science of Remote Viewing along the way!!

This book should have been included in Oprah's book club. This book I would consider food for the spirit. It's whimsical, yet profound as stated. Thank you Mary E. Marlow. I bought extras after reading and given to friends and my a couple of my doctors.

This sweet story is a clear parable, ancient Native American story about the messengers, the guides, the distractors and the protectors ,that we meet along our journey - called life. The varied and significant people that join us. We find Special transformative places on the road of life. This tale assist us in awakening to the deep meaning and a truthful understanding of the contents, context and Divine purpose of our journey. The story is beautifully presented and explained in this little gem of a book. Inspirational and Clarifying for the seeker of higher consciousness.

thank you Mary Elizabeth you are unique and special and the same is your book.....

Simple yet profound wisdom drawn from the Native American legend of Jumping Mouse. I have gifted this book often to those who are gathering courage to make their life-enhancing "Leap of Faith."

I love books, but I tend to not read them as much as I like. I get started on one, put it down, start another, and then i forget all about them. This is one book that I couldn't put down. We all have moments, when we feel like we have no hope, or that we can't amount to anything. This is the perfect book to get you motivated and realize that we all can make great and lasting marks on this world. This is about a mouse who has encounters with different animals and learns self lessons with ea. encounter. Jumping Mouse is a must read for the soul. You will not regret it and I am sure that you will get something out of it. =0)

The Legacy of the Chosen One is beautiful and comforting. The perspective is so unique and I am encouraged by everyone's trust, belief and courage. It has given me a sense of peace as I daily journey through my own life trusting my inner guidance. I thank you for bringing this enriching experience of true soul connection forward.

The Legacy of the Chosen One is not for everyone, but more people are experiencing (or know someone who is or has experienced) the phenomenon of soul exchange, walk-ins, and walk-outs than they realize. I wrote about my own experience in my book More Than Meets the Eye.

When the soul that incarnated in this body walked out in 1999, I had no clue what had happened or why I suddenly felt so different or why my life changed so drastically starting the very next day. Within a month, everything in my life had changed. It was tragic at the time--things are much better now--but nevertheless very painful then. It was almost like dealing Post-traumatic Stress Disorder because the first soul left a lot of things undone. I walked in to this body so we could maintain our agreement that we had arranged before this body was created, but I had to heal her broken relationships and resolve the karma she had left before I could get on with my own mission.

At first I felt detached from those I knew and loved most. My friends and family kept saying how much I had changed. I knew I had because I thought and acted differently, and felt a different energy around me. I needed an explanation, but I found very few books or information on the topic. I found some information online by coincidence (if you believe in such a thing) that helped me find peace about the situation. Once I accepted what had happened, it made sense. The Legacy of the Chosen One truly explains the process and I highly recommend this book!

Yvonne Perry
Author of More Than Meets The Eye

A well written book. This is a subject that I had no previous knowlege of. I did not know that this could happen. The book has opened my eyes to some of the extraordinary events that can and do take place on this earthly plane.
Thank you for showing me something I would have thought impossible.

As a practicing hypnotherapist specializing in Past Life Regression (PLR), I found the "Chosen One" to be quite unique and informative. It offers a completely different view on spirit progression and ascension, with a happy ending for all concerned. It also answered some lingering questions that had left me wondering for several years. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in PLR or reincarnation in general.

The book is very interesting, it is informative in showing three people point of view of after life. it is direct and down to the point, The book is based on true story, readers must have prior experiences, the first time readers will have questions.

This was the first book I bought about faeries. I found it at a half price book store it caught my eye. I could not put it down after I started reading it. I was hooked. I have all R J Stewart's books now on faeries. I highly recommend this book. It ranks at the top of all my other 71 books so far on or about real faeries.

I thought this book was fascinating. It has some wonderful stories and information about the faery. I have read more of R.J. Stewart's books now, and each one of them is really good and helpful. He tells it like it is, and his words inspire. You can tell he really knows what he is writing about.

"The Living World of Faery" has a lot of practical and interesting material to offer that can help you develope your ability to connect with the underworld dimentions of Faery. It also contains some very interesting parallel material dealing with ancestors. While all the books by R. J. Stewart are first rate, I think this is one of his best. He is, without doubt, one of the most intelligent and deeply informed authors in the rich field of Celtic magic and underworld mysteries.

This book is interesting - if you are into meditation and working toward meeting faeries (which I was not quite expecting in this book). For what the book is meant to be, it is an interesting guide to working your way into the land of faery and how to deal with the creatures you meet. If you want to meet faeries, this book is worth a try. If you're looking for a reference book, which I was, this is not something you should consider. Try A Witches Guide to Faery Folk or The Great Encyclopedia of Faeries.

R J Stewart is a excellent writer and knows alot about the world of faery. I highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to find out more about the faery realm.

This genius book is Le Shan's exploration into methods of healing that use meditation, and/or prayer. I want to re-read the book and review it after, but it is a remarkable pieve of work by a great psychologist who has worked for years on the psychodynamics of cancer. I read it years ago and have,as a psychotherapist, used it many times to help heal individuals (and two dogs). It's powerful stuff..and important work for the future of holistic medicine. Every therapist, physician and minister should read it cover to cover. I am a New york city psychotherapist, writer.

My name is Milton Haynes, CSW

This genius book is Le Shan's exploration into methods of healing that use meditation, and/or prayer. I want to re-read the book and review it after, but it is a remarkable pieve of work by a great psychologist who has worked for years on the psychodynamics of cancer. I read it years ago and have,as a psychotherapist, used it many times to help heal individuals (and two dogs). It's powerful stuff..and important work for the future of holistic medicine. Every therapist, physician and minister should read it cover to cover. I am a New york city psychotherapist, writer.

My name is Milton Haynes, CSW

Written for the layperson, with appendices for the scientist, this is without a doubt the most profound book I have ever read. And despite being written nearly 40 years ago, it is still at the cutting edge.

It's hard to easily categorize this title: a blend of psychology, physics, and spirituality written by a research psychologists, this develops his ideas on parallels between views of modern field theory and world-views of mystics. His focus on 'facts that do not fit' offers new insights on human abilities and potentials, describing the experiments which lead to his change of view, and his theory of the paranormal. An intriguing study backed with scientific percision.

The Medium, The Mystic, And The Physicist: Toward A General Theory Of the Paranormal by psychologist, educator, and author Lawrence LeShan is a New Age book that persuasively presents evidence of psychic abilities, and seeks to draw together the views and science of mediums, mystics, and physicists alike. A extended contemplation of holistic theory, The Medium, The Mystic, And The Physicist transcends the tendency that people of different religious, spiritual, and scientific viewpoints and experiences have all to often been shortsightedly led to scorn one another. Accessibly written for the non-specialist general reader, The Medium, The Mystic, And The Physicist is a unique and very welcome contribution to Psychology and Metaphysical Studies reading lists.

Whenever I feel down I open it and read a couple of pages and somehow it again puts me in touch with myself and everything around seems to be fine and much easier again. It helps me to realize that I am the one who creates my life and if I don't like it this way, it is up to me to create something else. The whole book is just so loving and very empowering in such a gentle way.
The only book I can compare it with is The Conversation With God. If you liked that one you will love this one.

I have been reading and studying new age books all my life. This book came to me while I was training to become a minister and it has become my bible of sorts. It is absolutely the most profound and positive book I have ever read and I highly recommend it. You can open it to any page and find comfort and guidance. The books premise is that you are responsible for everything that happens to you in your world. It advocates that you must love yourself first (in a spiritual way) and enlightenment will follow. Sort of like the book 'The Secret', but from a higher source. If you don't already own this book, you need to.

This book is probably the best new-age metaphysical book I have ever read.

John is a brilliant channeler. Even if you do not get the whole concept of channeling, you can still get everything you need out of this text.

In the book, John answers most of life's most difficult challlenges, including race, disaster, abundance, personal choice, reincarnation and others. The answers that he shares in the book are absolutely profound beyond any measure. I can honestly say that if you are open to new ways of thinking about your personal purpose on the earth, this book will absolutely change your life for the better.

This book gives you is logical explantions of the nature of reality and it teaches you to be your own teacher. What this book offers is absolute freedom!

I agree with Krmickova Simona's review! This is the only book that has had such a profound life-changing effect on my life! I have been involved with Unity Church for 5 years - they are love, abundance, forgiveness, connectedness and prosperity conscious, and this book allowed me to finally believe and live this viewpoint! Whenever I begin negative thinking or victim thinking, I think on Omni's message and my emotional clarity and a focus on joy returns. The prime point is that WE CREATE OUR REALITY and CALL OUR LIVES TO US BY OUR THOUGHTS AND DESIRES, so we should keep our focus on what we want, not on what we don't want! I, too, will always keep this book on my desk, because reading it changes my viewpoint, my heart, my awareness, and my consciousness to one of creativity, joy, peace and physical/emotional well-being. Thank you John Payne, and thank you Omni - and of course, I thank my soul for guiding me to pick up this book without even thinking about the purchase on a conscious level! It was just what I needed to be catipulted into a higher level of being and awareness - one that has lasted for many months and has forever changed my approach to life! (By the way, my outer life has changed as well - coincidence? I think not!)

This is a good comprehensive and easy-to-read book on Parapsychology. This book covers key areas to understanding the field of parapsychology such as the important historical areas of Parapsychology, the methods of parapsychologists in history up to the present, various psi or paranormal topics such as ESP, PK, OBEs, NDEs, apparitions, etc. It also covers ideas and theories regarding some of these psi phenomena (i.e ESP, PK, etc.), and even points that skeptics bring up and most of these objections/points were answered for definitively. I must say though this book is not up-to-date as far as current results from research goes. There have been many experiments like the Ganzfeld experiments which have been done between the release of this book ca. 1991 up to now 2007 with new results and views; other than that the other information is still relevant to parapsychology today. And this is still the best comprehensive introduction to parapsychology I've read thus far. Now this book does not conclusively or strongly prove psi phenomena such as ESP and PK, but only to a small degree at most. This book does prove that parapsychologists are improving their experiments and understanding of psi and are trying new things that would work to prove psi. Based upon reading this book I'm convinced that the future of psi research looks good and reasonable.

This is an excellent book that never seems to go out of date. The information is just as current and pertinent to learning about the field of parapsychology as it was when first published. It is a great book for an over-all foundation in parapsychology.

It was the first book I ever read about parapsychology and I read it through and learned many things that I never would have bothered reading about had it not been written so comprehensively. I enjoyed the references to the relativity theory in relation to psi phenomena, the history of parapsychology,the names of prominent people in parapsychology,the different experimental methods used through the history of parapsychology,and that the book was so contemporary. The thing I disagreed with about the book is the fact that it talked of telepathic experiances as ocurring as non-continuous, as in, being isolated experiances, whereas I know that tele-pathic experiances can occur moment-by-moment,day-by-day, week-by-week,month-by-month,i.e. continuously. Thank-you

My general impression for the book as a psychology graduate student is that it provides the reader with a scientificly oriented, but easy-to-understand general knowledge about the field. There is only one point that seems irrelevant to me which is the application topic. As a controversial science, parapsychology should seek and maintain a more pure-scientific orientation. My idea is that by being so, parapsychology may lead the scientific endeavor of discovering human nature more deeply and in a more multi-facet fashion.
Kürsad Demirutku, Middle East Technical University

I think Broughton's book is a wonderfully interesting and crafted introduction to this science. He provides fascinating examples of case studies and clearly explains the scientific approach paraspychologists take in studying anomalies. It has changed my viewpoints about many areas I had previously shunned, before being educated by Broughton. Bravo!

this books, Explain that Paranormal cant be explained. It inclided with cystral and Kit for developing a power of paranormal. I am very very astounding with this book pic and Happy to have this books.

For 17 years I taught a course in creativity at American River College in Sacramento and gathered everything I could find that would help students open to new ideas about themselves and the world around them. There is no book that even comes close to achieving what Para Science Pak offers.
The pages literally rise up to meet you becoming
3-D sculptures which tease you into delving more deeply into the mysteries in our midst. It is artistic, playful, informative, stimulating and a valuable contribution which
you have to experience to believe. I was reluctant to spend
$. for something that was wrapped up and sealed, but
I understand why now and it is worth every penny and cheaper to purchase on line than in the store. I agreed to share it with a high school psychology class because it's an excellent introduction an overview of skills many have not developed or had explained to them. The unique approach and appeal is remarkable. It brings the written word to life and invites the reader to translate the left brain information into a right brain experience. I was concerned about parts of the book being fragile. I treat my copy like a work of art and want it to be seen and shared, so I constructed a special carrying case to protect it. It commands a certain respect as you explore the brilliant and creative way it is constructed. Actually I don't know how they can sell it for $. It is above and beyond anything I have seen in this area.

From the moment I picked up the ParaScience Pack, I could tell this was no ordinary coffee table book. Uri Geller has done a wonderful job at explaining the world of the unexplained and the paranormal. The pop-up paper sculptures throughout the book are amazing. And the experiments in the back have kept me busy for several evenings.

If you've ever had an interest in the unexplained, this book is for you!

Uri Geller's new book, "Parascience Pack: An Interactive Exploration Of Your Psi Powers," will give you an excellent introduction to every aspect of the paranormal. Extrasensory perception, psychokinesis, meditation, ghosts, UFOs, pyramid power, dowsing, auras, out-of-body travel, crystal healing, and many other topics are explored, along with fascinating information about scientific research in the field. It is well-illustrated with photos and drawings of experiments, scientists, and psychics at work. Ron van der Meer, known around the world for his outstanding pop-up books, designed several intricate fold-out paper sculptures that open as you turn through the pages.

But your exploration of the paranormal doesn't stop there. The Parascience Pack includes several tools for testing your own psychic abilities--cards, brass dowsing rods, a scrying disk, a crystal pendulum, and a paper umbrella that spins on the tip of a needle when you send it mental energy. There's also a glossary of parascience terms and a bibliography of books, web sites, and organizations you can contact to learn even more about the paranormal

All in all, Uri Geller's Parascience Pack is a wonderful mind-opening book. I highly recommend it.

Wow:)When I opened this book a brain poped out with a great introduction by Uri Geller. Did you know that gravity is an unexplained scientific phenomenon? Read this book and find out Why. When looking at many of the diagrams you wear glasses that animates the diagrams. Wow! When I turned to the next page a beautiful woman Pops Up. Uri then explains the importance of positive thinking and healing. Take a little journey into the unknown with this amazing Parascience Pop Up book and Kit.

This book enabled me to reach new levels for my own abilities and have used it as a reference guide many times. For a beginner it is a valuable tool. It came highly recommend by a mentor of mine and she did not lead me astray.

This book is easy to read and very straightforward. The writing is clear and the authors help the reader to ease into performing the acts of psychic ability that we all possess. It is very well organized and intelligently written.

This book is easy to read and very straightforward. The writing is clear and the authors help the reader to ease into performing the acts of psychic ability that we all possess. It is very well organized and intelligently written.

For anyone that is wanting to enhance there abilities or if you are someone that is wanting to start, this is the book to start with. It offers a conprehensive way to bring all the aspects of metaphysics together with out the confusion. This book is a must have!

The Psychic Workbook by Craig Hamilton-Parker is a claer and easy to understand introduction to the paranormal It cuts through the nonsense and presents difficult ideas in an easy to understand way. Packed full of psychic experiments and strange celebrity stories. A must!

Historians have not been able to agree as to President Lincoln's religious beliefs. He has been characterized as everything from a God-fearing Christian to an atheistic humanist. It seems clear that Lincoln did not often attend church services and took issue with some of the dogma, doctrine, and methods of orthodox Christianity. And, yet, he emerges as one of our most spiritual presidents.

Dr. Susan Martinez, the author of this book, points out that more than 6,000 books have been written about Lincoln and that it has been said that "there are no important new facts to disclose." She takes issue with that comment as the stories about Lincoln's association with several credible mediums, especially one Nettie Colburn Maynard, while not new, have been pretty much ignored, forgotten, denied, or swept under the rug.

Many of Lincoln's biographers have taken note of claims that the 16th President received guidance from spirits who communicated through mediums. However, the claims are usually derided as beneath the dignity of such a great man. Not long before reading this book, I read a very lengthy magazine article dealing with Lincoln's religious and spiritual views. It mentioned that Spiritualists had made claims to having influenced Lincoln's thinking, but the author seems to have smirked at this claim and did not elaborate.

Martinez digs deeply into the documented records of Lincoln's involvement with mediums and sets forth a preponderance of evidence suggesting that he was indeed guided by benevolent spirits communicating through credible mediums in his most crucial decisions and creative works, including the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address.

Lincoln was seen by many who knew him as a somber man with a gloomy disposition. Martinez examines his "peculiar melancholy" and the events in his life that shaped it, including his mother's death at age nine, a strict and distant father, the death of a sister at age 10, and the death of his beloved Ann Rutledge when he was 26. She examines Lincoln's inner turmoil and his attempts to reconcile all of his hardships and the vindictive God of the Old Testament with his evolving ideas of justice, mercy, and goodness, concluding that these experiences molded Lincoln's psyche in a way that made him more sensitive to the unseen principle.

Martinez recounts the paranormal events of 1848 giving rise to belief in spirit communication, pointing out that many celebrated names, including Elizabeth Barrett Browning, William Cullen Bryant, Thomas Carlyle, James Fenimore Cooper, Emily Dickinson, Horace Greeley, Sir William Crookes, Edgar Allen Poe, Alfred Russel Wallace, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Queen Victoria, and W. B. Yeats, became investigators and proponents of the new "Spiritual Science." And yet, the evidence was suppressed by the religious fundamentalists, who saw the phenomena as a threat to established dogma and doctrine, as well as by scientific fundamentalists, who viewed it with "intellectual" arrogance.

The president's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, began exploring "spiritualism," as it came to be called, by visiting mediums and sitting in circles after the death of their 11-year-old son, "Willie." The president took a passing interest in the phenomena and then joined in on a more regular basis. At one sitting, after Nettie Colburn went into a trance, it is said that the spirits speaking through her lectured the president about his duty to emancipate the slaves.

A number of people who knew Lincoln or came in contact with him are quoted attesting to his association with "spiritualists" and the influence they had on him and his important decisions during the Civil War. Others who knew him denied such an association. Martinez dissects the testimony and leaves the reader with evidence strongly favoring spirit communication and influence. She says that Lincoln moved from being an agnostic to a believer. But a believer in what? "No earthly power, no organized religion, no man-made God," she concludes, "but faith - a new faith - in the outworkings of the Unseen world of intelligent design."

I'm the first to admit my two passionate interests are Abraham Lincoln and the paranormal so it shouldn't come as much of a shock that I found this book to be extremely interesting. I don't know that I buy the whole "Lincoln as psychic medium" slant but the book does shed a lot of light on a neglected aspect of Lincoln's personality, that is his interest in the paranormal, ghosts and the like. It discusses his interest in seances...in and out of the White House and makes the argument that Lincoln's interest was far deeper than has been admitted. Overall the evidence presented holds up.
I did take exception to the author taking aim at Dr. Wayne Temple's research. I don't always agree with Dr. Temple but know him to be a fine researcher, the author here would disagree and uses Temple's book "From Skeptic to Prophet" against him repeatedly throughout.
That aside, I really enjoyed this book and would argue that it's a fine addition to any Lincoln library, don't let the subject matter scare you away.

Impressive. The Psychic Life of Abraham Lincoln, while it is an apologia of Spiritualism past and present, is also a very intimate look at one of the most complex and iconic personalities short of Jesus of Nazareth. While the doubter will have much to criticize I suspect, if ones feelings with regard to the topic of Spiritualism itself can be set aside for the moment, a much clearer portrait of the man can be obtained by the exercise.

The book is, however, very anecdotal and while it puts data into chapters with logical headings, the bulk of each is largely "loose association" and quotes from various sources, many of them having little to do with the Civil War president, and many having to do with the character of Spiritualism in the 19th Century. To the extent that this material places the man solidly within the venue of his own time, this is very helpful. Certainly anyone who has no clue as to the topic of Spiritualism and its history will find it illuminating and helpful to the understanding of the 19th century culture of which it was a part.

Quantities of literature have been written about Lincoln (I Googled his name and came up with 8,510,000 entries), yet it still leaves the reader very confused about him. Perhaps more confused about him. Like the iceberg that sank the Titanic, much of the man's personality lay beneath the "water" line for most of his peers. Furthermore and for this very reason, every writer about the man had/has his own "Lincoln" version in mind.

As Susan Martinez herself notes, more than Lincoln the man, one receives a distorted image filtered through the perspective of his biographers; through cultural lenses, personal biases, personal agendas, etc. Maybe it's unavoidable. Dr. Martinez quotes from a roughly contemporary source which stated that a mind of such genius as Lincoln's, viewed through the filter of lesser minds, always appears "unrecognizable (p. 133)." She also notes the addendum to this statement made by author Victor Searcher (1965) that this fact is the source of the "many different Lincolns (p. 133)." Certainly the man's contemporaries were every bit as confused about the Real Lincoln as modern day authors.

I think that the ultimate cause of this is the fact that Lincoln, by dying as he did and at the time he did, assumed almost deified status for the average person of his time, not to mention for us. He left his work incomplete, he was not allowed to undergo the effects of time which often dims recollections of past deeds or buries them under later concerns and preoccupations. Instead he became an icon of martyrdom, righteousness, freedom, courage in the face of adversity to almost all of his contemporaries and even more so to those generations that followed.

This larger than life iconic status was a very tempting thing to manipulate in the interests of individuals whose own agendas were not quite as altruistic. Furthermore, the attempt to cultivate and manipulate his persona for private interests began almost immediately as the power brokers of the time grappled with one another for control.

Much of our confusion over the man is due to the fact that private family papers were destroyed by Lincoln's only surviving son Robert in an attempt to control what was written and believed about his esteemed father. Robert's efforts at what he obviously considered "damage control" even extended to having his mother committed for "insanity" some years later. Whether this was out of a misguided fear that his father's great reputation would be besmirched by his mother's behavior or that the value of his own reputation as a Lincoln might lose its value is anyone's guess.

Some of our confusion over the person of Lincoln is based in Robert's activities and in the biases about women. Just the basis for the diagnosis of Mary Lincoln's "insanity" would put most modern women in an institution: spending too much money on clothing, having a political opinion, having an educated mind, expressing "excessive" grief (ie. over the loss of almost all of her children except the controlling Robert and of her husband who was assassinated in her presence while she was actually speaking with him; over the fact that while she had a northern husband and loyalty, her natal family was primarily located in the south; and over the fact that her outspokenness caused most people to dislike her because she was "unfeminine," leaving her lonely and isolated, etc.--for which see: Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography .)

In fact, if one looks at the material on Abraham and Mary Lincoln, one comes up with a very dichotomized view of the two of them, an almost Biblical duality of "good" and "evil." Abraham is everything good, noble, and male, while Mary is everything uncontrolled, selfish and female. They are for their contemporaries, from whose descriptions we gain our only view of them, the antithesis of one another. Part of this was due to the fact that Mary, despite her loyalty and support of her husband's position, was still viewed as Southern, ie "bad," while Abraham was viewed as Northern, ie "good." It should be noted, however, that this latter assessment accrued to the man by virtue of his conveniently dying almost on the eve of the end of the war. During the war, he was often vilified by the same people who paid lip service to his greatness after his death. Life was not easy for the Lincolns during the White House years (for which see: The Lincolns in the White House: Four Years That Shattered a Family .

Because of this duality of persona between the Lincoln pair, much of what was considered "unacceptable" for the icon Lincoln is offloaded onto Mary, "the bad influence." Unfortunately some of this goes on in modern biographies of Lincoln and it paints a distorted portrait of the man. In short it supports the icon, not the man. This is a sad state of affairs. It robs the man of his humanness and denies the incredible burden that he undertook and which, at its end, took his life. It is my firm conviction that even had the man not been assassinated, he would not have lived out his second term. I think he would have died of the effects of the stress under which he lived for over four years, those same effects already visible in the succession of photos of the man over the time of his administration.

So what new does this author actually present to us with her Spiritualistic view of Lincoln? A very good one, I think. For one thing, she reflects on the cover-ups and the manipulation of the Lincoln persona--both that of Abraham and of Mary--by others. She sees and presents Abraham, warts and all, and Mary Lincoln, strong points and all, and she refuses to commit the modern error of removing the two from their own 19th Century milieu.

This is an important point. No person is outside of the influences of his or her own time. If Abraham was a spiritualist at heart and if he chose not to declare it, he was not alone, as Dr. Martinez makes plain. It could be political, professional, and social suicide to make beliefs of this kind known, and she provides examples of it.

But if he and his wife chose to seek comfort in beliefs in an afterlife and a continued interest by the deceased in their living family, why would that be particularly strange? Why when almost every person living at the time had also sustained great family losses in a war that seemed to be without end and who probably also looked to their personal philosophy or religious beliefs for comfort, is the Lincolns' search for a balm for their grief unacceptable and unbelievable?

Why, taken within the reference point of his time and place, would Lincoln's personal beliefs be something to leave out of the picture? Whatever they may have been, and despite the fear that superstition might have made important decisions--given the complexity of any urgent time, tossing a coin might be the only other option!--he obviously had the wherewithal to get through the stressful time and to make good decisions, and that despite his detractors' protests. Anyone who can make considered decisions, by whatever means, in the maelstrom of chaotic and stressful times is a treasure.

Probably better than any of the Lincoln portraits I've read before, this one really, really, really illuminates the staggering stress and emotional burden that this presidency represented to its occupant, and more than any other biography, it shows the incredible good fortune that having this particular man in this particular place at this particular time really was for the destiny of the country. I doubt there were any others who could have withstood the pressure or undertaken the mission so successfully as Lincoln did. If he chose spiritual resources available to him at the time to support his own emotional well being, good for him!

Lincoln saw his death in dreams, consulted oracles, and knew at age 22 that he'd become President of the U.S.: despite the evidence historians have dismissed his psychic involvements. But his rose to power coincided with a rise in interest in spiritualism, and this chronicle of his psychic side, which includes precognitive dreams, trance-like states, and even White House seances, is enhanced by the deathbed memoir of his favorite medium and charts his many clairvoyant incidents and psychic interests. New age libraries will consider it a 'must have' acquisition.

Dr. Martinez is to be applauded for the first time threading together all the anecdotal and documented yet neglected references to the Lincoln's attraction and participation in the budding Spiritualist religious movement. Mrs. Lincoln had sensitized herself to the possibility of afterdeath communication by the tragic loss of two young sons.

This work draws connections to primary documents not incorporated into mainstream Lincoln studies. The only disconcerting note is the authors apparent belief in the 19th century alternative bible "Oahspe" channeled through the mediumship of John B. Newbrough. Oahspe is certainly a fringe document with few organized students devoted to its psuedo-old testament language and cosmic operating manual. Oahspe is a more quaint, Victorian "Urantia" type body of work. The one attempt at establishing an intentional community based on Oahspe's teachings was the failed Shalam colony in New Mexico. I understand that Newbrough's body is buried in the Las Cruces Masonic cemetary.

Dr. Martinez's scattered quotes gleaned from Oahspe do not serve to strengthen the premise of her book. The Oahspe derived Lincoln quotes merely serve to embarass the reader for Dr. Martinez if she thinks this dated piece of spiritual literature supports any case for a stronger sympathy of spiritualism by the Lincoln's than may previously been accepted by mainstream historians. Nor are the Lincoln's dyed in the wool spiritualists, but rather inquisitive progressive minded 19th century Americans looking for more than exoteric answers to the questions surrounding life and death.

In the author's biography in this book, it mentions a biography she has written on J.B. Newbrough, this is worth noting for a major study of his life is needed for students of 19th century alternative religious movements.