Joel Martin (2)

I was disappointed in this book. Much of it was written in a very dry style. The writers insisted on including their pet conspiracy theories in the mix. Sources included lots of "anonymous" folks, tabloids, and other questionable witnesses. There was a lot of speculation about how certain words and actions of people might suggest a supernatural experience of which they'd not spoken. I found the chapter on Nancy Reagan's astrologer absolutely boring, and the one about Hillary Clinton "channeling" Eleanor Roosevelt silly -- sounds like she was simply engaging in an imaginative exercise of WWED (what would Eleanor do?). Then there was the final chapter about the mediums "channeling" the presidents -- not my cuppa.

Oh, and then there was some questionable organization. For instance, the chapter titled "Presidential Birthplaces" included a lot of sites that were not presidential birthplaces, and very few places where presidents were actually born. There was also a fair amount of repetition between the different sections.

Within the dross, there were a few pearls of stories that appeared to have some documentation. I enjoyed those, but not enough to make it worthwhile slogging through 400 pages of this stuff.… (mehr)

The title of this one can easily throw off a potential reader, which is a little irritating. There is nothing about hauntings in this book, as the title implies. Instead, the authors follow the history of spiritualism - psychics, mediums, etc. - throughout American history. We learn about the popular spiritualists of the day, their seances, etc. We also learn about a few popular politicians, such as Abraham Lincoln, who used mediums to help them make decisions.

The writing was easy to follow, though, for me, a little too rambling at times. The one huge problem I have with it is that the authors never once so much as mentioned Edgar Cayce. I don't know how anyone can write a book that supposedly encompasses spiritualism, yet not once bring up Edgar Cayce's name.

However, I did enjoy the chapter on women's role in spiritualism and its importance for the women's movement. The authors offered a unique perspective I have not seen in any other books.… (mehr)