Absolute Elsewhere

1975

Albertson, Dean, ed., REBELS OR REVOLUTIONARIES?: STUDENT MOVEMENTS OF THE 1960'S, 1975, Simon and Schuster. Trade.  This is one those anthologies used as a "readings" text in college level classes.  It is interesting because it was produced during the "wake" for the "new left."  The emphasis is on the political nature of the 60's movements, as one would expect from the title.  It is a rather typical example of the kind of thinking that has lead to the over emphasis on the political nature of 60's  movements.  As Jerry Rubin once said of "new left" politics, "The left drives people away almost as fast as Nixon drives people toward us."
 

Anger, Kenneth, HOLLYWOOD BABYLON, 1, 1975, Straight Arrow, HB.  Anger was a character more outrageous than most of the Hollywood denizens he wrote about.  He grew up around the movie biz and picked up a lot  of leads about the sleazy side of Hollywood.  Here's what really happened at Fatty Arbuckle's disastrous party, and the whole gory truth about Jane Mansfield's  death, with tales of seduction, rape, suicide, and murder.  Anger  published most of this in Europe, but a lot of the information had worked its way back to the states to become part of the pop/folk tradition long before this edition was published.  At times, Anger seems to be gleefully dancing on the grave of Hollywood myths.  Anger, a fan of Aleister Crowley, opened the book with a quotation from the Magus: "Every man and woman, a star".  It is one of the most ingenious misquotes I have ever encountered.

 

Anon. (Judy Skutch, et. al.), COURSE IN MIRACLES, A, 1975, Foundation for Inner Peace, HB. 3 vols. Need Copy and Info.

Arguelles, Jose, TRANSFORMATIVE VISION, THE, 1975, Shambhala, Trade.

Bandler, Richard, and Grinder, John, STRUCTURE OF MAGIC, THE, 1975, Science and Behavior Books (Palo Alto, CA), Trade.  Subtitle: A BOOK ABOUT LANGUAGE AND THERAPY.  Pity the poor heavy metal kid, looking for some quick surface spells, or the D&D freak looking for a book on fantasy games, who bought this and discovered that its about Transformational Grammar and semantics.  The cover has a nice color wizard, of the generic sort used on D&D book covers.  There's  no wizardry within, though.  It's just a boring bit of psychobabble about how to get from the "surface structure" to the "deep structure" through the use of the authors' linguistic "meta-model."   This book stands as a good example of the  paradox which exists in the whole pseudo-linguistic world.  Why is it that those who are obsessed with language as the prime mover of human experience can't write better?
 
Berlitz, Charles, BERMUDA TRIANGLE, THE, 2, 1975, Avon, PB.

Bloom, Harold, KABBALAH AND CRITICISM, 1975, Seabury Press, HB. Bloom is a major figure in American literary criticism.  In his early days, he specialized in studies of romantic and symbolist poets such as Blake and Yeats.  In more recent times, he has become the dean of American "deconstructionism" (a form of post- modern criticism which is almost incomprehensible to those who are not in on the joke). Bloom once wrote a book entitled A MAP OF MISREADING, in which he suggested that most of the romantic poets "misread" what mysticism was all about.  This book suggests that Bloom has fundamentally "misread" what the Kabbalah is all about.  Could it be  that is what "deconstructionism" is really all about?  Might it be a school of thought which allows the critic to misread anything he likes?

Bloomfield, Harold, Cain, Michael Peter, Dennis T. Jaffee, and Robert B Korg, T.M., 1975, Delacorte Press, Trade and HB. Dell / PB.

Brennan, J. H., ULTIMATE ELSEWHERE, THE, 1975, Signet, PB.

Brownmiller, Susan, AGAINST OUR WILL, 1, 1975, Simon and Schuster, HB. See 1976 entry.

Bryne, Peter, SEARCH FOR BIG FOOT, THE, 1, 1975, Acropolis (Washington, DC), HB. See 1976 entry.

Buckland, Raymond, AMAZING SECRETS OF THE PSYCHIC WORLD, 1975, Parker Publishing, HB. Need Copy and info.

Bugliosi, Vincent and Gentry, Curt, HELTER SKELTER, 2, 1975, Bantam, PB.
 

Burke, Omar M., AMONG THE DERVISHES, 1975, Dutton, Trade. A sad reminder of how things once were in the 1960s and 70s in the then expanding world of Islamic mysticsm in the west.  An Englishman travels throughout Islam passed from Sufi order to another, and finally becomes one of the first Christians since Richard Burton to enter Mecca during a pilgrimage.  The "Studeous King", Idries Shah,   seems to have had much to do with Burke's success.  A great adventure and a wonderful introduction to Islamic mysticism.  One of my personal favorites.

 

Camp, L. Sprague de, LOVECRAFT: A BIOGRAPHY, 1, 1975, Doubleday, HB. See also 1976 entry.  This is often called a warts and all biography of Lovecraft, and is de Camp's most controversial work.  Many Lovecraft fans thought it was a hatchet job.  It is true that de Camp's jocular scientific humanism doesn't complement Lovecraft's ultra-serious reactionary character.  It is as complete a biography as possible, and probably better because de Camp did not genuflect before the icon of H.P.L.  I suggest using the Doubleday hardbound edition as it is the complete book that de Camp wrote (but more on that in 1976 entry).

 

Camp, L. Sprague de, LOST CONTINENTS, 3, 1975, Ballantine, PB. Same as the Dover edition.

Capra, Fritjof, TAO OF PHYSICS, THE, 1, 1975, Shambhala, Trade. This is the first book on modern physics and Eastern mysticism, and still one of the best of all that followed.  Capra is a physicist with an  understanding of quantum physics.  Not all of the later books on the same subject could make that claim (see especially Zukav, 1979 entry). This is the  founding text of what I call "quantum mysticism," a whole new school of mystical thought which became very popular in the 70's. THE TAO OF PHYSICS is one of the most important and influential books on mysticism published in this period.
 

Richard Cavendish, THE TAROT, 1975,  Harper and Row, HB.  A lavishly illustrated book on the tarot from the editor of MAN MYTH AND MAGIC, and the author of THE BLACK ARTS.

 

Charpentier, Louis, MYSTERIES OF CHARTRES CATHEDRAL, 1975, Avon, PB. Translation of 1966 French title.  Here's a summary of the lore associated with Chartres and medieval  cathedrals in general.  It is especially useful in understanding much of the mystical and alchemical meanings of the architecture.  This is a superior book  and the most satisfying in Avon's MYSTERIES series.

Charroux, Robert (Robert Grugeau), MYSTERIOUS PAST, THE, 1975, Berkley, PB,  Need copy and info.

Christopher, Milbourne, MEDIUMS, MYSTICS, AND THE OCCULT, 1975, Crowell, HB.  Need Copy and Info.

Clark, Jerome, and Coleman, Loren, UNIDENTIFIED: NOTES TOWARD SOLVING THE UFO MYSTERY, THE, 1975, Warner Paperback Library, PB. entry

Cohn, Norman, EUROPE'S INNER DEMONS, 1, 1975, Basic Books, HB. See 1977 entry.

Condon, Richard, WINTER KILLS, 2, 1975, Dell, PB. See also WINTER KILLS, 1979 entry.   There is one dominant theme in Condon's savage, black political thrillers: never trust your best friends, and never, ever trust your family! Condon applies this theme to the J.F.K. assassination.  I wonder how the Kennedy family felt about his "solution" to the mystery.  President Thirkield, in Condon's version, is the victim of a contract killing, instigated by his own tycoon father.  All this is a satire of the way the American power structure works (or doesn't work).  This may be the best of the "post Watergate fallout"  novels, showing a general disgust with the government and the people who run it. In a later, even more savage novel, WHISPER OF THE AXE, Condon had the President of the United States involved in the drug trade.  Of course, such a thing could never happen, could it?

Crowley, John, DEEP, THE, 1, 1975, Doubleday, HB. entry

Daniken, Erich von,  MIRACLES OF THE GODS, 1975, Delacorte Press, HB. Delta Trade?
 
Daniken, Erich von, IN SEARCH OF ANCIENT GODS, 1975, Bantam, PB. Subtitle: MY PICTORIAL EVIDENCE FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE.

Daniken, Erich von, MIRACLES OF THE GODS, 2, 1975, Souvenir Press British ed., HB.

Dean, Roger, Hamilton, and, Text by Dominy Capalbo, Carla, VIEWS, 1975, Dragon's Dream Ltd (London), Trade.  Some of the best art of the late 60's and 70's appeared on record covers, and Roger Dean was one of the best of the artists who specialized in    cover art.  He's best known for his long association with art rock group YES.  His fantastic landscapes decorated most of that group's most memorable recordings. Dean's work is often grouped with the "new romantics" and "the studio" group in the USA. There are a lot of influences from Taoism and Chinese painters in his work.  Many of Dean's paintings appear to follow the rules of  Feng Shui--the Taoist art of correct placement. Dean was a fan of John Michell's VIEW OVER ATLANTIS, and painted the beautiful cover for the first US  edition (1972 entry, see also MAGNETIC STORM, 1984).

Delaney, Walter, ULTRA-PSYCHOTRONICS, 1, 1975, Parker Publishing (West Nyack, NJ), HB.  This publisher put out many titles like this one. Central to the  formula is a testimonial from the satisfied practitioner.  In this case, it's all about the unlimited power of "psycho-atomic energy" and how to make it work for you!  Most of these titles are so unintentionally funny, you may suspect they were written as satires.  They weren't.

Delaney, Samuel R., DHALGREN, 1975, Bantam, PB.

Denniston, Denise, and McWilliams, Peter, TM BOOK, THE, 1975, Warner Books, PB. entry
 

Dick, Philip K., FLOW MY TEARS THE POLICEMAN SAID, 2, 1975, DAW Books, PB.  A vision of a future where everybody is a police informer.  Hummm, sounds a little like 1975 to me.

 

Dione, R. L., GOD DRIVES A FLYING SAUCER, 1975, Bantam, PB.

Earll, Tony (Raymond Buckland), MU REVEALED, 2, 1975, Warner Books, PB. Need Copy and info.
 
Farmer, Philip Jose, DOC SAVAGE: HIS APOCALYPTIC LIFE, 2, 1975, Bantam, PB. Revised and expanded ed.
 

Florescu, Radu, IN SEARCH OF FRANKENSTEIN, 1, 1975, New York Graphic Society, HB.  Florescu was one of the co-authors of the successful IN SEARCH OF DRACULA (McNally, 1972 entry), and this book follows the same format.  Florescu suggests that Mary Shelley was inspired by tales concerning the von Frankenstein family  of Germany, and their "house alchemist" Konrad Dippel, during the 17th century.

French, Peter A., PHILOSOPHERS IN WONDERLAND, 1975, Llewellyn, Trade. This is an anthology of classical and contemporary philosophical essays on consciousness and psychic subjects.  It was obviously designed to be  used as a supplementary readings text in a university course.  French was a professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota, who wrote a good biography of John Dee.

Freud, Sigmund, Byck, ed., Robert, COCAINE PAPERS, THE, 2, 1975, Meridian, Trade. entry.

Frost, Gavin and Yvonne, WITCHES BIBLE, THE, 1, 1975, Berkley, PB. Need Copy and Info.  A lot of neo-pagans were upset by the title of this one, dubbing it the "witchcrap book" and other less printable names.  The Frosts are probably  better known than most who practice the craft because of their willingness to   appear on an occasional television talk show (usually on Halloween/ Samhain eve). They also ran a witchcraft correspondence school.  The Frosts were also unusual in that they teach and practice a "monotheist" form of witchcraft. They are charming folk, in general, but their commercialism has had some laughable results.     They wrote several books for Parker Publishing's ludicrous occult  series (see my comments on Delaney, ULTRA-PSYCHOTRONICS, 1975 entry) that are difficult to read without giggling over each page.

Fuller, Uriah (Martin Gardner), CONFESSIONS OF A PSYCHIC, 1975, Karl Fulves (Teaneck, NJ), Pamphlet, Need Copy and Info.

Gardner, John, REVENGE OF MORIARTY, THE, 1, 1975, Putnam, HB. See 1976 entry.

Geller, Uri, (John G. Fuller, ed.), MY STORY, 1975, Praeger, HB.  Need Copy and info.  PB?  Fuller also "ghosted" Geller's newspaper column, so it is quite likely that he actually wrote this title.

Ginsburgh, Irwin, FIRST MAN.  THEN ADAM., 1, 1975, Simon and Schuster, HB. See 1978 entry.

Gittelson, Bernard, BIORHYTHM, 1, 1975, Arco, HB. See 1977 entry.

Goodavage, Joseph, WRITE YOUR OWN HOROSCOPE, 2, 1975, Signet, PB. Revised and updated ed.

Graham, Lloyd M., DECEPTIONS AND MYTHS OF THE BIBLE, 1975, University Books, HB.

Graham, F. Lanier, RAINBOW BOOK, THE, 1, 1975, Shambhala, Trade, In association with Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.

Gribbin, John R., and Plagemann, Stephen, JUPITER EFFECT, THE, 2, 1975, Vintage, PB.

Guenette, Robert and Guenette, Frances, MYSTERIOUS MONSTERS, THE, 1975, Sunn Classic Books, PB. Movie tie-in for the Sunn Classic exploitation documentary. Nothing new here!
 

Hadingham, Evan, CIRCLES AND STANDING STONES, 1, 1975, Walker and Co., HB. See 1976 entry.

 

Hawken, Paul, MAGIC OF FINDHORN, THE, 1, 1975, Harper and Row, HB. See 1976 entry.

Hisey, Lehmann, KEYS TO INNER SPACE, 2, 1975, Avon, PB. entry

Hobana, Ion and Weverbergh, Julien, UFOs FROM BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN, 2, 1975, Bantam, PB.  It's a nice companion to Ostrander and Schroeder's PSYCHIC DISCOVERIES BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN.  It is not as earth shaking as its prototype because UFOs in the Soviet bloc sound no different than our own.  Even the official attitude is much the same, and Soviet UFOlogists seem just as harried and paranoid. There is a very nice summary of the mysterious Turgus explosion of 1908 which makes the whole book worth the effort.

Hougan, Jim, DECADENCE: RADICAL NOSTALGIA, NARCISSISM AND DECLINE IN/ 70'S, 1975, Morrow, HB. See Research Bibliography. PB?

HUMANIST, THE, Magazine, 1975, September/ October issue.  This is the famous/infamous issue devoted to an attack upon astrology.  It contains an anti-astrology statement signed by 186 scientists, and several articles which purport to refute astrology.  This may be the opening gun in the American Humanist Association's new militant war on what they define as "superstition" or "pseudoscience."  This new militancy would result in the  AHA forming a new organization for skeptics, The Committee for the Scientific  Investigation of the Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) in 1977 (entry, and see  Abell and Singer, 1981 entry).

Hunter, Don and Dahinden, Rene, SASQUATCH, 2, 1975, Signet, PB. Anyone who has ever read a book on the bigfoot problem will be familiar Rene Dahinden.  Pictures of him holding his plaster cast of huge footprints appear in about every title on the subject.  Dahinden had made the search for this man-thing his 20 year long obsession.  Like most of the Sasquatch books, this one is mostly a catalogue of sightings interspersed with  debates about their validity.  There is little conclusive here.

Hynek, J. Allen and Vallee, Jacques, AT THE EDGE OF REALITY, 1975, Henry Regnery, HB. Need Copy and Info  / PB ?
 

Inayat-Kahan, Pir Vilayat, TOWARD THE ONE, 1975, Harper Holophon, Trade. Another of those square biodegradable books written in all capital letters that became fashionable after Ram Dass' BE HERE NOW.   This is from Inyat-Kahn's Sufi Order USA, and is a good introduction to this this Indian branch of Islamic mysticism.

 

Ivimy, John, SPHINX AND THE MEGALITHS, THE, 1975, Harper and Row, HB. This is one of my picks from those slightly tilted books of the mid-70's.  Ivimy believes that the major influence on the British megalithic civilizations was an immigration from Egypt.  He uses a lot of information on the Golden Mean and sacred geometry as part of his argument. I suspect the book has been influenced by the British Israeli cult.  It's still rather satisfying   in a fun far-fetched way.

Jacobs, David Michael, UFO CONTROVERSY IN AMERICA, THE, 1975, Indiana University Press (Bloomington, IN), HB.  This well documented work presents a balanced look at the UFO controversy through the early 70's.  While there is a need for someone to do another work on later events, this is a excellent starting point for the study  of UFO literature. The chapter on the "contactee" movements of the 50's is very helpful, as that information is hard to locate.  Some hardcore skeptics do not like the book because of Jacob's neutral viewpoint (neutrality is not a virtue to the skeptic).  In the 80's, Jacobs has abandoned some of his  neutrality by giving some endorsement to Budd Hopkins and his "abductee" movement See Hopkins, 1981 and 1988 entries; Strieber, 1987 and 1988 entries;  also Klass, 1988 entry).

Jaffe, Aniela, MYTH OF MEANING, THE, 2, 1975, Penguin, PB. entry

Jeffrey, Ali-Kent Thomas, BERMUDA TRIANGLE, THE, 1975, Warner Paperback Library, PB.  I can see no reason for this book except that Warner Books didn't  have a Bermuda Triangle book on its list, and got one.  It is for Triangle junkies only, and very close to the bottom of the barrel.

Johari, Harish, ed. and commentaries, LEELA: THE GAME OF LIFE, 1975, Coward, McCann, and Geoghegan, HB and Trade. entry.

Keel, John, MOTHMAN PROPHECIES, THE, 1975, Saturday Review Press, HB. PB? entry

King, Francis, MAGIC: THE WESTERN TRADITION, 1975, Avon / Thames and Hudson, British ed., Trade. Art and Cosmos series.

King, Stephen, CARRIE, 1, 1975, Signet, PB.  Signet packaged this with the banner proclaiming "a novel of a girl possessed of a terrifying power."  You had to search for the title and the     author's name. Carrie was just one of many novels on the stand at the time which sought to ride the coattails of THE EXORCIST, and remained in the pack until the 1976 movie.  As Don Herron points out in the PENGUIN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF  HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL (See Research Bibliography), King is an extremely derivative novelist, and CARRIE shows this early on.  You can almost list the books on PK and ESP King read before writing it.  CARRIE is not possessed by demons--just a textbook case of teen repression manifesting itself in PK activity.

Klass, Philip K., UFOs EXPLAINED, 1975, Random House, HB.

Kolosimo, Peter, TIMELESS EARTH, 2, 1975, Bantam, PB. The publisher's biography informs us that Kolosimo is the founder  of a "...science which denies the Darwinian theory of man's uninterrupted evolution." It isn't Creationism though, it's Charroux- ism. Like Charroux, whom he quotes a lot, Kolosimo will throw anything at you no matter how disreputable the source.  He loves Horbiger's eternal ice theory. Where else could you find out about the tunnels that connect Tibet and Peru?  Like Charroux, Kolosimo is so outrageously crack-pot that he's great fun.

Krippner, Stanley, SONG OF THE SIREN, 1975, Harper and Row, HB. Krippner is a parapsychologist who published extensively during this period. This book is an autobiographical summary of his career up to 1975. It is a fascinating look at the whole cultural scene from the pre-psychedelic days of the early 60's through the "me" oriented mid-70's.  There's an especially interesting look at one of Timothy Leary's weekends at Millbrook in  1965. I think this may be one of the better volumes to read when trying to sort out the meaning of the visionary impulse of this period.
 

Kusche, Lawrence, BERMUDA TRIANGLE MYSTERY--SOLVED, THE, 1, 1975, Warner Books, PB.  This is a good volume for someone hooked on all those Bermuda Triangle titles.  Kusche shows that the disappearances in the Triangle are a lot of sound and fury.  One of his most interesting points is that there were more unexplained disappearances in the Great Lakes than in the Bermuda Triangle.  (Sure enough, a book called GATEWAY TO OBLIVION: THE GREAT LAKE'S BERMUDA TRIANGLE appeared in 1980.  You can't win!)  Cask's book is one of the best skeptical exposes written to date.

 

Landsburg, Alan and Sally, OUTER-SPACE CONNECTION, THE, 1975, Bantam, PB. It's another tie-in from the movie of the same name (1975 entry).
 

LAND THAT TIME FORGOT, Motion Picture, 1975.  This was the first of the American International/Amicus (UK) productions of Burroughs material. Some reviewers actually  took this campy adaptation of an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel seriously.  The screenplay by SF novelist Michael Moorcock  and his buddy James Cawthorn slyly runs through the everything -but-the-kitchen-sink plot.  Cheap special effects abound, while everyone tries to look heroic. A sequel, THE PEOPLE THAT TIME FORGOT (1977) is much more visually interesting, though just as silly.

 

LeShan, Lawrence, MEDIUM, THE MYSTIC, AND THE PHYSICIST, THE, 2, 1975, Ballantine, PB. entry

Lewis, Samuel, IN THE GARDEN, 1, 1975, Harmony Books, Trade.

Lilly, John C., LILLY ON DOLPHINS, 1975, Doubleday, HB. Need Copy and Info.  PB?

Lobdell, Jared, ed., TOLKIEN COMPASS, THE, 1, 1975, Open Court Publications (La Salle, Il), HB, See 1980 entry.
 

Lovecraft, H.P., THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE, ?, 1975, Zebra Books, 1975.  Published by Zebra books (not to be confused with Grove Press' earlier imprint of the same name), who appeared on the scene just as Lancer Books was disappearing from the scene.  Even more interesting was that Zebra also published a lot of the same titles that Lancer had on its backlist.  This is one of them.

 

Lunan, Duncan, INTERSTELLAR CONTACT, 1, 1975, Henry Regnery, HB. British title: MAN AND THE STAR. See 1977 entry.

MacPaint, Shirley, YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE, 1, 1975, Norton, HB. See 1976 entry.
 

Mathers, S. L. MacGregor, BOOK OF THE SACRED MAGIC OF ABRAMELIN THE MAGE, THE, 2, 1975, Dover, Trade. Reprint of 1900 British title. entry

 

Meyer, Nicholas, SEVEN PER-CENT SOLUTION, THE, 2, 1975, Ballantine, PB.

Michell, John, EARTH SPIRIT, 1975, Avon/ Thames and Hudson,  British ed., Trade. Art and Cosmos series.

Mishlove, Jeffrey, ROOTS OF CONSCIOUSNESS, 1975, Random House, Trade. Mishlove was the first person in the US to get a doctorate in Parapsychology.  This volume was once described to me as the "textbook of the   strange,"  and sure enough, that's what it is!  Even the page design is the same as the recent style of textbooks, with the supplemental quotes and pictures festooning the ultra wide margins. What survey course was it designed for?   FRINGE 101?  It's a good introduction to just about every topic covered in this  listing (and then some).  Mishlove could benefit from a little healthy skepticism, at times, and he won no awards from the militant skeptics.  Martin Gardner called it "...an incredible Mishlovemash of every crazy aspect of the   current psi scene," in SCIENCE, GOOD, BAD, AND BOGUS (1983 entry).  That's a classic Gardnerism, by the way).  Mishlove's later book PSI DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS is interesting to compare with this title (see 1983 and 1988 entries).

Moody, Raymond A., Jr., LIFE AFTER LIFE, 1, 1975, Mockingbird Books, HB. See 1976 entry.

Moss, Thelma, PROBABILITY OF THE IMPOSSIBLE, THE, 2, 1975, New American Library, Trade. Moss presents a well-written survey of parapsychology, and the scientific study of the psychic.  The section on bio-energy and Kirlian photography is especially good.  Thelma Moss was one of the younger group of   parapsychologists who came into the field in the 50's.  She wrote a book about  her early experiences, MY SELF AND I, under the pseudonym "Constance Newland" (1961 entry). This is one of the more solid surveys of the 70's.

MYSTERIOUS MONSTERS, THE, Motion Picture, 1975. Sunn Classic Pictures. May also have been released as BIGFOOT.  Here's an inconclusive "alleged" documentary on the American Abominable Snowman.  This is so inconclusive and sensationalistic that it stands as a self-parody of this whole genre (see IN SEARCH OF NOAH'S ARK, 1976 entry for more on Sunn Classic).

Niel, Fernand, MYSTERIES OF STONEHENGE, 1975, Avon, PB. Translation of 1974 French title. This is a fairly straight forward work on Stonehenge, and a real surprise coming from Avon's Gallic "Mysteries" series.

Ornstein, Robert E., PSYCHOLOGY OF CONSCIOUSNESS, THE, 2, 1975, Penguin, PB.  It was Ornstein who brought talk about the right side and the left side of the brain, and their functions, into common daily speech.  It was also  Ornstein who brought some scientific validity to meditation and other mystical  techniques, as bridges between the logical left and the visionary right sides of the brain.  He was influenced by Sufi teacher Idries Shah, and used many of Shah's Sufi tales as illustrative examples in the book.  This was one of the more influential books of the period, and remains a thoughtful and instructive  work.

Ostrander, Sheila and Schroeder, Lynn, HANDBOOK OF PSYCHIC DISCOVERIES, 2, 1975, Berkley, PB.

OUTER-SPACE CONNECTION, THE, Motion Picture, 1975, Alan Landsburg. These are further explorations into extraterrestrial visitations. Landsburg's film investigates the question: "Is there a connection between outer space and immortality?"  Landsburg's films are well done and often thought provoking.  My major complaint with these Landsburg
productions is that they often use a rather uncritical scatter gun approach to facts.
 

Panati, Charles, SUPERSENSES: OUR POTENTIAL OF PARASENSORY EXPERIENCE, 1, 1975, Quadrangle/New York Times Books, HB.

 

Parker, Derek and Julia, COMPLETE ASTROLOGER, THE, 2, 1975, Bantam, Trade.

Pearce, Joseph Chilton, EXPLORING THE CRACK IN THE COSMIC EGG, 2, 1975, Pocket Books, PB. entry

Pines, Maya, BRAIN CHANGERS, THE, 2, 1975, Signet, PB.

Pirsig, Robert M., ZEN AND THE ART OF MOTORCYCLE MAINTENANCE, 2, 1975, Bantam, PB.  The use of "The Zen of..." or "Zen and..." in titles became a new  cliche.  Pirsig wrote in the author's note that the book "...should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice.  It's not very factual on motorcycles, either."  He's not joking, either. Unfortunately, that's the last witty line in the book.  This boring, pedantic novel actually became a best seller.  The most exciting thing about this book is a very clever title.
 

Ponce, Charles, GAME OF WIZARDS, THE, 1975, Penguin, PB, Five essays on astrology, I CHING, the Kabballah, the Tarot, alchemy, and ESP as revelations of the self.  Ponce is mostly a Jungian at heart, and therefore tends to see occult and divinatory symbols as internalized, archetypal symbols.  Several chapters, such as those on the I CHING and Kabballah, are as good as you will find in any survey.

 

Progoff, Ira, JUNG, SYNCHRONICITY, AND HUMAN DESTINY, 2, 1975, Delta, Trade.

Puharich, Andrija, URI: A JOURNAL OF THE MYSTERY OF URI GELLER, 2, 1975, Bantam, PB. entry

Randi, James, TRUTH ABOUT URI GELLER, THE, 1975, Prometheus Books, HB? Need Copy and Info.

Rosenberg, Samuel, NAKED IS THE BEST DISGUISE, 2, 1975, Penguin, PB, Rosenberg presents the thesis that Holmes stories are really the vehicles for Arthur Conan Doyle's own repressed fantasies.  Holmes, according to Rosenberg, is the manifestation of Doyle's own superego. It's a good book that angered the Holmes cult.  My only complaint is with it's slavish adherence to  Freudian analysis.  For example, it could be argued that Holmes and Watson represent Doyle's whole brain.
In this approach, Watson represents the intuitive right brain, while Holmes represents the logical left brain.  But who asked me? Even with these objections, NAKED  IS THE BEST DISGUISE remains one  of the most original books ever written about Holmes and his creator.

Roszak, Theodore, UNFINISHED ANIMAL, 1, 1975, Harper and Row, Trade. Need Copy and Info.

Rumbelow, Donald, COMPLETE JACK THE RIPPER, THE, 1, 1975, New York, Graphic Society, HB. See 1976 entry.
 

Russ, Joanna, THE FEMALE MAN, 1, Bantam Books, PB.  The seminal (sorry about that) work in what would become the subgenre of Feminist Science Fiction.

 

Sagan, Carl, COSMIC CONNECTION, THE, 2, 1975, Dell, PB. Produced by Jerome Agel.  This is "man's place in the cosmos" according to Doctor Carl; or to be less kind, "why I put that silly plaque on the side of Pioneer 10."   It is a good advertisement for Sagan's project, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence using radio telescopic scans of the heavens (Walker Percy slyly challenges Sagan's logic on this in LOST IN THE COSMOS, 1984 entry).  Sagan would cover much of the same
material in his television show COSMOS (1980 entries).  This book seems to kick off a ten year period of maximum media exposure for Sagan,   during which he must have become the most visible scientist of all time  (see   OMNI, June 83, "The Marketing of Dr. Carl Sagan" for the commercial aspects of  his career).  Sagan's boosterism came during a time when public interest in space exploration was flagging. In this respect, he probably kept the sense of excitement alive when it was needed most.

Scholem, G. G., SABBATAI SEVI, 2, 1975, Princeton University Press/ Bollingen, Trade.

Schul, Bill and Pettit, Ed, SECRET POWER OF PYRAMIDS, THE, 1975, Fawcett, PB. Here's one of many paperback "knock-off" titles on pyramids and neo-pyramidology.  It covers the same ground as Toth and Nielson's book (see 1976 entry).  Schul also turned out other similar titles on fringe subjects.

Schumacher, E. F., SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL, 2, 1975, Harper and Row, PB.

Schwartz, Jean Michel, MYSTERIES OF EASTER ISLAND, 1975, Avon, PB. Reprint of 1973 French Title. Books on Easter Island were hard to find, so this title was welcome.  Its focus is on the lore of local islanders.

Sharkey, John, CELTIC MYSTERIES, 1975, Avon/ Thames and Hudson, British ed., Trade. Art and Imagination series.
 
Shea, Robert and Wilson, Robert Anton, ILLUMINATUS TRILOGY, THE, 1, 1975, Dell, PB / 3 Vols. See introduction.

SIREN, Roxy Music, 1975, Atco Records, Released Nov. 1975.  This L.P. contains Roxy Music's most successful US single, the singles-bar anthem "Love is a Drug."  It went top 40 in late winter in 1976, but seemed to remain on the juke boxes forever.  The song says volumes about some  of the "decadent" attitudes that could be found during the 70's.  The idea that one could become addicted to love (or lust) became more of a psychological fact in the late 70's.

Smith, Adam, POWERS OF MIND, 1, 1975, Random House, HB. See Research Bibliography.

Spencer, John Wallace, LIMBO OF THE LOST--TODAY, 4, 1975, Bantam, PB. See 1973 entry.
 

Starrett, Vincent, THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, 2, 1975, Pinnacle Books.  An early fictional biography of the great detective. The reprinting of these older works show that the Holmesian revival started by Meyer's SEVEN PERSENT SOLUTION (1974 entry) was in full swing.

 

Taylor, John G., SUPERMINDS, 1975, Viking, HB. Need Copy and Info. PB?

Taylor, John G., BLACK HOLES, 2, 1975, Avon, PB.

Toben, Bob, SPACE-TIME AND BEYOND, 1, 1975, Dutton, Trade, See 1982 entry.

Trout, Kilgore (Philip Jose Farmer), VENUS ON THE HALF SHELL, 1975, Dell, PB.

Twitchell, Paul, ECKANKAR: THE KEY TO SECRET WORLDS, 2, 1975, Zebra, PB.  Guts exactly the same as the Lancer (1969) ed.

Valentine, Tom, GREAT PYRAMID, THE, 1975, Pinnacle Books, PB. This is a good natured look at the Great Pyramid by an author who has written several titles on fringe subjects (see 1973 entry).  Valentine falls into the "advanced ancients" school of thought.  It is best for his own experiences with others in the bizarre world of neo-pyramidology.

Vallee, Jacques, INVISIBLE COLLEGE, THE, 1975, Dutton, HB.  Need copy and info. PB?

Veer, M. H. J. Th. Van der, and Moerman, P., HIDDEN WORLDS, 1975, Bantam, PB. Reprint of 1972 Dutch title.  This is a rather polite refutation of Erich von Daniken's ideas.   The authors seem to be sympathetic to "fantastic realism" in general, but totally unimpressed with much of the evidence used to support the "extraterrestrial genesis" theories.  The volume has some good sections, especially on pre-Columbian voyages to the New World, but on the whole it is unfocused and inconclusive.
 

Waite, Arthur Edward, THE HOLY KABBALAH, 2, 1975, University Books (Lyle Stuart), Trade.

 

Watts, Alan, PSYCHOTHERAPY EAST AND WEST, 3, 1975, Vintage, PB.

Watts, Alan with collaboration of Huang, Chung-liang, TAO: THE WATERCOURSE WAY, 1975, Pantheon Books. Trade.

Wellman, Manly Wade, and Wellman, Wade, SHERLOCK HOLMES' WAR OF THE WORLDS, 1975, Warner Books, PB.  Sherlock Holmes meets H. G. Wells and helps defeat the invaders from Mars.  This is an interesting example of a subgenre of re-written novels,  begun by Philip Jose Farmer's THE OTHER LOG OF PHILEAS FOGG.  It's fun.

Welton, John, and, Levitt, Zola, UFOS: WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING, 1, 1975, Harvest House, HB. See 1976 entry.
 
Wetering, Janwillem Van de, GLIMPSE OF NOTHINGNESS, 1, 1975, Houghton Mifflin, HB. Trans. of 1974 Dutch title.  70's PB ed.?

Whitten, Leslie, PROGENY OF THE ADDER, 1, 1975, Avon, PB.
 

Wolf, Leonard, ed., ANNOTATED DRACULA, THE, 1, 1975, Clarkson N. Potter, HB.

 

X-MEN, Marvel Comics, 1975, Giant Sized X-MEN #l, May 1975. THE X-MEN was one of Marvel's worst titles, and it limped along from 1963 to 1975 (#1-93). This special issue represented one of the most dramatic turnarounds in comic history.  By 1981, it was the hottest comic in the industry.  Much of this is due to Chris Claremont who wrote all but a few of the early issues of the revival.  He successfully recast the characters as "new age" superheroes.  There was a strong element of feminism in the book, including much borrowing from the "women's religion" movement, mirroring interest in the goddess of paganism. Many of the issues from #93-175 would make an interesting comparison with popular Jungianism and the neo-pagan movement.  In the mid 80's, the title has become more "new wave" than "new age" in philosophy.

 
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