Review by Choice Review
A mainstream scholar captivated by the traditional methodological elusiveness of psychic phenomena (and experience), Frohock (political science, Syracuse Univ.) constructs a wide-ranging incursion into the "no-man's land" of faith that typically characterizes spiritual communities. Normal science (the realm of traditional explanation, so labeled by Thomas Kuhn) avoids even the boundary between known scientific explanation and the magical realm of common belief in the "supernatural," the main categorization used by Frohock to discuss psychic and paranormal phenomena. The author penetrates this boundary by introducing ethnographically gathered testimony and description of psychics "in action." He juxtaposes these materials with appropriately related traditional material drawn from a broad-based sample of discourse selected from philosophy, religion, science, and social science. Frohock opens a pregnant dialogue between intellectual (scientific) skepticism and the intuitive reality of psychic phenomena, which seems to be devoid of substantive sensory and cognitive explanation. Like a journey in which the explorer is not quite sure where his destination will find him, this discussion examines a jungle of scientific, philosophical, religious, and psychological (sensory, cognitive, science) materials in a noble attempt to explore rather than explain psychic phenomena. Gaps occur, but Frohock successfully crosses the boundary in this carefully researched effort. Graduate and professional audiences will find it most approachable. M. Evans; SUNY Empire State College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Frohock, whose previous works include books about alternative medicine and spiritual communities, now seeks truth in the ground separating belief and skepticism in psychic phenomena. Lengthy theoretical discussions on the nature of reality, consciousness, and the limitations of scientific inquiry are followed by summations of the results of research experiments designed to test psychic abilities. Most are inconclusive when statistical analysis is involved, yet they reveal some remarkable abilities in individual cases. Frohock's more entertaining chapters contain profiles of the psychics themselves and their counterparts, the professional skeptics. He provides short and interesting historical biographies of the "grand psychics" Daniel Home, Eileen Garret, and Edgar Cayce, but the stories that best illuminate the psychic's mind are those of the present-day spiritual practitioners whom Frohock interviews, and readers will wish he'd devoted more pages to them. They come across as dedicated, caring healers rather than as the charlatans they are often portrayed. In conclusion, Frohock observes that inquiries into the unknown are best conducted with a combination of science, intuition, faith, and spiritual communication. --David Siegfried
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Frohock (political science, Syracuse Univ.), the author of the well-received Healing Powers: Alternative Medicine, Spiritual Communities and the State, aims to introduce and evaluate a set of disparate arguments on the supernatural using the opposition between skeptic and believer, with each chapter presenting both sides. Informed by interesting interviews that Frohock himself conducted, this work allows readers to listen to practitioners while being guided by the best research in these areas. It is also a good historical compilation of psychic scientific research. Still, much of what we know, Frohock concludes in a philosophical and overblown manner, is limited by our senses and intellect. The author spent years researching this material, and it is well documented with extensive notes. Another book this concise would be hard to find. The writing has an academic flavor and, therefore, is recommended only to large public and academic libraries.-Kimberly Bateman, Broward Cty. Lib., Deerfield Beach, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
