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by Jerome Clark 
A thorough presentation of cases of anomalous phenomena
There are few with greater authority to write a book on the topic of anomalous occurrences than Jerome Clark. For over three decades he has written about such events, and has been editor of Fate magazine and of the International UFO Reporter. He is the author of several books and many articles on unexplained phenomena. Quantity does not always equal quality, but Clark has always sustained the same high standards in his writing, no matter the specific topic in the field or his theoretical approach. This book is a collection of his research on physical phenomena not accepted by mainstream science. The subjects of this book found here include phenomena as diverse as Thunderbirds, fairies, and entombed animals, to name a few of my favorites. Clark gives each subject a chapter, in which he summarizes the reports and excludes nothing that might be considered a possible explanation of the phenomena. A result of this approach is that he accepts prosaic explanations for cattle mutilations, the Bermuda Triangle, and the moving coffins of Barbados. As a rule, however, Clark's focus here is to show that not only do we not know everything about the natural world, but that at times our preconceptions prevent us from studying what Charles Fort called "the data of the damned." Such data once included meteors and giant squid, neither of which were accepted by Enlightenment science, but which have now been incorporated into mainstream scientific thought. It is likely that many of the entities and phenomena included herein will someday be accepted by science, but until then, Clark has given them a place to stay, for those interested in such things to find them. This book is one whose strength is an absence of theory. Usually this approach would result in a pile of meaningless facts, but in this work we at last have a collection of the most representative (if that term means anything in this context) anecdotes of odd phenomena recorded in the modern era. Some phenomena, as I have pointed out, fall prey to the skeptic's knife, but in most cases Clark emphasizes what has been written about the event or entity. His attitude of most of these topics can be summarized by his words regarding the phenomenon known as the hairy biped. In response to questions raised by its possible existence, its ability to become invisible and perhaps even intangible, and its possible connection with UFOs, Clark says only: "We don't know. And we probably aren't going to find out for a very long time." Future researchers will find this work a good source for historical materials pertaining to this and other as-yet unexplained phenomena. Topics included are apparently material cryptozooids such as lake monsters and unknown primates; UFOs and other aerial phenomena; objects falling from the sky; living dinosaurs and other supposedly extinct creatures. There are also those creatures and events which might not be physical phenomena, such as fairies, hairy bipeds, and phantom attackers. Indeed, perhaps the most important point that Clark makes in this book is that most of these phenomena appear sometimes to be material phenomena, and at other times specters that come and go without leaving physical evidence. Clark's goal here is to present as much as the data as is possible in the space given; he does not exclude cases which support either the material or paranormal hypothesis. Except in a few cases, he chooses not to declare one way or another what the phenomena might be (though he does explore many possibilities), remaining instead content with documenting accounts of its existence. The book is also an enjoyable read, and is furthermore very well organized. Each chapter contains a list of Clark's sources. Numbered footnotes would have been better, and an index also would have been useful, but this book is without a doubt the finest collection of unexplained phenomena I have yet seen. It is one of the few books of this type that I always keep at hand not merely for pleasure, but also for reference. |
