The Complete Books of Charles Fort
by Charles Fort
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HTML:"Did beings from outer space visit earth in the past ... are the various objects seen in the sky evidences of their visits? What is the explanation of falls of frogs, falls of fishes, falls of seagulls, which have been recorded from time to time? How can we account for all the inexplicable astronomical observations that have been made in the past? How can we answer reports of strange animals, disappearances of men from open sight, curious structures in the snow, talents like show more teleportation and telekinesis?" These are the "damned," by which the late Charles Fort meant all the wide range of mysteries that are ignored by orthodox science or explained away improperly. He worked for 27 years at the British Museum and the New York Public Library gathering material on phenomena from the borderlands between science and fantasy. His research appeared in four books: The Book of the Damned, New Lands, Lo!, and Wild Talents. In these four volumes Fort organized and commented on a wild host of phenomena: flying saucers seen in the sky before the invention of aircraft, flying wheels, strange noises in the sky; correlations between volcanic activity and atmospheric phenomena; falls of red snow; falls of frogs, fishes, worms, shells, jellies; finding of "thunderbolts"; discrepancies in the schedules of comets, sightings on Mars and the moon; infra-Mercurian planets; inexplicable footprints in snowfields; flat earth phenomena, disruptions of gravity; poltergeist phenomena; stigmata; surviving fossil animals; the Jersey devil; Kaspar Hauser; spontaneous combustion; and similar weird effects. While Charles Fort never actually explained the phenomena, beyond making vague hints of an organic universe and neo-Hegelianism, through the years his following has grown. At first his work was picked up by literary men such as Theodore Dreiser, Booth Tarkington, Clarence Darrow, Havelock Ellis, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Later, "Fortean themes" influenced the development of science fiction, and today his work remains the great predecessor to all extraterrestrial speculations. Nonfiction. Sociology. New Age. show lessTags
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MiaCulpa Both books examine Fortean events and stories.
Member Reviews
Charles Fort is sui generis, the jedi master of the cataloguers of the weird, the inexplicable, the unkown, the scathingly brutal skunk at the garden party of modern scientism. Half the new age book shop is still spinning it's wheels on the trail Fort blazed so long ago. Almost all the 'true but weird' genre really should be sending a royalty to Fort's descendants, because they pretty much owe their income to him, and after all this time he is still the best.
Yet actually you don't see much of Fort's books actually in the new age shops these days, maybe because they know that once you've read Fort non of these johny-come-lately's can hold a candle to him and it might depress sales.
This Dover edition gives you what Dover is best at, a show more good cheap durable book of a classic that has been to long out of print, and this one is a special treat gathering all of Forts books under one cover.
Anyone interested in the paranormal,the unexplained, the weird, the supernatural or just stuff that makes you go huh?... you just HAVE to have this book in your collection. show less
Yet actually you don't see much of Fort's books actually in the new age shops these days, maybe because they know that once you've read Fort non of these johny-come-lately's can hold a candle to him and it might depress sales.
This Dover edition gives you what Dover is best at, a show more good cheap durable book of a classic that has been to long out of print, and this one is a special treat gathering all of Forts books under one cover.
Anyone interested in the paranormal,the unexplained, the weird, the supernatural or just stuff that makes you go huh?... you just HAVE to have this book in your collection. show less
If you call yourself Fortean (or you want to) this is the first book that you need on your bookshelf. Start here to immerse yourself in the worlds (
A tough read, but I love that moment when you realize it's a satire, and really GET that it's a satire through and through.
The Book of the Damned, New Lands, Lo!, Wild Talents
"Robert J. Durant's Bible" according to widow Mauricette. Includes inscription: "I cannot accept that the products of minds are subject-matter for beliefs - C.F." Also includes notes and newsclippings.
Pages 638 and843 bookmarked by "pagemarker" bookmarks.
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- Canonical title
- The Complete Books of Charles Fort
- Original publication date
- 1941
- Disambiguation notice
- The Book of the Damned
New Lands
Lo!
Wild Talents
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- Members
- 534
- Popularity
- 55,606
- Reviews
- 6
- Rating
- (4.13)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 13
