The Bermuda Triangle
by Charles Berlitz
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Examines many mysterious disappearances connected with the Bermuda Triangle and discusses several theories that attempt to explain the mystery.Tags
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I can't give this the one-star it deserves, despite it being throughly saturated with stupid. It's actually a great illustration of the kind of crap that 20 million bought into, and are still buying into today (think Fox"News", Breitbart, Alex Jones, and even more from an unfortunately lengthy list...). Why read it now? Well, not all of my Year of Nostalgic Re-reads are fiction. I read this back in 1974 or 75, which put me at 13 or 14. I was intrigued, at the time. Of course, while on the path of future skepticism, I had less than no resources in south-eastern Connecticut to check anything, so just read it out of curiosity and while with a critical eye, no means to counter.
Now, 40 years later, and with access to lots of resources via show more the internet, Berlitz's embellishments, fabrications, outright lies, distortions and tabloid imflammatory style are so easily debunked. And yet, this book is still shoved incorrectly in the nonfiction section.
First example: from the actual transcript and circumstances of Flight 19 (December 5, 1945), any idiot can see that Berlitz not only misrepresented the story, but made up his own parts to go with it (the corporal asked to be excused because he had his required hours, and not because he had a bad feeling).This is the style throughout:
ooh. Eerie. Right?
Snort.
Of the bioluminescence of the Sargasso Sea: "...it was also the last light from earth the astronauts saw on their way to space." Apart from the fact that the likely source of light comes from mating of fireworms near the surface and that such grouping are small, Berlitz never names his sources and I found no record of such Apollo astronaut claims. Easy to dismiss but all part of the catastrophe that is Berlitz.
The first paragraph of Chapter 5 shares this gem: "...where the Gulf Stream flows at four knots per hour" ... um, a "knot" is already a unit of speed. Nitpicking? Sure, but that's because on every page there are so many unverifiable claims that stupid stuff like that stands out.
Or page 86: "First, the 'Devil's Triangle' is one of the two places on earth where a magnetic compass does point to true north. Normally, it points to magnetic north." Only two places, eh? The truth is there are an infinite number of places along the agonic line. A magnetic compass still points to magnetic north...it just happens to be on the imaginary line where it also points to true north (zero declination). Hokum likely intended to distract from the shoddy sensationalist writing.
In chapter 6 (with the lovely title of "Time-Space Warps and Other Worlds"), Berlitz talks about Ivan Anderson's 12 Devil's Graveyards quackery. Burger and Simpson had fun with that in their 1978 book Ghostboat. And because these "give considerable evidence of magnetic space-time anomalies", nut cases perpetuate Berlitz's crap.
And it continues... But I'm unfair. This is too easy.
I've read enough Martin Gardner and James Randi since I first read this, and I've engaged in enough debunking and red herring debates to know that trying to pick apart everything on every page would result in half a Wikipedia of debunkery. I didn't NOT like it...I do like it to give amateur skeptics for a challenge. (Lots easier nowadays!) show less
Now, 40 years later, and with access to lots of resources via show more the internet, Berlitz's embellishments, fabrications, outright lies, distortions and tabloid imflammatory style are so easily debunked. And yet, this book is still shoved incorrectly in the nonfiction section.
First example: from the actual transcript and circumstances of Flight 19 (December 5, 1945), any idiot can see that Berlitz not only misrepresented the story, but made up his own parts to go with it (the corporal asked to be excused because he had his required hours, and not because he had a bad feeling).This is the style throughout:
Large aircraft which have also disappeared since the Star Ariel have generally followed the same pattern - that is, normal flight procedures, then - nothing [...]
ooh. Eerie. Right?
Snort.
Of the bioluminescence of the Sargasso Sea: "...it was also the last light from earth the astronauts saw on their way to space." Apart from the fact that the likely source of light comes from mating of fireworms near the surface and that such grouping are small, Berlitz never names his sources and I found no record of such Apollo astronaut claims. Easy to dismiss but all part of the catastrophe that is Berlitz.
The first paragraph of Chapter 5 shares this gem: "...where the Gulf Stream flows at four knots per hour" ... um, a "knot" is already a unit of speed. Nitpicking? Sure, but that's because on every page there are so many unverifiable claims that stupid stuff like that stands out.
Or page 86: "First, the 'Devil's Triangle' is one of the two places on earth where a magnetic compass does point to true north. Normally, it points to magnetic north." Only two places, eh? The truth is there are an infinite number of places along the agonic line. A magnetic compass still points to magnetic north...it just happens to be on the imaginary line where it also points to true north (zero declination). Hokum likely intended to distract from the shoddy sensationalist writing.
In chapter 6 (with the lovely title of "Time-Space Warps and Other Worlds"), Berlitz talks about Ivan Anderson's 12 Devil's Graveyards quackery. Burger and Simpson had fun with that in their 1978 book Ghostboat. And because these "give considerable evidence of magnetic space-time anomalies", nut cases perpetuate Berlitz's crap.
And it continues... But I'm unfair. This is too easy.
I've read enough Martin Gardner and James Randi since I first read this, and I've engaged in enough debunking and red herring debates to know that trying to pick apart everything on every page would result in half a Wikipedia of debunkery. I didn't NOT like it...I do like it to give amateur skeptics for a challenge. (Lots easier nowadays!) show less
Although most of the sensational "mysteries" and disappearances of ships and airplanes in the "Bermuda Triangle" have since been proven to be the result of either human error or ordinary bad weather, this is still an entertaining read. For a while. After running to the computer every few pages to check on recent developments in the searches for these crafts and finding out that either wreckage has been found, or that recordings of distress signals have been digitally enhanced and turned out to be far less ominous than reported, I got more and more disenchanted. That this book is frequently listed as non-fiction is unfortunate. Nevertheless, Berlitz is a compelling writer, and it's not difficult to read. I'm sure if you like this genre show more and aren't terribly distracted by "facts" you may enjoy this book. show less
This is an older book, written in 1974, that I picked up at my grandmother's house. No matter how old the books about the Bermuda Triangle are I always enjoy reading them. I don't really have any explanation of my own about what is causing so many vessels and aircraft to disappear from the area but I do believe that there are many disappearances that are probably easily explained that still get attributed to the mystery of the Triangle. Unfortunately the lore has caused a snowball effect and it builds upon itself each time much like what would happen if someone told you that a house was haunted. You would be a little bit jumpy at night just because someone had mentioned it to you.
An extremely interesting nonfiction book about the strange disappearances in and around the Bermuda Triangle, this brief (208 pages) hardcover that I purchased at a library book sale discusses known disappearances and other anomalies (such as maelstroms or whirlpools) within a region of the Atlantic Ocean that the U.S. Navy doesn't officially recognize. Several theories explain the strong magnetic forces at work, including the idea that it is one portal to Hell (the Sea of Japan is said to be the other); that the Triangle is a prime area of alien abduction; and that the forces may be signals from a long-lost, superior civilization (e.g., Atlantis).
Dr. Berlitz discusses all of these theories and more in an easy-to-understand manner, as show more well as the geological origin of the region. I found all the stories of the disappearances fascinating, especially when one considers that the Florida Keys and much of the Caribbean Sea, a cruise destination, is within it. show less
Dr. Berlitz discusses all of these theories and more in an easy-to-understand manner, as show more well as the geological origin of the region. I found all the stories of the disappearances fascinating, especially when one considers that the Florida Keys and much of the Caribbean Sea, a cruise destination, is within it. show less
Berlitz must have made a billion from this one. It was all the rage for awhile, much in the way that The Amityville Horror was a few years later. Amityville is still a riveting horror novel, passed off as a true story, but this book needs a few counter-arguments!
Very entertaining but presents some things as facts on very flimsy evidence and not much analytical thought. Interesting that Berlitz acknowledged Larry Kusche. The man who wrote the debunk.
This was the first book of this ilk I read, and I read it while still in college, so I was enthralled by it. I would have given it 5 stars had I reviewed it in those days! But since then, I have come to realise that most of these "conspiracy theories" are based upon very nebulous evidence at best, and out-and-out hoaxes at worst.
Still, giving it 3 stars for entertaining me. However, I would recommend it only if you enjoy crackpot theories.
Still, giving it 3 stars for entertaining me. However, I would recommend it only if you enjoy crackpot theories.
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- Canonical title
- The Bermuda Triangle
- Original title
- Bermuda Triangle
- Alternate titles
- The Bermuda Triangle. An Incredible Saga of Unexplained Disappearances
- Original publication date
- 1974
- Important places
- Bermuda Triangle
- Related movies
- The Bermuda Triangle (1978 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- To the sea and its mysteries -
whose solutions may tell us more about ourselves... - First words
- There is a section of the Western Atlantic off the southeast coast of the United States, forming what has been termed a triangle, extending from Bermuda in the North to southern Florida, and the east to a point ... (show all);through the Bahamas past Puerto Rico to about 40º West longitude and then back again to Bermuda.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)We cannot retreat from the search for knowledge or new explanations - either in this world or the beyond!
- Original language
- English
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- Popularity
- 25,029
- Reviews
- 17
- Rating
- (2.90)
- Languages
- 17 — Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 45
- UPCs
- 1
- ASINs
- 46