Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet [Hardcover]

Sidney D. Kirkpatrick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 11, 2000

The New York Times bestselling writer presents the definitive biography of, father of the New Age and harbinger of alternative medicine: a mesmerizing chronicle of healings and prophesies by the psychic who introduced the modern world to the connection between mind, body, and spirit.

Edgar Cayce, born in 1877 in rural Kentucky and educated only through the eighth grade, is one of the greatest healers of our time. In a trance so deep that he was twice declared clinically dead, Cayce prescribed treatments combining innovative technology with holistic medicine that resulted in full cures more than 90 percent of the time. Cayce could perform readings without even being in the presence of patients--he simply needed to know their names. From this "sleeping" state, he could also preview the future and describe the past, as well as converse in any language. He advised housewives, corporate executives, Harry Houdini, Marilyn Monroe, and secretly (it is believed) President Woodrow Wilson.

The groundbreaking information Cayce provided on health food, natural medicines, reincarnation, dreams, and the healing power of the human body have spawned entire industries. He founded a university devoted to psychic research. He built the first hospital devoted exclusively to alternative medicine. And his standing-room-only lectures became an inspiration to public figures from Albert Einstein to John Lennon to Steven Spielberg.

The first researcher to have unlimited access to thousands of pages of documentation, including transcripts of nearly every trance session, Sidney D. Kirkpatrick has written the definitive biography of a simple man with a complex gift--a man who was freakish yet ordinary, powerful yet selfless, legendary yet inscrutable until now.

-- Notes

--Index

-- illustrated with 8 pages of black-and-white photographs

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Edgar Cayce was one of the most humble and influential people of his day, a man whose outstanding psychic abilities appeared to heal hundreds of patients. The F.B.I. and even master magician Henry Houdini couldn't debunk or explain Cayce's amazing gifts. Biographer Sidney D. Kirkpatrick has no interest in probing the question of whether Cayce had legitimate psychic powers. Rather he presents an evenhanded story about the life of this American prophet, using a myriad of sources, including transcripts of his trances as well as Cayce's personal letters and papers. (Kirkpatrick is the only author to be granted unrestricted access.)

What makes this biography especially fresh and lasting is Kirkpatrick's excellent storytelling skills, evidenced in his opening pages when he describes Cayce entering his characteristic trance to diagnose a seemingly dying infant in the other room. Although Cayce prescribed a seemingly lethal dose of the homeopathic belladonna (deadly nightshade), the baby survived and was healed. Whether telling of these miraculous moments or the horrifying harassment in Cayce's life, Kirkpatrick always stays grounded in documented facts and clear information. Cayce aficionados will enjoy especially the accounts of encounters with George Gershwin, Marilyn Monroe, and even the likelihood that he met with President Woodrow Wilson. --Tara West

From Publishers Weekly

Celebrated during his lifetime for his alleged psychic abilities, Cayce's memory has been enshrined today for his remarks on astrology, the future, reincarnation, the lost years of Jesus, the mysterious kingdom of Atlantis and other secrets of the universe. Cayce has been the subject of innumerable memoirs and exegetical analyses, but none quite so massive or so detailed as this bulky hagiography. Kirkpatrick, author of the bestseller A Cast of Killers, has followed standard procedure in presenting Cayce's life in resolutely uncritical terms. Beginning with Cayce's moony youth in rural Kentucky and continuing through his dotage as a (claimed) channel for the Archangel Michael at the Association for Research and Enlightenment Inc., Kirkpatrick recites every apocryphal story of Cayce's marvelous work. He furnishes eye-glazingly copious arcana of value only to the most devoted acolyte: the names, for example, of the other men who lived in the boarding house Cayce occupied in 1902 and 1903, and the exact nature of the relationships Cayce is said to have enjoyed in previous lives with his much younger secretary and "soul mate," Gladys Davis. Relying on the recorded testimony of Cayce and his aged disciples and other dubious evidence, Kirkpatrick writes only in glowing superlatives; the prophet's every deed was a miracle, the photographs he took of "museum quality." If Cayce ever made a mistake or had an off day, it has been surgically excised from this record. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 596 pages
• Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover (September 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573221392
• ISBN-13: 978-1573221399
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #52 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > New Age

More About the Author

Sidney D. Kirkpatrick is an award-winning filmmaker and international best-selling author. His critically acclaimed non-fiction books include A CAST OF KILLERS, TURNING THE TIDE, LORDS OF SIPAN, EDGAR CAYCE: AN AMERICAN PROPHET, THE REVENGE OF THOMAS EAKINS, and HITLER'S HOLY RELICS. His documentary film, MY FATHER THE PRESIDENT, about Theodore Roosevelt as seen through the eyes of his daughter, Ethel Roosevelt Derby, was a winner at the American Film Festival. HBO, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and the A & E Television Networks have all featured his work. Biographical profiles of Kirkpatrick have appeared in The New York Times, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, and Playboy. He is a graduate of Hampshire College and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He lives in Ontario, Canada and Pasadena, Ca.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best biography yet about a fascinating and amazing man!, September 15, 2000

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet (Hardcover)

This is the biggest and best book ever written about Edgar Cayce's life. It tells the whole story--and offers insight and compassion about the strange and bizarre lives led by Edgar Cayce and those around him. A must read for anyone interested in Edgar Cayce or great Americans of the 20th century.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting to Read and Spiritually Uplifting, September 19, 2000

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"heart-soul" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet (Hardcover)

Over and over again, while reading this book, I was amazed at the new information I was receiving about everything from health to past lives to religion. Just when I thought I read the most incredible example of Cayce's psychic ability, something else came along to top it. The great thing about this book is how the story of the man is deftly woven through many factual accounts of his remarkable psychic powers. Very few books about spiritual topics and psychic phenomena give you such detail and hard facts to prove they are more than supposition or wishful thinking. The author's research and attention to detail is mindboggling to say the least but his writing is, at the same time, colorful, descriptive and easy to read. Thousands of lives were deeply affected, changed, and saved as a result of the Cayce readings, and I believe many more people (including me) will change their way of thinking and their way of being in this world after reading this biography. Two warnings though--you need to approach this book with an open mind, and, be prepared for a roller coaster ride of emotions as you follow Cayce's tumultuous life. Just when you think it couldn't get worse, it does. Just when you think it couldn't be more incredible, it takes your breath away. In summary, I highly recommend reading Edgar Cayce, An American Prophet!

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gift to Mankind !!, October 25, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet (Hardcover)

I am a nuclear physicist and I was most impressed with Cayce's instructions for the building and development of so many of the things we enjoy today. He gave formulas for the development of rubber for tires, he gave instructions for the development of fog lamps (which are used today on airlines) he was even asked by Kellogs to provide a healthy and tasty receipe for a cereal flake, thus the Corn Flake was born!! This book is a must read for anyone. The author has done mankind a service as well, by bringing this man to the forefront so the populus can benefit from his work. A wonderful book, a spectacular man!!