Customer Reviews

Foreseeing the Future: Evangeline Adams and Astrology in America

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There are precious few books which address the history of the occult in a sensible manner. Foreseeing the Future: Evangeline Adams and Astrology in America does it very well indeed. Though author Karen Christino is obviously sympathetic to her biographical subject, the early 20th century astrologer Evangeline Adams, she tries to be objective in assessing her life and work. I personally found this refreshing, as it allows the reader to make up his or her own mind. Do we believe that Adams was a terrific astrologer or someone who exaggerated her successes in order to impress the public? Did she really forecast World War II or the stock market crash of 1929? It's up to the reader to decide, since Christino documents the facts and examines Adams as a real person and not just a legend. We're given insight into what drove Adams to such an unusual profession in 1900, her troubles with the law and her unfulfilling marriage to a much younger man.

I especially enjoyed the sections describing the development of the occult in the U.S., including information on palmistry and spiritualism and Adams' relationship with the infamous magician Aleister Crowley. If you're intrigued by astrology, the occult or New Age topics and are tired of all the flaky, off-the-wall books out there, you will enjoy Foreseeing the Future. It brings a sometimes mysterious topic down to earth and tells a terrifically entertaining yarn at the same time. I loved it!

Christino does a really good job with biography. Adams seemed particularly talented at creating an aura of glamour around herself. She put herself forth as the image of astounding insight which drew in the customers and fans. Her biographer does a very objective job of teasing out probable truths, and pointing out the little we know and the lot that we don't know about the real Evangeline Adams. Christino had a lot of judgment calls to make regarding her subject, and she seems to have used on-target perception one might expect of an author who is also astrologer herself.

Readers who enjoyed The Queen's Conjurer by Benjamin Wooley will most likely also enjoy this book.

I had heard from several astrologer teachers about Evangeline Adams.
So, I ordered the two books by this author about her. Foreseeing the Future was a very informative biography about the lady and how astrology was viewed back in "the days." The story covers her life and how she did her own thing back when that was unheard of. I know of many astrologers who would love to make $50 a half hour for their interpretive work. This is what Evangeline Adams made back in the beginning of the 20th century.
Another extremely interesting book about an astrologer is Hanussen by Mel Gordon. He was a contemporary but lived in Europe. Put the two stories together for a fascinating view on astrology in the late 19th century up until WWII.

This is the story of a very fascinating woman--perhaps a little ahead of her time. She did it her way! This is a very enjoyable read and inspiring, too

Ms. Christino certainly did her homework, with regards to Evangeline Adams. I found the book to be an interesting counterpoint to Evangeline's own biography. Ms. Christino included salient details that were not widely known - such as Evangeline's involvement with Aleister Crowley, her faulty predictions (she had predicted the Lindberg baby would grow up to be a great flier), her less than fulfilling marriage. Astrologers will revel in the details of one of America's most popular prognosticators.