Customer Reviews

The Gold Leaf Lady and Other Parapsychological Investigations

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The "Gold Leaf Lady" refers to the case the chapter on which not only opens this book but is also its longest chapter. As the apparent gold turns out at the end to be only brass, the "Gold Leaf Lady" may serve as an excellent metaphor for parapsychological research: if you dig into it, you'll find something, but things are not as they appear, and what you found may be quite different from what you expected. It needs to have an open, non-prejudiced mind to carry out investigations in the paranormal. The author, Stephen Braude, is the right man in the right place. Being a professor in philosophy, he is a sharp and critical thinker, yet open-minded. This new book by him is different from his previous ones on related matters: as a case collection, it provides - though being scientifically reliable - rather easy reading stuff compared to his more scholarly books such as "First Person Plural" (on Multiple Personality Syndroma), "The Limits of Influence" (on psychokinesis), and "Immortal Remains" (on the issue of "survival" of bodily death) which are all highly recommendable.
The "Gold Leaf Lady", being a collection of several cases investigated by the author, has the additional advantage of being much more personal than his previous books. The reader accompanies the author, so to speak, meets the people he meets, etc., which makes everything very vivid.
Besides the "Gold Lead Lady" herself, there are several chapters on various topics and gifted persons (including one historical one) and a chapter on meaningful coincidences. What I found most intriguing is the case of the late Ted Serios, the man who was able to project mental images on polaroid film (labelled "thoughtography"). As Jules Eisenbud, the psychoanalyst/psychiatrist who over a number of years carried out the investigation of the Serios phenomena, has passed there was need to secure the Serios material. Braude was instrumental in this process that he describes in some detail. As one might recall, the eminent British psychologist/ parapsychologist John Beloff has detailed his fellow parapsychologist into two camps that he labelled "minimalists" and "maximalists" - the minimalists are those, like famous J.B. Rhine, who deal with effects that are very marginal in themselves, receiving their importance only through statistical analysis, thus following a "bottom-up approach". The maximalists, on the other hand, pursuing rather a "top-down approach", are more interested in large phenomena; Braude clearly falls into this category (and righteously so, I may add), and Beloff himself left no doubt that he sided with the "maximalists". I mentioned this to put Beloff's statement into perspective, "could there be anything more maximalist than thoughtography?".
The final chapter, however, is quite different, insofar, as it is not dealing with parapsychology but with - horribile dictu - astrology. It is an even more personal account than the other chapters as the astrologer in question is Gina Braude, the author's beloved wife. I am not sure whether the application of the traditional term "astrology" is correct in her case; discussing the conceptual foundations of astrology is not the issue, Braude deals with facts only, astonishing facts I'd say, where her predictions turned out to be correct. A good deal of these predictions refers to the world of finance (stocks rising or falling, and the like); there is no way she might have got all these correct by chance. (Of course, strictly spoken, from a statistician point of view, chance can never be ruled out, however, in her case presuming chance makes no sense at all.) So, what is it then? True astrology? I don't believe in astrology, for more than one reason (no concept of the kind of the presumed underlying `influence', or otherwise, no concept what makes such presumed correlations work, moreover, the celestial signs have changed their position during the past 2000 or so years whereas the attributes of these signs have not been adjusted accordingly by classical astrology, etc.). So, again, what is it then? A pure miracle (at least, at present)!
I rate the entire book (like all of Braude's publications) as highly recommendable for readers interested in anomalies and in parapsychology; it is thought-provoking and witty. I, for one, enjoyed it a lot.

I have to say that I have always been skeptical about paranormal phenomena without taking the time to evaluate how valid my opinions may be. However, after reading this book, unbridled skepticism no longer seems warranted. It is not an intellectually defensible position to scoff without doing the homework. Braude describes his encounters with paranormal phenomena with a winning combination of humor, thoughtfulness, and intellectual rigor. He was particularly convincing in his discussion of the sloppiness that some skeptics demonstrate, such as attacking the weakly supported cases of paranormal phenomena while ignoring or misrepresenting the facts of stronger cases. I enjoyed this book, even the footnotes!

I am a big fan of Stephen Braude's work ever since I read his book on dissociation (First Person Plural), which helped me as a psychologist to fully understand this phenomenon. I found his writing, and his huge range of interests quite fascinating. He is able to think and explain very different subjects clearly, deeply and at the same time in a very interesting way, with an exquisite use of language and lots of humor.
So, I was waiting for his new book with great interest, and I was delighted to read it. It is different from (less technical than) his other books, yet it is a real treasure in one little package. The descriptions of his investigations are refreshing, light, easy to read, amusing and almost tense, so that one can't wait to get to the end of each chapter. They show his personal approach and his accessible writing style, but at the same time they are not just amusing but serious, and they force us to think about deep issues concerning the mind and its place in nature.
This book on the whole is, like Braude's previous books, a great combination of lightness in approach and depth of thinking. That is very characteristic of Braude as a writer.

I've read several of Dr. Braude's books; while others require (and reward) great intellectual effort to remain engaged, this one is a much "lighter" read. I expected as much after I'd read the preface in which he contrasts this book with his other, primarily objective, scholarly works. Braude lets us know up front that this is a "largely autobiographical" book that "describes [his] most memorable...encounters with the ostensibly paranormal." It is not intended to be a philosophical treatise or an academic reference. He's already written a few of those.

Mindful of this frame of reference, I read Braude's accounts of the people he studied and the phenomena he witnessed. At turns he is funny, angry, excited, disappointed, hopeful, and frustrated, but always committed to rigorous investigation. Whether conducting his own observations or reviewing noteworthy cases reported by others, he specifically notes when physical or logical explanations effectively account for what occurred (or was reported to have occurred). What's left over may not seem like much evidence in the face of what others claim to have produced or witnessed, but that it cannot be explained away by any means other than paranormal activity is compelling.

My overall reaction to reading The Gold Leaf Lady was almost sadness. I regretted the opportunities lost with willing subjects (Katie and Dennis Lee) and wasted with uncooperative ones (Joe Nuzum). I was frustrated that, time and again, the best observed paranormal activity was the least defensible as good evidence and the best evidence was the least strictly observed. But I was also hopeful that I'd learn more about Braude's wife Gina and her predictions, and excited to find out if they continued to be accurate (and profitable).

It was the "extremely personal" nature of this book that allowed me to experience these emotions. I saw evidence of the meticulous investigative technique and comprehensive logical reasoning that comprise experimental research but also the humanity of the subjects, the investigators, the people who attempt to profit from displays of paranormal activity, and the critics who want to discredit all possible evidence. Whatever the ultimate agent of the phenomena witnessed, it's obvious that many of those interested in studying it - whether seeking to prove or disprove the existence of the paranormal - are (consciously or not) driven by more than just intellectual curiosity - as am I.

This book is a good example of the importance of a book cover as it relates to book sales. I had such high hopes for this book and for Professor Braude. The recommendations on the back of the book jacket encouraged my high hopes; glowing recommendations such as "This book isn't just good, it's excellent. Stephen Braude is at the top of the intellectual food chain in the study of paranormal phenomena, an accomplished philosopher of science who brings his first-rate intellect to bear in a fair and deep treatment of the supernatural." Well, what an overstatement! Not exactly the greatest omnivore that ever lived in the deep realm of the supernatural.

One can learn more about Professor Braude in this book than anything about paranormal phenomena and what is there makes me want to disbelieve it all. Reading this book however was like picking through the remains of a pile of English walnut shells hoping to find some last remnant of nutmeat to eat. Granted, the book is an easier read than his last book "Immortal Remains" but even so, it is somewhat wordy and tends to ramble on and on telling me more than I wanted to know about Professor Braude (and his wife) and less of anything new about psychic phenomena. One might even think that the book was an opportunity for Professor Braude to have the last word in a personality clash with Alex Imich, a psychic promoter with whom he had some not-so-good contact.

There are fewer parenthetical comments in this book than his last book. (I counted 6 on one page chosen randomly.) Also there is a rare typo and there are other publishing concerns e.g., "...but they focus primarily on the evidence for extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (PK), and survival of bodily death.....Others agree that they're extraordinary, but believe they're both possible and worth studying."(page1); there is no identifying description of photographs in the Ted Serios story so one has to assume which photo is the "normal" photo and which is the Serios photo (not really difficult but an assumption) and of two photos Braude states...Ted's image fails to show the large letters "WILLIAMS" above the lower window, and it shows a playbill to the left of that window to which Eisenbud was unable to find any match." However in the printing I have, the word "Williams" is clearly identifiable under the window of the Serios image, albeit not as clear as in the "normal" photograph and though the playbill is clearly shown in Serios' image, the "normal" photograph does show a faint outline corresponding to the size and position of the poster in the Serios' image.

What I mean to say is that the publisher, editor and Braude could have done a better job editing this book. Detail is important when studying parapsychology and flaws like these tend to discredit the whole treatise. Even the title The Gold Leaf Lady" is a little highfalutin as it turns out that the lady really produced brass foil. Kind of a good metaphor for this book.

Well, I suppose that Professor Braude is a hail-fellow-well-met and I had great hopes for him as a professorial genius in physic phenomena but alas, he has feet of clay, or maybe brass, as the case may be.

The book feels like it was written by a 10 years old child. It's like the author had Mulder's "I want to believe" poster in front of him the whole time he was writing, dreaming up excuses for failures to produce evidence, ranting and bad-mouthing people who don't agree with the supernatural explanation. There are a couple of interesting stories in the book but sadly they are mostly side-liners and not the main stories. I have bought this book based on an Internet recommendation but that recommendation was too optimistic. It is not a completely terrible book but I wouldn't want to read it again.

If you are intrigued by the field of Parapsychology, "The Gold Leaf Lady" is a solid start for beginning your exploration of the parapsychological. Please understand, however, that this is really and truly just the author's commentary on his personal experiences and theories, with little to no solid evidence offered as proof. You are not going to suddenly become a believer just by gazing at a copy of this book! However, some of the author's ideas and ponderances are intriguing and worth a second thought; though most are useless, unsubstantiated opinions written out to fill pages. There is no true "meat" on these bones: rather this is a lengthy diatribe from an author who clearly loves to hear the sound of his own voice (or in this case, see his own words in print). Short of using this book as a launching pad for further exploration of the parapsychological, there is little offered herein. I would highly suggest you borrow this from a library, skim is casually and do not take the material to heart but instead use it as a beginning point for your studies.

I haven't studied the vast literature on parapsychological events, but I found Stephen Braude's THE GOLD LEAF LADY a useful introduction to the subject. With all the fakes claiming to have psychic and unusual abilities a fair amount of skepticism is required; at the same time it's important not be dismissive of the possibility that some purported pyschic events have no purely material or physical explanation. The skeptical minded should at least be aware that many people who claim to possess parapsychic abilities have been studied under rigorous, controlled conditions.

Braude introduces the reader a few of these cases and ends with a chapter on his Serbian-born wife who has used a rather complicated kind of astrology for fun and profit. I found the case of Ted Serios (1918-2006) particularly interesting. For several years Serios had the ability to project images onto Polaroid film. Although others could produce the same kind of images, no one could do so under the same conditions as Serios. I'm a little skeptical of Serios for reasons I won't get into, but Braude (who seems convinced that Serios was legitimate) at least updates the Serios case beyond Jules Eisenbud's work.

All in all I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading some of Dr. Braude's more techinical works.

This book is well written, interesting and informative. Also I happen to be the author,s mother.

I have admired Stephen Braude for some time, as I was looking for philosophers who were interested in the paranormal (needed some for my forthcoming book). I Already know his special brand of intelligent writing, laced with humour here and there, e.g. from his editorship of JSE. This book is the most personal I've read from him yet and it really is, as others here say, well written and accessible, as well as being full of interesting ideas. Most of the cases reported have something going for them. I had feared from the introduction that the chapters on the "subject from Hell" and "subject in Hell" would be not so riveting. But they are, like all else here. Especially heart-rending was the story of Dennis Lee, shabbily treated and yet willing to cooperate to the utmost to prove himself. The tragedy in his case was that he, in contrast to the Subject from hell, did seem to have a psychokinetic talent. But though it was demonstrated outside the lab rather convincingly, he had no luck in the lab, partly due to his first harrowing experience in New York. I won't 'spoil' the plot further, but I think his case should be made more forcefully posthumously, though Stephen has done a good enough job here. The Serios chapter is very good as well, and his case is not nearly as tragic as Lee's, in that he did get to test well and a true mystery appears to have been demonstrated in strictly controlled experiments: even where he didn't use his 'gizmo' or was too far away for that. Randi is exposed for his dishonest dealings in reneging on his promise to reproduce the results under similarly strict conditions, as are closed-minded 'sceptics' in general (e.g in the historical cases of Home and Paladino). The eponymous lady is also very interesting and one hopes that some more video etc. evidence will be gathered, as she is, unlike most of those discussed, still alive. Hers is a fascinating gift, the seeming materialisation of shining metal on her skin (hundreds of witnesses) - and she also seems to have ESP gifts such as locating crime victims and predicting crimes to come. Another predictor is the author's own wife, whose astrological successes might be an example of macro PK on a large scale or an ESP-mediated interpretation of the stars. Some of the ideas in that direction remind of the book "The PK man" - another thought provoking case. She appears to be quite a lady - developed her own technique for astrological readings that seemed so successful that football teams valued her advice and came further when they heeded her detailed predictions. It's the most convincing case I've yet heard for astrology. So, 5 stars to this readable and enjoyable book. Even the rants are not so bilious, though I could feel my blood boil at the treatment meted out to Prof. Braude by closed-minded colleagues over the years. Maybe he should emphasise that there are wonderful counter-examples in some very helpful colleagues and friends.