Customer Reviews

The Great Apparitions of Mary: An Examination of the Twenty-Two Supranormal Appearances

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this a most enlightning book. The author presents the material objectively and without the (all too often found) "religious bias/point of view. It was also quite refreshing to learn of the portions of the appritions that are not at all complimentary to the church and/or clergy. The thing I found most enlightning however was how the author also looked at the appriations from the point of view of what was going on at the time and how they often made a MAJOR impact in that respect. The author puts frank and open "tell it as it is" honesty ahead of the vested interests of church or individual.

As one (non-Christian/Catholic but spiritual and Jewish...go figure) who has been fascinated with Marian Apparitions, I enjoyed this book and found it informative. There are apparitions included that I was not familar with, as well as the more "famous" sightings, such as Fatima, etc. Swann has also inlcuded a lot of detail about various apparitions that have not been addressed by other writers. I personally found the section on the Egyptian apparitions particulary interesting. Swann treats this subject with respect. I wish Swann had included a little more of his own personal thoughts on what these apparitions are; religious? "alien?" truly paranormal/supernatural? etc. but it's a minor point, and he does give his thoughts throughout the various chapters. A concluding chapter of "what if/what is it?" would have been interesting. But Swann has chosen to focus on specific apparitions, with detail and information that has not appeared elsewhere, or, is very difficult to find. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject, including as a first book for someone just beginning to become familar with this area. I enjoyed it very much, and appreciated Swann's style, tone, and detail.

I have seen the image of Mary in Clearwater, FL. When I was as close to physical death as one can imagine while on a respirator I recalled the image and was able to recover. From this I wanted to read more about instances of her appearance that I had heard of such as Fatima, Portugal and Guadalupe, Mexico. Through reading this book I came to discover that she has appeared in more places I was not familiar with. This is a wonderful book for those who desire to know that we are truly not alone and that a divine presence is protecting us. I liked the straightforward, just the facts, style which may make it more palatable to those who are skeptical. These are all documented apparitions; many before it could be explained away as the result of technology.

This book gave me a very different perspective on the apparitions of Mary since it explained in detail the political atmosphere of the times when these apparitions occurred. This gave a whole new dimension to the messages and appearances of The Virgin. I found the book very enlightening.

Ingo went out of his way to study and docuement the Blessed Virgin Mary as She visited various people on Earth, as a Catholic I found it rivoting informing and just amazing. Regardless of your faith She is the Mother of Jesus, and to think to believe She after two thousand years came back to see how were doing is wonderful. I've often wondered as I heard of these visitations in school was there more? Were there more precious details? Ingo dug in and found things I wouldn't have believed existed, and in short I found a real Lady a real Woman behind the Bibical stories, I find myself loving Mary even more! Gerald L. Baker

It was my good fortune to have experienced a Marian visitation at age four in a hospital private room where my terrible childhood fears and apprehensions of an impending operation were quickly placated by the dazzling, wordless presence of the apparition. The phenomenon is not only a real event but one that unlike normal life events remains, lifelong, exceptionally vivid in the mind, never to be forgotten.

Ingo Swann's book is not just the only one I know about that covers the phenomenon but like his other work in his paintings, for example (one of which hangs at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC) and his much publicized jostling of the edge of the envelope of human consciousness in the well documented public experiments he held in the 1970s, and his books in the following decades is fastidious. His research is typically scrupulous and faithful to what he has uncovered. Thus, the reader or prospective reader of The Great Apparitions of Mary should not allow Mr. Swann's interpretations, like them or not, of the phenomena to be confused with his reportage. The two are separate.

Great Apparation of Mary is one of the most phenomenal book I ever read.
The book is filled with Mary's miracles and her aparation wich guides us to our forgivness of our sin and her true love for one another.
Ingo Swan is one of the most brillian writer, I have purchased many of hi's books and I enjoy every single one. I would like to know if author meet our lady, since the book is filled with such amazing love and grace!
Ingo you Rock!
Zana Paradise

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Catholic and I love my heavenly mother, but this guy is bonkers for Mary. It was downright scary the powers that he gives to her. It made me want to dis-believe in all the private revelations. I don't think Mary would smile on this one. However, there was lots of legendary information there.

This book is certainly valuable as a kind of encyclopaedia of apparitions of Mary through history. But it is, unfortunately, coloured by the author's own political agenda. In many cases Swann tries to interpret Mary's message as some kind of anticommunist propaganda, although the actual quotes from the texts seldom supports that interpretation.

In the case of La Salette 1846, Swann interprets Mary's warning for disasters as partly referring to the rise of Communism. In the case of Zeitoun in Egypt 1968 Swann even suggest that Mary's apparition was the reason for Egypt moving closer to the US some years later. Mary is seen as a cold warrior on the US side! This says something essential about Swanns own political views but almost nothing about the apparitions. It is sad that the author use this interesting subject as a pretext for writing a rightwing pamphlet.

The apparitions of Mary are indeed fascinating but it is hard to distinguish between those things in the stories that are genuine and what are later additions by the Catholic Church, or by local sectarians. Swann is incapable of making these distinctions, because he is sometimes a defender of orthodoxy, sometimes a defender of sectarian views (cf how he downplays the anti-semitism in the Wisconsin "apparition" in 1949!).

But for those who seek a short overview of the Mary apparitions Swanns book is certainly useful.

A last comment, though. Isn't it sad that the woman who made the Magnificat is portrayed as a symbol of reaction!