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Psychic discoveries behind the Iron Curtain

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When I first read Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain in 1971, I realized that we had better not let an ESP gap become the next missle gap. At the time I was working as a systems engineer on a project that was not practical with the technology that was then available, and decided that I wanted to research the ideas in this book instead. However, when I told them this at work, I was let go the next day. If I was going to research these issues I would have to do it on my own time using my own money. While we still don't have all the answers, or even know all the questions that must be asked to unravel these mysteries, much work has been done by many different researchers both here and abroad to at least verify that these psychic phenomena are real, if not always reproducible at will. It turns out that much depends on sunspot activity and the phases of the moon insofar as it affects changes in the Earth's magnetic field. There is an updated version of this book that consists of a condensed versiou of PDBTIC plus an update on research conducted behind the Iron Curtain since the overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe. Ironically, one of the most important discussions in the original edition was omitted in the new one, indicating that even the authors failed to appreciate its significance. Unfortunately, a bedbug problem forced me to have to get rid of most of my books including this one, so I was thrilled to find a copy readily available at AMAZON.COM I plan to purchase the new edition too. For anyone interested in psychic phenomena, this is probably the best first book to read.

This is a very interesting, informative and entertaining book if you are interested in psychic phenomena. It even has some how to information. It is also valuable for giving some insight to what was going on behind the iron curtain in a general way during this time period.

An introduction to subjects like Kirlian photography and telepathy. This book may have caused alarm in high circles. The Warrior's Edge: Front-Line Strategies for Victory on the Corporate Battlefield refers to a DIA report titled "Controlled Offensive Behavior - USSR" that expressed concern about Soviet ESP developments.

One of the book's subjects is Wolf Messing, a man who demonstrated his psychic ability to Stalin by brainwashing his guards into thinking that he was secret police chief Beria and so was waved through all of Stalin's personal security checkpoints. Other subjects include Leonid Vasiliev who pioneered experiments in mental suggestion and Felix Ziegel, who wrote of how UFOs frightened some peasants of Kazakhstan back into church.

The authors visited the USSR in the late 60s, when it seems that orthodox science there was, for a short time, open to exploration of the mysteries of the unknown. The book features an interesting introduction from the always insightful Ivan Sanderson who makes the valid point that "parapsychology" is an awful word as psychology is not a science. He suggests "paraphysics" as a replacement.

The authors seem too credulous at times. For instance, the "blind seeress of Bulgaria", Vanga Dimitrova is spoken of as "a great psychic on a par with Jeane Dixon". I've seen a few of Ms. Dixon's prophecies and she seems to have been wrong far more often than she was right. Also, they refer to apparent fraudster Madame H.P. Blavatsky, whose "psychic powers ripened to perfection in India". No mention is made of the investigation made by Richard Hodgson of the British Society for Psychic Research, who found that fraud was rife and that there was no evidence whatsoever for Blavatsky's purported psychic powers.

The book provides instructions for construction of a pyramid in which to place blunt razor blades, to reportedly make them sharp again. It is possible that this book launched the "pyramid power" craze of the 1970s.

Overall, despite its faults I found it to be an entertaining read and some of the Soviets interviewed provide a few tips for readers hoping to develop their own psychic abilities.

This book has long been discredited as a fraud -- and as a very sophisticated fraud, too. These "experiments" were concocted by USSR intelligence agencies to fool the United States military into believing there was a "psychic gap", in the same way that there was a "missile gap".

Remember that this was long before the Internet, when anybody could just go online and check facts for themselves. This book was practically the only source of Russian information on the subject. Nowadays, people such as James Randi have comprehensive information on this sort of thing, and a long standing $1,000,000 challenge that ANYBODY provide him ANY evidence of psychic power under controlled observation.

The Russians were clever with this piece of disinformation, including, as any good liar will, elements of truth. It was fortunate for the fraud that one subject in the book was poorly understood at the time, and was scientifically repeatable; but a few years later Kirlian photography turned out largely to be photographing residual water vapor (in leaves, etc.)

Finally, if you don't believe Randi, believe me. I was in the room when Uri Geller was tested by scientists with a range of scientific equipment. He wasn't able to affect ANY of them. Later, I went to talk with him (being a believer). Then, "without the bad vibes" he was able to bend a ring and keys. Hahahaaha. Years later, in college, a professor showed us how this fraud is done. (Select rings and keys that are well-used and already bent. Most people think of their rings and keys being as they were, new.)

Don't read this book. It's almost entirely lies. If you're interested, start with a source that's almost entirely the truth, such The Steptic's Dictionary.