Customer Reviews

They Saw the Future : Oracles, Psychics, Scientists, Great Thinkers, and Pretty Good Guessers

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

 

 

How many times have we been scared, fascinated, or just plain amazed by psychics and people who seemed to see the future and predict what was going to happen? Kathleen Krull, the writer of the great "Lives of..." series, outlines the subject perfectly clearly with this book, which goes over events that date as far back as Ancient Greece and as recent as the present, that seemed to do with mysticism and people who seemed to see life through a crystal ball, and it's easy to get intrigued by, or at least interested in. This book is highly recommended for anyone, from kids who want to have their parents read to them or adults. Even those who aren't interested in the psychic arts will love it. I guarantee!

I have to admit that part of the reason I love Kathleen Krull's books is that she chooses great artists to do the illustrations. In her "Lives of ..." series, Kathryn Hewitt does the honors but in this one Kyrsten Brooker shows an equal skill, with a touch of whimsy and color that is thoroughly delightful.

Of course, the content is the major drawing card of this book and I have to admit it is very very good -- planty of good solid info on people through history who seemed to be able to "see the future." Krull is open minded about the subject, never trying to convince the reader that these seers were actually seeing the future or merely making guesses, etc. Her historic and biographic information appears to be accurate (I'm familiar with a couple of the topics and those were 'spot on.') yet she doesn't overload us with a ton of boring facts. As in all her books, she makes sure women are included in the list of subjects.

I know this book is supposed to be for young readers, but they would have to be quite smart young people -- Krull NEVER talks down to them. In fact, as one other reviewer mentioned, this is a great book for adults who want an entertaining overview of the lives of these interesting people!

As an adult, I have a short attention span and don't have time for reading books over 100 pages. So when this book was on sale at my local library, I picked it up knowing I could easily read 10 pages at a time (about each chapter length), still get the facts and not take weeks to finish the book (as I have about 7 "started" already.)
I rated it 4 rather than 5 only because it's a juvenile category book, but small children may not be able to understand it (under 5 yrs of age).
A great intro to things "metaphyscial" or "psychic" without being branded as such. Enough to pique one's curiousity about studying more of each person. I learned of a few seer's I hadn't know of before also! Cute illustrations as well.