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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Normal has no default setting, September 13, 2008
Imbrogno's new book is a very welcome contribution to the never-ending dialogue about UFO's and the paranormal. It surprised me in several ways. First, Imbrogno is by reflex a scientist. Unlike the many "researchers" who never met a theory they didn't like, he has a skeptical tone, a need whenever possible to confirm. He is not dismissive of reports just because they are not easily verified or of ideas that are at first sight counter-intuitive. (After all, can we expect the paranormal to behave normally?)Instead, Imbrogno understands that a key feature of the good scientist is his openness to the new.
Interdimensional Universe is also surprising on another level - it's fun to read. Imbrogno is a graceful writer; he is able to be clear without condescending and personal without becoming self-absorbed. All in all, highly recommended.
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39 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
The Fantastic Needs Footnotes!!!!!, August 11, 2008
The subtitle to Philip Imbrogno's book - "The New Science of UFOs, Paranormal Phenomena and Otherdimensional Beings" - is extremely misleading. There is really nothing "New" in the theories proposed within this book: they were addressed in 'Twilight Zone' and 'Outer Limits' episodes of the Sixties - and even long before in written sci-fi. That being said, while I actually buy into much of what is presented herein as plausible explanations for the weirdness of the Universe ("in my Father's house there are many mansions" says it all quite succinctly) - and having personally known extremely credible people who have seen balls of light, UFOs, ghosts and myself having had a 'waking dream' of human-size insectoid creatures approaching my bed while on a cruise to Bermuda (Bermuda triangle?) - when a book is written about such way-out topics, it demands footnotes!!! The first 100 or so pages are a gripping accounting of UFO history, some close-encounters and descriptions of moon anomalies and lost satellites to Mars, along with some terrific photos to back up the text. But then the book gets more outlandish - and this is where footnotes are definitely needed. A few examples of general sloppiness are as follows: on page 159, Imbrogno writes: "I have a reputation of being open-minded, but very analytical in my research; however, as I said earlier, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence." Well, firstly, Imbrogno didn't come up with the last axiom; Carl Sagan said it. And if Imbrogno's mentor - Dr. Hynek - once said that "one witness is no witness", then why does so very much of the rest of the book take at face value individual accounts (by alot of anonymous people)? Imbrogno accepts some of the most bizarre tales with no back-up research. In one account where there is a name, we have strange stories associated with an individual named Posey - and after the story is told, Imbrogno writes: "Posey no doubt is a psychic and since childhood he has had contact with a number of different beings from another dimension." This is taken at face value just based on the writings of the said Mr. Posey! Page 219 goes into matter-of-fact descriptions of the varieties of angels - and the three types of angelic script - with absolutely NO reference notes detailing where Imbrogno learned all of this from; the facts about angels are stated as if already well-proven fact! On page 249, photographs taken by one Trevor Constable are mentioned - photos that show UFO type objects and sky-borne jellyfish type creatures taken with infrared film about forty years ago. Imbrogno describes having seen the pictures - but we are not shown a single one. On page 259, a whole series of pictures that Imbrogno saw and describes showing other dimensions and beings (a case he worked on years ago, one that he considers "one of the best examples of paranormal photography" that he has ever seen) is tantalizingly talked about - yet, again, we see none of these images in the book. He goes on to say that a detailed investigation was carried out on the photos with no sign of double exposure or any devloping flaw. Carried out by whom? When? Where? Imbrogno gets a letter from somebody called "Rosebud" describing a UFO flying over NYC- and just on the basis of the letter alone, he concludes that "There is no doubt that Rosebud...saw the Hudson Valley UFO that night." This is research???? This is science??? He talks about a rumour he heard of an experiment at Princeton a few years ago where a team was experimenting with high frequencies and bent time-space and saw spheres of light, different time periods and insectoid creatures. Who told him the rumour? Where is any evidence such an experiment ever took place - and why write about it without having tracked down names and places? The Universe doesn't make much sense - not does the format of this book. It is decidedly schizoid in its approach. On page 258 the author writes: "How does one see into these other dimensions? I really don't know the answer to this question." Yet much of the book goes into detail on how to photograph inter-dimensional beings, the aforementioned high frequency Princeton tests, where to find their gateways, what psychics to contact to assist in your search. Oh, he also discusses the legendary Philadelphia Experiment dealing with invisibility that allegedly happened in the late '40s....only Imbrogno says the project was "wrongly named the Philadelphia Experiment" and was actually done "on a ship off the Gulf of Mexico." The crew encountered aliens and were experimented on. There is alot more to the story as told here...but all of this is based on a story as told to the late Dr. Hynek by a chap named Carlos. "One witness is no witness" - so sayeth the late Dr. Hynek - who then went on to believe Carlos' incredible story. As I said earlier, I believe the Universe is stranger than we can possibly imagine. I accept the very real possibility of multiple dimensions and alien life forms and ghosts and space/time portals. But this book - from a failure of footnotes to backup photos to relying all-too-much on single witness testimony - ultimately disappoints. And because its themes are so 'big' - it is a 'big'-time disappointment of a book. I enjoyed reading it to a point - but then frustration took over with each page turned, with each more outlandish claim with no viable cross-reference and not a single footnote. And for a book that covers so much - the bibliography lists only 17 books and publications: and 6 of them are by none-other than....Philip Imbrogno!!!! If only a truly serious researcher and author had taken on these same big themes, then we'd have a book! To Mr. Imbrogno: an author need not have a foot fetish to include footnotes!!!! Without them, you yourself as the author become the "one witness" that, in Dr. Hynek's own words "is NO witness." A pity.
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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent approach--relates years of research to new interpretations, July 5, 2008
This book is worth reading and re-reading for all the information it brings to us. By keeping an open mind, we can relate many obseved paranormal occurences to UFO phenomena.
I live in New England near "America's Stonehenge," and I have wondered often about the significance of theses standing stones.
The fact that the author has been working in the field so long and has experiences in so many different aspects of UFOlogy makes this book all the more exciting a contribution to the field.
Also, some of the material that comes from "real people" is exceptionally good because real names are used.
All in all, this book is highly recommended ! I could not put it down.
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