MYSTERIOUS PLACES by Daniel Cohen

And there was Elvis - not the real one 

When he kissed me goodbye he called me hon

Just another shot in the dark 

Like El Dorado or Noah's Ark

Another very readable pop-sci primer from Daniel Cohen, collecting the most cutting edged research c.1969 around such mysterious places as Atlantis, Mu, Camelot, and others! This is a journey not just to unknown lands but through academic debates and pop culture mutations, as interpretations and explanations rise and fall through the years - was Atlantis real, or just a metaphor? Where the hell did Prester John come from? How many times do we have to establish the creators of Great Zimbabwe before the Rhodesian government will admit it wasn't a lost white race? Cohen dives into the archives to tackle all of these questions head on ...

Per usual, Cohen is gentle but firm in his exploration of fringe science and crank ideas, and by putting theories about lost worlds like Atlantis in their historical and social contexts Cohen lights the way as surely as a torch in a dusty tomb. Sometimes the journey is as important as the destination, and a few dead ends and side paths here and there can be edifying.

This title was published the same year von Daniken's Chariots of the Gods? made it to American shores, and so while Cohen does not answer von Daniken's mystery mongering by name, his chapter on Easter Island is notable nonetheless for including research and information that von Daniken would pretend was impossible and unknowable for decades to come.

Throughout his world tour of the unknown Cohen makes reference to our romantic yearning for cataclysm and mystery. The work is a pleasure to read, and Tower Books' cheap and flashy presentation (dig the ad for smokes!) adds spice to a volume that surely undercuts a good deal of other titles in their occult oeuvre.

Cohen includes a nice bibliography, and Tower Books include a nice page of juicy ads for other occult/paranormal titles such as Stefan Elg's Fortean mixer Beyond Belief and Devi Sonero's pro-phrenology reader!

Tower Books also put this title out as Lost Worlds, with new cover art and a different ad spread in the back. Check out Otto Binder's sci-fi entry Night of the Saucers, published under his Eando pseudonym:

It's been said that a girl trying to find herself the perfect man is like trying to find Atlantis. Even 50+ years on, this work is illuminating and enjoyable. Mysterious Places is available to read and download at archive dot org.

Tower Books, 1969

MAPS OF THE UNKNOWN: The Wandering Isle

On the track of the phantom Thompson Island in the South Atlantic. Map by Charles Green, from A Grue of Ice by Geoffrey Jenkins.

Courtesy Fontana Books, 1964 (original pub. 1962). 

ARCHIVAL UPDATES: JEANE DIXON: PROPHET OR FRAUD?

Mary Bringle's critical volume, Jeane Dixon: Prophet or Fraud? is now available to read and download at archive dot org! This is a scan of the odd, trapezoidal miscut copy.

Here's Bringle's analysis of Dixon's attitude toward MLK and civil rights:

Courtesy Tower Books, 1970.

PREDICTIONS FOR 1975 compiled and edited by Warren Smith

Only 50 years too late, here comes a batch of psychic PREDICTIONS FOR 1975, compiled and edited by our man Warren Smith and featuring 36+ midcentury seers giving us the best and worst to come! We last saw some of these ESPers in Warren's volume for 1974, and it's a solid B-list including frequent Smith fliers like Doc Anderson and the Countess Amaya big shots like Ted "PK Man" Owens and Dorothy Spence Lauer, and two guys often featured by Brad Steiger, Olof Jonsson and Komar. There's plenty of obscure and unheard of psychics too, and Smith gives us a rundown of every entrant at the beginning of their respective chapters.

As for the predictions?

Ted Kennedy will either retire from politics or become president, as will Ronald Reagan. George Wallace is on everyone's mind too, with Doc Anderson predicting he'll be president! Richard Burton and Liz Taylor are splitting for good or getting back together. Marlo Thomas and Cybil Shepherd are going to hit it big! Patty Hearst is either dead, alive, or on the run with the SLA.

There's new foods, new medicine, new clothes, new cars on the way ... X-rated movies will be shown on TV! That last one was just a few years out with pay-per-view cable, so a couple psychics could feel pretty happy with themselves even if their guesses were a little premature. The majority of psychics here agree that the UFO mystery will probably be revealed in 1975 with official disclosure from the American government and a landing of a craft, though a couple psychics feel that nothing much will happen with UFOs next year. 

Some of Doc's predictions with emphasis from a former reader

Old religions will either roar back in popularity or wither against the New Age, and ESP will, across the board, be more and more accepted. One seer predicts a less "fanatical" ESP that will develop scientifically ... always in the midcentury, the reveal of unknown powers was just around the corner.

 

One Dr. Gil E. Gilly rambles on for the second longest chapter with a grab bag of inventions, trends, and celebrity whatsit. Dig that alfalfa drink! Too, Sonny and Cher will reunite for a "really funny" comedy special! The website for the history of performing magic in Phoenix features a gallery of Gilly promotionals.

Leo Martello's chapter follows suit with his 1974 entry, featuring some canny political analysis mixed with a little bit of psychic fluff. He predicts that Rhodesia will soon fall as a White state and be renamed Zimbabwe, which points more to his powers of international attention than any psychic aura.

Gay warlock and firebrand Leo Martello

Many of the more likely "predictions" from the psychics are, indeed, simple educated guesses. And let's not even talk about middling crap like "four entertainment figures will die" or "I foresee more war in the Middle East!" Some of the wackier stuff like nuclear war or major earth changes can at least be granted points for chutzpah, like "black psychic" Dr. Ernesto Montgomery's prediction of a "surprise atomic attack" by the USSR on America. Two psychics predict Charles attaining the throne in 1975, which makes for a chuckle in 2025, as does a prediction of Castro's fall in '75.

As always, Smith makes sure to note that predictions are NOT to be taken as investment advice! So hold off on that alfalfa stock ...

Predictions For 1975 is available to read and download at archive dot org.

Award Books, 1974

COSMIC DEBRIS: Successful Meditation With Lobsang Rampa

The Rampathon returns for a limited time with unbeatable prices on spiritual enlightenment! Robes, prayers, incense, figurines, and THE ONLY AUTHORIZED RECORDING of Lobsang Rampa's meditation guide can all be yours if you enclose a check or money order now! Note the botched title Caves of the Ancients in the third party advert from the Metaphysical Centre of San Francisco, which should read as a singular cave:

See?

Rampa's meditation record is available for listening on youtube:

From Fate, Volume 23 - Number 02, February 1970.