PSYCHIC GERMANY

Heather Wolffram. The Stepchildren of Science: Psychical Research and Parapsychology in Germany c. 1870-1939. Editions Rodopi, 2009. (Clio Medica 88) 

While there have been a number of substantive histories of psychical research in the United Kingdom and the United States, this is the first detailed study of its history in Germany and as such is a major contribution to the history of the subject. Wolffram tracks the history from the early interest in hypnotism by groups of scientists seeking an alternative to the dominant materialist psychology in Germany at that time. 

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BELIEF & SCEPTICISM

Martin Bridgstock. Beyond Belief: Skepticism, Science and Belief in the Paranormal. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

This book by an Australian academic and member of the Australian skeptics movement, is not particularly concerned with refuting specific paranormal claims, but with a more general defence of skepticism as a mode of thought. It includes a brief history of skeptical thought from the Greeks onward.
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A SHIVER OF SPOOKS

          

Jill Armitage. Haunted Derbyshire. The History Press. 2009.
David Brandon. Haunted Bath. The History Press, 2009. 
Alan Brooke. Haunted Whitby. The History Press, 2009.
Carmel King. Haunted Essex. The History Press, 2009.
Rupert Matthews. Haunted Hampshire. The History Press, 2009.
Stephen Wade. Hauntings in Lincolnshire. Halsgrove, 2009.

This collection of books of regional ghost stories illustrate the various approaches and purposes behind such collections.

MONSTERS, ANCIENT AND MODERN

Stephen T Asma. On Monsters: an Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears. Oxford University Press, 2009.

Monsters, prodigies, ill omens, images of raw wildness and chaotic disorder haunt the human imagination and have done, presumably from earliest period of our humanity. Whether manifesting as huge, lumbering beasts, or physically or morally deformed human beings, they have inspire terror and awe through the ages.
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POET'S CORNER

Our more literary aware readers may have noticed that the 2009 T S Eliot Prize for Poetry - one of the most prestigious literary prizes - had been awarded to Philip Gross for his book of poems, The Water Table, a collection inspired by the changing landscapes and waterscapes of the Severn Estuary. You can read about it HERE.

All very interesting, but what has this got to do with Magonia? Just that it was the very same Philip Gross, at the time working for the same library service as I was, who wrote the review of my book Evidence for Alien Abductions for Magonia magazine.

I'm glad to say he seemed to like it, and you can read that review HERE.

MIND AND BODY

Michael N. Marsh. Out of Body and Near Death Experiences: Brain State Phenomena or Glimpses of Immortality. Oxford University Press, 2009. (Oxford Theological Monographs)

There is a surgical procedure in which corpus callosum is cut, resulting in a loss of communication between the two hemispheres, such that they might start to develop separate personalities.
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MAGONIA 18, JANUARY 1985.

This was quite a significant issue of Magonia, as we had just acquired the readership of Kevin McClure's Common Ground magazine, which not only considerably increased our circulation, but also gave us a stimulus to extend even further the range of topics that Magonia covered. A short piece from Kevin bade farewell to Common Ground, and introduced his readers to their new magazine. 

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MARFA LIGHTS

James Bunnell. Hunting Marfa Lights. Lacey Publishing Company, 2009

Marfa is a small community in the west of Texas noted for the appearance of strange lights. For some these lights are a paranormal visitation, for others merely the misperception of the lights of distant vehicles. Retired NASA engineer James Bunnell has spent 8 years studying these lights, and concludes that while many can be explained in terms of well understood causes, others are much more puzzling.
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