Alternative Realities: The Paranormal, the Mystic and the Transcendent in Human Experience

A reference work on paranormal experiences and phenomena offers articles discussing the characteristics of each experience, research and evidence associated with them, and possible scientific explanations

George describes his admirably balanced book as introducing the reader "to the range of the supranormal." While the more than 450 entries cover an impressively broad range of topics, the jacket's claim that Alternative Realities is the first one-volume reference book to deal with virtually every reported type of "unusual experience" seems an overstatement. The breadth of coverage has required selectivity in the choice of entries and, in many instances, lack of depth. The entire entry for Bigfoot, for instance, is the following: "The popular American name for a hairy humanoid occasionally sighted in wooded areas, mostly in the northwest coast region." Cross-references to Cryptic and Humanoids, Anomalous, at one and two pages, respectively, are more helpful.

In an extensive directory of entries, George classifies them under three headings. Those under "General Topics" include Skepticism, Magical Thinking, Delusion, Epilepsy, and Vision of Paul. Entries under "Varieties of Unusual (Supranormal) Experience" include Astral Projection, Doppelganger, Channeling, False Memory, UFO Abduction Experience, and Ghost Light. Entries under "Deliberate Inducement of Unusual Experiences" include Flagellation, Vision Quest, Peyote, Koan, and Glossolalia. Among these latter entries are about 100 associated with Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Christian, Judaic, and esoteric traditions. Entries themselves are lucid and range from one sentence to several pages. Most contain see also references and a brief list of further reading. Concluding the book are tables and lists of studies correlating supranormal beliefs and anomalous phenomena, a 20-page bibliography, and an index.

Covering much of the same ground is Rosemary Guiley's Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience (Harper, 1991). A sampling of 33 entries there revealed that only eight are found in Alternative Realities, while only about half appear in the index. Guiley contains biographies while George does not. George is especially good at presenting the views of both skeptics and believers. Alternative Realities is recommended for academic, public, and high-school libraries.