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The Apparitionists
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Book Synopsis The Apparitionists by : Peter Manseau
Download or read book The Apparitionists written by Peter Manseau and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2017 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A story of faith and fraud in post-Civil War America told through the lens of a photographer who claimed he could capture images of the dead
Book Synopsis The Apparitionists by : Peter Manseau
Download or read book The Apparitionists written by Peter Manseau and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2017-10-10 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A story of faith and fraud in post–Civil War America, told through the lens of a photographer who claimed he could capture images of the dead. In the early days of photography, in the death-strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized America’s imagination. A “spirit photographer,” William Mumler took portrait photographs that featured the ghostly presence of a lost loved one alongside the living subject. Mumler was a sensation: The affluent and influential came calling, including Mary Todd Lincoln, who arrived at his studio in disguise amidst rumors of séances in the White House. Peter Manseau brilliantly captures a nation wracked with grief and hungry for proof of the existence of ghosts and for contact with their dead husbands and sons. It took a circus-like trial of Mumler on fraud charges, starring P. T. Barnum for the prosecution, to expose a fault line of doubt and manipulation. And even then, the judge sided with the defense, suggesting no one would ever solve the mystery of his spirit photography. This forgotten puzzle offers a vivid snapshot of America at a crossroads in its history, a nation in thrall to new technology while clinging desperately to belief. An NPR Best Book of 2017 “A rare work of historical nonfiction that is both studious and just plain entertaining.”—Publishers Weekly, Top Ten Books of 2017 “An exceptional story.”—Errol Morris, New York Times Book Review “Manseau has become the foremost chronicler of the deep American desire to believe in the weird, the strange, and the oddly wonderful.”—Jeff Sharlet, New York Times–bestselling author of The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power
Book Synopsis Common Phantoms by : Alicia Puglionesi
Download or read book Common Phantoms written by Alicia Puglionesi and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2020-08-25 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Séances, clairvoyance, and telepathy captivated public imagination in the United States from the 1850s well into the twentieth century. Though skeptics dismissed these experiences as delusions, a new kind of investigator emerged to seek the science behind such phenomena. With new technologies like the telegraph collapsing the boundaries of time and space, an explanation seemed within reach. As Americans took up psychical experiments in their homes, the boundaries of the mind began to waver. Common Phantoms brings these experiments back to life while modeling a new approach to the history of psychology and the mind sciences. Drawing on previously untapped archives of participant-reported data, Alicia Puglionesi recounts how an eclectic group of investigators tried to capture the most elusive dimensions of human consciousness. A vast though flawed experiment in democratic science, psychical research gave participants valuable tools with which to study their experiences on their own terms. Academic psychology would ultimately disown this effort as both a scientific failure and a remnant of magical thinking, but its challenge to the limits of science, the mind, and the soul still reverberates today.
Book Synopsis The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer by : Louis Kaplan
Download or read book The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer written by Louis Kaplan and published by U of Minnesota Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1860s, William Mumler photographed ghostsa or so he claimed. Faint images of the dearly departed lurked in the background with the living, like his well-known photo of the recently assassinated Abraham Lincoln comforting Mary Todd. The practice came to be known as spirit photography, and some believed Mumler was channeling the dead. Skeptics, however, called it a fraudulent trick on the gullible, taking advantage of the grieving at a time of suffering and loss. Mumlera s insistence that his work brought back the dead led to a sensational trial in 1869 that was the talk of the nation.
Book Synopsis The Guadalupan Controversies in Mexico by : Stafford Poole
Download or read book The Guadalupan Controversies in Mexico written by Stafford Poole and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first and only comprehensive work to deal with a relatively unknown facet of Mexican social and religious history, the debates over the historicity of the Guadalupe apparitions and the historical existence of Juan Diego.
Book Synopsis The Jefferson Bible by : Peter Manseau
Download or read book The Jefferson Bible written by Peter Manseau and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-09-29 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The life and times of a uniquely American testament In his retirement, Thomas Jefferson edited the New Testament with a penknife and glue, removing all mention of miracles and other supernatural events. Inspired by the ideals of the Enlightenment, Jefferson hoped to reconcile Christian tradition with reason by presenting Jesus of Nazareth as a great moral teacher—not a divine one. Peter Manseau tells the story of the Jefferson Bible, exploring how each new generation has reimagined the book in its own image as readers grapple with both the legacy of the man who made it and the place of religion in American life. Completed in 1820 and rediscovered by chance in the late nineteenth century after being lost for decades, Jefferson's cut-and-paste scripture has meant different things to different people. Some have held it up as evidence that America is a Christian nation founded on the lessons of the Gospels. Others see it as proof of the Founders' intent to root out the stubborn influence of faith. Manseau explains Jefferson's personal religion and philosophy, shedding light on the influences and ideas that inspired him to radically revise the Gospels. He situates the creation of the Jefferson Bible within the broader search for the historical Jesus, and examines the book's role in American religious disputes over the interpretation of scripture. Manseau describes the intrigue surrounding the loss and rediscovery of the Jefferson Bible, and traces its remarkable reception history from its first planned printing in 1904 for members of Congress to its persistent power to provoke and enlighten us today.
Book Synopsis Acheiropoeta: Not Made by Hands by : Thomas Mary Sennott
Download or read book Acheiropoeta: Not Made by Hands written by Thomas Mary Sennott and published by Academy of the Immaculate. This book was released on 2011-01-01 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An excellent resource book and the only one of its kind, covering the two most controversial images in existence: the Holy Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the tilma of Juan Diego and the Sacred Image of the crucified Christ on the Shroud of Turin. Both presentations give ample scientific evidence of their authenticity. The author, with a physical science background, has brought the reader up to date on the latest Shroud findings. At the same time, he exposes the fraudulent carbon-14 tests.
Book Synopsis Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead by : Stanley Brandes
Download or read book Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead written by Stanley Brandes and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-02-04 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each October, as the Day of the Dead draws near, Mexican marketsoverflow with decorated breads, fanciful paper cutouts, andwhimsical toy skulls and skeletons. To honor deceased relatives,Mexicans decorate graves and erect home altars. Drawing on a richarray of historical and ethnographic evidence, this volume revealsthe origin and changing character of this celebrated holiday. Itexplores the emergence of the Day of the Dead as a symbol ofMexican and Mexican-American national identity. Skulls to the Living, Bread to the Dead poses a serious challengeto the widespread stereotype of the morbid Mexican, unafraid ofdeath, and obsessed with dying. In fact, the Day of the Dead, asshown here, is a powerful affirmation of life and creativity.Beautifully illustrated, this book is essential for anyoneinterested in Mexican culture, art, and folklore, as well ascontemporary globalization and identity formation.
Book Synopsis Songs for the Butcher's Daughter by : Peter Manseau
Download or read book Songs for the Butcher's Daughter written by Peter Manseau and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-03-18 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Itsik Malpesh was born the son of a goose-plucking factory manager during the Russian pogroms - his life saved on the night it began by the young daughter of a kosher slaughterer. Or so he believes… Exiled during the war, Itsik eventually finds himself in New York, working as a typesetter and writing poetry to his muse, the butcher's daughter, whom he is sure he will never see again. But it is here in New York that Itsik is unexpectedly reunited with his greatest love - and, later, his greatest enemy - with results both serendipitous and tragic. His story is recounted in his memoirs thanks to the most unlikely of translators - a twenty-one-year-old Boston Catholic college student who, in meeting Itsik, has embarked upon a great lie that will define his future and the most extraordinary friendship he'll ever know.
Download or read book Mathew Brady written by Robert Wilson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2013-08-06 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first narrative biography of the Civil War's pioneering visual historian, Mathew Brady, known as the “father of American photography.” Mathew Brady's attention to detail, flair for composition, and technical mastery helped establish the photograph as a thing of value. In the 1840s and '50s, “Brady of Broadway” photographed such dignitaries as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Dolley Madison, Horace Greeley, the Prince of Wales, and Jenny Lind. But it was during the Civil War that Brady's photography became an epochal part of American history. The Civil War was the first war in history to leave a detailed photographic record, and Brady knew better than anyone the dual power of the camera to record and excite, to stop a moment in time and preserve it. More than ten thousand war images are attributed to the Brady studio. But as Wilson shows, while Brady himself accompanied the Union army to the first major battle at Bull Run, he was so shaken by the experience that throughout the rest of the war he rarely visited battlefields except well before or after a major battle, instead sending teams of photographers to the front. Mathew Brady is a gracefully written and beautifully illustrated biography of an American legend-a businessman, a suave promoter, a celebrated portrait artist, and, most important, a historian who chronicled America during the gravest moments of the nineteenth century.
Book Synopsis Our Lady of Guadalupe by : Stafford Poole
Download or read book Our Lady of Guadalupe written by Stafford Poole and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2017-12-05 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For decades, Stafford Poole has stood at the forefront of scholarship on the historicity of the Virgin of Guadalupe, an icon that serves as one of the most important formative religious and national symbols in the history of Mexico. Poole’s groundbreaking first edition of Our Lady of Guadalupe was the first ever to examine in depth every historical source of the Guadalupe apparitions. In this revised edition, Poole employs additional sources and commentary to further challenge common interpretations and assumptions about the Guadalupan tradition.
Book Synopsis Supernatural Entertainments by : Simone Natale
Download or read book Supernatural Entertainments written by Simone Natale and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2016-03-31 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Supernatural Entertainments, Simone Natale vividly depicts spiritualism’s rise as a religious and cultural phenomenon and explores its strong connection to the growth of the media entertainment industry in the nineteenth century. He frames the spiritualist movement as part of a new commodity culture that changed how public entertainments were produced and consumed. Starting with the story of the Fox sisters, considered the first spiritualist mediums in history, Natale follows the trajectory of spiritualism in Great Britain and the United States from its foundation in 1848 to the beginning of the twentieth century. He demonstrates that spiritualist mediums and leaders adopted many of the promotional strategies and spectacular techniques that were being developed for the broader entertainment industry. Spiritualist mediums were indistinguishable from other professional performers, as they had managers and agents, advertised in the press, and used spectacularism to draw audiences. Addressing the overlap between spiritualism’s explosion and nineteenth-century show business, Natale provides an archaeology of how the supernatural became a powerful force in the media and popular culture of today.
Book Synopsis The Witch of Lime Street by : David Jaher
Download or read book The Witch of Lime Street written by David Jaher and published by Crown. This book was released on 2015 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1924 the wife of a Boston surgeon came to embody the raging national debate over Spiritualism, a movement devoted to communication with the dead. Reporters dubbed her the blonde Witch of Lime Street, but she was known to her followers simply as Margery. Her most vocal advocate was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who believed so thoroughly in Margery's powers that he urged her to enter a controversial contest, sponsored by Scientific American. Her supernatural gifts beguiled four of the judges. There was only one left to convince ... the acclaimed escape artist, Harry Houdini. Jaher captures their electric public rivalry and the competition that brought them into each other's orbit.
Book Synopsis Frederick Douglass by : William S. McFeely
Download or read book Frederick Douglass written by William S. McFeely and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1991 with total page 516 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the life of Frederick Douglass as he achieves stature as a leader in the struggle to transcend the limitations of bondage and race.
Download or read book Chasing Ghosts written by Marc Hartzman and published by Quirk Books. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fantastic book.”—Ben Kissel, co-host of Last Podcast on the Left Take a spirited tour through the supernatural history of America—from haunted sites and famous ghosts to the paranormal investigations of The Conjuring’s real-life Ed and Lorraine Warren. Ghosts are everywhere—whether you believe in them or not. Every town has its local legends, and countless books, movies, and TV shows are haunted by their presence. But our obsession with ghosts runs deeper than we know—and is embedded in the very fabric of American history. Writer and historian Marc Hartzman dons the mantle of tour guide, taking readers on a fascinating journey through supernatural history, including: • The Fox Sisters and the rise of Spiritualism • The supernatural obsessions of famous figures like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle • Haunted Sites: Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia; LaLaurie House in New Orleans • Famous Ghosts: Bell Witch of Tennessee; Greenbrier Ghost of West Virginia • Paranormal Investigators: Ed and Lorraine Warren Deeply researched and highly entertaining, with archival images and black and white illustrations, Chasing Ghosts will satisfy believers and skeptics alike. “If you care about ghosts . . . this is the guide you've been waiting for.” —Grady Hendrix, New York Times bestselling author of The Final Girl Support Group
Download or read book Heaven's Ditch written by Jack Kelly and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2016-07-05 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A page-turning narrative, Heaven's Ditch offers an excitingly fresh look at a heady, foundational moment in American history. The technological marvel of its age, the Erie Canal grew out of a sudden fit of inspiration. Proponents didn't just dream; they built a 360-mile waterway entirely by hand and largely through wilderness. As excitement crackled down its length, the canal became the scene of the most striking outburst of imagination in American history. Zealots invented new religions and new modes of living. The Erie Canal made New York the financial capital of America and brought the modern world crashing into the frontier. Men and women saw God face to face, gained and lost fortunes, and reveled in a period of intense spiritual creativity. Heaven's Ditch by Jack Kelly illuminates the spiritual and political upheavals along this "psychic highway" from its opening in 1825 through 1844. "Wage slave" Sam Patch became America's first celebrity daredevil. William Miller envisioned the apocalypse. Farm boy Joseph Smith gave birth to Mormonism, a new and distinctly American religion. Along the way, the reader encounters America's very first "crime of the century," a treasure hunt, searing acts of violence, a visionary cross-dresser, and a panoply of fanatics, mystics, and hoaxers.
Book Synopsis Strange Frequencies by : Peter Bebergal
Download or read book Strange Frequencies written by Peter Bebergal and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2022-10-04 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback. A journey through the attempts artists, scientists, and tinkerers have made to imagine and communicate with the otherworldly using various technologies, from cameras to radiowaves. Strange Frequencies takes readers on an extraordinary narrative and historical journey to discover how people have used technology in an effort to search for our own immortality. Bebergal builds his own ghostly gadgets to reach the other side, too, and follows the path of famous inventors, engineers, seekers, and seers who attempted to answer life's ultimate mysteries. He finds that not only are technological innovations potent metaphors keeping our spiritual explorations alive, but literal tools through which to experiment the boundaries of the physical world and our own psyches. Peter takes the reader alongside as he explores: the legend of the golem and the strange history of automata; a photographer who is trying to capture the physical manifestation of spirits; a homemaker who has recorded voicemails from the dead; a stage magician who combines magic and technology to alter his audience's consciousness; and more.
