Reviews

If claims for ESP, clairvoyance, mind-over-matter and other psychic phenomena are valid, ``the so-called laws of physics will have to be rewritten,'' maintains the author. His careful, low-key survey of modern parapsychology ranges from psychic dreams and apparitions to out-of-body experiences, reincarnation and investigations of ghosts and hauntings. Broughton, research director of the Institute for Parapsychology in North Carolina, presents an impressive array of documented evidence suggesting that psychic phenomena may be authentic. As a state-of-the-art snapshot of contemporary research, this report should appeal to the open-minded reader. Broughton contends that future research will demonstrate psi to be an unusual but practical human ability. (July)

Broughton, director of research at the Institute of Parapsychology in Durham, North Carolina, provides an accessible introduction to the science of parapsychology. Most readers will know something of psychic phenomena--basically extrasensory perception and psychokinesis, but also poltergeist activity, out-of-body experiences, and the like--even if their only knowledge is limited to the sensational aspects. Broughton describes in detail both real-life events and experiences, as well as laboratory experiments in the United States and abroad--some of which involve government researchers. Readers will come away with a sense of the serious research being done which indicates that parapsychology is a maturing science. The bibliography in the appendix is noteworthy. Recommended for all libraries as a basic, yet thorough introduction.-- John Moryl, Yeshiva Univ. Lib., New York