Book Description
Margaretta and Catherine Foxs successful communication with a spirit entity in 1848 sparked a new understanding of the spirit world in the United States. This new movement is called Modern Spiritualism. Based on Spiritualisms rich tradition, Elizabeth Owens demonstrates how one can develop natural clairvoyant skills in order to hear the "wisdom of the spirits."

Emphasizing patience and practice, the author insists that clairvoyance is possible for everyone. She explains many forms of clairvoyance (psychometry, clairsentience, clairaudience, and so on), and offers examples based on her own experiences and those of six other Spiritualist mediums. Exercises in meditation, memory development, visualization, and symbol interpretation progressively help readers enhance and cultivate their own innate gift of the "sixth sense." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

An Insightful, Easy Read
While on my search for truth, I stumbled one year ago upon the nine principles of Spiritualism, finding that my own personal philosophy aligned with eight of the nine, and I find myself exploring the ninth principle for personal validation.At the very least, the book is a fascinating look into how Spiritualist mediums do their readings and lends an appreciation as to why they are pretty accurate on one's major issues but not 100% accurate on all issues.

I will purchase another one of Elizabeth Owens' books, as this one is fascinating and, having been to Cassadaga, FL three times in the past, can relate to some of the characters (meant tongue in cheek) whom I've actually met.I'll keep you posted on whether Elizabeth Ownens' book actually helps to develop the talent.

Excellent Introduction to Clairvoyance
"Clairvoyance is the ability to `see' things using psychic perception rather than your physical sense. Clairvoyant images may be experienced as scenes, symbols, words, numbers, colors, or even spirits. This positive and encouraging guidebook shows that with patience and practice, clairvoyance is possible for everyone." - From the back cover

Elizabeth Owens, a certified medium and Spiritualist minister, has written an engaging and informative guidebook for those wanting to develop psychic ability. Specifically, Spiritualism & Clairvoyance for Beginners is an accessible practicum for "seeing" with the Third Eye and decoding the images and symbols that arise. In addition, Owens also teaches that intuitive information can be received through "clear hearing" (clairaudience), "clear smelling" (clairgustance), and "clear sensing" (clairsentience).

Filled with fascinating historical and personal anecdotes about spirit contact, Spiritualism & Clairvoyance for Beginners provides progressive learning exercises on meditation, memory development, visualization, psychometry and symbol interpretation. Nineteen different exercises designed to increase psychic awareness are included in this book, as is seven workbook pages for recording your experiences and insights.

While the author is a Spiritualist and some of the information in the book addresses interacting with departed spirits, Spiritualism & Clairvoyance for Beginners can be used by anyone wanting to learn how to "see" and decode intuitive information. Whether this is done with the help of departed spirits is optional, especially if you're not open to that sort of thing. But if you're fascinated by mediums (those who are in contact with the dead), you'll be especially pleased at the information and insight offered by Elizabeth Owens.

When I began reading this book, I wasn't expecting much-especially since many "beginner" books are quite shallow and unhelpful. However, I was delighted and surprised at the great foundation the author provided, especially with the nineteen exercises. How I wish *I* had this book when I first started my journey with psychic ability! While some of us had to "fly solo" when learning particular psychic skills-trial and error, angst and disappointment often constant companions in the early stages-Spiritualism & Clairvoyance for Beginners is a wise companion, providing an excellent map for beginning your journey into psychic development.

Super Informative
I really enjoyed the easy to follow instructions for developing my clairvoyance.I had no idea it would be so easy and that it was a natural ability.I really liked the workbook format, too.The information about Spiritualism was also very interesting and helped me to understand why this ability was developed widely by people.I had no idea what I had been seeing in my meditations was clairvoyance.Wow!

A Nice Beginners Book
Here is a nice little book filled with validation of experiences and lessons on how to improve your clairvoyant talents.

Elizabeth Owens is a practicing spiritualist at the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp in Florida.She teaches spiritual development there as well as having several books on the subject.

This book provides an overview of the clairvoyant talent, that is, as the author puts it "a natural talent."She goes further to explain "clairvoyance is a French word meaning clear seeing.It is the art of seeing spirit entities, which may or may not be visible through the eyes of others."

She expands on this concept well in her book.She gives us some wonderful background and history about the Spiritualism and Clairvoyance experience, where it started and especially about her own camp in Florida.

She gives some good examples of the talent, and introduces some members of her group who also contribute their personal experiences and talents to the content of the book.

I liked the flow: simple and easy.It is not intended to be an advanced teaching tool, but a gentle introduction to the concept and basic practices.

Ms. Owens includes some of her techniques for advancing and improving your own natural clairvoyant talent.There are chapters on Meditation and Interpretation.There is a chapter on symbolism and using it to enhance the reading experience and improving connections with the spirit and the client.There is also a discussion on other forms of clairvoyance, such as "X-ray Clairvoyance" and "Medical Clairvoyance" and more.

The author provides some exercises in the book for you to work with.These focus on meditation practices, enhancing your abilities to observe and retain the observations, personal interpretationof various symbols, and other techniques to enhance your own talents.These exercises are well thought through, are short so you can concentrate on one step at a time, and can be worked into your own schedule.There is room on the pages for you to record your thoughts and experiences.

She also brings in the experiences of the members of her group, giving you some validation of experience in the variations that can exist in the talent of different readers.

There is a workbook section near the end of the book, for you to write down personal development, notations and experiences.There is also a resources section, listing not only contacts and websites for her own Spiritualist Camp, but also other well known Spiritualist centers.

This book is not really path specific, though the author and many of the members are of the Spiritualist path.But the benefit here is that anyone of any spiritual path can pick this book up and read it and not feel intimidated or pushed in any one direction.

If you are unfamiliar with clairvoyance, if you have experienced this talent yourself and don't know where to begin, or if you think you have this talent and want to start expanding it, this is a nice book to start with.boudica ... Read more

Book Description
Arthur Conan Doyle's very well received story of Modern Spiritualism, acting as a spokesman for the cause.One of Doyle's last literary efforts, this work traces the history of spiritualism through the early 20th century, and includes profiles of such prominent spiritualists as Emmanuel Swedenborg, Edward Irving, D. D. Home, Sir William Crookes, and Eusapia Palladino.Best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) dedicated himself to the cause of spiritualism in later life.His passion for the paranormal led Doyle to such excesses as the ill-advised endorsement of Elsie Wright's and Frances Griffith's clumsily faked photographs of the "Cottingley fairies" in 1922. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Expert Account by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
No one goes wrong in tapping into the great research of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his review of New Spiritualism. He takes us through the pioneers of that movement that began here in the United States in 1848 with the Fox Sisters. Doyle was purposeful and intent on his work; a scholarly effort that is used today by the Morris Pratt Institute as required reading for its courses on Spiritualism.

history of Spiritualism - arthur conan doyle
I have looked for this book for many yrs, as yet I havent read it, but very happy to have it. Shall read as soon as I have finished my other Spiritual books... many thanks Amazon.... Meg

The St. Paul of Spiritualism
Besides being the Father of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was the St. Paul of Spiritualism. Having become disenchanted with the Roman Catholic faith at an early age, Doyle searched for years, before becoming a convinced Spiritualist. The evidence that convinced him was communication with his son, Kingsley, who died at the end of the great war. This information came through in seances. Doyle often remarked,"If only they could know". Doyle not only believed, he knew! This book is extremely well written, as one would expect from a writer of Doyle's distinction. The early beginnings with Swedenborg are covered, as well as important phenomena and mediums of the time. To me, as a Spiritualist minister, the greatest chapters are on the religious aspects of Spiritualism, which Doyle explains in great depth. This is a scholarly book, which I require my students to read. But it is more than worth the time, when one considers what one learns from this authority. Doyle traveled extensively in the cause of the faith and established several churches in Australia. I wish all readers the same exciting learning experience that I had when I first read this book! ... Read more

Book Description
Since its birth in 1848, Spiritualism as a religion, science, and philosophy has experienced great highs and lows.At the center of this purely American-made modern-religious movement are "mediums"--the people who are able to communicate, in some way, with spirit entities that are no longer on the earth plane.

Based on three years of on-site investigation, and a plethora of data and research collected on the modern Spiritualist movement in America, Talking to the Other Side focuses upon the ethno-religious aspects of the religion, mediumship, and the mediums themselves.

The first four chapters offer an expansive review of the history of religion in America, mediumship, and the Spiritualist movement.Chapters 5-7 comprise the research and data that were compiled and analyzed based on fieldwork analysis, a comprehensive questionnaire, personal interviews, and published literature on the topic of Spiritualism and mediumship.

According to Spiritualist mediums, "people don't die, bodies do."Talking to the Other Side offers a contemporary look into the lives and backgrounds of the mediums who bridge this world and the Spirit world, connecting those who have passed over with those they left behind. Download Description
Since its birth in 1848, Spiritualism as a religion, science, and philosophy has experienced great highs and lows.At the center of this purely American-made modern-religious movement are "mediums"--the people who are able to communicate, in some way, with spirit entities that are no longer on the earth plane.

Based on three years of on-site investigation, and a plethora of data and research collected on the modern Spiritualist movement in America, Talking to the Other Side focuses upon the ethno-religious aspects of the religion, mediumship, and the mediums themselves.

The first four chapters offer an expansive review of the history of religion in America, mediumship, and the Spiritualist movement.Chapters 5-7 comprise the research and data that were compiled and analyzed based on fieldwork analysis, a comprehensive questionnaire, personal interviews, and published literature on the topic of Spiritualism and mediumship.

According to Spiritualist mediums, "people don't die, bodies do."Talking to the Other Side offers a contemporary look into the lives and backgrounds of the mediums who bridge this world and the Spirit world, connecting those who have passed over with those they left behind. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great history and a fascinating read
Dr. Leonard's work is a well-rounded history of modern Spiritualism.It fills the gap in a hole of religious history that is so often neglected.The work would be of interest to the professional scholar or casual student of Spiritualism or religious history.I highly recommend it.

Fascinating! Amazing!Great personal stories from Mediums!
With all the increasing attention on the supernatural, mediums, occult, and metaphysical possibilities, Dr. Leonard's "Talking to the Other Side" presents the extraordinary history of Spiritualism as a religion in America.He explores the early beginnings of the Fox sisters listening to unbelievable rappings, to the spread of seances across America, and to the establishment ofSpiritualism as a religion, science, and philosophy in 1848.In addition to the historical text, Dr. Leonard had rare access in meeting with practicing Spiritualist mediums during years of field research.Several chapters reveal stimulating and mind expanding conversations from personal interviews with Spiritualist mediums.If you are searching for more knowledge about mediumship and spiritual growth, this is the book for you.Dr. Leonard's book is not only educational but enriches the reader by exploring the extraordinary and illuminating stories from Spiritualist mediums who continue to talk to the Spirit world. This book is a must read!

A fascinating book!
A fascinating book! I have always been interested in Spiritualism so this book is right down my street. However I believe that any person of any religion would find this book interesting and thought provoking.
I have read several books on Spiritualism but most tend to go a bit overboard with their ideas and thus cause you to doubt what they are attempting to portray.Not so with this book.

I found Dr. Leonard's book to be very informative especially the history of American made religions. As an Australian I had no knowledge about this fact.

Spiritualism has always been very popular in Australia so I would be interested to read a book about the history of Australian Spiritualism. Perhaps Dr. Leonard might consider this for a future book.

Readable, informative history and Precepts of Spiritualism
I found this book to be a very readable and informative history of the Spiritualist Movement in USA, something of which I had previously known almost nothing about.I particularly recommend this book for those wanting to know of the history of made-in-America religions, not only Spiritualism.As well, I also recommend this book for those wanting to know more about the precepts of Spiritualism itself, an extremely unique and interesting religion, situated in science that offers an alternative to institutionalized religions which often do not allow for a personal approach to spiritual development, as Spiritualism does.Based on Dr. Leonard's Ph.D. thesis, the last few chapters answer his research questions gleaned from a questionnaire survey which was qualitatively analyzed in the voices of his participants, the Spiritualists themselves. Along with extensive appendices and various notes throughout, this book is a unique contribution to an area that has not yet been well documented.Dr. Leonard's insider view as a novice Spiritualist himself, to which he converts during the span of the survey, makes this book all the more attractive. ... Read more

Book Description
A family communicates with their dead sonIn 1973 a young man finds unusual objects at a yard sale in the historic district of Fayetteville, Arkansas, which lead him through a series of eerie coincidences and twists and turns to the story of Leslie Stringfellow, who was born in Texas just after the conclusion of the Civil War. Leslie's untimely death at age nineteen resulted in what his well-educated parents regarded as successful attempts to make contact with their dead son through private séances held nightly in their own home.

Once established, contact continued nightly for over fifteen years. With the help of their dead son, Henry Martyn and Alice Stringfellow recovered a lost inheritance, learned immediately the last words of one of their own parents when he died over a thousand miles away, and adopted and raised a two-year-old orphan girl who grew up to become an active suffragist, newspaper editor, and publicity director for the largest women's organization of the early twentieth century.

During the years of contact with what the Stringfellows believed to be their departed son, they received thousands of séance messages through "automatic writing" in which the young man described his personal afterlife and provided detailed descriptions of the geography of paradise.When Alice Stringfellow was eighty years old and widowed, she decided to write about her experiences with Leslie with the help of her adopted daughter. In 1919 the two women contacted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who read their manuscript and sent them two letters, one handwritten, encouraging them to publish it. The creator of the Sherlock Holmes stories even proposed an experiment that involved his own deceased son, Kingsley Doyle, who was killed in World War I. These letters are published here for the first time. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Captivating

I read metaphysical books in hopes of learning something.However, when I can learn something and be entertained at the same time, as was the case with this book, it's a real treat.Reading this book was like watching a good movie.I could picture the characters, their homes, and their environment as the story unfolded.I'd have to rank it as one of the two most entertaining metaphysical books I have read - right up there with "The Boy Who Saw True."

This 2005 book is based on a 1926 book, "Leslie's Letters to His Mother," by Alice Stringfellow.That book resulted from afterlife communication received from Leslie Stringfellow, who had died in 1886, at age 19.The "letters" came by means of automatic writing through a planchette to Leslie's parents, Alice and Henry Stringfellow. Although the communications began soon after his death and continued for some 15 years, Alice's book was not published until 1926, as she did not think it would be of interest to anyone. As it was, only a hundred or so copies were published, mostly for family members.

Henry and Alice Stringfellow were no country bumpkins.Henry was a world-renowned horticulturist, having graduated from the College of William and Mary before earning graduate degrees in both theology and law.Alice was a graduate of Hunter College in New York.Leslie's death hit them hard.While visiting a medium in Galveston, they were directed by spirit to invest in a planchette - a device that holds a pencil and is moved by the communicating spirit as the hands of the two sitters rest on it."Neither Alice nor Henry believed they had any control over the movement of the instrument," author Stephen Chism offers. "The Stringfellow's letter-writing sessions were to become a secret family ritual which lasted for over 15 years."

Chism, a librarian at the University of Arkansas, tells of the synchronistic events that led to the discovery of the 1926 book and then details his research into the history of the Stringfellow family."As he was dying, Leslie claimed he could see light from Heaven," Chism writes."He promised Alice that he would contact her `if such a thing were possible.'"

In 1897, Leslie encouraged his parents to adopt a child, a distant relative who had been orphaned at age two, as he felt they were too dependent on hearing from him.He wanted them to concentrate on living this life rather than constantly thinking about joining him in the next one.The child would be renamed "Lessie" and would go on to become a reporter and editor in Fayetville, Arkansas. It was Lessie who helped her mother put together their many letters into a book.

In his "letters" Leslie tells of his active life on his side of the veil.He states that he was weak when he first arrived on the other side, but he quickly regained his strength."Here every man's home is an index of his character [on the material plane]" he informs them, pointing out that a large number of souls are stuck in the lower planes of existence. However, while he realized that there were many spheres or planes above him he informed them that he was very content."Never doubt for a moment that this world is a thousand time better in every way than yours," Leslie continues. "When I compare even my happy life on earth with what I now have, I can but see the contrast."

Leslie's messages are consistent with messages received by other credible mediums, pointing to an evolution of the spirit through higher and higher spheres rather than a humdrum heaven and horrific hell.

It is a fascinating and captivating read. Every hospice should have several copies of this book available for its residents.

A "must-have" for metaphysical studies shelves
The Afterlife of Leslie Stringfellow: A Nineteenth-Century Southern Family's Experiences with Spiritualism is the true story of a well-educated, nineteenth-century family's contact with their deceased son Leslie Stringfellow. Over the course of fifteen years, their connection to the beyond through seance messages and "automatic writing" guided their actions in the recovery of an inheritance and the adoption of an orphan girl who grew up to be an active suffragist and newspaper editor. Stringfellow also described his personal afterlife and a detailed survey of the geography of paradise. In 191, Stringfellow's mother and her adopted daughter contacted Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, who urged them to publish their manuscript and even proposed and experiment concerning his own deceased son, Kingsley Doyle, who was killed in World War I. A handful of vintage black-and-white photographs round out this compilation of extensive research including some letters published for the first time. A "must-have" for metaphysical studies shelves concerned with what comes after death.

The American Spiritualist Experience
The phenomenon known as the Spiritualist movement that sprang out of the finger lake district of New York state from the area historians call the "burned over" district due to the variety of spiritual/religious epiphanies that swept the area, beginning with the Shakers, Jemima Wilkinson, Mormons and the Fox sisters among other evangelical social outbursts.What made Spiritualism the more attractive of these spiritual expressions was the progressive mindset the movement enunciated, which included abolition, feminism, humane childhood education, and dietary reform among others.
Perhaps the most significant innovation was the elevation of women within spiritialism to positions of authority, spiritual as well as temporal.This along with the Shaker movement was the first time in centuries that women held positions of power equal to that of men within a religious movement.
The other innovation with the advent of spiritualism was the shift from the "church" being a special building for religious endeavors to the American home as church.It was not unintentional that many spiritualists refer to their activities within a "home circle" down to this day.Spiritualism provided for the first democraticization of religion that appealed to the sensibilities of Jeffersonian democracy from which it sprang.
Mr. Chism has provided a great insight into this with the discovery of a family's documented automatic writing sessions initially, used to make contact with the son of the family, Leslie Stringfellow and the subsequent psychonautic communiques within the family that provided comfort, solace and intellectual stimulation on the nature of the soul and the afterlife through these alleged communications for the family.
For students of 19th century religious movements, spiritualists or students of parapsychology this book is a gift to treasure. ... Read more

Book Description
"You likely have never heard of the extraordinary characters that inhabit these pages. But after reading about them, you may wonder how we developed the blind spot in which these people have been made invisible."—John B. Buescher

During the 1850s, a surprising number of Americans believed that the deceased could be contacted through trance mediums and séances. Many of the radical leaders of the anti-slavery, women's rights, Temperance, prison reform, and labor reform movements were involved in spiritualism and used it as a conduit for social and political change. To them, spiritualism was a scientific alternative to religious systems that they believed relied on speculation and arbitrary dogma. Among the liberal religious denominations, Universalism was the one most affected by the spiritualist movement.

Drawing from journals, newspapers, manuscripts, and the personal papers of spiritualists and their opponents, this book tells the stories of visionary seers, prophets, and inventors, pioneers in psychic healing, and public lecturers who took to the podium, while in trance, to deliver communications from the spirits and to simultaneously agitate for reforms in society. A fascinating read for anyone interested in America's religious history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

East and West Met in 1850
First, let me say that this is a pre-review given the fact that I am quite familiar with the material on Mr. Buescher's excellent website devoted to the primary writings of Spiritualism.As this book is based on the website, I feel safe in predicting that this publication will be a fascinating read.America, at the time of the birth of Spiritualism in 1849, was already experiencing the rise of Transcendentalism in the writings of Emerson, Channing, Fuller and the other members of the the Brook Farm Community and the Dial.One of the great sources of this interest in things Transcendental was Coleridge's misreading of Kant, and Emerson's misreading of Coleridge, but the other was the translation of Hindu writings into English.(Swedenborgianism also had a hand in making America a fertile place for Spiritualism, but that's another story.)Buescher's contention is that Spiritualism was Asian-inspired Transcendentalism in a popular form, and he takes great delight in cataloguing the many creative expressions it found among its male and female practitioners.There was Spiritual (Utopian) architecture, spiritual machines (the Rev. Spear's "New Motor") which offered unlimited sources of power, and plans for the creation of an "Ulimate Weapon" which would be so devastating in its destructive ability, that the world powers would see that war was, in a real sense, pre-empted, and would come together in eternal peace.(That's a high order for what appeared to be a kind of tank, from the description of the plans given by spirits to its inventor.)There was also a new kind of theater of improvisation inspired by Spiritualism, as well as group performances ofspontaneously generated texts that seem to herald our post-modern experiments in oral literature.In short, Buescher introduces us to a veritable explosion of creative thinkers who attempted to transform religion, the arts, politics, race relations, and gender issues using the new mandate given them from table-tipping and seances.He intoduces us to obscureand eccentric figures, to be sure, but he also shows us that the writings of many of these long-forgotten mediums, visionaries and preachers, contained sometimes viable plans for the creation of a better society, all under the guise of a Transcendental connection with the Other World.It is no secret that Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott began as practicing Spiritualists and ended by creating their own transcendental philosophy--Theosophy--and taking it back to India, where it became a real movement for social reform.Strange to say, I'm a bit like a medium myself, right now, making pronouncements on an unseen text, but allow me to deepen this Transcendental Paradox by giving you my unqualified recommendation of The Other Side of Salvation.My order goes out today! ... Read more

Book Description
Being a brief account of the most important historical phenomena; A Criticism of their evidential value; and a complete exposition of the methods employed in fraudulently reproducing the same. ... Read more

Book Description
1922. This book is so indexed that you can find any scripture that teaches Spiritualism or that directly condemns it. ... Read more

Book Description
1908. Fraudulent and genuine, being a brief account of the most important historical phenomena; a criticism of their evidential value, and a complete exposition of the methods employed in fraudulently reproducing the same. The chief object of this book is to expose in the full the methods that are used in fraudulently reproducing genuine phenomena, if genuine phenomena truly exist.It is not meant to be an attack upon spiritualism or the spiritistic creed. Contains more than 10 illustrations. ... Read more

Book Description
The author was born a spirit medium and went through a long development of his psychic powers. A wise band of spirits have been his inspirers and teachers, and he has been in the constant service in the field of modern spiritualism for more than thirty-three years. His object in writing this book is to assist others to find the truths that have been proven to him through his own personal, unusual experiences. He hopes to free the reader from the erroneous beliefs in spirit-obsession and enjoy the happiness such freedom is certain to produce. ... Read more

Book Description
"Braude still speaks powerfully to unique issues of women's creativity--spiritual as well as political--in a superb account of the controversial nineteenth-centurySpiritualist movement. Braude's vivid prose and analytical clarity make an inherently fascinating story all the more compelling--a 'must read' for nineteenth-century U.S. historians whose recent scholarship only highlights the unique, blazing daring of Radical Spirits." --Jon Butler

"Braude has discovered a crucial link between the early feminists and the spiritualists who so captured the American imagination during the middle of the [nineteenth] century." --Los Angeles Times

"An insightful book and a delightful read." --Journal of American History

"Continually rewarding." --New York Times Book Review ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Nineteenth Century Religion and Activism in the Making
The nineteenth century was the most radical and revolutionary period for women in American society.Ann Braude's RADICAL SPIRITS:SPRITUALISM AND WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY AMERICA examines the development and progression of women's rights as it pertained to religion and spirituality; when combined, they provided women the pulpit and the voice to participate in a society where they had been previoulsy confined to duties in the home.Indeed, women and feminism emerged from the churches and beckoned to the calls from women seeking an outlet to be emancipated from both a hierarchical church environment and a patriarchal home environment.

RADICAL SPIRITS attempts and succeeds at relating religion and women's history within the context of American history.The most unique aspect of this scholarship is the inclusion of the subject matter of religion and spiritual mediums.Mediums had an enormous effect on women's suffrage, and escalated and accounted for women's leadership in the community.Despite the fact that the most notable leaders of women's rights, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton did not necessarily participate in such activities, Braude takes into account those closely related to them: Anna Blackwell, Sarah Anthony Burtis, Mary Ann and Thomas Mclintock, and Lucretia Mott's dinner guests, a way to suggest that religion played a significant role in encouraging activism (xxi). RADICAL SPIRITS acknowledges religion and spiritualism in women's activities, and helps to present a better understanding of what shaped and molded women's rights in the United States during the nineteenth century.

Women Think They're Radical Today?!
I first met this book in a seminar about Spiritualist history, and was most impressed by the research and breadth of the coverage. I was also startled by the involvement of the Spiritualist movement in all the major reform movements of the 19th century. Change was happening everywhere in the lives of women! Dress reform, marriage reform, divorce reform to mention a few. Also the involvement of major figures working in the suffrage movement, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. In the mid-nineteenth century, women became the leaders on the Spiritualist platform, as mediums. They brought through the messages and information. From being in charge on the platform, they went into other areas where they were dominated by men and began to take more control. This book is the story of that tremendous period on change that has landed women where they are today. Today's women stand on the shoulders of those courageous women of the 19th century. Some one said to me,"If today's women were as radical as those women were, they would be chaining themselves to trees!" Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
As we draw closer to the secong coming of Christ, the line between good and evil becomes blurred as evil masquerades as good, disguised in popular entertainment, communication and innocent pleasures. Since the early days of witchcraft, modern spiritualism now offers lighter options including so called harmless psychics, Wicca organizations and the ever famous Magic-8 ball and Ouija board.Spiritualism offers power, knowledge, reuniting with deceased loved ones and the thrill of the unknown. It has offered hope to those in despair and strength to the weak. But the questions we must ask are - has it fulfilled, if any, of these promises? Are we being decieved or are we selling stock options in our soul to the Prince of Darkness himself?In the Bible we find the solemn warning that in the last days, evil influences will be let loose upon the world; false pretensions will be urged upon the midst of men' and deceptions, based up by preternatural sugns and wonders, will develop to such a degree of strength, that if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. Is it possible that Spiritualism may be the very development of evil, against which this warning is directed? ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (3)

This Book Still Challenges....
The Challenging Counterfeit by Raphael Gasson published in 1966 still challenges us today.

I was struck by how very pertinent and up to date the information in this book is to the church of the 21st century.

Many of the things described by Gasson, a former Spiritualist medium, as taking place in the meetings of Spiritualists interacting with evil spirits (demons) during previous decades have taken a quantum leap forward and are now seen as everyday occurances in church meetings today.

I found many parallels between the healings, miracles, signs and wonders taking place at so-called "Christian" meetings today--especially those involved in the Prophetic movement--with those occuring at the Spiritualist meetings Gasson was involved in.

Truly counterfeit miracles and lying wonders are happening with greater frequency now than ever before.

In reading this book, I was also challenged, more than ever before, to 'seek the best gifts,' as Satan only counterfeits gifts that are real to begin with. Gasson never loses sight of this fact as he compares the real gifts of the Holy Spirit with Satan's very subtle, very clever, and very real counterfeits.

The people of God are challenged in this book not to neglect the real gifts He has given through the power of His Holy Spirit.

Woman Submit! Christians & Domestic Violence

The need to challenge the counterfeit.
This book is extremely helpful in uncovering the subtilties of the enemy's workings to seduce even the True believer in todays world. Today there are christians who emphasize "Experience" over the Written Word. This book defines the individual workings of the occult.

Whoa - What a Book!
Short commentary from an extremely satisfied reader. I read this book in 1982 or so during a Biblical research class. The Challenging Counterfeit, in my opinion at least, has to be the best book of it's kind. It is mostdescriptive and detailed. Authored obviously by a person who has been thereand survived well enough intact to write about it. Should you ever decideyou want to dabble in spiritualism I highly reccomend this book as you maychange your mind. Definitely food for thought. ... Read more

Amazon.com
Is it really possible to talk with the dead? As much as modern America is familiar with mediums--think bestselling authors John Edwards and Sylvia Browne--this question still generates passionate opinions from believers and skeptics alike. So one can only imagine the stir that the Fox sisters created in 1848 when they claimed to hear a ghost rapping on the wall of their Hydesville, New York rental house bedroom. The sisters soon discovered that the ghost would tap answers to specific questions. Within days neighbors and travelers were showing up at the house, wanting to converse with the dead rapper. The Fox sisters--Maggie and Kate--went onto become a national phenomenon, holding séances and making their livings as celebrity mediums. They were also the leaders of a new movement called the spiritualists. New York-based filmmaker Barbara Weisberg assembled this fascinating and expertly recounted biography. Beyond trying to prove whether the Fox girls were legitimate, Weisberg wrote a study of how two young girls could shape a new spiritual movement in mid-1800s America. "The more I thought about the Fox sisters, the more it seemed to me not only that Kate and Maggie sparked a movement, but that their lives epitomized the conflicts and urges that helped fuel its blaze. The question of the other world aside, the girls' appeal surely stemmed in part from the ways they embodied—and intuited—their culture's anxieties and ambitions." Ironically, in not trying to prove whether these two were frauds, Weisberg has created a more satisfying human story within a rich historical context, not unlike the tactics used for the bestseller Seabiscuit. And likewise, this could and should easily translate into a dynamite major motion picture. --Gail HudsonBook Description
March 1848. Mysterious knocks are heard in a little house in rural New York, throwing the community into turmoil. Are the children who live there -- Kate and Maggie Fox, sisters aged eleven and fourteen -- making the raps to trick their parents? Or are the girls mediums for otherworldly messages? From a battery of strange sounds and the excitement they create, modern Spiritualism is born.

Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism follows the remarkable story of the Fox sisters, who were catapulted to fame after word spread that they communicated with spirits. Within a few years, tens of thousands of Americans were flocking to seances. An international movement developed. Yet forty years after those first knocks, the sisters shocked the country by denying that they had ever been in contact with the dead. Shortly after, in another stunning reversal, they changed their story again and reaffirmed their faith in the spirit world. Were the Fox sisters con artists who had taken a childhood prank too far? Or were they really in touch with "voices from beyond"?

In this riveting biography, Barbara Weisberg traces not only the lives of Kate, Maggie, and their family -- including the girls' shrewd and charismatic sister, Leah -- but also the social, religious, economic, and political forces that helped shape the Spiritualist movement. A vivid, compelling overview of a remarkable period in U.S. history, Talking to the Dead provokes questions about belief systems, the power of celebrity, the wish to reconcile faith and science, and the timeless quest for knowledge about life after death. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

INTERESTING SUBJECT, nicely covered
I very much enjoyed reading this book about a subject and a history I knew nothing about.I was attracted to read, and keep reading this story mainly for the 'intimate' histories of the people involved.I love reading historical details, no matter how small.The details seem to bring the people and time period alive again, and there is plenty of wonderful detail in this novel about the Fox Sisters and spiritualism in the mid/late 19th century.

I am very grateful to the author for exhuming this piece of history and bringing it to our attention by giving it such study.I was alittle disappointed at the book's conclusion though, which seemed 'rushed.'A lot less detail and a sense of urgency at the close of the story and the Sisters' lives.As soon as we come to know and feel close to Maggie and Kate, they're suddenly dead, and quickly buried.And, of course, it would have been nice to have more photos in the book.

The best thing that this author does in this book is to present the Fox Sisters' story in a way that leaves the reader both better educated and more able to understand why these women did what they did, and what 'most likely' was the complicated psycological motivation behind their actions.That's a lot to accomplish in storytelling.Bravo.

For anyone interested in finding out more about the love affair and complications between Elisha Kent Kane and Margaret Fox, there is more information on the Elisha Kent Kane Historical Society website.Lots of extra reading and more depth on the letters and events that occurred.

RECOMMEND!

Above and Beyond.
Though the early accounts of the Fox sisters' encounters with spirits from beyond left me wanting more, as their renowned grew, so too did my interest. Weisberg does an amazing job of situating the rise of Spiritualism within the social climate of the time, touching upon evangelicalism, suffrage and abolition. I was not expecting to walk away from this book feeling that I'd gained a greater understanding of mid-century history, but I certaily did. As a New Yorker, Weisberg also made life in 1800s' New York come alive, for me, by her frequent inclusion of actual names and addresses.

Exceptional
Barbara Weisberg has created the first must-read nonfiction title of the year. This is an assured and satisfying work which vividly brings to life a remarkable episode in the cultural history of the United States. In March, 1848, mysterious knocks are suddenly heard in a small house located in rural, upstate New York. No one is certain who or what is creating the strange sounds, but they recur night after night. Are Kate and Maggie Fox, ages 11 and 14, playing an elaborate trick on their parents and the other members of their small community? Or are the girls really able to channel messages from the dead?
Talking to the Dead charts the saga of the Fox sisters, and the birth of modern Spiritualism. From a small house near the Canadian border Maggie and Kate are catapulted to nationwide fame. On a series of tours across the heartland, tens of thousands of Americans rush to experience a series of readings and seances.
Weisberg's straight-forward yet evocative prose fully engulfs the viewer in the period. Like Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City, this is nonfiction so seamless and compelling that it reads like a novel, yet Weisberg's skills as a scrupulous and careful researcher are evident in the pages and pages of notes that conclude this riveting story. Or does it? For the story really has no definite conclusion, and the ramifications of the Fox sisters' experiences are still with us today. Perhaps they always will be. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Fluid articulate prose probes the details of the Fox sisters
Although at first this book appears to deal with a somewhat esoteric topic, it has much appeal for the general reader.The fluid articulate prose probes the details of the Fox sisters' lives and their impact on spiritualism without burdensome discussion of that movement's inner workings.The focus remains on the sisters and, most interestingly, regularly throughout the text placing their story in the wider context of other significant events and ideas of their day.That it's written without a "point-of-view" on the sisters' authenticity helps this obviously well-researched work better illuminate their unusual lives and the times in which they lived.

Comprehensive Research
This comprehensively researched biography of the Fox sisters, founders of modern spiritualism in America, not only provides details of their private lives but also explains the mores of the era in which they lived and how that affected them.
Conclusions about whether they were talented mediums, talented con artists or a little of both is left up to the reader. However, after reading the book, you will have the necessary facts to form your own opinion.
A fascinating and engrossing read. ... Read more

Book Description
Just before the turn of the century, a renegade Russian aristocrat named Madame Blavatsky came to America claiming that man was descended not from the ape but from spiritual beings. Thus began Theosophy, the very first "new age" religion. This thought-provoking and often hilarious study delineates the course of Theosophy and other sects which have come down through the years. Photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

An interesting read full of colorful characters
Washington has assembled an interesting and accessible overview of the "useful" life of Theosophy and its ancillary movements.Beginning with the ascendancy of Madame Blavatsky and ending with the death of Krisnamurti, the book charts the meandering course of Theosophy as it grows, changes, and ultimately succumbs to the entropy caused by too many strong leaders each with their own differing interpretations of the meaning of life.

The book is well-written and an enjoyable read.Keep in mind that Madame Blavatsky provides more of a backdrop than a focus of this book - far more attention is dedicated to Krishnamurti and Gurdjueff than Madame herself.And while the subtitle indicates that the book tells the story of those who "Brought Spiritualism to America," very little emphasis is placed on American spiritualism.

Washington's writing is clear, but his tone verges on smugly sarcastic at times.Certainly the downright silliness of the material merits this occasionally, but he can come off as very insensitive to his subjects.

Misinformation, misattribution and evident reliance on secondary or tertiary sources.
On superficial examination the book appears to be well-researched and objective. But a more careful inspection -- especially of the theosophic section, to which these remarks are limited -- discloses serious errors and omissions. Aside from fairly obvious use of innuendo and half-truths to bolster his negative conclusions about H. P. Blavatsky and Katherine Tingley, the author is frequently inaccurate, misrepresents theosophic teaching, relies on uncorroborated assertion (often from unfriendly secondary and tertiary sources), omits rebuttal evidence, garbles dates, events, and attributions, downgrades, trivializes, and generally gives a one-sided account. Whatever merit the book may have is defeated by its unreliability and prejudice.
One would expect any author who writes on historical subjects to use primary sources as far as possible. There is no record of Peter Washington contacting the Theosophical Society and its considerable historical resources, either to verify facts or to interview staff members and living witnesses who are perhaps better informed about Blavatsky, Tingley, Purucker, and theosophical history. Washington's scholarly competence and objectivity may be deduced from his errors and omissions, misinformation, misattribution and evident reliance on secondary or tertiary sources. Peter Washington in fact gives very little description of theosophy as presented by HPB and her teachers, and what he does mention is often inaccurate or out of context.

Good read
I found this book to be quite a good read.Yes, Mr. Washington is clearly skeptical about the Theosophical Movement but he is hardly the first.I think reading ISIS UNVEILED or THE SECRET DOCTRINE would not cause most people to conclude that Washington is wrong to be skeptical. Many of the negative reviews attack his facts but few cite concrete examples.Scroeder (T) does.He claims that Washington places Madame Blavatsky's death in 1909 not its correct 8 May 1891.In my copy of the book, on page 100, Washington writes that Madame Blavatsky died on 8 May 1891.As one who grew up in Fort Wayne myself, Scroeder (T), please help me and supply a citation for the 1909 reference.

Great book on the beginnings of New Age spiritualism
Excellent history tracing the beginnings of New Age thinking and where its roots began. The current new Age movement has its antecedents in the past, which this book sets out to document in an interesting way. The cast of characters that the author brings to life, sheds light on some the the dubious claims made by these so-called spiritual teachers. If you have an open mind, this book is an eye-opener and is a sober assessment of this time period which has great resonance with today.

Laughs and last laughs
Except for the eyes, Helena Blavatsky "looked overall like a badly wrapped and glittering parcel."

And with that, Peter Washington is off to the races. In a way, there is no reason for people who do not believe in spooks to care about Madame Blavatsky and her progeny, apart from the practical fact that she introduced cremation into America, which up until the 1870s had been an exclusively burying nation. For the first century after she began, the numbers of Theosophists and their numerous offshoots were small. Washington does not attempt to enumerate them, but they could hardly have outnumbered even such small sects as Jehovah's Witnesses.

But they were so funny. Sympathetic people will feel a tug at the heartstrings at the hopeless search for inner contentment by the mystics. Heartless people, like myself, will read with glee of the self-inflicted psychic wounds of these nuts, who are summarized by Washington in one place as "the neurotic, the hysterical, the destructive and the downright mad" and in another as "bossy matrons, artistic maiden ladies, wealthy idealists and faddists of every variety."

By what must have been an effort of self-denial as heroic as anything Gurdjieff or Leadbeater ever demanded of their acolytes, Washington manages not to simply jeer for 400 pages. His occasional jabs are all the funnier for not being overdone.

In a sense, though, the last laugh is on Washington and the rest of us sane people. After three or four generations of strife, hilarity, thievery, libel, betrayal, adultery etc. by what were basically small coteries of people who had inherited money but not sense, the Theosophists, although the formal group is quite decayed, have spread their attitudes widely, if shallowly, throughout American popular culture.

The story of how this developed is amusing and almost beyond belief, but Washington, professor of literature at Middlesex, has the documents and some personal interviews to back him up.

Most of the leading spiritualists were compulsive writers, and besides being incomprehensible, their works are tedious past belief. How Washington was able to plow through the hundreds of volumes of this literature is really more astonishing than any of the claims the spiritualists themselves ever made, exceptbringing people back from the dead.

... Read more