Product Description
This is one of the most extended of Conan Doyle's works advocating Spiritualism, to which he became a convert after the death of several relatives in World War I. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

The history of spiritualism
A very surprising book! Doyle embraces spiritualism and digs into the subject.I made one mistake not reading this book earlier.

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

Product Description
Margaretta and Catherine Fox’s 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 Spiritualism’s 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 (5)

Must be the most stupid book I ever read
This must be the most stupid book I have ever laid my hands or eyes upon. I think the contents can be summed up like this: If you get a good thought in your head, or experience a good feeling - wow! it's an angel talking to you. If you feel depressed or get a somewhat negative thought - wow! it's a demon talking to you.
And donæt forget - the angels want you to be rich, rich, utterly rich, and famous. They want you to succeed and have a huge house and a huge car and a huge bank account and a huge self esteem.
Man, was this a lousy buy!

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

Product 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
Barbara Goldsmith's portrait of suffragette Victoria Woodhull and her times was hailed by George Plimpton as "a beautifully written biography of a remarkable woman" and by Gloria Steinem as "more memorable than a dozen histories."

A highly readable combination of history and biography, Other Powers interviews the stories of some of the most colorful social, political, and religious figures of America's Victorian era with the courageous and notorious life of Victoria Woodhull--psychic, suffragette, publisher, presidential candidate, and self-confessed practitioner of free love. It is set amid the battle for women's suffrage, the Spiritualist movement that swept across the nation in the age of Radical Reconstruction following the Civil War, and the bitter fight that pitted black men against white women in the struggle for the right to vote.

Peter Gay found Other Powers "Irresistible...this is a biography guaranteed to keep the reader reading." And Gloria Steinem called it "A real-life novel of how one charismatic woman...turned women's suffrage, the church, New York City, and much of the country on its ear."Amazon.com Review
In Other Powers Barbara Goldsmith takes a wide-ranging approach to the life of controversial feministVictoria Woodhull (1838-1927). Goldsmith placesher buccaneering subject withinthe context of 19th-century America's fascination withspiritualism, which enabled an accomplished medium like Woodhull toescape her impoverished origins and amass considerable wealth.Goldsmith also ably delineates the freewheeling Woodhull's uneasyrelations with more respectable ladies in the women's suffragemovement and portrays the hatred of sexual hypocrisy that ultimately broughtWoodhull's relentless enemies who wrecked her public career. Historyilluminates biography--and vice versa--in this boundary-defyingwork. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (21)

Worse than Worthless
Many of us push on with books even when discovering a bias in the author. If the book is thorough and sufficiently annotated, there's no reason to stop reading; we can make our own judgment from the facts.

This book flies in the face of that logic.Goldsmith is not just biased; she intentionally misleads.

She intentionally modifies her sources to support lies.For example, she manipulates the text of Catherine Beecher's "Treatise on Domestic Economy" to suggest that Beecher is against education of women. She "quotes" from Beecher's book:

"The physical and domestic education of daughters should occupy the principal attention of mothers ... and the stimulation of the intellect should be very much reduced"

So, "stimulation of the intellect should be very much reduced" really does sound terrible - what kind of person calls for reducing the intellectual stimulation of girls?Well, what Goldsmith omits, by using"..."is that Beecher is talking about children under 6! The entire paragraph is about children of that age!

Goldsmith continues the excerpt:

"Needlework, drawing, and music, should alternate with domestic pursuits. One hour a day devoted to some study, in addition to the above employments, would be all that is needful to prepare them for a thorough education"

This time Goldsmith really takes the cake. She has slyly removed the beginning of the sentence, which is

"In the early years of female life, reading, writing, ..."

and then she capitalized "Needlework" to make the reader believe it is the beginning of the sentence!So she omits reading and writing, and leaves needlework and drawing, and omits that it refers to the early years; all this to further the impression that Beecher is against intellectual development of girls.

Ironically, Catherine Beecher was a pioneer in higher education for women, founding numerous successful colleges training women for the teaching profession and home economics.

Goldsmith also has terrible issues with logic.She believes in the supernatural powers of spiritualists, and her attempts to convince the reader are juvenile.On page 50, she describes numerous ESP powers of five-year-old Tennessee Claflin, then writes:

"All of this skeptics might explain away, but there was more: Newspaper accounts at the time relate how Tennessee awoke one night screaming in terror. She had seen a vision ..."

Goldsmith goes on to describe how the girl predicted a fire. Skeptics can't explain away newspaper accounts?

She also makes the "convincing" statement that "No one has yet fully explained the extraordinary feats mesmerized subject could perform". Wow.

Gee I'm sounding caustic. Anyway, in my opinion, we still need a genuine biography of Woodhull.

By the way, this is a New York Times Notable Book and a Boston Globe Best of the Year in Nonfiction.Go figure.

Who Knew
Thanks to the 3 star, erudite review by Jiri Severa I now understand this book is not as historically accurate as I'd assumed when I read it years ago. I bought the book because the name Woodhull is huge in my neck of the woods. So, despite Severa's review and the book's head spinning name intensity, I'm giving Other Powers 4 stars with the understanding that while skewed, I still learned an awful lot of shocking, significant history. There is scandal everywhere and this I do believe. You will never think of Cornelius Vanderbilt, among other historically prominent individuals, in the same way ever again after reading Goldsmith's book - that is if you were as naive as I was going into it.

Great Read - Major Premise Not Convincing
I came to this book having read Emanie Sachs' 1927 Woodhull biography, which sharpened my appetite for a more completely researched version of the story.Barbara Goldsmith provides this, clearing up many points left obscure by the earlier work, in a well-organized, highly readable narrative.

The great weakness of the book, to my mind, is Goldsmith's eagerness to excuse and forgive her heroine's faults and to make her into more than she was.Woodhull's fascination has to do with her adventurous rise from a really sordid childhood as part of a frontier family of illiterate frauds and thieves to a position of national prominence -- lecturing on the leading social issues of the day; publishing a newspaper; running for President of the United States!; testifying before Congress on women's rights; running a Wall-Street brokerage firm; then losing it all and being thrown into jail; then miraculously recovering to establish a new life in a new country, finally dying peacefully in extreme old age, having lived for decades as a kind of rural Lady Bountiful as mistress of an English country estate.

What is glossed over in Goldsmith's narrative is the extent to which all her story revolves around two big pots of money Woodhull got by immense good luck -- both from Commodore Vanderbilt.

She arrived in New York in 1870, hoping to earn a living there from prostitution, from holding seances where people could communicate for a fee with departed family members, and from other vulgar schemes she had practiced with her family all her life.Right away, she managed to press herself on the immensely wealthy (and equally vulgar) Commodore Vanderbilt, who had recently lost his mother and was eager to chat with her beyond the grave.Then, Victoria obtained inside knowledge from a prostitute who had become the mistress of the famous financier and stock exchange manipulator, Jim Fisk, of a plan to run a railroad stock up to a pre-arranged price, before letting it fall.Woodhull was able to pass this information to Vanderbilt, who invested heavily in the shares in question and sold out at the planned price, just before the stock collapsed.Vanderbilt paid Woodhull half his earnings from this scam, which came to about $700,000, transforming her in one fell sweep from a pauper to one of the wealthiest women in America.

All the rest of what she did was based on the combination of this money and her need for attention -- the stock brokerage was a mere front for the Vanderbilt interests and never made her any money; the presidential candidacy and newspaper were publicity stunts undertaken to promote the ideas of suffragists and social reformers of all kinds who were drawn to her by the magnet of her cash, and flattered her.Practically every word she spoke in her lectures and every word she wrote in her newspaper was actually written by these other people.These same people all helped her run through her unexpected fortune pretty quickly.When the money was gone she tried to get more by using her newspaper to blackmail public figures with threats to write about their sex lives, but got thrown into jail instead.Broke and near dispair she proved how much the gods loved her by suddenly and even more unexpectedly acquiring a new huge pot of money.Commodore Vanderbilt died, leaving a will which gave small annuities to nine of his children and the rest of his immense fortune to one favored son.Some of the disfavored children challenged the will, claiming their father had been mentally incompetent, and that the proof of it was his association with spiritualists and similar crackpots.Fearing that Victoria's testimony would endanger the will on which his fortune depended, the Vanderbilt heir bought her a house in London; opened a bank account there in her name with a large balance and asked her kindly to go there and never come back.Which she did.

All the great "achievements" of her life -- First woman presidential candidate!First woman stockbroker!Fiery advocate of women's rights and marriage reform!have to be seen in the light of these facts.When seen in that light, there is very little left of them, making it perfectly understandable why Victoria Woodhull was so eagerly forgotten by the womens' movement and by progressives generally after her race was run.

Doesn't make her life story any less fun though.Wow!!

Dallis

Well Written Thriller - Poor History
As a conservative-leaning, male student of feminist history, and a Woodhull buff, I found Barbara Goldsmith's book quite disappointing. Goldsmith is a fine writer who has her own touch, no doubt, but those reviewers here and elsewhere who laud "Other Powers" as a breakthrough in historical research, casting a refreshing new look at the 19th century women's movement and social mores of the era strike me as hopelessly naive and easily prone to mistake cheap titillation for intellectual substance.

Right off the bat, the central idea that "Spiritualism" comes somehow, inextricably, intertwined with the woman's movement of 19th century hopelessly misfires. The evidence is scant and centers around the Claflins' and Virginia's visions. Goldsmith tries to make what she can from little titbits of what she believes is "evidence" for spiritualist beliefs and practices among the suffragists but produces nothing of value. Aileen Kraiditor's two phases in the suffragist argument (fromprinciple vs from expediency) stand and are in no way displaced or amended by Goldsmith's "discovery". Both wings of the movement, Stone's conservative, and Anthony-Stanton's radical feminist, were rationalist in their philosophical outlook, and for all their romanticizing of female qualities (complemented by overt or covert misandry) had no interest in spirits.

Goldsmith misreading of Stanton's letter to Woodhull in which she asks her to summon the souls of dead female sages for an upcoming suffrage conference tells all of the writer's superficial grasp of the actors' character. The letter is a vintage Stanton: scathing, mischievous, intimidating. To anyone familiar with E.C.S.'s personna, it is more than obvious Elizabeth was pulling the leg of an intellectual inferior, in much the same, direct way she confronted S.B.A's. sexual hangups masquerading as principles. (When meeting Susan at the dock in Southampton in 1883, she exclaimed:' I came to London the moment I heard of your arrival on the 'British Prince'. To think of your choosing a 'Prince' when a 'Queen' was coming'.)

Because Goldsmith's book is an upgrade of feminist propaganda, rather than reading history as the complex web woven by human characters, it rings hollow. Besides that, even though her bibliography is impressive, her command of the historical issues looks pretty weak. For example, Goldsmith labors under the illusion that the split between Lucy Stone and E.S.B.-S.B.A. came after the war at the E.R.A. conference in 1869. She cannot puzzle out the hostility of Lucy's troopers to Stanton as a "free lover", offering only that at the time Elizabeth had no contact with Woodhull and her entourage.
In reality the split between the "family oriented" suffragists in Boston and the "free lovers" centered in New York occured almost a decade earlier, at a Woman's Rights convention in May 1860, where Stanton and Anthony tried to hammer through a resolution denouncing the existing institution of marriage. The opposition the two encountered was overwhelming and made them pariahs among 'respectable' suffragists. In rebuffing Stanton in 1860, Wendell Phillips branded her a "free lover", a label which stuck. Goldsmith seems to have no knowledge of this, Stanton's early obsessions with "complex marriages" and her life-long romance with Fourierism in general.

The name "Charles Fourier" appears only once in the book (G. mistakenly names him as a follower of Swedenborg - he wasn't, perhaps this error relates to Emerson's list of similarities between the two visionaries), even though his social theories had wide use among social radicals like Stanton and Stephen Pearl Andrews. So visceral was the distaste of the public for Fourierism that a causual smear by a New York Times writer on Greeley's Tribune as a promoter of the doctrine tipped the public opinion and led to the acquittal of the unpopular Irish drunk, McFarland, in the murder of a Yankee war hero, Richardson, who was a lover of his wife. (Incidentally, E.C.S.'s editorials on McFarland in The Revolution, perceived by her readers as incitement to lynch, backfired and hugely contributed to the paper's demise. Even among the radicals, McFarland, flawed and unsavoury as he was, earned some sympathy as a man driven to despair by people who had their own way with legality and morality.)

Incidentally, it was Fourier who coined the word "féminisme" in 1830's in the context of advocating the end of monogamous marriage.

Goldsmith's story-telling is much better than her history. She pulls no punches around the unruly, half-insane brood of Claflins. Both Buck and Roxy get their just deserts, being made as gross as they undoubtedly were. But one soon gets the impression that the writer tries to compensate for the terrible parents Vickie and Tennie had by the habit of dismissing the latters' inferior sense of right and wrong, as sins of the parents visiting upon the innocents. Goldsmith even goes so far as drawing a line between what she sees as Buck's quackery and "tricks" versus Vickie's/ Tennie's "real powers" in their acts of healing and "medicine". This even against the word of Tennie herself dismissing her former career as "humbug on the people".

The problem with Goldsmith' Woodhull becomes soon obvious. Vickie's succeses were real; her failures were not. She was a victim of horrendous lack of parenting and malicious gossip. What cannot be explained in this manner must be glossed over. Her nastiness in "divorcing" Blood, for example, merits in Goldsmith's view a single paragraph. Her mother is manipulating "weakened Victoria", even though Woodhull clearly sought to twist the knife into her loyal friend, benefactor and educator, in the most hideous way. The half-insane Roxy could not have possibly conceive of a lie more wanton than that which Victoria served her knight in shining armour, destroying Blood morally by accusing him of that which he desperately tried to shield her from: low-life.

If Goldsmith missed that point, it is no surprise that she drew blank on the great irony of Woodhull's great "conversion". A re-invented Victoria went hunting in London for another suitable fool with Madonna complex who would believe in woman's innate moral superiority, even in a woman such as herself. Her social purity lectures in London that astonished Mr. Martin appear to have drawn heavily on the Plymouth Church flavour of Christian "agape". Only a haunted genius like Victoria Woodhull could have thought of marrying "Free Love" to Henry Beecher-Ward's theological concepts.

It appears that the definitive story of Virginia Woodhull still remains to be written. Just as the earlier biographies of Sachs and Johnston did not quite manage squeezing some sympathy for a dominatrix, the newer attempts by Gabriel and Goldsmith to turn her into a misunderstood feminist martyr won't do it either. She was just too fascinating a figure, too free to be used by anyone. She was the master of all rackets !

what a great read!
You couldn't make this stuff up. I was mesmerized. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics edition is a facsimile reprint of a 1863 edition by William White & Co., Boston. ... Read more

Product Description

A product of the "spiritual hothouse" of the Second GreatAwakening, Spiritualism became the fastest growing religion in the nation during the1850s, and one of the principal responses to the widespread perception that Americansociety was descending into atomistic particularity.

InBody and Soul, Robert Cox shows howSpiritualism sought to transform sympathy into social practice, arguing that eachindividual, living and dead, was poised within a nexus of affect, and through theactive propagation of these sympathetic bonds, a new and coherent society wouldemerge. Phenomena such as spontaneous somnambulism and sympathetic communion withthe dead -- whether through séance or "spirit photography" -- were ways oftranscending the barriers dissecting the American body politic, including theultimate barrier, death. Drawing equally upon social, occult, and physiologicalregisters, Spiritualism created a unique "social physiology" in which mind wasintegrated into body and body into society, leading Spiritualists into earthlysocial reforms, such as women's rights andanti-slavery.

From the beginning, however,Spiritualist political and social expression was far more diverse than haspreviously been recognized, encompassing distinctive proslavery and antiegalitarianstrains, and in the wake of racial and political adjustments following the CivilWar, the movement began to fracture. Cox traces the eventual dissolution ofSpiritualism through the contradictions of its various regional and racial factionsand through their increasingly circumscribed responses to a changing world. In theend, he concludes, the history of Spiritualism was written in the limits ofsympathy, and not its limitless potential.

Product 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 (8)

A Well Balanced Introduction to American Spiritualism
I found Dr. Leonard's book "Talking to the Other Side: A History of Modern Spiritualism and Mediumship" to be an interesting and dynamic introduction to the phenonemon of spiritualism in America. Dr. Leonard does not try to prove or disprove the validity of spiritualism. Instead, Dr. Leonard offers a historical and an experiential perspective on the development and practice of mediumship.
21st century popular television series include: "Ghost Whisperer," "Touched By an Angel," and "Medium." In addition, popular television talk shows have medium guests like Sylvia Brown or John Edwards. While television emphasizes the sensationalization of mediumship, Dr. Leonard takes an academic stance regarding the spiritualist movement. By offering an objective history of the development of religion since ancient times, Dr. Leonard shows how the conditions of 19th century America made it possible for spiritualism to evolve.
Being a mathematics instructor at a college, I found Dr. Leonard's approach to spiritualism to be refreshingly professional, factual and non-subjective. Given the controversial nature of mediumship, collecting and analyzing data on this subject area is at best difficult. In spite of such difficulties, Dr. Leonard managed to collect some interesting data regarding mediums' religious backgrounds, motivations, training, and daily practices. "Talking to the Other Side" is the first time in the 21st century that an attempt to understand and view spiritualism has been taken so professionally, that I am aware of. It is my hope that Dr. Leonard's book will encourage other scholars to pursue further studies in this fascinating subject area.
To me, some of the most interesting aspects in "Talking to the Other Side" include:
how spiritualism was (is) linked to the women's movement, the philosophical aspects of spiritualim, that spiritualism is an uniquely American-made religion, how linking spiritualism with science in the 18th century may have had negative repercussions on the movement, interviews with "traditional" mediums,and why many modern people are attracted to the religion of spiritualism. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an even minor interest in psychics, mediums, spiritualists, etc.

Dr. Leonard's book is excellent!
Dr. Leonard's book is excellent!It constitutes a sorely needed updating of the religion of Spiritualism as practiced in the United States.The book is in two parts: a) a brief history of religion in the United States with special attention to the origins and development of Spiritualism; b) discussion of the research instrument which was used to attain relevant information about the practice of mediumship from certified mediums who reside and/or practice in three Spiritualist camps and a careful appraisal of the information gained from this instrument.
While the history of Spiritualism and the practice of mediumship have been discussed in monographs, books and television documentaries, Dr. Leonard's book is arguably the first of its kind to present information and assessments about mediums as such....their backgrounds, personality profiles, steps taken to become certified as mediums, and the kinds of mediumship that are practiced.Further, the appendix includes interviews conducted with some of the mediums and relevant information about Spiritualist associations.
I am a resident (more than 20 years) of one of the Spiritualist camps (Lily Dale) in which mediumship is practiced.Dr. Leonard's book confirms the impressions that I have gained over these years about mediums and mediumship.

Franklin Takei, Ph.D.

Should not be used for academic/scholarly purposes
This book is poorly written and inadequately researched.Many of the author's conclusions are highly questionable, based as they are on sloppy or erroenous scholarship.At best, this book could pass as a mediocre introduction to the subject of spiritualism.However, it should not be relied on for serious academic usage.

Spiritualism has the answers!
I must respond to this book! I was privileged to be one of the mediums interviewed for this book and Dr. Leonard has done a superb job of collecting data and telling the story. For those readers with no experience of Spiritualism and its beautiful philosophy of life, this is a great place to start. Dr. Leonard gives history, he quotes interviews with mediums, and gives this religion the solid basis it deserves as it continues to minister to the needs of people world-wide.Congratulations, Dr. Leonard on a job well done!!!

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. ... Read more

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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free.This is an OCR edition with typos.Excerpt from book:chapter{Section 4THE PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISMCHAPTER ITill: PHYSICAL PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISMAt the outset of our discussion, it is necessary that the terms used should be distinctly understood by the reader, and I must begin by calling attention to the difference between " spiritualism " and " spiritism," — which terms are made convertible in the minds of most persons. The word " spiritualism " is really a philosophic term, meaning the opposite of materialism, and hence, strictly speaking, every one who is not a materialist is a spiritualist — but not necessarily a spiritist. The term " spiritism " means the communication of the living with the spirits of the departed — usually through an intermediary termed a " medium." Thus, a spiritist means one who believes that it is not only possible, but that it is an actual fact, that we can get into communication with the spirits of the departed at seances, and at various other times, spontaneously. As a matter of fact, however, these distinctions are not preserved in the public mind, and the word " spiritualism " is used as synonymous with " spiritism." Hence, it is in this popular meaning of the term that the word is used throughout this book — the expression, " Modern Spiritualism" having become too deeply rooted in the language to be easily changed. It is accordingly treated, throughout this book, as implying spiritism, whenthe term " spiritualism " is used, — unless it is otherwise stated.Spiritualism, in the pure sense, has, of course, existed from the very earliest times. A most interesting resume of the beliefs of various ancient nations on this subject will be found in Elbe's Future Life in the Light of Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science.1 " Modern Spiritualism," on the other hand, did not come into... ... Read more

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"There is no doubt that hypnotism is a very old subject, though the name was not invented till 1850. In it was wrapped up the "mysteries of Isis" in Egypt thousands of years ago, and probably it was one of the weapons, if not the chief instrument of operation, of the magi mentioned in the Bible and of the "wise men" of Babylon and Egypt. "Laying on of hands" must have been a form of mesmerism, and Greek oracles of Delphi and other places seem to have been delivered by priests or priestesses who went into trances of self-induced hypnotism. It is suspected that the fakirs of India who make trees grow from dry twigs in a few minutes, or transform a rod into a serpent (as Aaron did in Bible history), operate by some form of hypnotism. " ... Read more

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1896. With chapters on apparitions and phantasms. The author presents his belief that spiritual beings can and do communicate with us and produce material effects in the world around us. Those who believe as he does must see in the steady advance of inquiry and of interest in questions of this nature, the assurance that those beliefs will not be accepted by all truth seeking inquirers. The author includes a section as an answer to the arguments of Hume, Lecky and others against miracles. ... Read more

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Rare Yet Important
These are a compendium of papers written at various times in Alfred Russell Wallace's career and cover some very interesting and important subjects which tells you a lot about Mr. Wallace's views on Spiritualism.Mr. Wallace is credited as being a co-discoverer of evolution along with Charles Darwin and has written several important books on travels on the Amazon River and the Malay Archepeligo and this book is often referred to but until now has not been made available to the general public.Thanks to the reprint publishers in Montana it is now available and fills in a lot of important data which explains the views of the co-discoverer of evolution.While it is rare and important, it is not over-long and is worthy of a good read.I highly recommend it.

SCIENCE MEETS SPIRIT
Although Charles Darwin is the person always credited with developing the natural selection theory of evolution, history has it that Alfred Russel Wallace developed his own theory at the same time as Darwin was working on his.Wallace sent his theory to Darwin and when Darwin gave his presentation to the Linnaen Society in London during 1858, he also presented Wallace's parallel theory, from which came "the survival of the fittest."

At the time he was working on his theory of evolution,
Wallace was a complete materialist."I was so thorough and confirmed a materialist that I could not at that time find a
place in my mind for the conception of spiritual existence, or for any agencies in the universe than matter and force," he
writes in the preface.

Wallace came to believe in the reality of spirit
communication and became an ardent Spiritualist. Many mainstream scientists of the day scoffed,sneered, and snickered, but Wallace remained steadfast in his beliefs."I assert without fear of contradictionn that whenever the scientific men of any age have denied the facts of investigators on a priori grounds, they have always been wrong," he answered his critics.

Wallace gathers together the best evidence of the 19th Century and the testimony of esteemed scholars and scientists of that era who also investigated mediumship and spirit phenomena.

The words and wisdom of this book are as applicable today as they were 106 years ago.It makes one wonder why mainstream science has made so little progress in awakening to the Truths discovered by Wallace and others, suggesting perhaps that Truth is beyond absolute proof and that spiritual evolution requires constant seeking, searching, and striving.

To further quote Wallace:"My position, therefore, is that the phenomena of Spiritualism, in their entirety do not require further confirmationn.They are proved quite as well as any facts are proved in other sciences." ... Read more

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Modern Spiritualism is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Uriah Smith is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Uriah Smith then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

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As well as being an occultist of the first rank, Dion Fortune was an accomplished medium. Thus she is able to explain the methods, technicalities and practical problems of trance mediumship from first hand experience. She describes exactly what it feels like to go into trance and the different types of being one may meet with beyond the usual spirit guides. For most of her life her mediumistic abilities were known only to her immediate circle until, in the war years, she responded to the call to try to make a united front of occultists and spiritualists against the forces of materialism in the post-war world. At this point she wrote various articles for the spiritualist press and appeared as a speaker on several spiritualist platforms. This book contains her original work Spiritualism in the Light of Occult Science with commentaries by Gareth Knight that quote extensively from now largely unobtainable material that she wrote on the subject during her life, including transcripts from her own trance work and rare articles from old magazines and journals. Dion Fortune needs no introduction to the student of the Western Esoteric Tradition as the founder of a major occult school, the Society of the Inner Light. Gareth Knight, originally a student of her school, after making a name of his own as an esoteric author and teacher, has recently returned to the Society. This book represents the fourth collaborative work between the two, An Introduction to Ritual Magic, the Circuit of Force, and Principles of Hermetic Philosophy being already published in this series. ... Read more

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"You likely have never heard of the extraordinarycharacters that inhabit these pages. But after reading about them, youmay wonder how we developed the blind spot in which these people havebeen 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

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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

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"At a time when the New Age movement is starting to make good on the Spiritualists' vision of America as a 'grand clairvoyant nation', Carroll's work raises provocative questions about the tension betwen freedom and authority in the harmonial religions of today." -- Church History

"... offers the most comprehensive, sane examination of its topic yet available, no mean achievement for a subject long afflicted by religious partisanship and now perhaps in danger of sympathetic attraction." -- Journal of American History

"... fascinating reading it will be for those with a taste for good scholarly writing and a love of the American past and the manifold varieties of the spiritual quest." -- The Quest

"In addition to being an excellent introduction to mid-19th-century Spiritualism, Carroll's work also offers scholars a new vantage point from which to view the religious creativity that was so prominent in antebellum America in general." -- Choice

During the decade before the Civil War, a growing number of Americans gathered around tables in dimly lit rooms, joined hands, and sought enlightening contact with spirits. The result was Spiritualism, a distinctly colorful religious ideology centered on spirit communication and spirit activity. Spiritualism in Antebellum America analyzes the attempt by spiritually restless Americans of the 1840s and 1850s to negotiate a satisfying combination of freedom and authority as they sought a sense of harmony with the universe.

Customer Reviews (2)

Incomplete treatment of subject
My "credentials": I have a published essay entitled "Unseen (and Unappreciated) Matters: Understanding the Reformative Nature of Nineteenth-Century Spiritualism" published in the Fall 1999 issue of the journal American Studies.

Carroll's book puts forward a thesis of a conservative angst in search of order. He depicts the "structured religious practice" of seance circles and the Spiritualists' hierarchical conception of heaven as counterbalances to the democratizing tendencies at work in antebellum society. This thesis comes up short when it tries to explain the contemporary portrait of Spiritualists as radical reformers left to us by disapproving novelists and editors.

Carroll's thesis may well have merit when it comes to some Spiritualists. I think the problem arises when he tries to lump all nineteenth-century Spiritualists together. I part company with him in seeing a more fundamental gap between those individuals he calls "Christian" and "rationalistic" Spiritualists. The latter whom I identify as Philosophical Spiritualists were clearly freethinkers reformers who dared to advocate upsetting the emerging socio-economic order. So many of these individuals have been left out of Carroll's book that were he to take them into account, I suspect that even he would say his thesis needs some revision. (Generally speaking, I think historians of American Religion by understandably assuming that Spiritualism was a religion of consolation have missed a lot of source material which might have led them in different directions.)

One last note for the general reader: Carroll's book is not a particularly easy read. It is filled with scholarly references, so much so that I think they sometimes interfere with the narative.

Spiritualism Unmasked
This is a brilliant, thoroughly researched, and thoroughly illuminating book.Though the prose and the ideas will be tough sledding for anyone looking for a light read on nineteenth-century mediums and seances, careful readers will be richly rewarded for their patience.This is an outstanding book for students of American religious and cultural history. ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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A cross-cultural approach to spiritual currents in nineteenth-century American life, letters, and culture. ... Read more