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pan23's review
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Moderately fascinating and mostly irritating in the way that skepticism itches. The details are worth the read, but I definitely skimmed much of the drama.
rschmidt7's review against another edition
4.0
I absolutely loved this book! And I would recommend it to anyone. However, I had to wonder if I and the author were being far too credulous. Still, as they say on the X-Files: “I want to believe.”
jkkb332's review against another edition
3.0
Not the most engaging book, but the fascinating subject matter kept me interested. Extremely well researched and features interviews from many of the big players in the government ESP/PK game.
scottapeshot's review against another edition
5.0
Jacobsen presents tales of international governments, particularly the United States, researching and hoping to add human psychic phenomena to their defensive arsenals. She sets out to write with a neutral view towards the validity of these psychic phenomena. She presents amazing feats and claims, but plenty of failures and fakes, too. She maintains a great, creepy edge by making us wonder “what if” these things could be true, but then, at length, how more than 50 years of research has led to little concrete accomplishment. The tension between skeptics and believers dooms the phenomena to failure, yet refuses its complete dismissal.
So many weird things and people have popped up in this arena of high military technology rubbing up against the supernatural and psychic: Andrija Pucharich, the biologist, M. D., and psychic researcher who bobbed along on a cushion of rich donors’ cash. Jack Parsons, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory rocket scientist who dabbled in Satanism (although not covered in this volume). Yuri Geller, the spoon bender and possible Mossad agent. Ed Dames, the U. S. Army technician who set remote viewers looking for mythical target locations and UFOs. Even Edgar Mitchell, who walked on the Moon, and then spent decades investigating the source of human consciousness. A truly fascinating human gallery.
So many weird things and people have popped up in this arena of high military technology rubbing up against the supernatural and psychic: Andrija Pucharich, the biologist, M. D., and psychic researcher who bobbed along on a cushion of rich donors’ cash. Jack Parsons, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory rocket scientist who dabbled in Satanism (although not covered in this volume). Yuri Geller, the spoon bender and possible Mossad agent. Ed Dames, the U. S. Army technician who set remote viewers looking for mythical target locations and UFOs. Even Edgar Mitchell, who walked on the Moon, and then spent decades investigating the source of human consciousness. A truly fascinating human gallery.
canada_matt's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I have enjoyed a few of Annie Jacobsen’s past books, each of which revealed some secret intelligence and defence work the US Government has been undertaking. Jacobsen continues in this vein, using this book to discuss the exploration of the human mind and how Americcan intelligence used it to their advantage. While some might call it a bunch of bunk, there are some interesting aspects to the exploration and I was quite happy to be educated, as Jacobsen never fails to teach while entertaining in her tomes.
It may be news to many that the US Government has been looking into the art of mind control and extrasensory perception for over four decades. Many might think that this is right out of a Stephen King novel, but Jacobsen explains that American intelligence has long wondered if there is truth behind using the mind to control things or at least to be able to predict things outside the realm of coincidence. Jacobsen posits that the US Government wanted to use this power not only to read minds, but to be able to help locate hostages, missing people or military hardware, and even determine what allies and foes might be doing behind their own borders. This came with numerous tests and secret projects, pulling people from the general public to tests their abilities.
There is no doubt that these are radical programs, with highly controversial outcomes, but they are far from the fodder to fill the pages of a science fiction novel. Jacobsen’s access to intel through declassification has opened many doors and left her with the ability to share this news with readers now, as they thumb through many of the human tests undertaken, as well as though on animals and even plants. This is all in an effort to better understand the brain and how it could be ‘weaponised’.
Jaacobsen makes the case that there are psychological tests to help gain the advantage, mostly during the Cold War. The tests being done were to help better understand the mind and how it could be used to get that ‘step up’ on others, particularly the Soviets. That said, tests involving memory, drugs (both natural and pharmaceutical), and even pre-cognition, were not unknown behind the Iron Curtain, all throughout he Cold War. Both sides sought to get the advantage, which is documented all throughout the pages of this tome. Parts of the tome also discuss China getting in on the exploration using the knowledge they acquired to further their own mental weapons in the large war of control.
While this was not my favourite of Jacobsen’s books, it did shed some light on a few interesting concepts undertaken by the Americans over the last forty years. The mind has long been a tool and some might call it a weapon. Jacobsen peels back the truths and fallacies that have emerged around CIA mind control games and experiments, providing the reader with some concrete proof of the things that have been going on. Jacobsen’s intuitive nature helps create a stellar piece of writing that many can enjoy. Her chapters are thorough yet not too dense as to make things difficult for the layperson. The vast numbers of documents she scoured and interviews she undertook to ascertain this information is to be applauded as well. While the topic has never been of keen interest to me, Annie Jacobsen does well and is sure to dazzle for many who love to read about the fine line between fact, fiction, and the completely ‘out there’.
Kudos, Madam Jacobsen, for another great piece that turns over many rocks to bring the public answers they deserve.
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