CHARLES FORT - The man who invented the supernatural |
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Jim Steinmeyer Charles Fort – whose very name spawned an adjective, Fortean, defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “relating to or denoting paranormal phenomena” – has divided opinion. To Theodore Dreiser he was “the most fascinating literaryfigure since Poe,” to the New York Times he was “the enfant terrible of science,” and to HG Wells he was “one of the most damnable bores who ever cut scraps from out-of-the-way newspapers.” This is the seminal biography of the 20th century’s premier chronicler of the paranormal, an inspiration to anyone seeking significance in chaos. Fort provides the impetus for public interest in mysterious phenomena – he coined the word “teleportation,” gathered accounts of spontaneous human combustion, monsters, poltergeists and what became known as UFOs.. Fort was first and foremost a writer, and his peculiar brand of agnostic, anti-scientific scepticism remains unique. Fort’s legacy extends to conspiracy theories, sci-fi, graphic novels, films, and of course, the Fortean Times Told against the backdrop of jazz-age New York and Edwardian London, this book is about wonder, obsession and mystery, and an iconoclastic author who has become an unlikely cult hero. Jim Steinmeyer has designed illusions for David Copperfield, Ricky Jay, Siegfried & Roy, Orson Welles and six Broadway shows. He is also a contributing editorof Magic magazine. (332 pages) |
