This book is not really about Peter Hurkos. It is about Peter Hurkos, the psychic. If one measures this book by whether or not Peter Hurkos is revealed as a charlatan or a true psychic, then it succeeds admirably, as it leaves little doubt that Peter Hurkos was an individual with a highly unusual gift. If you measure the book by whether or not you get to know Peter Hurkos, the person, then it has not succeeded, because the reader comes away with very little feeling as to who Peter Hurkos was. The book, while interesting, suffers from being somewhat one dimensional. Notwithstanding this limitation, it is still a thought provoking read.

Peter Hurkos is the famous Dutch psychic who enthralled the world during the nineteen fifties and sixties with his psychic gifts. Uncannily clairvoyant, he was not always so. Born in Holland to a working class Dutch family of simple means, his youth was relatively uneventful. Interestingly enough, however, he was born with the caul which is often taken to mean by those who are superstitious that the individual may have been born with the gift of telepathy or clairvoyance.

Though his youth was relatively uneventful, this changed in 1941 when he fell off a ladder and fell four stories, landing on his head. He miraculously survived, but as his friends and family put it, the old Peter had died, and a new one seemed to have taken his place: one who could foretell the future, as well as describe past events, with uncanny accuracy. In the nineteen fifties, he left Holland and came to the United States, where he prospered as a well known psychic.

Peter used his gifts commercially, for which he received much criticism. He also became known as a psychic detective for helping the police solve numerous cases. Some of the cases in which he assisted were high profile cases, such as that of the Boston Strangler. Peter Hurkos always believed that the police had arrested the wrong man in that case. It now appears that he may have been right.

For many years, Peter Hurkos astonished the world with his psychic gifts. He performed best through the process of psychometry, the divination of information by touching an object belonging to the subject of the reading. I have to admit that some of the documented stories are truly amazing. So amazing that the author, an investigative reporter with a reputation for exposing frauds, became a believer. I do not doubt that the reader will likewise succumb and join the legions of those who believe that Peter Hurkos was, indeed, psychic.

I need to get a copy of this book who can help me

I was glued to the pages from the first chapter, viewing the actual life and times of early Yosemite through the eyes of one of Yosemite's very early pioneers. Here it was, in the 1880s and James Hutchings, intending to draw visitors to the park by providing the public with information, went into much detail about anything and everything, in a way that was very entertaining. I felt like I was there, all the way though the book, until I got to some of the details about what stage coach to take to the park, and the prices, etc., though that was somewhat entertaining also, from a historical perspective. He knew a lot about the Yosemite Indians, having lived among them and getting to know them. The book starts with the first confrontations with the Yosemite Indians and how the Mariposa Battalion discovered the valley in the first chapter or two. Lots of detail as it relates to interactions with Chief Tenaya, and his tribe, his death, and events leading up to it. I found it amazing that a "pioneer" would be so articulate, and so specific about so many historical points of interests. I enjoyed learning each and every detail about how the first person to climb to the top of Half Dome, inched his way to the top. It was also interesting to learn about how various hotel owners operated their businesses. If these are the kinds of things that interest you, this book will not disappoint you.

I am frequently asked for the source of particular Muir quotations. Answering these requests is difficult, because many of Muir's best passages were written in different locations. Muir frequently wrote for newspapers and magazines, and then later edited his writings for book publication. So, there are sometimes two or three slightly different versions of the same Muir quote! In addition, some of his most memorable quotes come from his journals, only part of which have ever been published. One way of finding many of Muir's best quotes is available through this 1988 compilation by Peter Browning. Browning has selected quotations from Muir filling 74 pages, arranged chronologically. Each chapter reflects a particular time period. For example, the first chapter, "So Little a Time," reflects 1860-1869. The book ends with a chapter reflecting some Muir quotes from as late as 1920, published quite a few years after his death. The most valuable feature of the book is the index. The 22 page index includes most of the topics that one might think of when thinking of John Muir, for example, "Animals," "Bears," "Earth," "Mountains," "Nature," and "Wilderness." It also contains many topics you might not expect: "civilization," "darkness," "ignorance," "People," and "wives." Then, under each of these topics, you will find the first line or a portion of a phrase which uses that topic in the quotation. Thus, if you look up "Freedom," in the index, you will find five quotes using that word, indicated by phrases like "boasted f. of the town," or "f. and beauty and peace come in." If you look up the latter, you'll find this relatively-unknown gem from Muir: "Only spread a fern-frond over a man's head, and worldly cares are cast out, and freedom and beauty and peace come in." Browning indicates the source of each quote, this one from both the Atlantic Monthly (January 11, 1911) and My First Summer in the Sierra, with the correct page numbers indicated. Browning also indicates when it was first written, when that can be determined; in this case on June 13, 1869. With the advent of the World Wide Web, it is now possible to do a search on the John Muir Exhibit Website for the source of many Muir quotes. If you need to find the source of a particular Muir quote, you can do a search on the John Muir Exhibit website with the Sierra Club host server search engine. This allows you to type a key phrase from the quote you are trying to find, and if it is on any of the books Muir wrote which we have online, you should find it. Even with the Web, Peter Browning's compilation provides a very useful service, allowing keyword searches, and it is also fun just to leaf through the book to read many of Muir's best quotations. Of course, at 98 pages, the book is not exhaustive, and the selection are those preferred by Browning. Some of my favorite quotes are not found in Browning's book. But most of Muir's best quotes can be found in the book, so I recommend it if you have a need to find Muir sources.

This book is not really about Peter Hurkos. It is about Peter Hurkos, the psychic. If one measures this book by whether or not Peter Hurkos is revealed as a charlatan or a true psychic, then it succeeds admirably, as it leaves little doubt that Peter Hurkos was an individual with a highly unusual gift. If you measure the book by whether or not you get to know Peter Hurkos, the person, then it has not succeeded, because the reader comes away with very little feeling as to who Peter Hurkos was. The book, while interesting, suffers from being somewhat one dimensional. Notwithstanding this limitation, it is still a thought provoking read.

Peter Hurkos is the famous Dutch psychic who enthralled the world during the nineteen fifties and sixties with his psychic gifts. Uncannily clairvoyant, he was not always so. Born in Holland to a working class Dutch family of simple means, his youth was relatively uneventful. Interestingly enough, however, he was born with the caul which is often taken to mean by those who are superstitious that the individual may have been born with the gift of telepathy or clairvoyance.

Though his youth was relatively uneventful, this changed in 1941 when he fell off a ladder and fell four stories, landing on his head. He miraculously survived, but as his friends and family put it, the old Peter had died, and a new one seemed to have taken his place: one who could foretell the future, as well as describe past events, with uncanny accuracy. In the nineteen fifties, he left Holland and came to the United States, where he prospered as a well known psychic.

Peter used his gifts commercially, for which he received much criticism. He also became known as a psychic detective for helping the police solve numerous cases. Some of the cases in which he assisted were high profile cases, such as that of the Boston Strangler. For many years, Peter Hurkos astonished the world with his psychic gifts. He performed best through the process of psychometry, the divination of information by touching an object belonging to the subject of the reading.

I have to admit that some of the documented stories are truly amazing. So amazing that the author, an investigative reporter with a reputation for exposing frauds, became a believer. I do not doubt that the reader will likewise succumb and join the legions of those who believe that Peter Hurkos was, indeed, psychic.