I enjoyed this book very much. I'm a catholic and this book has in no way altered my beliefs about God. On the other hand, it did change my beliefs concerning miracles. Joe Nickell seems to have done a good job by searching out all the info and he seems to know his subject very well. Some of his arguments are very convincing, and some are not convincing at all I have to admit. I don't know if the sources he uses are reliable, but some of them seem to be quite reliable and trustworthy. I didn't check his sources, so in that sense I have to have just about as much faith to believe in his stuff than to believe in the miracles!!! No, I'm exaggerating. His sources are probably credible, but what bothers me a little in this book is his attitude that NO MIRACLES EXIST. It might be true - I don't know, I've never seen one - but he is just looking for proofs that miracles don't exist and he stops there. It doesn't answer all the mysteries that are still around all those alleged "miracles". He does give explanations for some of the "proofs" for miracles, but I've noticed that they are mostly for old miracles and all the "new" miracles are not being delt with enough. That's my feeling. Like Padre Pio. He hardly mentions him. Fatima, Lourdes and all those events: I still can't understand how those kids would do that: to lie in front of thousands of people. I don't know. Plus, his explanations about the sun moving are not conving at all. What about Saint Bernadette? Her body is preserved and yet he doesn't give us any explanations about why. He just assumes that they might have injected her body with some stuff... Very good book nonetheless. Highly recommended.

Insightful and thought-provoking examination of the need of humans to believe in a higher power, even to the point of imagining and making-up miracles. In addition Mr. Nickell shows other less noble ideas of what caused a "miracle" such as greed. I think this book will get some readers to outwardly show anger. However, inside I bet they are questioning their beliefs. Afterall, a good book should give you something to think about for a while even if it scares you. Bravo!!

I am a Catholic, but I loved this book. I am so sick of hearing about Lourdes, Fatima, and other Catholic scams. This book shines the light of truth on these events and on many other odd things.

Joe Nickell is an excellent researcher and has found many interesting aspects of document examination to write about. He is not, however, a document examiner. As a result he includes an interesting history but he only mentions the new techniques. The book is recommended for those who want to know what goes on in the broad field of forensic document examination but is far short of being a guide for detecting forgery.

I agree with the other two reviewers that this work is not a comprehensive treatise on the subject of detecting forgery. However, it does give beginners (like me) a good place to start. It is clearly written and broad (if not deep) in coverage. I would call this book "workmanlike" and "solid." If I were a writer of mystery novels, this would be a good reference for this area of criminal(?) activity. The small section on the autopen especially intrigued me (hint: don't buy John F. Kennedy autographed documents). The bibliography in the back is its greatest asset if you want to pursue the topic of forgery to a deeper level. Our interlibrary loan people are going to be hustling for years as I track down some of the sources Nickell cites in this book.

This book is a fairly in depth study into the history and current practice of forensic study of written materials. It is a bit broad for modern use of law enforcement investigations but has some good information. For the price and information provided it's a good investment.

Joe Nickell, who admits he doesn't believe in anything supernatural, offers his lop-sided analysis of the Shroud. In 1978 about 3 dozen scientists, mostly non-believers, went over to Italy with tons of scientific equipment; they spent 120 hours taking data (mostly photographic and chemical) on the Shroud. They came back to their labs with their data samples and photos of all types (e.g. infra-red, microscopic, etc.) and then spent months analyzing all the data. All but one admitted they could not explain, scientifically, how the image got on the Shroud. So, now comes Joe Nickell, a magician by trade, and he relies mostly on that one doubting scientist to explain that the image got there by using brushes and iron oxide to produce the image. Only, he cannot reasonably explain how all the other scientists have found so little trace of the alleged pigment on the cloth to account for even the tiniest fraction of the entire image; and also that there are NO microscopic signs of any DIRECTIONALITY that brushes would have necessarily left on the cloth. This book belongs in the same bag as a recent one on the Shroud that "proves" that the Shroud was painted by Leonardo da Vinci (who wasn't even born when the Shroud was being exhibited publicly in Europe). Religious sceptics, like Nickell, first assume a disbelieving stance and then force their data to fit their stance. Ridiculous.

Joe Nickell has brought us another beautifully written, fascinating and pleasantly arranged book about the Shroud of Turin. Unfortunately, few reviewers have many constructive things to say about it. Such critical luminaries as Matthew Spigelman have been hard pressed to find adjectives more descriptive than "entertaining and complete" or "interesting and informative". Hogwash, says this reviewer!

Nickell does a clear, thorough job of debunking all the silly contradictions and self-delusions of those folks who insist on believing that this long-acknowledged fraud actually contained the body of Christ(even the Catholic Church denies its authenticity). A good review of the actual "shroud" tradition (contradicted by the bible itself) and the scientific data disproving the shroud's miraculous nature. Highly recommended for clear thinkers who prefer fact and data to fanciful speculation and self-delusion.

One reaction of people who fear the unknown is to deny or belittle it in the hopes of closing it to careful scrutiny. Filling a book with half truths doesn't really do anyone justice. It may serve as therapy for people who have already made up their mind, but it does not help the cause of truth.

This book is a series of articles written by various scholars who are experts in various scientific and social fields or who specialize in UFO investigations. Topics discussed include the impact of hypnotic questioning on the creation of false memories of alien abductions; misperceptions by eyewitnesses; IFO (identified flying object) cases; impact of the media and culture on creation of UFO beliefs and UFO stories; role of psychology in UFO story creation; the development of legends like the Roswell UFO crash legend; and so on. The authors are conservative in their approach and base their conclusions on modern logic theory. This is a great book for scholars or students of logic, psychology, and so on. Would be a good book for a college course on these topics.

Why aren't Donald Menzel's books still in print today? What a shame...

There are hundreds of books for believers, but very few with actual facts. "The UFO Invasion" has the facts.

The only coverup is by the believers... who twist information to fit their preconcieved ideas.

Trust me, you'll learn the truth by reading the works of Klass, Sheaffer, Korff, and Donald Menzel.

I do not know whether the Shroud of Turin is a fake or not, but the issue, contrary to the claims of this book, has not been solved. Before you decide that I am just another gullible, credulous "believer", let me show you otherwise. I am actually a skeptic myself. I am a former member of the South Shore Skeptics in Cleveland, Ohio, a supporter of CSICOP, and I have even attented several lectures given by Mr. Nickell. First of all Mr. Nickell is no James Randi! Mr. Nickell's "explanations" for the unexplained always are strained and require so many leaps of faith, that one might just as well believe in the original claim. Mr. Nickell has almost zero credibility as a debunker of the strange and unexplained. Skeptics and debunkers are certainly needed, but people like Mr. Nickell give the rest a bad name, which is why some are skeptical of the skeptics! The most blatant example of this is Mr. Nickell's explanation of the Mystery of Oak Island. Oak Island is beyond the scope of this review, but it is a real legitimate mystery. Anyone who wants to learn how pathetic Mr. Nickell is can read about Oak Island on the Internet, and then read Mr. Nickell's explanation of it and the issue of Mr. Nickell's credibilty will be settled. Now on to the Shroud. Mr. Nickell has an axe to grind. He decided before even writing the book that the Shroud had to be a fake, because of his strong atheistic beliefs and decided that since he could "duplicate" the Shroud himself, it had to be a fake. The truth, however, is that he could not, and did not duplcate the Shroud image. Mr. Nickell's method of brushing the image leaves behind directional brush markings. There are none on the Shroud. The image on the Shroud is 3 dimensional, Mr. Nickell's image is not. Mr. Nickell's whole book is a red herring for those that are uncomfortable at the thought that maybe, just maybe, the Shroud is authentic. The Shroud is a real mystery and should be treated as such. This artifact has been seriously studied more so than any other ancient artifact in history. It is not something that can be dismissed in one book, especially by the likes of Mr. Nickell who by trade is only a mere magician with no scientific training at all. The other glaring problem with this book is that Mr. Nickell relies so heavily on the "research " of Dr. McCrone, who stated that before even examining the Shroud, that "he knew it was a fake" and was gonna prove it! What objectivity! Dr. McCrone's work has been proven to be corrupt and his conclusions wrong. He claimed that the Shroud does not contain any blood and that the image is made from paint. He has been shown to be wrong on both accounts, and Mr. Nickell is still standing by his corrupt research afraid to admit that he made a mistake. I do not know whether the Shroud is authentic or not, but I do know the following: The conclusions in this book are wrong. If the Shroud is fake, it was not faked by anything remotely similiar to the methods suggested by this book. Finally, the Shroud is a real mystery and should not be treated in the same contemptuous manner as non-mysteries such as the Bermuda Triangle. The Shroud is an item of genuine research and to this date, the creation of its image remains a mystery. Believers and non-believers alike should treat the Shroud with respect until a legitimate verdict is in, and not dismiss it with the likes of other bunk, such as the most recent bigfoot sighting or UFO abduction. The Shroud is in a whole different class.

Joe Nickell does an outstanding job of research into the Shroud's providence and possible methods of creation. It is quite clearly the best book on the subject, as it dispences with gullible and wild speculation and sticks to the facts of its history and the science behind the image. The book was written orginally well before the carbon dating conclusively showed it to be exactly what had been predicted beforehand: a mid 14th century piece of linen. It is truly amazing that such books have to be written in the early 21st century to dispel what sensible adult minds should have done a long time ago. Highly recommended.

Joe Nickell has done an outstanding job of research into the origins of the Shroud of Turin and has conclusively shown it to be a 14th century artistic rendering. And this book was originally written well before the carbon dating conducted by three reputable laboratories proved that the Shroud can be dated to approximately the mid 14th century. Gee, what coincidence that these figures all match the initial providence of this bogus relic. As for some of the other criticisms of this excellent book - ignore them, as they clearly have not read the book which is why the reviews never address the specific findings presented in the book.