I just finished John Keel's "The Eighth Tower".
I was not familiar with his work and didn't know too much about high strangeness and such, so it was very worth it. He basically gives a run-down on all kinds of strange phenomena that he studied, mentions some very interesting patterns and offers some speculation at the end of the book.
His style is really funny and engaging, it's a quick read! What I found a bit disappointing is that he didn't source his stories/accounts, so we kind of have to take his word for it. But maybe he did all that in his other books and just repeats them in this one to sustain his narrative, not sure because I haven't read any of his other books.
As Laura said in this thread about his "Operation Trojan Horse", he interprets UFO's as part of the same phenomenon that also produces other unexplained things like monsters, psi etc. He clearly understands the hyperdimensional perspective.
Just as an example for the many interesting thoughts Keel offers:
It's interesting to note that indeed, various groups have been accused in the past and present for 'running the world', i.e. for being at the top of a 'grand conspiracy'. International bankers and neocons (or neoliberals) are the latest incarnations it seems. But what if this conspiracy-hunt is just smoke and mirrors? Of course there are certain 'conspiracies' and such, but maybe this angle prevents people from seeing the unseen, from looking at it in the context of hyperdimensional realities. Most importantly (and related to the 'higher perspective'), it may prevent people from getting into the nitty gritty of pschological knowledge, i.e. HOW do humans work on a psychological level, producing all these negative results that look like a 'conspiracy', but may have more to do with humans just being humans, with their various motivations and pathologies, including psychopathy?
I think his scientific explanations (such as about the electromagnetic spectrum) are a bit over the top and too simplistic/speculative, as far as I can tell. They are still useful though in that Keel really has a knack to get your thinking going. His speculation at the end of the book about the "eighth tower" that controls humanity and that may be an artifact of an ancient civilization might be an interesting metaphor (and offers some food for thought), but it seems to me Keel's imagination runs a bit wild here (and he admits as much).
All in all, I think it's a great book, especially if you aren't familiar yet with these things.
I was not familiar with his work and didn't know too much about high strangeness and such, so it was very worth it. He basically gives a run-down on all kinds of strange phenomena that he studied, mentions some very interesting patterns and offers some speculation at the end of the book.
His style is really funny and engaging, it's a quick read! What I found a bit disappointing is that he didn't source his stories/accounts, so we kind of have to take his word for it. But maybe he did all that in his other books and just repeats them in this one to sustain his narrative, not sure because I haven't read any of his other books.
As Laura said in this thread about his "Operation Trojan Horse", he interprets UFO's as part of the same phenomenon that also produces other unexplained things like monsters, psi etc. He clearly understands the hyperdimensional perspective.
Just as an example for the many interesting thoughts Keel offers:
The Illuminati, the International Bankers, the Freemasons, the Jesuits, and the CIA have all been blamed for the antics of the MIB during different periods in history. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries secret societies were popular, not so much to join as to blame. By the turn of the century a new mythical group seized the public imagination—the sinister International Bankers—a loathsome cartel of munitions makers, money manipulators, and archfiends. Like the Illuminati and other phantom orders before them, they were accused of running the world from behind the scenes. The mischievous men its black suits were tagged as agents for the International Bankers in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.
It's interesting to note that indeed, various groups have been accused in the past and present for 'running the world', i.e. for being at the top of a 'grand conspiracy'. International bankers and neocons (or neoliberals) are the latest incarnations it seems. But what if this conspiracy-hunt is just smoke and mirrors? Of course there are certain 'conspiracies' and such, but maybe this angle prevents people from seeing the unseen, from looking at it in the context of hyperdimensional realities. Most importantly (and related to the 'higher perspective'), it may prevent people from getting into the nitty gritty of pschological knowledge, i.e. HOW do humans work on a psychological level, producing all these negative results that look like a 'conspiracy', but may have more to do with humans just being humans, with their various motivations and pathologies, including psychopathy?
I think his scientific explanations (such as about the electromagnetic spectrum) are a bit over the top and too simplistic/speculative, as far as I can tell. They are still useful though in that Keel really has a knack to get your thinking going. His speculation at the end of the book about the "eighth tower" that controls humanity and that may be an artifact of an ancient civilization might be an interesting metaphor (and offers some food for thought), but it seems to me Keel's imagination runs a bit wild here (and he admits as much).
All in all, I think it's a great book, especially if you aren't familiar yet with these things.