Reference Reviews

Doug’s Student Reference Room

ESP, by Kevin Hile. 48 pp. Farmington Hills, MI: KidHaven Press, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0-7377-4084-4; ISBN-10: 0-7377-4084-1. $26.20.

As with other titles in the Mysterious Encounters series, this volume opens with a story that triggers our curiosity about the subject. Here a man envisions a series of numbers running through his mind, plays those numbers in a lottery—and wins! Whether fact or fiction, such reports of extrasensory perception capture the popular imagination, as detailed in this work. The first chapter chronicles the origins and history of ESP. The second chapter delves further into the topic, examining premonitions, Web site testimonies and dreams, among other aspects. Fans of film and television will be interested to learn that “there have been several documented cases of passengers on the doomed Titanic having premonitions that the ocean liner would sink,” and that law enforcement agencies sometimes work with psychics who use their powers of retrocognition to investigate crimes. The third chapter examines clairvoyance and the CIA-sponsored psychic research that lasted more than twenty years during which the former Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in the Cold War. The final chapter looks at telepathy, telekinesis and an array of magicians and illusionists who, according to skeptics, fool audiences into believing that they have ESP abilities. The story of the pet psychic Sonya Fitzpatrick closes out the volume. Colorful sidebars may prompt further research. Full-color photographs and illustrations add interest. Highly recommended for school and public libraries.
—Doug Achterman