Rating: 
Summary: Still the best debunking I have read
Review: There are always going to be some folks who cling to fiction rather than accept fact. You'll see reviews that quote the supposed Flight 19 radio report that "even the ocean doesn't look right". If you do you own research you'll know that this is pure bunkum - and that's precisely what Larry Kusche did: his own research, and found the vast majority of reports to be pure bunkum.In the search for truth, some people go so far and no further. Thankfully for us, Kusche went all the way as often as he could, and his work here is a confirmation of the principle of Occam's Razor: all other things being equal, the simplest explanation tends to be the right one. I recommend this book as a reality check, especially in an age where the Internet has spawned an avalanche of conspiracy theories and misinformation, and educational systems have failed for years to give students the basic skills to investigate, analyse and draw sensible conclusions. Kusche shows you how.
Rating:
Summary: To the point...
Review: This book is "just the facts" without the hyperbole and sermonizing that so many "debunking" authors relish indulging in. Kusche was the first to systematically and methodically study many of the "Bermuda Triangle" mysteries and his hard work is often cited in many publications and televised programs with no credit going to Kusche. If more Paranormal investigators took this much time and effort to substantiate their facts I suspect many more "mysteries" would be solved.
Rating: 
Summary: The only book on the "Bermuda Triangle" worth reading
Review: To this day, the Bermuda Triangle is regarded by many as a mysterious zone of influence within which an unusual number of ships and planes disappear without a trace. At the very least, its reputation as a region associated with some unspecified danger remains. Why this is so, after the first publication of Mr. Kusche's book more than twenty years ago, is perhaps a more interesting question than whether or not the Bermuda Triangle's reputation is deserved. Regardless, it is this latter question that Kusche attempts to answer. His approach is simply to do the necessary research--whenever and wherever he encounters an account or tale of tragedy in the Bermuda Triangle, he looks up the relevant accounts and finds the facts. If the facts leave the fate of the ship or plane(s) ambiguous, he says so. If his research turns up a likely explanation, he is forthright and direct in proposing it. What Kusche finds, in sum, is that the Bermuda Triangle is essentially a myth. Many of the Bermuda Triangle disappearances are not nearly as mysterious as has been suggested; some ships that were lost in supposedly calm seas were in fact sailing into fierce storms, while others were lost nowhere near the Triangle area itself. Several of the tragedies said to have occurred there are associated with no records at all--leaving one to wonder how popularizers of this "mystery" can be certain that there was anything to disappear. Before Mr. Kusche's research the Bermuda Triangle "mystery" melts away, leaving nothing more substantial than an urban legend. Writers such as Charles Berlitz are revealed as writers of fiction in thin disguise [Berlitz was co-author of the first published book on the alleged crash of a UFO at Roswell, New Mexico, which should do much to illuminate the reliability of that story as well]. This book is reasonably well written and easy to get through. If you want to read about the Bermuda Triangle, this is the only book I would recommend.
Rating:
Summary: a light of truth in the darkness of hype
Review: Until I moved to the Bay Area of California in 1972, I had never heard of the Bermuda Triangle. This is significant because for the ten years previous I had lived in Indialantic, Florida, fished regularly in the Gulf Stream and had made a few passages to the Bahamas. What those of us who actually lived in the area and sailed the waters did not know was that some creative people had been generating a sensation, and a good bit of revenue, by spinning a wild myth out of misinformation and a few isolated disappearances. And let's face it, in the age before geolocators and satellite systems, there were several disappearances at sea every year. Actually, there still are. The ocean is a big, deadly pace. Flight 19 is a classic example. On a training flight, the trainer's instrument panel went out. Not unheard of. He turns navigational duties over to a trainee; again not unheard of and understandable under the circumstances. The trainee has trouble with his readings, so the flight eyeballs the surface to see were they are. They see the Bahamas, but think they're looking at the Florida Keys. Going above the clouds, they sight by the sky and head for Florida. Tragically, that course carries them over the open Atlantic. Throughout all of this, ground control can hear their radio chatter, but the planes can not hear base. In those days this was a fairly common occurrence with the primitive radio systems available. A plane was dispatched to intercept and rescue the wayward pilots. What happened aboard that plane really is a mystery. According to witnesses, it exploded in midair over the ocean within sight of land. However, by the time it was verified the first plane was lost (remember, this was before or modern instant communications and flight transponders) and another could be dispatched it was too late. Though three position due east of New Smyrna had been calculated by those on shore, Flight 19 had gone down in the swiftly flowing currents of the Atlantic. Rescuers literally had no idea where to look. Charlatans used this tragic story to manufacture a myth. The failed instrument panel became wildly spinning compasses, the instructor telling the other trainees to follow the one he designated navigator instead of him became a desperate warning to rescuers not to try and follow. A mysterious message about the sky and sea seeming "wrong" was manufactured. (Often quoted, by charlatans and true believers alike, but still false.) Other examples include the Revnoc, which went down in 40-foot seas during one of the worst hurricanes of the decade. In legend, it disappeared in front of witnesses in bright sunlight while sailing on a calm sea. A sulfur ship which sank in the Gulf and a freighter that disappeared off the coast of Africa are also included in the chronicle. Some disappearances are not explained. The ocean is very big, very secretive, and very unforgiving. The nature of the environment -- not any mysterious forces -- means there will always be questions we can never answer. This book does a lot to seperate the genuine mysteries from the hype.
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