Strange Creations: Aberrant Ideas of Human Origins from Ancient Astronauts to Aquatic Apes

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Summary: There's no end to what people will believe...
Review: Anyone who's seen a Fox special about Erich von Danikan and his "ancient astronaut" theories will want to take a look at this book. The author provides a detailed historical background to the wide array of ever-persisting beliefs that most people would find laughable: humans are descended from ape-alien hybrids, the Aquatic Ape Theory, the eugenics movement, and even the Heaven's Gate cult. The book is a bit dense, but still an interesting and entertaining read. Be careful: you might end up believing some of the kooky theories presented. :)

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Summary: Did our ancestors eat brains to gain sexual potency?
Review: Oscar Kiss-Maerth thinks so, and he's just one of the many interesting people with interesting theories you'll meet in this book. From the berserk Theosophical tales of root races to the devolutionary theory of Kiss-Maerth to the reptoids of such fellows as David Barclay (how she misses David Icke is beyond me, and that's the only reason this book doesn't get five stars) and even the ideas of Marshall Applewhite (aka Do) and the Next Level Crew that have become known as Heaven's Gate after their website, Donna Kossy has assembles a mad tea party of speculative thinkers. Some of their theories are racist, some are insane, some are merely oddly plausible, but all are worth taking note of. If you wondered where the band DEVO got its musical inspiration, or if the eugenics laws of Nazi Germany were inspired by Americans, this is the book to read. A value at twice the price, as my grandmother would say.

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Summary: Excellent explanation of nutty creation stories
Review: This book explains the history of nutty creation stories. I particular enjoyed the historical perspective, documenting how all new-age beliefs date back to Blavatsky, why people are drawn to such beliefs, and how these beliefs changed through the years. This book provides excellent debunking material.

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Summary: I want more!!
Review: This is one of those books which makes you look forward to a time of the day where you can read it. It is just great: funny, intelligent and well-written. Donna Kossy doesn't debunk in the strict sense of the word ... the theories speak for themselves. The only drawback: I want more and the book should be twice as long as it is, if not longer. Intelligent and funny - what more do you want?

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Summary: A Stirring Collection of Bizarre Ideas About Origins.
Review: _Strange Creations_ by Donna Kossy presents some of the most bizarre and far-fetched ideas and theories which have been conceived by the human consciousness to explain human origins. In an attempt to challenge the accepted scientific accounting of origins, Darwinian evolution, attempts have been made to claim our ancestors were space men from the stars, that evolution occurs in reverse, that eugenics or racism is necessary to explain human development, that the biblical account of creation in Genesis is to be interpreted literally, that our ancestors were aquatic apes, that the Urantia Book explains our origins, and that a certain UFO cult holds the secret to human conscious evolution ("Heaven's Gate"). The book includes a fairly decent discussion of Nazi ideas concerning evolution and eugenics as well as Social Darwinism. Among the more bizarre theories suggested are those of the devolutionists (including the punk band DEVO). For instance, the book _The Beginning Was the End_ by Oscar Kiss Maerth suggests that we owe our existences to cannibalistic brains-eating apes. Another bizarre theory is that of Stanislav Szukaski, who contends that an ongoing struggle between true humans and Yeti-humans has shaped our history. The book includes a bizarre discussion of the UFO cult which ended in tragic suicide, "Heaven's Gate". Overall this book presents a strange concoction of some of the ideas floating at the further extremes of human consciousness.

Rating:
Summary: A Stirring Collection of Bizarre Ideas About Origins.
Review: _Strange Creations_ by Donna Kossy presents some of the most bizarre and far-fetched ideas and theories which have been conceived by the human consciousness to explain human origins. In an attempt to challenge the accepted scientific accounting of origins, Darwinian evolution, attempts have been made to claim our ancestors were space men from the stars, that evolution occurs in reverse, that eugenics or racism is necessary to explain human development, that the biblical account of creation in Genesis is to be interpreted literally, that our ancestors were aquatic apes, that the Urantia Book explains our origins, and that a certain UFO cult holds the secret to human conscious evolution ("Heaven's Gate"). The book includes a fairly decent discussion of Nazi ideas concerning evolution and eugenics as well as Social Darwinism. Among the more bizarre theories suggested are those of the devolutionists (including the punk band DEVO). For instance, the book _The Beginning Was the End_ by Oscar Kiss Maerth suggests that we owe our existences to cannibalistic brains-eating apes. Another bizarre theory is that of Stanislav Szukaski, who contends that an ongoing struggle between true humans and Yeti-humans has shaped our history. The book includes a bizarre discussion of the UFO cult which ended in tragic suicide, "Heaven's Gate". Overall this book presents a strange concoction of some of the ideas floating at the further extremes of human consciousness.