Borderlands: The Ultimate Exploration of the Unknown

The cover screams - "[Mike] Dash...dares to record those macabre, inexplicable, and otherwise terrifying events where there is no other explanation *except*-that what people saw...is true!" The reality is far less sensational and more scholarly. Essentially, he argues for a sort of collective cultural source for most of these manifestations by pointing out many of the cultural variations in similar types of manifestations, while suggesting altered states of consciousness (such as hypnogogic states) as an actual vehicle for the manifestations. In just one fascinating example of many, he examines UFO sightings, and compares the shape of the UFO manifestation (saucers, triangles, or "flying cigars") and shows that the geocultural region that the UFO sighting takes place in tends to influence how the UFO's physical characteristics are perceived by the observer, as well as the content and quantity of such sightings. Religious (visions, stigmata), ghostly (ectoplasm, mediums) and beastly (bigfeet, chupacabra) phenomena are given similar treatment. If a criticism can be drawn, the book has a weakness which stems from Dash's insincere speculation regarding the issue of the "reality" of these borderland visitations. He tapers off at the end and never gives the ideas his ample evidence supports the forceful resolution they need. And I suspect he overachieves a bit in trying to be sensitive to the feelings of the "visited" by using gentle and deliberately mystical prose and constantly second-guessing his own conclusions. The book's ultimate conclusion treads a fine line between attempting to rationally explain (or calmly debunk) these types of phenomena and then subtly suggesting a metaphysical maguffin to explain the manifestation of said phenomena. This is the danger of using of the concepts of a "borderlands dimension" and "visitations" to generalize these experiences. You can see it in a survey of the negative reviews here, which tend to either come from forteans who detest the excessive skepticism, or skeptics who object to some of the ultimate speculation. Nevertheless the general impression this book leaves is of a wealth of well-researched and finely-presented facts about the bizarre in their cultural context that will find welcoming audiences in cryptozoological, fantastical, or even skeptical camps. Dash's overall qualifications as a highly-informed journalist of the paranormal realm prove to be exceptional and well-documented and his work certainly rivals that of Jerome Clark. Viewing paranormal phenomena through the cultural lens is very helpful and enlightening for anyone assessing (or dismissing) the objective reality of said phenomena.

this is an excellent book.It is very evenly distributed subjectively and objectively on subjects that range from ufos to poltergeists to weeping statues and so on.Mr.Dash put in a lot of research effort into this book and it shows.I just finished reading Jerome clark's "unexplained",Colin Wilson's "Beyond the Occcult",and John Keel's "Jadoo" and this book was easily right there with them.

I found this book to be highly entertaining and thought provoking. The author has clearly spent many hours researching and thinking about his subject and this is reflected in the quality of his writing. He has opened my eyes to other possibilities that I had not considered...

Mike Dash does a excellent job of covering the various mysterious phenomena and weirdness in this world. The book was a easy read and I would recommend it for anyone wanting to get a good introduction to the Paranormal.

I was lucky enough to find the hardback edition of this book being sold really cheaply and I`ve never regretted buying it. It deals with the full breadth of the `fringe' phenomena. The book is very well written and by turns, informative, amazing and amusing. Dash walks a tightrope between impartiality and outright scepticism. Particularly amusing is the way he completely demolishes the legend of the Loch Ness monster. There is such a wealth of information here that I seem to get something new out of his book each time I read it. I don't agree all his conclusions, especially the one about UFOs being a product of `fantasy prone' individuals but most of the time he seems to hit the target dead centre. Essential reading for those interested in strange phenomena.