Bartholomew, Robert E. & Radford, Benjamin. Hoaxes, myths, and manias; why we need critical thinking.

Prometheus. 229p, bibliog. index. c2003. 1-59102-048-4. $20.00. SA

This book will fit into libraries whose patrons can't get enough of the titles on urban legends. Bartholomew and Radford begin with an academic essay on critical thinking similar to what might be found in a textbook. This may put a damper on the wish to be titillated by unsolved mysteries. The authors cast their critical eye on events (or supposed events) that have worked their way into folklore, taking on what everyone believes to be true because the events have long been reported with a certain interpretation. They examine the Martian panic of 1938, the Roswell flying saucer crash of 1947, the press creation of an imaginary criminal, the mad gasser of Mattoon, and England's great airship hoax. Then they devote chapters to discussions of what is normal and how false beliefs come into being. They take a worldwide, historical look at mass delusions that have taken hold of people in times past and explore how it is that this happens--what kinds of needs the delusions fill. Sometimes they posit explanations that make use of today's knowledge to explain mysteries of the past. Review questions and source notes after each chapter may turn off the general reader but make the book useful in the classroom. Good for researching the many term papers that revolve around this kind of subject. Edna M. Boardman, Bismark, ND