"Sagan and Velikovsky" to appear in local book stores
Ted Holden (medved@access3.digex.net)
19 Jan 1995 18:12:49 -0500
A book entitled "Carl Sagan and Immanuel
Velikovsky" which exposes the miserable nature of Carl Sagan's
misrepresentations of Velikovsky's book "Worlds in Collision" will soon
be available at local bookstores. I have read the book, and it is such
a powerful indictment of Carl Sagan's criticism that anybody who reads
it will be shocked by the depth of Sagan's deceitful analysis. It's
about time that the miserable and mean-spirited work of Sagan is finally
presented to the scientific world and to the general public so that they
can see the way Sagan used dishonest and underhanded forms of criticism to
destroy Velikovsky.
Martin Sieff of the Washington Post in a review of "Carl Sagan and
Immanuel Velikovsky" has stated the following: that its author, Charles
Ginenthal
"sets the scientific record straight. He systematically examines
each of Sagan's scathing critiques in detail and dismisses them with
a vast body of evidence mainly gathered from the mainstream
scientific literature, including other work by Sagan himself."
"First, it is incomparably the finest and most comprehensive work yet
published from the catastrophist side of the scientific debate on
Velikovsky's work."
"Second, it quotes extensively from and proves an invaluable guide to
mainstream literature of the past decade... For this alone it is
invaluable reading for anyone interested in the field."
"The book is beautifully written, masterfully organized, and
impeccably researched. The footnotes alone provide a guide to most
of the relevant published literature on the debate over the past 20
years."
"This splendid book sets the record straight on a debate of pivotal
importance in the history of science..."
Professor Roger W. Wescott, retired of Drew University states:
"I recommend Charles Ginenthal's study of Sagan and Velikovsky, which
I find accurate, detailed, and persuasive. In this book, the glib
and slipshod nature of Carl Sagan's critiques is repeatedly and
tellingly exposed."
Professor Lynn Rose of SUNY, Buffalo states:
"I believe that this book is of major importance, and that it will
not only attract the attention of the supporters and opponents of
Carl Sagan, but that it will also be of great interest to
astronomers, historians, psychologists, theologians, geologists,
biologists, and physicists, as well as to the general public."
Professor Rose continues:
"What has long been needed is a detailed exposure of Sagan's errors,
and dissimulations. This is what Charles Ginenthal has now
accomplished. His book carefully examines Sagan's arguments, point
by point, and shows that Sagan deliberately misrepresents both the
nature of Velikovsky's own theories, and the nature of the facts
which might be relevant to the assessment of those theories. To put
it bluntly, Sagan makes up whatever arguments he pleases, apparently
in full confidence that no one will ever check up on him."
"Fortunately, that confidence has been misplaced."
"The structure of Ginenthal's book is quite simple. He traces
Sagan's arguments one by one, from the introductory remarks right
through to the appendices... Ginenthal's style and reasoning are
clear, and his facts straight. His tone is moderate, and his
approach is fair."
"Ginenthal has actually DONE all of the research which Sagan only
pretended to have done."
In fact, a major organ of the scientific establishment, Mercury
Magazine, which has presented Sagan's material as competent, was sent
an ad for this book which could answer Carl Sagan's attacks, and its
editors held a meeting and decided to ban the ad for the book from
Mercury.
Elements of the scientific establishment in essence would like to suppress
this book while promoting Sagan's work, but they cannot suppress it as
they once did "Worlds in Collision", and the public will at long last be
finding this book in their book stores in early spring. It should be
interesting in a year or so to see whether Sagan's reputation has
withstood this expose of his behavior. Carl Sagan and Immanuel
Velikovsky will create an uproar, and deservedly so.
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