If you'd rather place an order by talking to one of our cheerful order desk clerks, please call 1-888-232-4444 (USA and Canada only) or 250-383-6864. From Europe, ring our UK order desk clerk at local rate number 0845 230 9601 (UK only) or 44 (0)1865 722 113.

Ancient Oracles

by Milan Rýzl with Lubor Kysucan

217 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #07-0959; ISBN 1-4251-2786-X; US$19.95, C$22.94, EUR15.55, £10.31

Oracles, fortune-telling and search for after-life in Greco-Roman, Egyptian, and Near-East antiquity. Divining practices used, their religious and social function, and impact on culture and people.

About the Book

This book is a product of cooperation between a parapsychologist (trained in natural sciences) and a linguist/historian. It traces the connection of ancient oracles with religion and describes in detail practices which were used there, and on the background of general cultural atmosphere of those times. On examples from preserved ancient texts the social importance of oracles is described and comparison is made with interests of modern people who consult psychics. Interestingly, concerns of ancient people were identical with those of average people today: Health, prosperity, love, and questions of religion. Intellectual atmosphere of crucial ancient periods (e.g., at the beginning of Christianity) is compared with the contemporary situation, and advice is given from this comparison - including discussion of "New Age" groups, and questions related to inter-human relationships and ecology. The role of psychic phenomena in world religions is described objectively, not from the point of view of any particular religion. Legends about the "trips to the underworld" show ancient interest in the question of post-mortem survival. Linguistic analysis, description of selected experiments, as well as quotations from ancient mystics help uncover the history of early Christianity, and also offer some new answers concerning religious experiences. The book is written in a down-to-earth style of popular science , not in the style of occult or religious literature. The book will be interesting for historians, philosophers, psychologists, journalists, educators, members of non-dogmatic religious groups, and students of mysticism and early Christianity.

About the Authors

Pioneering parapsychologist Dr.Milan Rýzl (pronounced Reezal) holds a doctorate in natural sciences (physics and chemistry) from the University of Prague (former Czechoslovakia). Formerly associated with the Institute of Biology of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague, he left his native Czechoslovakia in 1967 for political reasons, and took up residence in the United States.

His research of techniques for training extrasensory perception has attracted international attention. While still living in Prague, he became, in 1963, a Corresponding Research Associate of the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University (Durham, N.C.). In 1963 he was also awarded the McDougall Award for the Distinguished Work in Parapsychology.

A linguist fluently proficient in 4 languages, he has extensively traveled lecturing and teaching at numerous universities, such as in Prague, Moscow, Leningrad (now St.Petersburg), Vienna, and others in Europe and Asia, including about 70 universities and colleges in U.S.A. He is the author of more than 100 research papers and 20 books on parapsychology (including 3 textbooks) which have been published in 17 languages. A popular description of his research appeared in the bestseller "Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain" by S.Ostrander and L.Schroeder (1970).

In all his writings and courses, Milan Rýzl emphasizes the need for experimental evidence and for the critical evaluation of data - a down-to-earth approach which shows the way how the facts of parapsychology can be integrated into the scientific picture of the world.

Lubor Kysucan, writer, journalist, university professor and human rights activist was born 1968 in Brno, Czech Republic. He obtained M.A. in 1991, and Ph.D. 1994 at Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, Brno, where he studied Classical and Czech Philology. He works as full-time professor at Department of Classical Studies, Faculty of Arts, Palacky University, Olomouc; and part-time at School of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno. In his interdisciplinary research he deals with cultural and social history of Late Antiquity, and with the history of ancient religions, occurrence and interpretation of parapsychological phenomena in Classical Antiquity and with the environmental thinking in ancient religions and philosophy. He is author of popularizing books, specialized monographs, textbooks, educational films and research studies. He translated a number of books and publications from English, German, Russian and original ancient texts from Latin. He presented his work in numerous conferences and workshops, both in his home country and a broad. He took part in research and study stays at universities and research centers in Austria, United Kingdom, Egypt and Hungary. He is involved in various research projects in his areas of interest.

As voluntary human rights activist, he works in the Czech section on Amnesty International, where he is responsible for aid and assistance to refugees, and asylum-seekers. He also took part in numerous humanitarian missions and election observations. In the framework of these activities, he visited many countries of Balkans, former Soviet Union, Middle East and South Asia.