The Paranormal Ranger (Stanley Milford, Jr.)

The Paranormal Ranger: A Navajo Investigator's Search for the Unexplained
Stanley Milford, Jr.
William Morrow
Nonfiction, Autobiography/Paranormal and Unexplained Phenomena
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: The modern Western world has long dismissed notions of ghosts or curses or other such phenomena, considering them hallucinations or hoaxes or simple misunderstandings. Many cultures, however, still consider such things as real as gravity and electricity... and many people around the world from many cultures, some of which should "know better", still experience unexplained encounters.
Stanley Milford, Jr., son of a Navajo father and Cherokee mother, grew up with a foot in two worlds, that of mainstream white America and that of Native culture. As a boy, he adored the many cop shows on TV and knew he'd love nothing more than to become a law enforcement officer, one of the Navajo Rangers who patrol the vast desert reservation protecting the people, the archaeological sites, and the environment. But he also had more than one unusual occurrence that lent weight to the native tales and legend he learned, enough to make him less dismissive than some would be when people would report unusual activities such as bigfoots harassing their livestock or skinwalkers stalking their land. For many years, he and a partner would explore unusual events, leading to many strange encounters.

REVIEW: I was a long-time X-phile, and this book looked to strike a similar vein to some of the older books on unexplained phenomena that I used to enjoy, with a little different and non-"Western" take on the matter. The author approaches the subject and his experiences with both logic and cultural understanding, an approach that works rather well for events that would seem to defy current scientific consensus of what can be real and what cannot exist. More often than not, he and his partner serve a greater purpose by ensuring that people feel heard and understood, and are not simply dismissed or actively derided for what they experienced; their investigations gather some interesting evidence and even result in some close encounters, but as Milford says more than once, these aren't usually cases where there's a suspect to apprehend or some legal recourse for victims. The author also explores his own life and career beyond the paranormal aspects that were only a small part of his overall job. Throughout runs a strong thread of Native culture and belief and history, including portions of creation (or "emergence") myths, which offer lenses and tools with which to understand aspects of reality that are too readily dismissed by the mainstream/white world. The whole makes for some interesting storytelling. As for how much I believe... I'd call myself agnostic on the matter, though I'm not about to tell someone they did not experience a thing just because I did not experience a thing.

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Myths and Mysteries of the World (Parragon Books)

Myths and Mysteries of the World
Parragon Books
Nonfiction, History/Paranormal
*** (Okay)

DESCRIPTION: In modern times, we like to believe we understand our world: how it behaves, where we came from, where we might be going. Yet the more we learn, the more mysteries become apparent. Peculiar ruins challenge archaeology and imagination. Inexplicable events and phenomena baffle scientists. This book, and its companion DVD, looks at many oddities.

REVIEW: At first, this looked like an interesting read. The writing starts on a refreshingly clear note, not automatically jumping to sheer skepticism or wild fringe theories, while examining many wonders. This tone, however, slowly shifts as the book progresses, deliberately presenting too little actual information for the reader to form their own opinions while not-so-subtly emphasizing the ideas of Christianity, miracles, and UFO phenomena. Some of the articles are even deliberately misleading, contradicting or ignoring key pieces of information in order to play into the agenda. (The section on mythological animals in particular has some glaring omissions.) The range of topics is intriguing, but I grew tired of the lightweight examination and obfuscation. As for the accompanying DVD, while not a simple rehash of the text, it also fails to do more than tantalize and hint for its 50-odd minute runtime. If you're just starting to look into world mysteries and paranormal phenomena, this might not be a bad introduction, but there are better sources out there.

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