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Spotlight Reviews

Something happened, February 2, 2001

Reviewer: Guillermo Maynez (see more about me) from Mexico, Distrito Federal Mexico

I am amazed to see so much controversy around this book. I can't see how one can accept or deny the theories exposed in this book just like that. Provoking it certainly is. Flawed, perhaps. But totally erroneous, I don't think so. I understand that many of Velikovsky's hypotheses have been proven totally or partially correct by science since it was published in 1950. It must be said that Velikovsky's may be controversial, but absolutely not pseudo-science, even if it contains mistakes. It should never be included in the same cathegory of Von Daniken and other lunatics and conspiracy theorists. The first thing obvious to the reader is that, before writing the book, Velikovsky did his homework, his research. And it is simply impressive. He takes sources from every civilzation known, from China to Yucatan, from Polinesia to Finland, and of course the Jews, Sumers, Babilonians, Greeks, Romans and Persians. He seems to have double-checked everything before risking a theory.

Here's, briefly, what he says: In the XV century B.C., what is now the planet Venus, a comet coming from Jupiter, passed near the Earth, changing its orbit and axis and causing innumerable catastrophes that formed the early mythologies and religions of the world. 52 years later, it passed near again, stopping for some time the rotation of the Earth, with the ensuing added catastrophes. Then, in the VIII and VII centuries B.C., Venus and Mars almost collided near the Earth, which caused a new round of disturbances and disasters. After that, the current "celestial order" was established, we don't know for how long.

It is simply breathtaking to know the impressive coincidences and similarities in myth and religion of the whole world. The coincidence of deities, symbols, explanations. It is simply impossible that all that may be simply the product of chance, of people from unconnected lands imagining, out of the blue, the same things. I remained in awe throughout my reading, and I must say that I am a total enemy of easy, conspiracy-minded explanations. I think a healthy skepticism is always good to understand the world. But the research is massive and astonishing. I am sure Velikovsky didn't get everything perfectly. But scientific evidence has been recently going closer and closer to the theories he advanced fifty years ago, when man hadn't even set foot on the Moon and researching technology was far from what we have now.

This book definitely deserves a read. It not only doesn't discredit any religion; on the contrary, his theories assume that the writers of holy texts were not mad hallucinators, but accurate conveyors of real events, long living in peoples' minds, due to the catastrophic consequences they brought to humanity. Read it, think about it, and you will never read the Bible or watch a starry sky with the same mind. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition

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Catastrophe Happens!, April 8, 1999

Reviewer: gmorrison from Atlanta

This book is worth the effort. Whether a scholar, or a person with a healthy curiosity, this book should stimulate your brain cells. The book does not roll along like a Tom Clancy novel, but it does describe more chaos and destruction than all his novels combined. We're talking "a disaster of Biblical proportions, Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff, fire and brimstone coming down from the skies, rivers and seas boiling, 40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanoes, . . . dogs & cats living together, mass hysteria" ("Ghostbusters I" but right on target).

Reading this book gives the open minded reader the opportunity to view the history of the Earth in a completely new way, and some of our favorite mysteries of the past may be decoded in conjunction with Velikovsky's "theories". The scientific discoveries of the 49 years since the book was first published have been very kind to Dr. Velikovsky, but not so kind to scientific dogma of the same period).

Velikovsky dares to read ancient works literally, and to look for proof of their accuracy, even when they appear flawed. If a document states that the sun rose in the west, Velikovsky is willing to search for proof that it did, instead of presuming the text is flawed. Velikovsky's ideas help to unravel mysteries which cannot be decoded until we are willing to challenge the scientific dogma which presumes that ancient documents are incorrect whenever they disagree with our perceptions of what they ought to say.

Will Stonehenge be forever a mystery, because theories that it was built as an astrological computer are dashed by the fact that present planetary orbits do not fit its alignment? Or can we suppose that prehistoric man dragged those stones around, and reset them several times, because keeping up with the wanderings of comets/planets was important to their survival. Is it possible that today Stonehenge does not align because the orbits of stars and planets, relative to the Earth's, have changed?

If the errosion on the Sphinx is a result of water, not wind and sand, could this relate to a drastic shift in the Earth's axis since it was built? Could such a shift have caused the sudden decline of Egyptian culture?

And have we ever wondered what those Mammoths ate out there on the Siberian tundra? Did they live on lichen and snowcones, or did they eat a few tons of subtropical plants each day (as supported by the stomach contents found in those flash frozen Mammoths found in Siberia in the sixties). And HOW did they get flash frozen so quickly that the meat never spoiled?

I first read this book in the seventies, while in college. A theologian at the time suggested I should not read the book, as he felt Velikovsky was trying to show that God did not cause the events recorded in the Bible which so often helped the Jews. I am sure Dr. Velikovsky would not try to prove a negative hypothesis, and I found no evidence of same in the book.

It is interesting that all other cultures perceived the comets to be gods, while the Jews saw the comets as messengers of the one God. It is curious that these cataclysms only seemed to help the Jews.

The book supports the historical accuracy of the Bible, as well as other religious writings and "mythologies". This book in worth the effort, as it has a lot to contribute to our own perceptions of nature, history, and religion. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title

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Velikovsky abandons the scientific method., April 13, 2004

Reviewer: Mike Diamanti from Coupeville, WA United States

There is simply not enough room to refute the ideas concieved by Velikovsky. If you believe in his hypothesis's (remember, a theory has some evidence) then you owe it to yourself to risk these cherished beliefs. Many of the reviewers of Worlds in Collision who are lavishing praise on it claim the book is for those who have open minds. Anyone who considers themselves in possession of an open mind, and belives in the hypothesis advanced by Velikovsky HAS to read Carl Sagan's "Brocas Brain". This is a CHALLENGE. If you find yourself refusing to risk your beliefs by reading the rebuttel of one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century then you should realize that your beliefs stem from a emotional dependence on said beliefs, not a desire to view the universe openly. I had not realized fully the level of disilloushinment with mainstream science until I saw the reviews praising this book. Read this book, then read Brocas Brain. An unwillingness to expose oneself to counterarguments is the hallmark of the closed mind.

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I can't finish this thing., July 2, 2003

Reviewer: Dhaval Vyas (see more about me) from York, PA U.S.A

I've tired twice to read this book and both times I was unsuccessful. I just can't finish 'Worlds in Collision'. Velikovsky here tries to related Biblical stories to the passing of Venus through the solar system. His thoery is that Venus was spat out of Mars and was a comet.

He cites literature from all across the world from ancient cultures to prove his point more strongly. I don't know how credible his theories are but his histroy seems off balance and his science seems very ignorant. Read only if you are curious, but very few people would actually take this seriously. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title

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