The Book of the Damned
Fort, Charles. The Book of the Damned. Ace Books, 1941 (Later Printing). Softbound. Preface by Donald A. Wollheim. While critical of Fort's writing style, as well as what he saw as a lack of coherent arguments, fellow paranormal enthusiast Colin Wilson noted, 'Expressed in a sentence, Fort's principle goes something like this: People with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological need not to believe in marvels.' Haunted by a habit of repeatedly destroying his notes and manuscripts, Fort published this first and most foundational of his four books in 1919, finding praise among contemporary luminaries, including Sherwood Anderson and Clarence Darrow, as well as the founding members of the Fortean Society: Booth Tarkington, Ben Hecht, H. L. Mencken, and Theodore Dreiser. This charming mass-market edition comes complete with tabloid-influenced cover design, a preface by Futurian sci-fi writer and Ace editor Donald A. Wollheim, and blurbs by both conspiracy-oriented novelist Taylor Caldwell and Dreiser, who served as the Fortean Society's president after Fort's strict non-authoritarianism prevented him from stepping into the role.
