The Fact or Fiction Files: Ghosts

School Library Journal

These two books explore paranormal phenomena in a ``flip over'' format. The lead half describes factual events; when turned over, the opposite side describes fictional episodes about the same topic. In Ghosts , Canadeo is successful in dividing the two issues, and the book seems to be carefully researched and evenhanded. In UFO's , the distinction between the two sides is blurry. The content is interesting, but the presentation is confusing and misleading, with some need to refer back and forth for the complete picture. The book includes more complex, undefined vocabulary, and some references are vague or don't give sources. The bibliography in Ghosts is far more current, and the dozen associations concerned with parapsychology include addresses. Twenty-nine such groups are listed in UFO's , but they are far wider in international scope, and only city, state, and country are listed. These books are less evenly balanced than the ``Great Mysteries: Opposing Viewpoints'' series (Greenhaven). --Leslie Chamberlin, Napa City-County Library, CA