Non-Fiction Books

Richard Matheson's bestselling novel, What Dreams May Come , the basis for the hit movie starring Robin Williams, touched numerous readers with its convincing portrait of life after death, based on years of research and personal reflection. Like that earlier book, The Path is a work of inspirational fiction that comes straight from Matheson's own deeply held beliefs about spirituality and true nature of existence. The story of one man's encounter with an enigmatic stranger who imparts to him ten lessons about the true realityof the soul; The Path is not so much a novel as a philosophical dialogue about life and the afterlife. Everyone who read What Dreams May Come and wants to know more about Matheson's personal philosophy should take a walk along . . . The Path .

Prolific screenwriter and genre novelist has long maintained an interest in parapsychology, telepathy, ESP and the like. His brief and elegantly printed new volume amounts to a lightly fictionalized history and quick, evocative episodes of paranormal abilities from Greek antiquity to those of the renowned American psychic Edgar Cayce. Most of the episodes in between depict the famous seers, mediums and performers of the 19th century, whose feats Matheson admires. Margaret and Kate Fox, aged 10 and seven, in 1848 convinced their parents and many other Americans that they were in touch with the ghosts in a haunted house. (Matheson adds that the grown-up Margaret recanted, explaining how she had herself produced the ghosts' mysterious rapping noises; he believes the recantation fake, arranged by the sisters' "enemies.") Civil War-era medium Nettie Colburn instructed President Lincoln to visit his troops; Matheson thinks she channeled deceased statesman Daniel Webster. New England mediums "Mrs. Leonard and Mrs. Piper" underwent elaborate tests in attempts to prove their psychic connections genuine; William James, for one, was impressed. Harry Houdini used his great stage-magic talents to unmask a bevy of psychic frauds; Matheson describes some, then discusses what he believes are genuine paranormal experiences linked to Houdini. Matheson's afterword repeats his confident claims that the powers he describes are real and pleads for serious study of them. Fans of parapsychology or of the author's esteemed novels may enjoy this lively exploration of topics that so interest a genre legend.

In A Primer of Reality, Richard Matheson has compiled a collection of quotations on subjects such as The Higher Self, Near-Death Experiences, Reincarnation, and Karma. Matheson's commentary throughout the book connects each subject, resulting in an enlightening journey into an easy-to-read presentation of these subjects. Readers of any background and all beliefs can enjoy this book.

BIOGRAPHY AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF ACCLAIMED AUTHOR RICHARD MATHESON WHICH INCLUDES A PREVIOUSLY UNPUBLISHED NOVEL "THE YEARS STOOD STILL" WRITTEN WHEN HE WAS 14.