The acclaimed and unforgettable true story of offbeat intellect and pioneering paranormal investigator Charles Fort--in paperback for the first time. Here is the seminal biography of one of the most fascinating and polarizing figures in all of Americana: Charles Fort (1874-1932), "the mad genius of the Bronx," "the enfant terrible of science," and the groundbreaking visionary who shaped our modern view of the paranormal. Theodore Dreiser called Fort "the most fascinating literary figure since Poe." H.G. Wells called him "one of the most damnable bores who ever cut scraps from out-of-the-way newspapers." No one was neutral about Charles Fort. Fort was a virtuoso at assembling records of bizarre, haunting, strange, and inexplicable anomalies for which science could not account. Like no other book, Jim Steinmeyer's brilliant and celebrated biography takes you down the rabbit hole and into the strange life of an outsider genius.

Author Biography

JIM STEINMEYER is one of today's most renowned historians of stage magic. His many books include The Last Greatest Magician in the World, Who Was Dracula?, The Glorious Deception, and Hiding the Elephant, a Los Angeles Times bestseller. Steinmeyer is a leading designer of magic illusion who has done work for television, Broadway, and many of the best-known names in modern magic, such as Doug Henning, Siegfried & Roy, and David Copperfield. Steinmeyer has also developed attractions and live shows for the Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, and DreamWorks, and has twice received fellowships from the Academy of Magical Arts.