Think to New Worlds: The Cultural History of Charles Fort and His Followers

Think to New Worlds presents a cultural history of Forteanism, the diverse and fractured movement inspired by Charles Hoy Fort—the iconoclastic writer, progenitor, and promoter of streams of paranormalism and conspiracism. Fort is a truly critical figure for those seeking to understand diffuse forms of spiritualism, amateur science, conspiracy theories, and other forms of stigmatized knowledge—all damned by mainstream science. Fort's legacy still looms large over many aspects of paranormalism and popular culture, and the author Joshua Blu Buhs excellently showcases both the inner workings of the movement Fort inspired and Fort's sprawling influence on particular aspects of popular culture, including science fiction, poetry, and “Ufology” (p. 3). In addition to mapping these specific streams of Forteanism, Buhs makes a compelling case for how and why Fort's contrarian views have attracted such a cult following in a purportedly modern and secular age. Indeed, Buhs convincingly argues that Fort's appeal is of a piece with modernity, re-enchanting a world made dull by Max Weber's iron cage of rationality.