Stargazers and Gravediggers: Memoirs to Worlds in Collision

by Immanuel Velikovsky

Completed just before his death in 1979, this is the author's first-person account of the writing and publication of his controversial bestseller, "Worlds in Collision," and of the efforts of establishment scientists to suppress the book

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Science

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Immanuel Velikovsky was a Russian-born American independent scholar, best known as the author of a number of controversial books reinterpreting the events of ancient history, in particular the US bestseller Worlds in Collision, published in 1950. Earlier, he played a role in the founding of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel, and was a respected psychiatrist and psychoanalyst.

His books use comparative mythology and ancient literary sources (including the Bible) to argue that Earth has suffered catastrophic close-contacts with other planets (principally Venus and Mars) in ancient times. In positioning Velikovsky among catastrophists including Hans Bellamy, Ignatius Donnelly, and Johann Gottlieb Radlof[2], the British astronomers Victor Clube and Bill Napier noted ". . . Velikovsky is not so much the first of the new catastrophists . . . ; he is the last in a line of traditional catastrophists going back to mediaeval times and probably earlier." Velikovsky argued that electromagnetic effects play an important role in celestial mechanics. He also proposed a revised chronology for ancient Egypt, Greece, Israel and other cultures of the ancient Near East. The revised chronology aimed at explaining the so-called "dark age" of the eastern Mediterranean (ca. 1100 – 750 BCE) and reconciling biblical history with mainstream archeology and Egyptian chronology.

In general, Velikovsky's theories have been vigorously rejected or ignored by the academic community. Nonetheless, his books often sold well and gained an enthusiastic support in lay circles, often fuelled by claims of unfair treatment for Velikovsky by orthodox academia. The controversy surrounding his work and its reception is often referred to as "the Velikovsky affair".

Reviews

[David Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book and provides some incredible detail about the negative receptions Immanuel Velikovsky received in publishing his unconventional theories. While many scientists like to keep any reference to the Bible over the hill and far away, Velikovsky proposed some theories of rational explanations for "miraculous" events described in the Bible. A large number of "conventional" scientists ostracized, criticized, and ridiculed Velikovsky for his ideas (trying to link science and religion). Some religionists criticized him for trying to rationalize "miracles". Although I don't agree with everything Velikovsky wrote, I've thoroughly enjoyed having my mind expanded by his intriguing theories as well the details provided in this book.