Description

Wild Talents by American writer and researcher Charles Fort was first published in 1932. Like Fort's earlier works, this book examines anomalous phenomena while critiquing mainstream scientific theories. The book focuses on Fort's theory of 'wild talents' – latent psychic and mental powers he believed humans possess as evolutionary remnants. It explores topics such as poltergeists, spontaneous combustion, animal mutilations, psychokinesis, and occult-related murders, arguing that these abilities, though undeveloped, once aided survival in primeval times. Fort humorously recounts supposed cases of werewolves, psychic murders, and even personal experiences, such as imagining a picture frame falling moments before it happened. He critiques societal taboos and scientific dismissal of such phenomena, suggesting their acceptance hinges on scientific validation. An interesting thing about this book is that Fort proposes that people with these capabilities will be eventually used by the military. In 1933, this idea was no doubt laughable, but the Military did indeed delve into the realms of remote viewing and parapsychology in the 1970s.

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Cryptozoology and Forteana, Legendary beings and transformations, Occultism and esotericism, Parapsychology and psychical research, and Psychokinesis and remote viewing.

Occultism and esotericism
Retained metadata contains “occult” in the description.
- “occult”· in description
Parapsychology and psychical research
Controlled discovery queries from global-grey matched “Paranormal and Mysteries”. Retained metadata contains “Parapsychology” in the description and “Paranormal and Mysteries” in the subject metadata.
- “Paranormal and Mysteries”· via Global Grey ebooks
- “Parapsychology”· in description
- “Paranormal and Mysteries”· in subject
Psychokinesis and remote viewing
Retained metadata contains “Psychokinesis” in the description and “Remote viewing” in the description.
- “Psychokinesis”· in description
- “Remote viewing”· in description
Cryptozoology and Forteana
Controlled discovery queries from openlibrary matched “Curiosities and wonders”. Retained metadata contains “Curiosities and wonders” in the subject metadata.
- “Curiosities and wonders”· via Open Library
- “Curiosities and wonders”· in subject
Legendary beings and transformations
Retained metadata contains “Werewolves” in the description.
- “Werewolves”· in description

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

Read & download

Free, public copies reported by our sources. Links open the source directly.

Global Grey ebooks
Global Grey describes the underlying texts in its catalog as public domain; its branding and website name remain protected, and users must assess local law.

marks a direct file download. Rights vary by country; each source states its own terms.

Buy or borrow

Links to ISBN 0824014146; other editions may be cheaper. WorldCat shows libraries near you that hold a copy.

Editions

Open Library reports 16 editions; 3 cataloged here.

Edition	Date	Publisher	Language	ISBN	Access	Links
Global Grey ebook edition (available formats vary by title)	—	Global Grey ebooks	English	—	Public download	Global Grey ebooks (opens in a new tab) Global Grey ebooks (opens in a new tab) Global Grey ebooks (opens in a new tab) Global Grey ebooks (opens in a new tab)
HathiTrust catalog record	1975	—	—	9780824014148	Search-only preview	HathiTrust Digital Library (opens in a new tab) HathiTrust Digital Library (opens in a new tab)
Open Library record	2004	Cosimo Classics	English	9781596050297 1596050292	No ebook	Open Library (opens in a new tab)