The day the Earth stood still...

[hfd]

Velikovsky has been called everything from genius to madman. His book 'World's in Collision' rocked academe. It was published in 1950 by MacMillan.

The book so infuriated those in academic circles that Harlow Shapely, astonomer at Harvard, led a protest against MacMillan. One must remember that MacMillan was a huge pubilsher of text books. They literally gave the publishing rights to another publishing house and divorced themselves from Velikovsky. The book was #1 at the time. This is another example of the lack of academic tolerance. I experienced it first hand in the Cal State University sytem in the 1980's. It remains with us today.

Velikovsky's views on Venus were unique. In 1950 Venus was presented as a 'sister' plantet to earth. It was regarded by most as having a similar atmosphere. Velikovsky said otherwise. His description of the Venusian atmoshpere was correct.

His reconstruction of dates in the Egyptian dynastic period was also ridiculed. He was close. I have every book he published. I would recommend all who search for truth to read his works. Am I saying he was correct in everything? No, but, I am saying his life and works are a great example of just how the heretic is treated in academic circles.

Velikovsky believed that people wrote what they experienced. He viewed mythology as history. We do the same. For example, few would believe that Washington threw a silver dollar across the river. Even fewer would doubt he existed.

As an aside I highly recommend a book by two British astronomers
Victor Clube and Bill Napier, - THE COSMIC SERPENT (NY: Universe, 1982) Also "The Velikovsky Affair" edited by Alfred de Grazia provides a concise synopsis of what Velikovsky was about.