2 Comments

1. 

   vtunie on June 1, 2010 at 4:41 pm

   Review by vtunie for Legerdemain
   Rating:
   This book is all too clearly self-published: with some copy-editing and better typesetting it would be greatly improved.

   Altogether more to the point, however, Bowman brings together so many facts you knew and did not know that his book becomes essential reading for any Amelia mystery fan.

   He favours the Japanese capture theory, and leaves the issue of survival open, but does so very gently. Really, this is almost pure secondary research — and a very, very good summary.

2. 

   Dr. Watson on June 1, 2010 at 5:21 pm

   Review by Dr. Watson for Legerdemain
   Rating:
   The author presents a tour d’force of all the current theories, in tantalizing detail, on Amelia Earhart’s disappearance, but adds no new research of his own, to the current literature. After 390 pages, prior to the myriad Appendices, the author finally states his own opinion in 21 pages: that nothing in the literature proves Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan, survived or returned to this country. He commends the enthusiasts’ “longtime efforts” but pours cold water on all their theories.

   Each chapter ends with the author questioning each piece of evidence. Calling most of it “amateurish.” Too bad he doesn’t write 390 pages of his own research, instead of criticizing what others have done; even trying to undermine the “confession” of a Priest about Amelia aka Irene Bolam, who, in his younger years, was lucid and was not in dementia. Mr. Bowman seems to have tunnel vision when it comes to cherry picking the theories. The author is a member of the Amelia Earhart Society, a group known for being ‘non committal’ when it comes to expressing a certain viewpoint on what really happened to Amelia. This book draws no real conclusions and I find it difficult to believe, when I read that Mr. Bowman allowed Joe Gervais, Rollin Reineck, and others to be attacked in this revised edition.

   I was immediately suspicious, when reading the “praise” on the back jacket cover, from the in-laws of Guy and Irene Bolam, who both certainly had a lot to hide, as evidenced by Guy and Irene’s avoidance of interviews, and especially when Irene dropped her libel suit against Major Gervais when she was told by the judge in the case, to be fingerprinted, or “put up or shut up;” and she refused to be fingerprinted. What did she have to hide? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this woman and her husband moved around the country, like checkers on a checkerboard, avoiding interviews with Major Gervais. Nor is it coincidence that neither the “99’s” nor “Zonta” organizations list them on their membership roster, yet were introduced to Gervais (at the banquet he was invited to speak at concerning his recent AE research),as being important to the organization; then they were reluctant to have their picture taken; then disappeared before Gervais spoke to the group. Coincidence? Don’t think so. There’s a lot of smoke in this fire, and it’s not a smokescreen, except from some who continue to cover up the truth, including government agencies. You know…even some people write books to throw authors off the trail of serious research.

   I agree with Joe Klass, who wrote a positive Amazon review of this book, because he’s right that this book is a compendium of all the evidence/theories current; but he didn’t mention the stinging criticism that the author dishes out to each researcher, and what about Bowman’s own evidence, original research, and examination of primary sources? All he gives us is questions, and no answers. I was wondering if this book is “Legerdemain” of sorts, tantalizing clues from others’ research, but nothing original by this author, except a rehash of others’ critique of Klass and others.

   Any support of the long held Joe Gervais “Amelia changed her name to Irene” claim, was shunned by Amelia Earhart Society President Bill Prymak and others, whose ideas appear in this book. The harsh comments newly appeared in a thirty page span between pages 363 and 393, and there is no response sought or published. Interesting too, that the author incorrectly states several AE researchers as being members of the Amelia Earhart Society, when in fact, they’re not. It is apparent from the continuing debate, that Bill Prymak, as the AES President is influential in controlling the sway of the media, and therefore, how the public views the Irene-Amelia research.

   And where are the footnotes for the statements he makes in disagreement with those so-called theories? And why does the author rely so heavily on a mysterious Dr. Alex Mandel, a supposed authority on U.S. Naval matters, but lives in a foreign country, with no information given the reader on what area his degree is in or where he went to school? I find this entirely unsatisfactory and suspect. The author has given us 21 pages containing a lot of “maybe” but no definitive research of his own.

   This book is part of the ongoing effort to leave the Earhart forensic truth as a topic of debate, as opposed to something that was basically figured out by 2002, three decades after the Joe Gervais “Irene-Amelia claim” first made national news.