Prophecy

Only time will tell if Sylvia Browne's visions hold water--appropriately enough, she predicts floods, earthquakes, and all manner of global, political, and scientific change through the coming decades and centuries. The producers wisely recruited the charming and affable Jeannie Hackett to narrate for the seer, whose gravelly and heavily accented voice can be a distraction, despite the intriguing content of her work. Hackett's lilting tones teach the fundamentals of how prophecy works and unfold some elaborate visions. Listeners also learn about some legendary prophets, from Nostradamus to "the sleeping prophet," Edgar Cayce, and how accurate they have turned out to be. D.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

July 5, 2004
Bestselling professional psychic Browne (The Other Side and Back
) offers comfort and hope in this articulate guide to the future, which starts by placing the prophetic tradition firmly in the spiritual mainstream of Christianity, Islam and Native American religions (given rather a New Age spin here). After discussing such notable past prophets as Helena Blavatsky and Edgar Cayce, she locates the source of prophecy in what she calls the Other Side, the place from which Spirit Guides (hers is named Francine) bring their messages. In the most absorbing part of the book, her own prophecies range widely and often reach far beyond verified scientific fact. Extraterrestrials, aura scanners and the greenhouse effect heating up earth's interior are cases in point. On the other hand, many of her prophecies in the areas of science, technology and medicine are sound futurology, even if she shows a bit of a law-and-order attitude. (By 2020 or so, those elected to the U.S. Senate will have to submit to "weekly drug and alcohol screens.") At the same time, Browne's vision of several generations of communal marriages to save children from the divorce rate and of healing centers to bring all faiths together are radical, innovative and humane. In the end, all readers, even those skeptical of specific forecasts, can applaud the author for her strong spirituality. (July 15)

Forecast:
You don't need psychic powers to predict another bestseller, debuting at #1 on many lists.