Mike Dash
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Mike Dash (b. 1963) is a Welsh writer, journalist and researcher. Born in London, he attended the University of Cambridge and King's College London, and holds a PhD in naval history for the thesis British Submarine Policy 1853–1918.
Dash worked for 20 years as contributing editor and publisher of the journal Fortean Times, which specialises in the study and research of strange and anomalous phenomena. He is regarded as one of the most serious modern investigators into such phenomena,[1] preferring the use of first hand sources and other historically accurate information. His works investigate misconceptions and errors in the field of strange phenomena, typically finding a middle path between "believers" (who, in Dash's view, often accept extraordinary or unusual claims without investigation or on scant evidence) and skeptics and debunkers (who, in Dash's view, often overlook interesting or valuable evidence in their seeming desire to disprove alleged paranormal or anomalous phenomena). In Borderlands (1997), Dash repeatedly notes that researchers of unusual phenomena must always be wary of potential hoaxes; time and again people have perpetrated elaborate pranks or hoaxes with little motive other than to fool others.
Dash has published six books, and a number of articles and papers in Fortean Times and later spin-off titles such as the academic annual Fortean Studies, published from 1994 through 2000.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Sleuth (June 9, 2006). Skeptics' Society Forum. Retrieved on 2006-06-14.
[edit] Bibliography
- The Limit: Engineering at the Boundaries of Science. BBC, 1995. ISBN 0-563-37117-X.
- Borderlands: The Ultimate Exploration of the Unknown. Dell, 1997. ISBN 0-440-23656-8.
- Tulipomania: The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower & the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused. Crown, 2000. ISBN 0-609-60439-2.
- Batavia's Graveyard: The True Story of the Mad Heretic Who Led History's Bloodiest Mutiny. Three Rivers Press, 2003. ISBN 0-609-80716-1.
- Thug: The True Story of India's Murderous Cult. Granta Books, 2005. ISBN 1-86207-604-9.
- Satan's Circus: Murder, Vice, Police Corruption, and New York's Trial of the Century. Crown Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-0-307-39522-1.
