Comments on: William R. Corliss Dies

By: Jon Harrison

Jon Harrison — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 19:16:43 +0000

I just heard today that WRC had died — got a card in the mail from the Sourcebook Project. I discovered his work almost 20 years ago; I own about 15 Sourcebook Project volumes. We also exchanged a line or two occasionally, generally when I ordered a book from him. He seemed like a incredibly nice guy. It was wonderful to have a man with his training in the Fortean field. His books are an amazing compendium of information on the one hand, and a source of simple thinking and reading pleasure on the other. I always felt he was too skeptical about bigfoot reports generally, and it disappointed me that he took little interest in UFOs. But the work stands alone in its scope and scientific rigor. I will miss his contributions; it would be wonderful if someone had the capacity and the desire to continue his work.

By: Joanie

Joanie — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 05:01:21 +0000

How sad. I was just reading his “Handbook of Unusual Natural Phenomena” yesterday, considering some of the discoveries that have surfaced since it was written. I have quite a few of his books and will actively seek more. They are both interesting, and good to fall asleep reading, if that makes sense.

Mr. Fort’s comments make for hard reading most of the time, until you sort of let loose and follow the ‘stream of consciousness’ banter. Frustrating for bringing tidbits in, then passing them by for the larger explanation,Mr. Fort was not as approachable as Mr. Corliss was (though Mr. Corliss was not as lyrical as Fort was)

Good thoughts for his family and wife. He lived a life that touched many, and will continue to bring interest and thought into the edges of science.

By: johntownley

johntownley — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:37:32 +0000

That’s a major passing. I think I bought almost every one of his collections, over the years, long before the Internet was around. Boxes and boxes of them, read every word, always awaited the newsletters with bated breath…one of the greats that help tie so many loose ends together into the patterns of reality they reflected…surely one of the giants in the footsteps of other moderns like Heuvelmans, Ley, Sanderson, other folks I cut my teeth on as a child.

By: Loren Coleman

Loren Coleman — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 17:05:21 +0000

This posting has been updated with the brief obit carried in the Baltimore Sun on July 13, 2011.

By: EastTexan

EastTexan — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 03:54:48 +0000

I had some of William Corliss’ books from the Sourcebook Project back in the 1970′s and early ’80′s. They were very interesting and the material was presented in a clear and studied manner. I appreciate his work in this area and for introducing me to some of these phenomena. Thank you, Bill Corliss.

By: Terry W. Colvin

Terry W. Colvin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 08:26:30 +0000

Thank you for keeping us informed. I spoke with Bill in May. He struck me as an unassuming fellow who pursued knowledge with a vengeance. I shall miss his Science Frontiers and Anomalies newsletters.

By: greatanarch

greatanarch — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 23:56:14 +0000

A great man. I am very sorry he has gone. His three Sourcebook Project books on astronomy are fascinating and stand up very well in the light of subsequent discoveries. I hope someone carries on his work.

By: Red Earth White Lies

Red Earth White Lies — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:13:26 +0000

A beacon of data in the halls of science without any censorship or intolerance.

Purchased many a tome from the Source Book Project Newsletter’s snail mail bookstore in decades past.

Long before there was a Cryptomundo recommending top ten cryptozoology books of the year, there was Bill Corliss’s Sourcebook Project making the effort to acquire all the latest cryptozoolically themed titles from around the World for sale at discount.

Got most all of my Mackal, Shuker, and even a couple 1st editions of expanded re-issues of On the Track of Unknown Animals with the dragon of the Ishtar Gate jacket from his mail order bookstore.

Even some books from you Loren.