The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible [Hardcover]

This story will keep the interest of people who believe in a religious presence in their life... and it will just as strongly mesmerize people who don't. The "THIRD-MAN" is a term that was given to the phenomena that has been reported many... many... times by people from all walks of life... not only all around the world... but from above the earth as well... when they were "assisted" during a tumultuous event... that could have ended their lives. All of these people... that included... mountaineers, divers, polar explorers, prisoners of war, solo sailors, shipwreck survivors, aviators... and even astronauts... admitted having a mysterious... yet calming... "presence"... either appear in a form they could actually see and talk to... or... that they just felt that someone was either leading them... or following behind them... when their life was on the line. Throughout the telling of these phenomenal stories... the author provides documented medical and historical evidence... that at times verifies that there really is a "THIRD MAN"... and at other times... neurologists attempt to explain it away... based on criteria such as thin air... or hallucinations. Every reader probably knows... that scientists admit... that they still don't know what a large part of the brain is capable of... and why it does what it does.

It takes a lot of courage for these famous people to openly write in books about their "THIRD-MAN" experiences... and they have been doing this for over one-hundred years. For the sake of any potential readers who might make a decision not to read this book because they're not interested in that thin line of "FAITH-AND-BELIEF"... I would like to wholeheartedly recommend you read this... even putting that subject aside... simply because of how utterly... utterly... fascinating the detailed stories of human survival... depicted in places such as the south polar island of South Georgia... or on Mount Everest... or deep under the sea... or in the middle of the ocean in giant storms... where a sailor is just too beaten down by the elements to even get off the floor... and yet somehow the boat steers itself through.

There is one story that involves Sir Ernest Shackleton and his men attempting to cross the south polar island of South Georgia... during the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914-16... that will grip you in such a way... that you will never look at the ability of a human being to survive... in the same way again. I will be shocked if you don't find yourself grunting... groaning... or moaning... as these poor men are stripped bare by the harshest elements on this planet. In a much more current and well known event... 9/11... Ron DiFrancesco... the last living survivor to make it out of the towers... tells how... when he was ready to give up... laying face down on the floor... overcome by smoke and gasping for air... "THEN, SOMETHING REMARKABLE HAPPENED: SOMEONE TOLD ME TO GET UP. SOMEONE, HE SAID, CALLED ME. THE VOICE-WHICH WAS MALE, BUT DID NOT BELONG TO ONE OF THE PEOPLE IN THE STAIRWELL-WAS INSISTENT: GET UP! IT ADDRESSED DiFRANCESCO BY HIS FIRST NAME, AND GAVE HIM ENCOURAGEMENT. IT WAS, HEY! YOU CAN DO THIS. BUT IT WAS MORE THAN A VOICE; THERE WAS ALSO A VIVID SENSE OF A PHYSICAL PRESENCE."

This book will not... cannot... give the final answer to the question that all mankind has always been looking for. "As the climber Greg Child said, solving the mystery of the "THIRD-MAN" is like a detective stalking the invisible man: there is no fingerprint, no solid evidence at all. The clues lie deep within us." And finally... and poignantly... "Paul Firth, the physician and climber who was joined by a "THIRD-MAN" on Aconcagua, argues that even if we accept prevailing neurological explanations for the "THIRD-MAN", a mystery endures:

**"A BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATION DOES NOT PRECLUDE A BENIGN METAPHYSICAL ORIGIN-AN EXPLANATION OF "HOW" DOES NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION OF "WHY".

Anyone who loves adventure in the wilder parts of our planet will be enthralled by this book. According to Wikipedia, the "Third Man" factor is a phenomenon in which an unseen presence provides comfort or support during traumatic experiences.

The most famous example is recorded by Sir Ernest Shackleton, who said in his book about the harrowing final leg of his epic tale of struggle and survival in the Antarctic region "during that long and racking march of thirty-six hours over the unnamed mountains and glaciers of South Georgia, it seemed to me often that we were four, not three."

Since then, numerous other reports of a strikingly similar nature have come to light. Geiger's book describes many of these experiences in vivid language.

Interestingly, it is not only people "in extremis" who experience the feeling of another presence at certain times in their lives. Geiger also describes many such examples, from the invisible friends of young children to the experiences of religious mystics.

A surprising number of people sense the presence of a loved one after death. Others have had vivid experiences of Guardian Angels at critical points in their lives.

Geiger makes the point that our minds have an ability to evoke "sensed presences" in many critical situations and that this is a powerful evolved survival mechanism. He marshalls good scientific evidence for this claim. It is all quite credible, but sometimes he seems to want to believe his hypothesis too much and reads too much into the evidence.

However that may be, it is the stories themselves that make this book well worth buying. We can choose whatever explanation we like for the "third man factor."

I am a keen trekker in the mountains and have travelled in some remote places. While I don't have a personal third man story to tell, Geiger's book gives me much comfort that a third man may come even to me in some future hour of need.

There is an excellent list of notes for readers who want to delve further into the subject.

John Geiger's terrific new book was one of the more rewarding reading experiences I've ever had. Yes, it's entertaining--Geiger is a talented writer who recounts many thrilling tales here--but I was even more moved by the underlying message of hope. Whether you think the Third Man can be explained by science, or divine intervention, what is undeniable is that there exists within us an innate will to survive. What can possibly be more universal than that? There is something in this book for every reader.

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