Lucky Dip

One web site I keep an eye on is The Online Books Page – a web site that lists the titles of online books that have been added to an index maintained at the University of Pennsylvania. The index contains over 25,000 books so far.

The books themselves are a real mixture, some are real gems and others are, well, either dull or frankly bizarre.

Take the titles posted on the 5th September 2006, for example. There are complete online versions of some serious biology texts (e.g. Genomes, published in 2002). Then there are two books (Mental Chemistry and The Master Key System), both written by Charles F. Haanel in (I think) the  1920s. Mental Chemistry is unwittingly hilarious for its often pompous and overblown rhetoric, but with The Master Key System we cross over into woo-woo land starting at the third paragraph of the introduction:

Humanity ardently seeks "The Truth" and explores every avenue to it. In this process it has produced a special literature, which ranges the whole gamut of thought from the trivial to the sublime – up from Divination, through all the Philosophies, to the final lofty Truth of "The Master Key".

The "Master Key" is here given to the world as a means of tapping the great Cosmic Intelligence and attracting from it that which corresponds to the ambitions, and aspirations of each reader.

I also love the way the Psi Tek web site introduces the book:

The Master Key System is simply one of the finest studies in personal power, metaphysics, and prosperity consciousness ever written.

Covering everything from how to create abundance and wealth to how to get healthy, Charles F Haanel leaves no stone unturned. With precision, he elucidates on each topic with logic and rigor that not only leaves you feeling good, but also thinking good. The book was banned by the Church in 1933 and has been hidden away for decades.

Rumor has it that while he was attending Harvard University, Bill Gates discovered and read The Master Key System. It was this book that inspired Bill Gates to drop out of the University and pursue his dream of "a computer on every desktop." You probably know the results. . .

I just love that "Rumor has it…" touch, don’t you? And why the Church (er, which one?) would want to ban this pile of old codswallop is simply one of life’s great mysteries…