Edgar Cayce: An American Prophet

With unprecedented access to Edgar Cayce's private letters and trance readings, Sidney Kirkpatrick delivers the definitive biography of the renowned psychic, religious seeker, and father of alternative medicine. Born in rural Kentucky in 1877, Edgar Cayce became known as "the sleeping prophet," and went on to lead an extraordinary life, helping and healing thousands. This is Cayce's fascinating story as it's never been told before.

About the Author :
Sidney D. Kirkpatrick is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. His critically acclaimed books include the New York Times bestseller A Cast of Killers and Lords of Sipan, a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie. He lives in Pasadena.

Review :
“The most informative and enlightening book ever written about the seer.”—K. Paul Johnson, author of Edgar Cayce in Context“An engrossing narrative of this remarkable man.”—Sylvia Browne, author of The Other Side and Back “[A] painstaking account of Cayce’s life...his story remains a fascinating one.”—The Seattle Times “This engaging biography reads like a codex for the New Age.” —The New Yorker “Mandatory reading.” —The Denver Post “Cayce, humble son of Kentucky tobacco farmers, single-handedly fathered the New Age Movement, although he never intended to. Best known for his abilities as a psychic diagnostician, Cayce, with no medical background, would go to sleep and accurately describe illnesses, then proscribe holistic treatments, which, if followed, consistently yielded cures. Gleaning his knowledge from channeling, what he called the “Source,” Cayce, the “sleeping prophet,” also predicted both world wars; spoke on metaphysical topics such as reincarnation, Atlantis, and the life of Christ; and expounded ideas that proved to be years ahead of their time. Kirkpatrick, the only person allowed unrestricted access to all of Cayce’s personal writings, presents what every Cayce fan hungers for: a detailed and complete biography that reveals family secrets that were deemed too sensitive to include in earlier works, as well as the long-suppressed identities of the many famous people, from Woodrow Wilson to Thomas Edison, who benefited from Cayce’s readings. Kirkpatrick has lovingly renewed the Cayce legacy, bringing forth his spiritual messages of admonishment and hope, which are as significant today as they were in his lifetime.”—David Siegfried, Booklist “[A] book at once irresistible and (in all senses) incredible...From letters, memoirs and recollections, Kirkpatrick assembles a chronicle of Cayce’s waking life that is far richer than anything previously available. The somewhat mythologized account offered by earlier biographies is not so much demolished as filled in with details.”—Scott McLemee, Newsday “Kirkpatrick is the first writer to be given full access to Edgar Cayce’s letters and papers and it shows. This massive biography of the humble Kentucky farm boy whose gift for psychic healing brought him both worldwide fame and personal hardships, presents an exhaustive...account.” —Entertainment Weekly “Is it possible for a rural Kentuckian with an eighth-grade education to, while in a trancelike state, have correctly diagnosed thousands of people with seemingly hopeless illnesses? How had Cayce done it? Kirkpatrick spent years reading in the archives and traveling the nation to find out...[He] has done a service by providing a contemporary account so that readers can decide for themselves.” —The Denver Post “Edgar Cayce’s story of life after death and reincarnation sent me on a different path.”—Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, author of On Death and Dying and On Life and Death “So many authors have claimed to be the definitive expert on Cayce, often co-opting his teachings to fit their own agendas, that Cayce the man...has all but disappeared into folklore. Sidney D. Kirkpatrick is the first author to have been granted full access to [Cayce’s 14,145 documented spiritual readings], as well as all correspondence in [Cayce’s] archives. [He] details many ill-fated business relationships that Cayce, ever naive and prone to depression, entered into against the advice of others, particularly his long-suffering wife, Gertrude. In fact, Kirkpatrick’s account of the Cayces’ often strained relationship offers the first glimpse into the toll his gift took on their personal lives.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer “This biography of Edgar Cayce, a veritable 20th century Nostradamus, is a fascinating look at the man who had visions of the future.” —The Sunday Oregonian “Our culture has put mysticism down. A few giants like Edgar Cayce broke through.”—Matthew Fox, author of Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh “[A] curious and controversial man.” —The Washington Times “The story of Edgar Cayce has inspired me from the time I was twelve years old. As one of the first well-studied medical intuitives, his work and his life helped blaze the path for the future of medicine.” —Christiane Northrup, M.D. author of Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom