The men on magic carpets : searching for the superhuman sports star

In the 1970s the US military believed they could create a '"super soldier"--one who could use psychic powers to walk through walls, disarm the enemy through telepathy, or kill a goat by staring at it. The brain behind these techniques was Michael Murphy, one of the founders of "New Age" spiritualism in the hippy enclaves of San Francisco. But Murphy's primary goal was to use these powers to create a supreme athlete capable of extraordinary sporting feats. Murphy and his protégés have dedicated their lives to teaching athletes and coaches to use his methods. Runners locked in huts until they believed they were dead saints, spies using mind control to win chess matches, Russian Olympians "shape shifting," and golfers imagining they were Darth Vader--coaches and athletes soon began to trust in very weird things. So weird, in fact, that sport's burgeoning obsession with money and image meant the hippies went underground and the superhuman powers became mythical. But the trailblazers are making a comeback, influencing some of the world's top teams. Award-winning investigative journalist Ed Hawkins meets Murphy and his protégés as well as a cast of athletes and coaches convinced by their methods as he immerses himself in a world shrouded in secrecy and weirdness. In a simultaneously hilarious and unsettling tale, he experiences first-hand the techniques as he endeavors to reveal the truth about sports psychology. 'An absolute gem. Funny, incredible and brilliantly reported, in Ed Hawkins the sports world has its own Jon Ronson.' - Will Storr The bizarre true story about the cosmic side of sports. Ever wondered if the mind tricks used by Luke Skywalker or his Star Wars brethren were real? Ed Hawkins did. A Jedi-wannabe and sports nut, he pondered: what if a coach or athlete had tried to harness such mysterious powers? They would be unstoppable. This set Ed off on an extraordinary adventure across the West Coast of America in search of a superhuman sports star. He discovers cosmic thinkers who, back in their 1960s heyday, believed that through the power of thought alone a superhuman could be created: one that could see into the future, slow down time and control minds. So successful were their tactics that they attracted the attention of the US government. Meanwhile in Russia their Soviet counterparts were employing equally bewildering brain power. Their goal? To win the Cold War. And so from the 1970s and into the Eighties the underground free-thinking movement became a fully-funded state secret in an 'inner space race' between the US and the Soviet Union. Both sides attempting to create the perfect human killing machine. It worked. Sort of. Instead of building a super soldier, the mystics from both sides came together to preach peace and love to their political paymasters. After the thaw, the search for the superhuman sports star began again and continues to this day. In The Men on Magic Carpets Ed goes deep into a secret network of supernatural sages and is told about a mysterious American football coach who made it to the top by teaching his players The Force. But can he be found? Will he admit to what he truly believes? And how does our intrepid author cope with his own brush with the Dark Side as the shadowy military once again attempt to use the mystical powers for ill? A Jedi-wannabe and sports nut, Ed Hawkins pondered: what if a coach or athlete had tried to harness such mysterious powers? They would be unstoppable. This set Ed off on an extraordinary adventure across the West Coast of America in search of a superhuman sports star. He discovers cosmic thinkers who, back in their 1960s heyday, believed that through the power of thought alone a superhuman could be created. One that could see into the future, slow down time and control minds. So successful were their tactics that they attracted the attention of the US government. Meanwhile in Russia their Soviet counterparts were employing equally bewildering brain power. Their goal? To win the Cold War. And so from the 1970s and into the Eighties the underground free-thinking movement became a fully-funded state secret in an `inner space race' between the US and the Soviet Union. Both sides attempting to create the perfect human killing machine. It worked. Sort of. Instead of building a super soldier, the mystics from both sides came together to preach peace and love to their political paymasters. After the thaw, the search for the superhuman sports star began again and continues to this day. In The Men on Magic Carpets Ed goes deep into a secret network of supernatural sages and is told about a mysterious American football coach who made it to the top by teaching his players The Force. But can he be found? Will he admit to what he truly believes? And how does our intrepid author cope with his own brush with the Dark Side as the shadowy military once again attempt to use the mystical powers for ill