Uses extracts from ancient sources to substantiate the thesis that two celestial upheavals, thirty-four and twenty-six centuries ago, drastically altered the earth's geology
Worlds in Collision is a special, an extraordinary book - not only by its contents, but also by the response it has received.
It is one of the few scientific books of the past centuries that have a direct profound importance for humanity - individuals and society alike. In fact it is a book that puts our present view of the world on a whole new fundament - not in some abstract specialized disciplines remote from practical life, but in a broad range of areas like astronomy, cosmology, physics, geology, paleontology, biology, history, archaeology, literature, ethnology, theology, mythology, psychology; and in addition it has an important influence on the way man sees himself individually and socially.
It is the first time in centuries that a scientist didn't choose the direct way to his specialized colleagues in order to make the results of his research known, but addressed himself to the general public in a simple and clear language and presentation - for which he was harshly punished by the scientific establishment.
It is exactly this reaction from representatives of the "objective" sciences - that even match some medieval practices - which shows that this book deeply shakes the foundations of our knowledge - and belief. Because of this book being so special, it has deeply penetrated the consciousness of many people. Others however have preferred to forget it - or at least would like to do so. Due to this purposeful oblivion a younger generation doesn't even know about it any more, although today - almost 60 years after its first publication - it hasn't become less of a subject. On the contrary due to new results of scientific research and recent geological and climatic developments its importance has even increased. This, too, is something special in the flood of today's short-lived literary and scientific `flash in the pans'.
It is important for everyone of us and for science at large to deal with this book. Therefore we are happy to take upon ourselves the responsible task of making the complete works of Immanuel Velikovsky - not just this book - available to the public again in its unchanged form. Publishing this book - and this unfortunately also is something special for non-fiction - has required a fair amount of courage, which we proudly and consciously muster up.
