An undated photo of Reginald Dack Baker.
Reginald Dack Baker believed that the medical establishment was involved in a massive conspiracy to murder innocent people by means of electrical waves. He would often refer to the fact that others dismissed his accusations as "insane delusions" (indeed, one of the volumes is entitled, "My Insane Delusions"). It is inescapable that, no matter how sensitively I handle the story of his life, I have to state my position very clearly; namely, that I believe that there is no basis in reality for these beliefs, and that in my opinion - although an educated, sensitive and intelligent man - he was, in fact, obsessively deluded.
I sometimes wonder what he would think if he could forsee that his works would fall into the hands of someone who denied his life work in this way. I suspect that he would have been infuriated. Does this mean that it is wrong for me to be in possession of this work? I think not. After all, one doesn't have to agree with the contents of a book to read it and own it, any more than one does with a dead person's letters. What is crucial here, is to treat the person's life and work with respect - and that is precisely what I intend to do.
I am not here to judge him in any way. The truth is that I have an immense respect for Reginald, and I sincerely hope that this is reflected in this blog. I feel that I am the custodian of a body of man's life work. In time, I intend to accession the volumes to a public archive, but, for now, I want them to hand; to study and to reflect upon. I want to draw out some of the material that I feel is important. After all, this really is a unique and remarkable body of work!
I sometimes wonder what he would think if he could forsee that his works would fall into the hands of someone who denied his life work in this way. I suspect that he would have been infuriated. Does this mean that it is wrong for me to be in possession of this work? I think not. After all, one doesn't have to agree with the contents of a book to read it and own it, any more than one does with a dead person's letters. What is crucial here, is to treat the person's life and work with respect - and that is precisely what I intend to do.
I am not here to judge him in any way. The truth is that I have an immense respect for Reginald, and I sincerely hope that this is reflected in this blog. I feel that I am the custodian of a body of man's life work. In time, I intend to accession the volumes to a public archive, but, for now, I want them to hand; to study and to reflect upon. I want to draw out some of the material that I feel is important. After all, this really is a unique and remarkable body of work!
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fantastic reading thanks
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