John G. Geiger
Encyclopedia
John G. Geiger is author of The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible, which popularized the concept of the "Third Man", an incorporeal being that aids people under extreme duress. The book is the basis for National Geographic Channel's Explorer:The Angel Effect, in which Geiger appears. His four other books of non-fiction include the international bestseller Frozen In Time: The Fate of the Franklin Expedition. He is the editorial board
editor for The Globe and Mail
and is senior fellow at Massey College
. Geiger was born in New York
state, and studied history at the University of Alberta
. He is President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
.
. The book has been published in seven countries and became a bestseller in the United Kingdom, and subsequently in Canada and Germany. Geiger spent three field seasons in the Arctic as historical investigator for the Knight Archeological Project, a scientific investigation of the 1719 James Knight Expedition disaster, research published as Dead Silence in 1993. Geiger's book Chapel of Extreme Experience: A Short History of Stroboscopic Light and the Dream Machine (2003) was made into an award-winning film FLicKeR
, by director Nik Sheehan
. It contains an foreword by the writer and socialite Leila Hadley
. Nothing Is True Everything Is Permitted: The Life of Brion Gysin was published in 2005.
In 2008, Geiger authored, with Dr. Peter Suedfeld, the scholarly study, ‘The Sensed Presence as a Coping Resource in Extreme Environments.’ In 2009, The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible was published in 13 countries. The foreword was written by the writer Dr. Vincent Lam
. The book is about the Third Man factor where people at the very edge of death, often adventurers or explorers, experience a sense of an incorporeal being—a "third man" -- beside them who encourages them to make one final effort to survive. The experience, which resembles a guardian angel, has been reported by scores of people, including well-known figures like Sir Ernest Shackleton
, Joshua Slocum
, Frank Smythe
, Charles Lindbergh
, Reinhold Messner
, Ann Bancroft
, and Stephanie Schwabe
, Ron DiFrancesco, and another survivor, experienced the Third Man factor in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Editorial board
The editorial board is a group of people, usually at a publication, who dictate the tone and direction the publication's editorial policy will take.- Board makeup :...
editor for The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
and is senior fellow at Massey College
Massey College
Massey College is a postgraduate residential college at the University of Toronto, established in 1963 with an endowment by the Massey Foundation. Similar to All Souls College, Oxford, members of Massey College are nominated from the university community, and are elected by and as fellows of the...
. Geiger was born in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state, and studied history at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
. He is President of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
Royal Canadian Geographical Society
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society is a Canadian non-profit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada — its people and places, its natural and cultural heritage and its environmental, social and economic challenges.-History:The...
.
Books
In 1987, Bloomsbury Publishing released Frozen In Time: The Fate of The Franklin Expedition, written by Owen Beattie and John Geiger, with a revised edition in 2004 that featured an introduction by Margaret AtwoodMargaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
. The book has been published in seven countries and became a bestseller in the United Kingdom, and subsequently in Canada and Germany. Geiger spent three field seasons in the Arctic as historical investigator for the Knight Archeological Project, a scientific investigation of the 1719 James Knight Expedition disaster, research published as Dead Silence in 1993. Geiger's book Chapel of Extreme Experience: A Short History of Stroboscopic Light and the Dream Machine (2003) was made into an award-winning film FLicKeR
FLicKeR (film)
FLicKeR is a Canadian documentary film written and directed by Nik Sheehan, produced by Maureen Judge and Silva Basmajian . The film is based on the book "Chapel of Extreme Experience " by John Geiger about the work of artist Brion Gysin and his Dreamachine.Gysin's Dreamachine used a 100-watt light...
, by director Nik Sheehan
Nik Sheehan
Nik Sheehan is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, who established an international reputation with No Sad Songs , the first major documentary on AIDS. The film cited by world renowned specialist Dr...
. It contains an foreword by the writer and socialite Leila Hadley
Leila Hadley
Leila Hadley was an American travel writer and socialite. Her books include Give Me the World and A Journey With Elsa Cloud .-Biography:...
. Nothing Is True Everything Is Permitted: The Life of Brion Gysin was published in 2005.
In 2008, Geiger authored, with Dr. Peter Suedfeld, the scholarly study, ‘The Sensed Presence as a Coping Resource in Extreme Environments.’ In 2009, The Third Man Factor: Surviving the Impossible was published in 13 countries. The foreword was written by the writer Dr. Vincent Lam
Vincent Lam
Vincent Lam is a Canadian writer and medical doctor.Born in London, Ontario and raised in Ottawa, his parents came to Canada from the Chinese expatriate community in Vietnam. He attended St. Pius X High School and did his medical training at the University of Toronto, graduating in 1999...
. The book is about the Third Man factor where people at the very edge of death, often adventurers or explorers, experience a sense of an incorporeal being—a "third man" -- beside them who encourages them to make one final effort to survive. The experience, which resembles a guardian angel, has been reported by scores of people, including well-known figures like Sir Ernest Shackleton
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, CVO, OBE was a notable explorer from County Kildare, Ireland, who was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration...
, Joshua Slocum
Joshua Slocum
Joshua Slocum was the first man to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Canadian born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he told the story of this in Sailing Alone Around the World...
, Frank Smythe
Frank Smythe
Francis Sydney Smythe better known as Frank Smythe was a British mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps and the Himalayas. He identified a region that he named the "Valley of Flowers", now a protected park...
, Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner
Reinhold Messner is an Italian mountaineer and explorer from Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol "whose astonishing feats on Everest and on peaks throughout the world have earned him the status of the greatest climber in history." He is renowned for making the first solo ascent of Mount Everest without...
, Ann Bancroft
Ann Bancroft
Ann Bancroft is an American author, teacher, and adventurer. She was the first woman to successfully finish a number of arduous expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic.-Biography:...
, and Stephanie Schwabe
Stephanie Schwabe
Stephanie Jutta Schwabe is a geomicrobiologist. She completed a Ph.D. in the biogeochemical investigation of caves within the Bahamian carbonate platforms, commonly referred to as blue holes. She is an expert geologic diver mostly in Bahamian blues holes, though her experience extends to...
, Ron DiFrancesco, and another survivor, experienced the Third Man factor in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.