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A review by richardrbecker
The Paranormal Ranger: A Navajo Investigator's Search for the Unexplained by Stanley Milford Jr.
informative
medium-paced
3.5
The Paranormal Ranger reads a little more like a personal memoir combined with Navajo-Cherokee culture than its promise of captivating police case studies that cut at the heart of aliens, skinwalkers, and Bigfoot encounters.
There is nothing wrong with that, as Stanley Milford Jr. delivers a fine book. I'm glad I read it, but I did find that I wanted so much more than a fine book. Many encounters, especially those in his youth, feel a little thin (maybe even thinner than a few of my own), as do most case summations.
As a result, I sometimes found myself more interested in the daily life of a Navajo Ranger and the Navajo culture in general than the supernatural promise that was marginally delivered, despite Milford's claims that Navajos don't wander after dark, speak the names of the dead, or want anything to do with the paranormal. He says nighttime belongs to the spirits, when witches do their work and skinwalkers prowl the land. (Never mind that you can rent a traditional Navajo hut in Monument Valley.) But I didn't always feel it in his book.
Some of these setbacks can be linked to the book's structure, with little bits of Navajo creationism tossed in ahead of some chapters. The stories, while interesting, could have used more explanation or perhaps a clearer connection to the chapter they preceded. It might have been even better to kick them all out into a chapter of their own or save them all for something akin to an appendix. I'm not sure. I see a need to keep them, but not where they are.
But the same could be said for the rest of the book. It wants to be great at many things and ends up not being great at any of them. It's a personal memoir, insight into the Navajo Rangers, intro to modern Navajo culture, and reflection on Navajo origin from the First World to the one we live in today. So, while some of it hints at having substance, it still feels less filling as a whole. There were times I even wished his editor would have advised that he push a little harder and dig a little deeper.
The last two chapters are certainly the best of the book in terms of actual paranormal activity. Milford gives us something to consider, including the tidbit that the supernatural is a universal experience, not just one for the Navajo. Overall, I like his take, recognizing that the universe is far stranger than we will ever know. He harkens one of my favorite quotes from Shakespeare without ever citing it: ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’
All in all, The Paranormal Ranger is a fine memoir of a fascinating man. So, if you enjoy a brush-up with something one-off from the ordinary, it's worth picking up. Just don't expect 240+ pages of Navajo X-files. This isn't that.
There is nothing wrong with that, as Stanley Milford Jr. delivers a fine book. I'm glad I read it, but I did find that I wanted so much more than a fine book. Many encounters, especially those in his youth, feel a little thin (maybe even thinner than a few of my own), as do most case summations.
As a result, I sometimes found myself more interested in the daily life of a Navajo Ranger and the Navajo culture in general than the supernatural promise that was marginally delivered, despite Milford's claims that Navajos don't wander after dark, speak the names of the dead, or want anything to do with the paranormal. He says nighttime belongs to the spirits, when witches do their work and skinwalkers prowl the land. (Never mind that you can rent a traditional Navajo hut in Monument Valley.) But I didn't always feel it in his book.
Some of these setbacks can be linked to the book's structure, with little bits of Navajo creationism tossed in ahead of some chapters. The stories, while interesting, could have used more explanation or perhaps a clearer connection to the chapter they preceded. It might have been even better to kick them all out into a chapter of their own or save them all for something akin to an appendix. I'm not sure. I see a need to keep them, but not where they are.
But the same could be said for the rest of the book. It wants to be great at many things and ends up not being great at any of them. It's a personal memoir, insight into the Navajo Rangers, intro to modern Navajo culture, and reflection on Navajo origin from the First World to the one we live in today. So, while some of it hints at having substance, it still feels less filling as a whole. There were times I even wished his editor would have advised that he push a little harder and dig a little deeper.
The last two chapters are certainly the best of the book in terms of actual paranormal activity. Milford gives us something to consider, including the tidbit that the supernatural is a universal experience, not just one for the Navajo. Overall, I like his take, recognizing that the universe is far stranger than we will ever know. He harkens one of my favorite quotes from Shakespeare without ever citing it: ‘There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’
All in all, The Paranormal Ranger is a fine memoir of a fascinating man. So, if you enjoy a brush-up with something one-off from the ordinary, it's worth picking up. Just don't expect 240+ pages of Navajo X-files. This isn't that.