THE PATH
By Arthur F Freer
There are many fascinating books on the market today which examine the origins of human intelligence. Some unusual theories have been put forward over the past few years, suggesting that intelligence existed long before what we consider to be humanly possible. Books such as Worlds Before Our Own, by Brad Steiger, or Frank W Cousin’s Fossil Man, examine and interpret some of the continuity errors in human evolution, believing that whole chapters of human evolution have been lost or forgotten. The Path makes no such claim. Author Arthur F Freer wrote this book for very different reasons.
Born in York in the early 1920’s, Arthur F Freer has lived a long,
distinguished and colourful life. In
the army, he served in various tank regiments in the UK, North Africa and India.
He was awarded a mention in despatches during a year of active service
against the Japanese in India and Burma, with the 3rd Carabiniers
(now the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards) and later wrote an account of life in a
tank crew in the 14th Army in Assam and Burma – Nunshigum, on
the Road to Mandalay.
Back in Civvy Street he spent over twenty years working for the British and US Governments, and other large organisations, marketing business systems, before retiring in 1987 to pursue his hobbies, which include beekeeping, travelling, politics and, of course, literature.
With author Freer’s previous works, which include Nemesis from Burma, (The Bamboo Murders), he has been asked why he wrote this unusual tale, without researching it first, or giving any thought to plot or continuity? The author tells us that: ”In the autumn of 2001, a psychic friend, Sheila James, told me that I would write a new book, without any planning, simply by sitting down with a blank piece of paper in front of me. I would be inspired! I felt rather puzzled by her confidence. Three months later, she reminded me of this and told me that I had not yet even tried. So, I sat at my PC with a blank screen on Windows Word. Within ten minutes I had typed the title of “THE PATH”. That was all.
A few months later, Joan Storey, of Peterborough, told me that I should have started my book, and that I would find a new publisher when it was completed. I then opened the small file, headed THE PATH, and waited for some inspiration. Within one minute I started to type frantically, until I was halfway through Chapter One. Then I read it and enjoyed it. The strange names and other foreign words were all new to me, and I had not even hesitated to think of them during the typing. My main feelings were of surprise, and an eagerness to press on in order to learn what happened next. This continued with my typing for one or two hours during the evenings, perhaps four or five times a week. Since then, the few friends who have read a chapter or two have all enthused and encouraged me to try to have the book published.”
A spiritually inspired and highly addictive work of fiction, The Path is the findings of The Development Committee, working on the Earth Project. “They had a growing sense of anxiety, which they instinctively knew to be brought to their minds by the usually reliable method of telepathy, and they also knew that it must not be ignored.”
This tale of man’s migratory life, caused by curiosity and need, begins late in the period of Ramapithecus (around 5 million years BC). From learning to control fire, we follow mankind’s development to Austraiopithecus, Homo Erectus, Neanderthal man, Cro-Magnon man, (the last belonging to the old Stone Age or Paleolithic). The author builds a picture during these times, as we read how the Development Committee form a telepathic link and live with the primitive beings, as their brains develop. Having acquired a good brain, early man put it to good use by improving his culture and way of life. These inquiring minds ask questions that we still ask today, such as “What is life all about? Why do we suffer? What happens when we die?”
Humans began to express themselves upon the Earth, Cro-Magnon man leaving paintings in caves, along with primitive spears and bows and arrows, whilst his children were destined to discover agriculture. Freer tells us “We begin to understand the effect that the use of rudimentary language had on the existing telepathic form of communication, the possible explanation of race memories of the disappearing tribes of the Trolls and the Yeti”. This book has some thought provoking and original ideas regarding human evolution, and gives a possible explanation for why man developed from an ape into the most dominant creature on the planet.
A highly entertaining read. Fast moving and extremely well written – The Path is a curious combination. Like a horror fan at the opening night of the 1966 Hammer film, ‘One Million Years BC’, it’s not what you expected but it’s better than what you actually wanted!
Highly recommended
Review by Matthew Hutton February 2004