Evan Hansen Letters. On Catastrophes within Human Memory: the Evidence in North America

This book is dedicated to the memory of Evan Hansen, a non-academic scholar with inquisitive mind. The author was in contact with him, albeit only a few years, due to his tragic death. And in second place, to the memory of other, now passed away, American scholars who investigated the many open questions in the catastrophic past within human memory. 

Evan Hansen lived in Beryl, Escalante desert, Utah, US. The contacts with E. Spedicato began in 1992 via the first of his letters in this book. The two met one year late: Spedicato, as he loves remind in the Introduction, “stayed with him three days, sleeping in the best little room of his mobile home, first time for me in such an accommodation… there was toilet, kitchen and many books… He showed me three quarries where well visible were layers rich of partially burned vegetation and of special substances as platinum and iridium”. 

In the books are collected the letters by Evan existing in the author’s archive, albeit not fully explored, all typewritten. 

Spedicato invited him to attend his 1999 and 2001 conferences in Bergamo,

but he was unable to accept, due to his health problems. 

They finally met once more, surprisingly, but the book took place in the mind of the author many years after that last contact. But this timing was correct, according to Spedicato, since only now he is able to provide significant comments to his work.

They are a great testimonial to an independent researcher, and to the mystery, never solved, of the big catastrophes that affected human history, and that still last in mythology, religion, folkloristic traditions.