COMMENT:<cite>The Urantia Book</cite>, a 2079 page work published in 1955, could reasonably be described as a rewriting of the Bible in science fiction form, with considerable New Age embellishments. It was compiled by William Sadler and a small group of assistants, allegedly based on revelations channeled by higher intelligences through an unnamed sleeping "revelator." Gardner describes Urantian beliefs and traces the history of the cult back to its roots in Seventh-Day Adventism and the Millerite groups of the 19th century. He devotes considerable space to documenting the numerous instances of plagiarism scattered throughout <cite>The Urantia Book</cite>. There is also a chapter devoted to an earlier but similar cult, known as OAHSPE, and brief discussions of some other Adventist spin-off groups, including the Branch Davidians. The final chapters discuss the recent schisms among Urantian groups, and the ensuing courtroom battles. The most significant legal result, which occurred as Gardner's book was going to press, was that the copyright for the Urantia Book was ruled invalid: the US government does not grant copyrights for books claimed to be written by nonhuman authors. Annoyingly, the book has only a name index, not of subjects.
