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Psychiana Man

Product description

This full-length biography of Psychiana creator and mass-marketing genius Frank Bruce Robinson traces the improbable rise and fall of a flamboyant false prophet during the Great Depression. The voices of his unwavering followers—from a desperate dust bowl farmer to a former heavyweight boxing champion—paint an intriguing, intimate view of the power of belief in hard times.

"This bizarre, gripping, yet balanced account of a charismatic man and an enterprise that prospered under the guise of religion will appeal to true crime fans and those interested in religious cults."—Library Journal

“A tour de force of research, Brandon Schrand’s Psychiana Man examines the life of Frank B. Robinson, a charismatic spiritual figure and ‘pathological liar and conman’, who nevertheless commanded love and total loyalty from his followers.”—Mary Clearman Blew, author of All But the Waltz and Sweep Out the Ashes

For a quick overview of Robinson and Psychiana, watch this PBS Access Northwest video from 2017.

Read an excerpt

Illustrations / notes / bibliography / index / 6″ x 9″ / 414 pages  (2021)