I just got a book in the mail today entitled PRO EVO and subtitled Pro Evolution — Guideline for an Age of Joy. It’s unclear who the author is (at the top of the front cover is the word “Tomotom,” and at the bottom of the front cover is the word “Asama”). It’s copyrighted to one “Tomotom Stiftung.”
It appears to be a new-agey kind of evolutionist-meets-Eastern-religious-thought sort of book. Browsing through the Table of Contents, I saw that it’s got a blurb on “Morality.” Here’s the blurb:
Morality is man’s conscious pro-evo behavior toward his own body, toward his fellow men, and toward animals, plants, and the natural environment.
And that’s that.
Anyone else received a copy of this book? And does anyone happen to know anything more about it?
I just got this book too. As a budding physicist (well on my way through a masters) i can tell you the science is crap. He’s using poorly defined terms and possible implications as fact. From the research i’ve done so far, the only mention i’ve seen has been in blogs. One person claimed to have found “the Foundation” to be a pseudo utopianist society that excludes itself from anti-Evo people for fear of corruption while “ministering” via this book. I, personally, am going to read it only to try to figure out what the hell it is (and continue to investigate “the foundation” and tomotom.) If this subject is something that interests you, I’d suggest “The Doors of Perception” by Aldous Huxley for the drugier perspective on “one-ness” or anything on the Anthropic Principle if you are curious about cosmology and physics and the theological implications. I, however, would not recommend reading this book unless you plan to be *very* critical of it. I’m still waiting for my head to explode or for the Foundation to kidnap me so i can wake up with only one kidney.
I got a copy in the mail a couple weeks back. Been wondering who the hell sent it to me. I figured they may have got my name because I buy a lot of books about evolution (not the woo-woo new age type evolution the book is about, but the actual scientific theory in biology). Maybe my name ended up on a list somewhere and these kooks got their hands on it.
The blurbs on the back are hilarious. They don’t even make an attempt to make them look like real quotes from real reviews. They’re just “‘Wow. I like book.’ –Dr. O, science guy.”
I’ve been looking around on the internet trying to see if anyone knew who the hell is publishing this book and why it’s getting sent out to random people such as myself. So far, no luck. I have no clue who these people are supposed to be.
I got it in the mail too. I think the blurbs on the back were written that way so the members of the foundation could be anonymous, perhaps belonging to such a foundation could damage them professionally.
It is philosophy not science, if you read he states that although the exact scientific explanation may change over the years(remember it was written in the 60’s) the underlying principle is consistent. And of course, everything out there is open to interpretation and although something may be “discovered” through science it still involves interpretation and assumption of belief. Dont trust science too much, it is often proven wrong or incomplete given enough time, hence the ever changing paradigm.
On amazon they have a review of the book saying that it is geared towards emotional women, I have to agree. This thing has cult written all over it
I was also a recipient of this mysterious book, Pro-Evolution Guideline for an Age of Joy. It arrived in my mailbox in March 2006 from an anonymous source and I was instantly intrigued with its message. I was so amazed with its words that I did some research and this is what I found out.
This book was originally published in the United States in 1974 by Asama AG Publishers under the title, Age of Joy. It was a translation of the German text Zeitalter der Freude and was published in Switzerland from 1971-1974. The author was from Germany and he studied agriculture and economics but then realized that he had a message about the human community. More searching found that the author’s real name was Joseph Haid and he was born in 1911 in Austria. There was a mass mailing of his book in the United States by Asama Publishers in 1974; the books were mailed free of charge. At this publication, the author’s name was spelled Tomot Om. I know this because I bought a copy of this book from the website, Better World Books. The Age of Joy is very similar to the 2002 ProEvolution but there are some additions to the later.
I suspect that there was another mass mailing of this book around 2006 by Asama AG Publishers. I have no idea how people were chosen to receive the book. This seems to be a mystery. What I do know is that during early 2006, I did a search for the book Pro-Evolution and I could get it for one penny from several websites. Interesting, huh? This publisher really wants to get these message out. Now copies are around $5 but still available.
I have heard this book referred to as cult-like, as “some weird form of utopian society,” or even a kind of communist regime. This is utter nonsense. People are not reading into the meaning of this book. This is the message:
We all have choices as to how we want to act and react to the world. A person who has thoughts, words and actions that are sensible, valuable and serve to help better themselves and others are said to be pro-evo. People who choose to make these choices will live lives that are filled with feelings of joy and well-being.
On the other hand, thoughts, words, or behaviors that are senseless, evil or serve to hurt yourself or others are said to be anti-evo. These kinds of behaviors result in problems like drug addictions, disease, war, mental illness, etc. People who choose to make these choices often live their lives in turmoil and feel unfulfilled.
Tomotom goes on in his book to describe a world that is united and only creates policies that work toward the benefit of all. I love the concept but I’m quite certain it won’t happen in my lifetime or yours. Most human beings are still too self-centered for that but I don’t doubt that it is a possibility.
We all know that technology is changing the world at such a rapid pace that it’s impossible to know what the future holds. But there is one thing that I am very certain of now in my life. I focus my behaviors on ones that are pro-evo exclusively and I have never been happier (or more sane) in all my life.
Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts.
I have recieved this book…my beliefs are pretty simular…What is the foundation? Why did they send me their message? Will they contact me again?
i have received a copy of this book today as well- i only can assume that those that receive either harper, the new yorker or the atlantic magazine might have received it.
I have not read it in entirety browsed through it, is i believe not much of a cult, but yet again anything could become one!
another receiver of the mysterious unsolicited “Pro Evo” book.
i did read the whole book and found parts of it to be fairly interesting (regulating structures) right along with parts of it that i completely do not agree with (poor logic – relies on acceptance of the premise).
but even for material i did not agree with i still had a lot of fun trying to figure out why it was so… offending. sometimes i couldn’t really find a good reason…
i wouldn’t pay for it. but if someone or some group is willing to pay the cost of the book and its shipping to me and not ask for any money in return then i will definitely give it a read.
seriously, there was no solicitation, return address or sender information and the only hint of contact information was the book’s publisher’s website address (www.proevo.ch) where even at that site there is no solicitation.
this cult talk is nonsense. it’s a philosophy book. if you don’t like it. okay. why not?
even though parts of it are kind of hokey, it does a fairly good job at staying ‘timeless’. i wouldn’t have realized it was written in the 50s if they didn’t tell me. there’s only a few parts of it which i feel have been rendered debatable due to time and progress. eg. controlled market practices being ‘anti-evo’ (a bad thing). with technology capabilities being mini-revolutionary (see: transistor circuit designs and performance: CMOS, VCSEL) every few years, it really is a good (and perhaps necessary) protectionary tactic for businesses and employees in that industry. or is the current paradigm truly ‘anti-evo’, divergent from the ideal, and does it need to be changed? see? there’s plenty of fun stuff to talk about =).
i had fun with it. thanks for whoever sent it out.
I stopped by my parent’s house and found this book addressed to me. Very weird due to the clandestine nature of the publisher and mailer. It appears that I received it around the end of January.
IMPORTANT TO NEW POSTERS: Everyone needs to rally together and provide some basic information in your posts so that we can make a concerted attempt to determine how or why we were selected to be mailed this drivel. Is there any rhyme or reason to this? Simply posting “Hey WTF is this?” isn’t going to help us get any closer to the answers we are looking for (this book won’t help you find any answers either). My information will be at the bottom of my post.
Be warned people, cults and books like these base their arguments on very simple logic in order to appeal to a variety of dispositions people have in order to gain their trust. They are akin to the people who claim to be psychics and use inference to get people to believe that they are actually reading their mind and understanding them. It is very dangerous and subversive. Keep a VERY critical mind if you are to read something like this, or any other politically or philosophically charged text for that matter. While the logic seems correct in these books, upon closer scrutination, all of the arguments presented in these texts result in contradictions. These people essentially apply a blanket solution (or “Final Solution” as I would prefer to say) to a very complicated issue/problem. If you are strong of mind and are not susceptible to suggestion, read the book for a good laugh and then use it as a doorstop or whatever.
POSSIBLE FACTORS:
-Older returning college student (28)
-Had a Poli Sci professor who is very liberal, possibly a communist. Volunteered to help his congressional campaign before realizing how irrational he was.
-There is a Scientologist living down the street from my parents.
-Participate in several online communities, but only one, SecondLife (a 3D creative environment) has my private information.
-I am critical and very speculative of everything.
-social democrat, economically conservative
-I believe religion and faith are important, but not entirely convinced of any one in particular.
Anyone else get the book? Please share some info so we can get to the bottom of this mystery!
Rec’d this book about a month ago (March ‘08). Still wondering where it came from. I do not fit into any of the groups listed that may have rec’d this thing…so, keep trying I guess.
I too, have been puzzled as to why I received the book. My first instinct was that some people could perceive that I am too bitter or negative about my life and future. As far as who would know this, it could be friends/relatives or my therapist? I doubt that it would be friends/relatives if this was a coordinated mass mailing (I believe I received it in the fall of 2006. Could my insurance company or therapist have given out my address (United)?
Otherwise, I do fit some of the previous posters information, late 20’s, politically moderate (socially liberal, fiscally conservative), registered independent. I receive multiple magazine subscriptions (Rolling Stone, Men’s Health, GQ). And, I graduated with a masters degree from a public administration degree which is closely related to political science and tied to polisci program at the school I graduated from.
I received this book in the mail today, August 23, 2008. It was addressed specifically to me, which I find peculiar because I moved not long ago and haven’t really given my current address out because it’s not permanent. I’m in college, a physics major, and I’m very conservative politically, I choose the title constitutionalist when titles are convenient. I’m in my early 20’s and I don’t have any magazine subscriptions. The only things I have mailed to me regularly are bills. I do occassionally buy books off amazon.com which could be where they got my address.
I think the mailing of these things is probably somewhat random, if not totally. We can’t really find any solid info on this Foundation and the book so I doubt it’s some orchestrated mailing to specific people otherwise there would have to be contacts. Unless these people somehow got addresses from colleges, which seems to be something many of us have in common, and mailed it out to students and former students because we’re typically more open minded.
The message itself though, I hang on to a healthy amount of skepticism but I am enjoying reading it so far. I’ve been a long time fan of Nietzsche and his idea of the overman as opposed to the last man, and the importance of evolving, becoming more, etc. etc.
My daughter received the same book each of you have described. She took a quick flip through and tossed it into the trash describing it as “weird”. I retrieved it out of curiosity. This entry is an attempt to get a better understanding of who may have sent it. A 20 years old art major, my daughter is in her first year at the local college. She recently received a scholar ship award. We and she have a strong Christian belief and attend our community Baptist church. The one thing I’ve noticed from the other entries is that all of the recipients were college students. Hope this helps to shed light on who could be sending out these books.
I just got one, posted from
US Postage Paid. Permit 1232. Hackensack NJ
I, too recieved this book just an hour ago, and was puzzled by the thought of who could’ve sent it to me. :/
I guess I’ll read it. Though its still kind of strange.
I received this book today and I had no idea what it was so I googled it and bam pops this website of how other people got it. =/ I dont fit any of the descriptions above I’m 20 still in college… community college at that and I dont know about you all but I believe I might have been one of the few younger people to get it. I wonder how? I do read a lot but I dont know how they would have gotten my info. Why not my parents or older brothers? /=
My brother just received this book in the mail (2008). I believe they have started their scary mass shipping again.
I just received this book today, and it is probably due to the fact that I am a returning college student. Probably some sort of system in colleges that singles out older students, maybe some hippie in the arts department was smart enough to install a program that filters out students by age. Who knows, but I hope it a cult that knocks on my door so I can shoot them in the face for sending me this crap. Just kidding, but I thought it was my relatives that are very religious. Who knows.
My copy came today. How can one decline free food for thought?
I would fit in the “Older returning college student” though a bit North of 28 :o) Always careful not to register, and not a member of any organization.
Big fan of Amazon though, wonder if they know more?
I just received this book today. Like everyone else, I have no idea why I received it. I am a polisci major (and, coincidentally, had a very liberal/possibly communist prof), a social and fiscal liberal, and subscribe to TIME mag. I also recently worked with a local grassroots democratic organization for a healthcare referendum… In any case, I have skimmed the book and found parts of it both interesting and humorous.
Pro Evo Book was in the mail (Not sent to me). Much is vague other parts are bias. I figure it is some religious cult outreaching to the masses for new followers. I threw it in the trash with the rest of the junk mail.
The truth behind Pro Evo
I am 17 and i found this book addressed to me as well. I subscribe to no magazines, attend a high school. Attending college as well. I give my address out to no one. I have no idea how they found me. No idea why i got it. I am interested in philosophy so i found it an interesting read. Curious to know more from this foundation of theirs… i”m a little nervous that they know my address and information. So I think that’s all i can say.
I recievied this book August 28th 2008 addressed to me, no return info. I flipped through it, as I am weary of ingesting just anything I come across- especially new age philosophies.
I am sincerely sorry for those misguided enough to find comfort in such a way of thinking. Making good choices and having good thoughts will not bring this result to you and a life of joy. Good people can make good choices and still suffer with a “joyless” life. To make it seem like a battle of good forces against “evil” might be a substantial note to make, but it’s not further elaborating on the external forces.
In general I found nothing profound or to my interest in the book. There is so much more to life than the ideas in this book. In my opinion, science is man’s attempt to explain works of God. Kudos to whomever for attempting to establish a moral code by shaky scientific reasoning, but it proves why such a thing is impossible to accomplish. It is only confusing people and diverting them from the truth.
To quote a revered theologian, “Seek truth wherever you find it”. The world is not subjective. And there is only confusion in this book.
For the record:
College student, 21 years old, no mail subscriptions, Christian, Texas, honor society Phi Theta Kappa, no idea how I got on a list….my only clue might be that I purchase a great deal of used books on Amazon.com. Anyone else do this? Maybe one of the sellers is connected to the publisher?
Weird, that I also received this book a month ago…I was very depressed and was about to break down. I went outside to grab the mail and saw this book addressed to me. I opened it and read a bit about it. I thought it was a message from God or something. It made me felt very different. It’s been a month since I received the book and I just began to read the first few pages. Then, I got curious and ended up on this site.
I don’t know like all the others why we all ended up getting this book, but I am going to read it and let whatever happens happens…
Thanks for sharing the all the information.
I also received this book, im just trying to figure out weather or not to read it. I am a member of second life. but thats it from that list. the only problem is my girlfriend also received this book and she doesn’t even own a computer so i dont have any clue how they receive addresses.
I certainly don’t fit any of those groups, but still received the book in the mail in August 2008. I’m a 17 year old girl, still in high school. I tend to be socially and economically conservative. I read lots of books on all kinds of different religions and philosophies, but my faith is firmly rooted in evangelical Christianity. I don’t usually buy the books either. I borrow them from my church or other people. I had a history teacher two years ago who liked to attack the Christians in the class… The only magazine I’ve ever subscribed to is Seventeen (Probably not a target for people interested in promoting their philosophy). I don’t know of any Scientologists that live near me, but I think there are some illegals? Haha sorry. I don’t like the idea of being targeted by this cult/non-cult thing.