On the Wild Side

Gardner, Martin

ISBN 10: 0879757132 / ISBN 13: 9780879757137

Published by Prometheus Books, 1992

Seller Inventory # 0879757132-3-35859970

Synopsis:

"I have always been intrigued by fringe science," writes Martin Gardner in the preface to this book, "perhaps for the same reason that I enjoy freak shows and circuses. Pseudoscientists, especially the extreme cranks, are fascinating creatures for psychological study. Moreover, I have found that one of the best ways to learn something about any branch of science is to find out where its crackpots go wrong."

A unique combination of horse sense and drollery has made Martin Gardner the undisputed dean of the critics of pseudoscience. This bountiful collection of essays and articles will be wholeheartedly greeted by Gardner's fans, as well as by new readers.

This collection of articles - many of which first appeared in the Skeptical Inquirer, theNew York Review of Books, and Free Inquiry - explores pseudoscience and strange religious beliefs with the author's trademark wit and verve. Destined to be a classic of skeptical literature, this book covers a wide range of topics - including UFOs, rainmaking, ghosts, the Big Bang, ESP, Oral Roberts, as well as the early history of spiritualism and today's bizarre "trance channeling" cults.

Reviews: In this round-up of Skeptical Inquirer columns plus essays and reviews published in various magazines, Gardner scores both hits and misses in his debunking of the paranormal, the occult and borderline science. Easy targets include parapsychologist J. B. Rhine, whom he accuses of cover-up of fraud; a Florida hollow-earth cult; the Reagans' obsession with astrology; Wilhelm Reich's orgone box; and speaking-in-tongues, especially as practiced by the likes of Oral Roberts, Jim Bakker and Pat Robinson. In attacking Linus Pauling's use of vitamin C as an anti-cancer therapy, Gardner omits discussion of the most significant evidence. The book paints with a single negative brush UFOs, electrical wizard Nikola Tesla's modern disciples, Israeli psychic Uri Geller, fugitive homicidal guru Ira Einhorn, James Lovelock's Gaia theory of Earth as a living organism and black magician Aleister Crowley.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Bibliographic Details

Title: On the Wild Side
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Publication Date: 1992
Binding: hardcover
Condition: Good