Rating: 
Summary: Lunatics, Frauds, and Suckers
Review: I saw a TV show about James Randi recently. In one scene, he visited a college classroom, posing as an expert astrologer. He had prepared, he told the class, detailed individual horoscopes based on each student's birthdate and birthplace. The students read these horoscopes, then rated their accuracy on a scale of 1-5. One student gave his horoscope a 4. Every other horoscope got a 5. The students were amazed: astrology worked! Randi then had them look at each other's horoscopes. Cries of outrage filled the room. All of the horoscopes were exactly the same. They had nothing whatsoever to do with birthdates, or birthplaces, or any particular student.This book is full of such examples. Randi uses them, and scientific data, and consistently careful analysis of facts, to show that such ideas as astrology, biorhythms, transcendental meditation, UFOs, the Bermuda Triangle, ESP, and psychic surgery are, quite simply, nonsense. In 1964, he offered $10,000 to anyone who could demonstrate a paranormal power under satisfactory observational conditions. As of the 1982 publication date, over 650 people had tried for the reward, none successfully. Some of the attempts are described in this book. Funny how psychics who have "demonstrated" the ability to bend metal rods by will power can't do it anymore when they are no longer allowed to wander out of the room with the rods during the experiment!A theme throughout the book is that people who want to believe something will accept the most absurd rationalizations in order to continue to believe it, in spite of overwhelming contradictory evidence. At the beginning of his chapter on psychic surgery, Randi quotes William Cowper: "To follow foolish precedents, and wink / With both our eyes, is easier than to think." A similar theme arises in Langdon Gilkey's "Shantung Compound", about Gilkey's experiences as a prisoner of war (see my review). Observing "moral" internees rationalize stealing food from each other, Gilkey concluded that the greatest power of the human brain is not to reason, but to rationalize doing whatever the brain's owner wants to do. For other examples of this phenomenon, read anything by a "Creation Scientist". Unfortunately, Randi is a professional magician, not a professional writer. His sentences are not always clear, and he does not always cite references where they would be appropriate. But his observations are insightful, and his writing is entertaining. James Randi is a compassionate man, fighting a good fight.
Rating: 
Summary: Few stones left unturned...
Review: I formerly referred to another book available from Amazon.com as a great primer for those challenging New Age nonsense and other contemporary fads. A fellow skeptic challenged that claim saying this one is better. I agree!Randi exposes more foolishness than any other of the texts I've read, from Arthur Conan Doyle and his taste for fairies, to the Maharishi to UFOs. And he's not subtle about his distaste for it. Granted, he does give credit to those who really believe in their craft. For instance, there are dousers and the like who really believe they're gifted with the talent for the bizarre. There are others, however, who are simply crooks who've lined up a gullible public with their credit cards. I actually appreciate Randi's powerful attitudes. Why get so "political" as to soft pedal crooks? He doesn't. The book is a good primer because it covers so many subjects, and because it describes the reasoning process. Sure there'll be the people who dispute his findings. But one will convince them of nothing. At least the reasoning process illustrated by this volume will convince those capable of reason. The ONLY reason I don't give it 5 stars is that some of the samples he gave would be better illustrated on a stage or a show; it was a bit difficult for me to follow them in writing. Aside from that, I think this should probably be required reading for, say, high school seniors, those particularly prone to the charlatans of silly New Age fads and other quackery. But anyone wondering about such fads could gain a great deal from Randi's prose.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly, some STILL think the Earth is square!!!!
Review: Fortunately, Randi doesn't have to teach us that there are no unicorns or Tooth Fairies, but he does try to cover all the other wierd and foolish things people believe (or have believed at some time in their life.) If you know better, then this book will be intertaining, if you are still a believer - this book will give you some real anxiety.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: An excellent book that should be read by everyone. This book is a couple of decades old, but I think it's just as important today; as a reminder of how easily we are deceived by quack artists. James Randi carefully dissects all these paranormal claims, before he systematically debunks them all. He also performs a knockout on several representatives of the parapsychology community that truly whistles in the sails. And his chapter on Uri Geller is mercyless! To the reviewer from Illinois: Your cliam concerning the existence of telepathy have absolutely no legs to stand on from a scientific point of view. Your ridiculous statement that people who doesn't experience telepathy lack something in mental capacity is even wilder! There are no parts of the brain that has been identified as a center for telepathy, or any other form for psi, so that is a completely worthless statement.
Rating:
Summary: Beliving in "magic" isn't harmless...
Review: If you enjoy looking at the weird and unusual, you could easily be tempted to consider the folks on the fringe to be a bunch of entertaining, harmless, and often friendly kooks...and sometimes, this is true. People have the right to believe anything they want to believe, so long as they cause no harm to others. But some of those dupes of the Conspiracy are far from harmless, and they enjoy nothing better than separating innocent people from their money, using pseudo-science and nonsense as a shield to keep from brought to much-deserved justice. So-called "psychics" rip unsuspecting people out of huge sums of money, and in some cases lives have been lost because terminally ill people have shelled out thousands of dollars to phony "healers" who do nothing but perform a few parlor tricks. James Randi exposed many of the most notorious pseudo-scientific and "psychic" rip-off outfits with this book, and it's still a must-read.
Rating: 
Summary: A Skeptical Look at James Randi
Review: Recently I picked up Flim-Flam again. Having changed my mind about many things over the past twenty years, I responded to it much differently this time. I was particularly struck by the book's hectoring, sarcastic tone. Randi pictures psychic researchers as medieval fools clad in "caps and bells" and likens the delivery of an announcement at a parapsychology conference to the birth of "Rosemary's Baby." After debunking all manner of alleged frauds, he opens the book's epilogue with the words, "The tumbrels now stand empty but ready for another trip to the square" - a reference to the French Revolution, in which carts ("tumbrels") of victims were driven daily to the guillotine. Randi evidently pictures himself as the executioner who lowers the blade. In passing, two points might be made about this metaphor: the French Revolution was a product of "scientific rationalism" run amok ... and most of its victims were innocent. Still, the tedious nastiness of Flim-Flam does not tell us anything about its accuracy. Intrigued, I decided to check out a few of Randi's claims in detail.(...)
Rating:
Summary: Put up or shut up
Review: James Randi is a thorn in the side of many people, mostly to those who claim to have a gift of second sight or claim some psychic ability. In Flim Flam he gives the reader a general look at the role he has played as a professional skeptic and truth finder. His $10,000 (now $1 Million) challenge is a means of testing people's claims and he is quick to point out how many fail the pre-interview. He includes chapters on UFO's, Faith Healers, Dowsers and Psychic Surgeons. It is the chapter on Psychic Surgery that should be required reading as he discusses the out right fraud and deceit that is passed off as a medical miracle. He even shows how they do it using some simple items you can pick up at a local grocery store. His purpose is more then just exposing their tricks but to also help save lives and people's money. Overall a great book and a good starter for anyone who ever questioned the world around them.
Rating:
Summary: Sarcastically Informative (Sometimes)
Review: Randi is not only a professional conjurer, but also serves as an individual dedicated to exposing the illegitimacy of parapsychology, and other forms of pseudoscientific/supernatural beliefs held by people. Confidence in his affirmation that any form(s) of parapsychology, and many other unexplainable phenomena that are widely believed to be true are in fact not, is backed up by his offer of now $1 million. This book is a collection of Randi's encounters of that very group of individuals that claim to posses the supernatural abilities in question. The basic thesis of this book is that these supernatural phenomenas do not exist and their occurrences are quite explainable. The responsibility then, is rests on both the scientific community and ourselves, to not fall victim to their ability to deceive. Randi does well in keeping the content light and relatively easy to read. His light sarcasm well reflects his lack of respect for false claims of the supernatural and other pseudoscientific beliefs. While the book consists mostly of accounts of objective observation, there are modest stints of ideas and opinions of the author, which keeps the book accessible to readers not looking to have to bore through only scientific account and analysis. The loose usage of the word(s) damn/damning to present ideas of the corruption of scientific ideals was amusing. Randi also does well in keeping his book for the most part, free of religion and its influence in science; rather, he chooses to focus on scientific explanation of respective phenomena. A problem with the book was that Randi did not delve very deeply into the reasons behind the phenomena of those purporting evidence of the supernatural. Sparsely inserted throughout the book, the rest of reading consists of the actual encounters and experiments of Randi to discount the claims. When Randi does make a point to examine the reason behind some of the fallacies, they are short and concise. Some of these points include the need of the individual to believe in his/her's or other's "powers", economic attraction, or poor scientific investigation. Another problem had of the author was his tendency to indulge in complicated details of the experiment. While one versed and knowledgeable in statistical charting and mathematical analysis may have understood the chapter on the fallacies of biorhythms in one reading, I found it difficult to fully grasp the ideas presented. The same went for the analysis of the Cottingley Fairies, where his careful explanation of the different uses of cameras and effects got to be drudging to read. Sometimes, the technical analysis of the many cases encountered by Randi were too drawn out and detailed, or boring, for an average reader to follow. Some are looking for more of a quick overview along with basic explanations of the hoaxes. It is in these point that this book may not be for everyone. Detailed descriptions of procedures and outcomes of experiments impedes the flow of the book as a whole. Also a lack of psychological and social explanations and ramifications of such pseudosciences and paranormal phenomena may leave some desiring a reallocation of emphasis; from the book's strong emphasis on detail of the actual experiments to a more balanced approach, covering more explanation of root causes, and the ramifications of these delusions. As a whole, the book is witty and informative. It is amusing to read of failed ploys of trickery and manipulation. Essentially, we a have a text that serves as a directive for us to think for ourselves, and be skeptical and examine information that is given to us everyday. Yet, the book is written as if we think and know as Randi does, and this is where it fails to appeal and be accessible to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Informative Introductory Book
Review: While Flim-Flam! does not conclusively prove that the paranormal doesn't exist (to be fair, it's rather impossible to do so; the lack of proof for the paranormal does not conclusively prove the lack of existence), it does a good job in exposing the deceptive claims that have bamboozled the human race even until today. James Randi gives many case studies of supernatural claims that have turned out to be false, and shows how easily decieved we can be. The book is easy reading with Randi's sarcasm seeping out every now and then. An interesting book, and an eye-opener; recommended for those who need a healthy dose of skepticism.
Rating:
Summary: Marvelous
Review: In this book, Randi presents many of his experiences, from gnomes, faith healers, ESPs and other nonsense. What I really like about this book is the way Randi explains the claptrap: critical thought, adequate methodology and investigation. He also makes a point, puting his money where his mouth is, asking and paying to see anyone with any special power... Randi is simply Great! Great book! An apology to ones intelligence!
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