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Summary: this book is for the hopeless
Review: I read this book and it never changed my mind about what's really going on in the world. If you don't believe in something there's no point in happiness. This book upset me. It just makes it easier for people to over-rationalize about something, because they're pissed off that their life can't be everything they want it to be. They gave up to easily. ~ Megan
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Summary: Great antidote to fraud on all levels.
Review: Sorry to tell all those witches, psychics, and dowsers out there, but they are all fake. James Randi exposes the inane way parapsychologists test their subjects and debunks various paranormal phenomenon. The parapsychologists basically have the motto "If it works let's keep it, if it doesn't let's throw it away!" Yes that is the sad truth. The parapsychologists are not scientists, James Randi shows how these are really practitioners of pseudoscience. If people would actually sit down and read this book it would save them a lot of money investing money into this foolishness later in life.
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Summary: Best book on the subject available today
Review: James Randi shows the charlatans of the world for what they really are. Randi explains everything from how psychic surgeons perform their "surgery" to how gurus "levitate." He explodes theories about ancient astronauts, UFOs, psychics, dowsers, etc. If you want to know the truth- forget the X-Files, Randi has the truth!
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Summary: A joke
Review: Can't waste my time writing a review. Forget it
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Summary: Waste of time and money
Review: The worst book I have ever (I wanted to say read)but its so badly written that I did not bother to read it after the first chapter. Its a waste of time and money
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Summary: A truly life changing book
Review: This book changes the way you look at everything. Not just hoaxes and scams, but every piece of information that enters your mind. I test everything now so I can be as close to the real world as I can possibly get. Since I read this masterpiece I have changed my direction in life. I have become friends with reality. Meaning: If I see it I believe it. If it's tested in a double blind test I trust it. I once heard a saying that is so close to the truth... Never under estimate the power of gullable people in large groups.
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Summary: Indispensable
Review: This is one of the finest non-fiction books ever written. It should be on anyone's top 10 list! I would recommend this book for high school students because it will encourage them to spend more time reading. I recommend it for everyone else because it is a excellently told story about the ongoing war against psuedo-science. Mr. Randi is quite aware that some of actors he unmasks are naive - as a magician and human being he understands their pain, but nevertheless presses on in the interest of science and truth.
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Summary: A "must" to read or re-read as we approach the millennium.
Review: James Randi has written books, all of which are illuminating, but none so much as this. In Flim-Flam he has taken to task all who would delude themselves or others with notions of fairies, ESP, and extra-terrestrials. It has been said that one must use a thief to catch a thief, and no one is better equipped to catch frauds than magicians. Randi, the only MacArthur (genius) Award winning magician I'm aware of, is THE man for the job. Flim-Flam is a comprehensive, no-holds-barred exposure of some of the most infamous hoaxes, frauds, and nonsense in history. Anyone who wants to learn to distinguish fantasy from reality or just fraud from genuine needs to read this book. I initially read it years ago and use it frequently as a reference book. I own two copies - one to loan (which I do frequently) and my dog-eared, highlighted and marked-in-the-margins copy. It is a book not only for those who want to learn about the subjects contained within, but also (and maybe more so) for those who see no harm in believing in ESP, pseudoscience, or faith healing and the like. My only wish for this terrific book is that it be updated to include some of the more recent and tragic delusions of recent history.
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Summary: A thorough (if one-sided) debunking of pseudoscience.
Review: James Randi's book is a fine reference for those of us who read claims of the paranormal every day in the newspaper and on the Internet. The only down side to the book is that Randi does not show the evidence and let the reader decide for themselves; he's already decided for you, and he's happy to tell you why.
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Summary: A beacon of rationality in a world full of frauds.
Review: In this book, James Randi investigates claimed "paranormal" events from Uri Geller's "psychic" ability to UFOs, from astrology to dowsing, from spiritualism to remote viewing. He shows conclusively and clearly what REALLY is behind these "paranormal" claims. There are the relatively innocent cases of wishful thinking, self-delusion and faulty experiments. But there are also the out-and-out frauds who use lies and trickery in an attempt to scam money from the gullible public. Randi's book is both entertaining and educational: fun to read due to the author's brilliant style and dilligent research, and important to know for all of us who want to avoid ending up scammed - or, as Jonestown and Heaven's gate show, ending up dead.
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