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  • Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions

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James Randi
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Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions Paperback – January 1, 1982

by James Randi (Author), Isaac Asimov (Introduction)
4.4 out of 5 stars (494)
James Randi is internationally known as a magician and escape artist. But for the past thirty-five years of his professional life, he has also been active as an investigator of the paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims that have impressed the thinking of the public for a generation: ESP, psychokinesis, psychic detectives, levitation, psychic surgery, UFOs, dowsing, astrology, and many others. Those of us unable to discriminate between geniune scientific research and the pseudoscientific nonsense that has resulted in fantastic theories and fancies have long needed James Randi and Flim-Flam!

In this book, Randi explores and exposes what he believes to be the outrageous deception that has been promoted widely in the media. Unafraid to call researchers to account for their failures and impostures, Randi tells us that we have been badly served by scientists who have failed to follow the procedures required by their training and traditions. Here he shows us how what he views as sloppy research has been followed by rationalizations of evident failures, and we see these errors and misrepresentations clearly pointed out. Mr. Randi provides us with a compelling and convincing document that will certainly startle and enlighten all who read it.
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  1. Print length
    342 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Prometheus Books
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1982
  5. Dimensions
    5.4 x 0.75 x 8.34 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0879751983
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0879751982
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

James Randi  is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). He began his career as a magician, as The Amazing Randi, but after retiring at age 60, he began investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims. Although often referred to as a "debunker," Randi rejects that title owing to its perceived bias, instead describing himself as an "investigator." He has written about the paranormal, skepticism, and the history of magic, and has published many books including Flim-Flam!, The Truth about Uri Geller, The Faith Healers, and The Mask of Nostradamus. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prometheus Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 1, 1982
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 342 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0879751983
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0879751982
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.4 x 0.75 x 8.34 inches
  • Best Sellers Rank: #412,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars (494)

About the author

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James Randi

James Randi

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James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928) is a Canadian-American stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. Randi is the founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician, as The Amazing Randi, but after retiring at age 60, he began investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively calls "woo-woo." Although often referred to as a "debunker," Randi rejects that title owing to its perceived bias, instead describing himself as an "investigator." He has written about the paranormal, skepticism, and the history of magic. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and was occasionally featured on the television program Penn & Teller: Bullshit!.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
494 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book factual and well-written, with one describing it as a seminal work in skeptical thought. The book is easy to read and entertaining, with one customer highlighting the clever tactics used to expose scammers. Moreover, the methodology receives positive feedback, with one customer noting the clear descriptions of tricks. However, the writing style receives mixed reviews, with several customers finding it poor. Additionally, customers find the book accurate, with one mentioning it covers many areas of trickery and fraud.
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36 customers mention content, 30 positive, 6 negative
Customers appreciate the factual evidence presented in the book, with one customer describing it as the best science book they've read.
Good book. Randy can ramble on a bit in order to drive home his point, but I get it. And it was fun reading his clever tactics to expose scammers.Read more
Great book! its a must readRead more
Loved this bookRead more
...you agree with ALL of his clearing of the cobwebs, this is an important work in that it shows how easily we can be bilked, and how subtle these...Read more
25 customers mention readability, 21 positive, 4 negative
Customers find the book easy to read and entertaining, with the content being compelling on its own.
...Let alone his exposure of those who are outright frauds. A good read, even though it does make me question my own beliefs.Read more
Great readRead more
...It is, however, worth reading for those who are interested in the paranormal and do not want to be deceived, as Randi demonstrates a sound...Read more
I'm a big fan of James randy, and I enjoyed this book. But some of the cases treated are a bit outdated....Read more
8 customers mention entertaining, 6 positive, 2 negative
Customers find the book entertaining and humorous, with one mentioning the author's clever tactics to expose scammers.
...Randi's occasionally humorous, occasionally invective, and always straightforward retelling of some of his more prominent and a few of his more...Read more
...Randi explains, in an entertaining and easy to understand style, about how psychic scams have been perpetrated.Read more
...style fails, often, to flow smoothly and his contest is neither fresh nor particularly interesting....Read more
...He's brilliant, which shows in his writings and has a killer sense of humor....Read more
7 customers mention methodology, 6 positive, 1 negative
Customers appreciate the methodology of the book, with one customer noting its clear description of tricks and another mentioning that Randi explains things very clearly.
...deceived, as Randi demonstrates a sound investigative approach and methodology....Read more
...What's more, he has a very good grasp of experimental procedure and how to test for a specific effect, and he is ruthless in making sure they are...Read more
...His clear description of the tricks they use to sucker in the millions who want to believe in magic is convincing and easy to understand....Read more
...book is the way Randi explains the claptrap: critical thought, adequate methodology and investigation....Read more
5 customers mention accuracy, 4 positive, 1 negative
Customers appreciate the book's accuracy, with one customer noting it covers many areas of trickery and fraud, while another mentions it is unequivocal in its assertions.
Worth reading and knowing the scams and cons- not particularly well written but very perceptiveRead more
Covers many areas of trickery and fraud. A good read.Read more
...It was written about 30 years ago, but still holds remarkably true, which is quite sad in some regard....Read more
...have learned in my days, and that there is no idea so ridiculous, so implausible, so poorly-defined, that someone, somewhere won't fall for it....Read more
7 customers mention writing style, 3 positive, 4 negative
Customers have mixed opinions about the writing style of the book.
...It has some interesting stories, but no literary value really. The writing is poor to the point of being infuriating, every story rambles, sometimes...Read more
...The writing is generally clear and concise though sometimes rather condescending.Read more
Worth reading and knowing the scams and cons- not particularly well written but very perceptiveRead more
...He's brilliant, which shows in his writings and has a killer sense of humor....Read more
7 customers mention timeless, 2 positive, 5 negative
Customers find the book very dated.
interesting reading but dated and wordyRead more
...But some of the cases treated are a bit outdated. Some of them are interesting, others not at all....Read more
BOOK AHEAD OF ITS TIME!Read more
Very dated but still extremely relevantRead more
Excellent book for the nieve, and anyone who follows Peter Popoff. .
5 out of 5 stars
Excellent book for the nieve, and anyone who follows Peter Popoff. .
A bit dry, but good. Ask yourself, would you trust this idiot to be a conduit to GAWD himself?
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Ana Mardoll
    5.0 out of 5 stars Timelessly Relevant
    Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2009
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Flim-Flam / 0-87975-198-3

    Having been relatively insulated from the majority of the claims presented in the book, I can honestly say that James Randi's book is still useful today, if only as a guidebook to the past. If those who forget history are doomed to repeat it, then similarly those who do not read Randi's book are doomed to fall prey to such schemes as fake fairies and make-believe aliens who provide blueprints on rocks of open-heart surgery...for a small fee, of course. This book is an incredible and fascinating catalog of the search for faeries, UFOs, spoon-benders, card-readers, and faith healers through the years, as well as several interesting applicants to the famous Randi Challenge.

    James Randi has been criticized in the past for his somewhat hectoring authorial tone and his sometimes open disdain for the believers he deals with. I am sympathetic to both points, as I certainly believe in the use of honey rather than vinegar, yet I sympathize also with Randi faced with the frustrating hurdles he must clear. Consider all the Uri Geller believers who not only refuse to consider the evidence that James Randi presents, but who also persist in the belief that Randi, too, is 'the real thing' because of his duplication of the tricks of the false 'psychics' - even in the face of his repeated insistence that he is not a psychic but just an entertainer. How frustrating that would be!

    Or consider the hundreds of people Randi has seen stop taking their medications on the say so of men he knows to be charlatans, only to watch these poor souls die weeks later, often ignoring the pleas of their loved ones and convinced that all they need is more faith. How can Randi *not* be angry, frustrated, and - yes - hectoring toward the charlatans who steal and lie and kill, and even against those who facilitate them by saying that they don't really 'hurt' anyone, so what is the problem? These uncritical followers provide them the necessary media attention to perform more and more damage to the human race as a whole.

    So if Randi is no saint or angel, it is equally true that a saint or angel is not what is required. What is needed is a man wielding the sledgehammers of logic and stage-magic, and Randi provides this, superbly. This book is both fascinating and entertaining to read, and definitely worth checking out even at this much later date.

    ~ Ana Mardoll
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Chris Gladis
    4.0 out of 5 stars My psychic told me I'd love this book....
    Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2011
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    (Now hold still while I read your aura. Yes, my spirit guide is telling me something, that you are experiencing some kind of pain or discomfort in your back, or perhaps your shoulders. And this is typical of someone born under your star sign, you know? Of course you do - your type is very insightful, even if you do sometimes let little things escape your notice from time to time. Here - I have a medicine that will help you, a special homeopathic formula that I mixed myself. It's proof against all aches and pains. Yes, I have a spoon somewhere around - no, not that one, that one's bent. I could tell you that I got the recipe from visiting aliens, but you would never believe me. Perhaps it was Atlanteans....

    Ah, there is one other thing.... My spirit guide tells me that there is another spirit who would talk to you - someone you miss very much. I'm getting the letter P, or maybe G.... Does that mean something to you? Ah, good, good. My abilities have increased a hundredfold since I started transcendental meditation, and I credit the Master with my improved skills. Well, our time is almost up. I have to go charge my dowsing rod with the crystals that were given to me by my young daughters. They say that the fairies gave them to them, and who am I to say otherwise? But I will say this before we part - the numbers of your name, crossed against your biorhythms, tell me that you must not enter into any dealings of a financial nature this week.

    You can leave your check on the table by the door.)

    There is one truth that I have learned in my days, and that there is no idea so ridiculous, so implausible, so poorly-defined, that someone, somewhere won't fall for it. Whether it's psychic surgeons, aura readers, tellers of the future or viewers of past lives, UFO hunters, witch doctors, table-tippers, spoon-benders, mind-readers or water-dowsers, if you can figure out some simple slight of hand, the odds are good that you can convince someone you have supernatural powers. A few blurry photographs and some enthusiasm, and you can have aliens on our shores. Some clever guesses and a keen knowledge of human nature, and you'll never have to work a day in your life.

    If you're like me, it's enough to make you want to disavow humankind and just go live somewhere off in the woods. Thankfully, James Randi is not like me.

    A longtime magician and skeptic, James Randi has been one of the driving forces of modern skepticism. Since his 1972 debunking of spoon-bender Uri Geller, he has been an authority on people who claim to have supernatural abilities. He has traveled the world in search of these people, revealing the methods by which they knowingly or unknowingly deceive people who want so desperately to believe. This book, written in 1982 and well in need of an updated and revised edition, documents many of Randi's investigations in painstaking and unrelenting detail.

    He tells us first of the hoax perpetrated by two young English girls, one which was good enough to capture not just a credulous nation of newspaper readers, but a man regarded as one of the greatest minds of his time - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In 1917, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths released several photographs which showed them surrounded by gossamer-winged fairies. The public went wild for their story. Experts were called in to examine the photographs, and they all pronounced them genuine. The girls were interviewed, their cameras and equipment checked out, and no evidence of trickery could be found. In any case, believers said, two young girls would have no incentive to lie to the entire nation like this, would they?

    Well, they did. Perhaps it wasn't their intention to deceive the world, but that's how it turned out. As of Randi's writing, they hadn't admitted it outright, but a year after publication, they did. What started as simple fun with a camera and some paper cut-outs escalated into something uncontrollable by two young girls, and a legend was born.

    Elsie and Frances may have been innocents overtaken by events, but there are far more people who are fully conscious of their deceptions. A Holy Man who promises everything up to and including the ability to fly if you just follow his word and his special meditation technique. Researchers so intent on discovering psychic powers that they disregard even the most basic of experimental controls. People who manufacture fake artifacts to support their belief in ancient alien astronauts. There are those who take money from the unwitting and those who don't, some who treat the ability they believe they have with humility and those who don't. The weird, the arrogant and the dangerous - Randi's seen 'em all. And every time another one pops up, he knows what to look for.

    Belief is a weird thing. Under careful examination, every claim that Randi has seen has fallen apart. He has listened to them carefully and asked a very simple question that seems to elude so many others: How else could this effect be achieved? As a lifetime magician (though he prefers the term "conjurer"), Randi is an expert at getting you to think you see something that really isn't there, and he brings this expertise to bear when he investigates claims of the paranormal. What's more, he has a very good grasp of experimental procedure and how to test for a specific effect, and he is ruthless in making sure they are adhered to.

    But - and this is important - Randi is fair. If you come up to him and say, "Randi, I can see auras which tell me who the all gay people are," he won't just laugh in your face and say that you're crazy. He'll listen to your story, how your power works and how you use it, and then propose a simple test to see if it really exists. The test is to be double-blind, so when the target people come in and check the "gay" or "straight" box, that information is kept from both the aura-reader and the person administering the test. What's more, the psychic has to agree in advance on the conditions of the test, signing a promise (rarely kept) to accept the results. Tests are usually done multiple times, just to give the subject a chance. When the results come in as negative - as they always have thus far - Randi doesn't gloat. He doesn't laugh and say "I told you so." In fact, in one chapter he mentions that he feels bad sometimes, telling people who honestly believe they have a unique gift that, in fact, they don't.

    I suspect that Randi really wants supernatural powers to exist. I think he wants to meet someone who can move objects with her mind, talk to the dead or find water just by concentrating hard. Why else, then, would he have his Million-Dollar Challenge? What is described in Flim-Flam as a $10,000 reward for proof of supernatural abilities has grown significantly. Not because Randi is richer, but because he feels that his money is absolutely safe. Yet I think he would be happy to be able to give it away one day.

    This book should be required reading for everyone who has encountered what they believe to be the paranormal. It is detailed, it is harsh and it is unequivocal in its assertion that if you see someone doing something that logic demands cannot be done, chances are excellent that it's a trick rather than super-powers.

    Unfortunately, the True Believers will invariably be unaffected, and that is something else that Randi takes great pains to show. No matter how often someone was shown to be a liar, a fake or a fraud, there were always supporters ready to make excuses. The psychics themselves are also very good at inventing reasons why their powers cannot be tested - the wrong kind of weather, interference from the cameras that are recording the tests, or just bad energy from the skeptics in the room. All the logic and science in the world won't convince those who don't want to be convinced.

    As much fun as it is to read about The Amazing Randi rushing about the globe to put hoaxers in their places, it's also a little depressing. It was written in 1982, on the heels of Randi's book The Truth About Uri Geller, which exposed the spoon-bending psychic as a fraud, so you would think the one-two punch of these books would be enough to put paid to ridiculous beliefs in ideas that were demonstrably false. Well, you'd be wrong. Newspapers still run horoscopes every day, you can get a biorhythm app for your iPhone, psychics and mediums still rake in tons of cash, and there still innumerable people who put their faith, money and lives in the hands of psychic healers - only to lose all three.

    But Randi is undaunted. He started the James Randi Educational Foundation to support critical thinking and skepticism, he's still active in the skeptical community, and he's still accepting applications from people who want his million dollars. He may have hoped that this book would be a nail in the coffin of psuedoscience and woo, but even though that didn't pan out, he never gave up. One by one, case by case, the Amazing Randi has stared down the wild-eyed stare of unreason, and he has never blinked.

    For that, I will always be grateful.

    --------------------------------------------
    The tinkling noises you will hear as these pages are turned are the scales falling from many eyes. The groans are from the charlatans who are here exposed to the light of reason and simple truth. It is a light that pains them greatly.
    - James Randi, Flim-Flam!
    --------------------------------------------
    13 people found this helpful
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  • AndrewSkeet88
    5.0 out of 5 stars Logical and Insightful
    Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2006
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I read a lot of books of this ilk (Shermer, etc.) and this one compilation is excellent. It starts with overviews of some common paranormal claims, showing that even 'smart' people can be fooled. The great part of the book is the last half with pictures and descriptions of people trying to win the million dollar prize for demonstrating paranormal skills. Mr. Randi has a strong tone against fraud that some people in other reviews have noted - but when people are getting bilked out of their life savings, or not seeking proper medical treatment because some witchdoctor in the Phillipes is doing fake surgery - it is ok to be outraged.

    One of the best things about this book is the revelation that most of the people are not trying to scam people - they really believe they have supernatural abilities. They just lacked the scientific basis to test it properly. You'll note that no mainstream (John Edward, Sylvia Brown, Uri Geller, etc.) paranormal specialist has ever tried to win the million dollars. They know they are making a good living by entertaining folks - but magic is entertaining, these guys are fooling people into believe something more.

    A note: The book was one of my favorites and I let a couple of friends borrow it and they loved it too. However, I also bought the audiobook (I really did like this!) and the reading is very monotone and not enjoyable compared to reading it yourself and seeing the photos in the book.
    12 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Duccio
    5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you, Randi
    Reviewed in Italy on June 11, 2021
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Randi was a genius, and he didn’t need to write this marvelous book, but thank goodness he did. Flim-flam should be part of every kid’s education, in order to protect them from charlatans and nonsense.
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  • David Shepherd
    5.0 out of 5 stars Randi is the king of common sense.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2019
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    The book may be a bit dated now but it is still a good read. The old nonsense has been replaced by new nonsense. But they still use the same old Rhetoric.
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  • kipper
    5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful!
    Reviewed in Canada on October 25, 2010
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    James Randi covers assorted topics in pseudoscience in a very readable and humourous fashion. Although occasionally a topic covered is a bit dated and no longer so strongly in the public eye (eg biorhythm), Randi's rational approach is timeless.

    Here is the opening preface to the book:

    "The Unicorn is said to be a beast with the configuration of a horse and a long spiralled horn in the centre of the forehead. Only a virgin, we are told, is able to approach a unicorn. For this and other reasons, no reliable reports exist to verify the reality of this animal.

    So much for unicorns. Now for the other nonsense..."

    Hilarious!

    Heartily recommended.
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  • Maurício
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente livro
    Reviewed in Brazil on September 15, 2015
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Esclarece o que precisa ser esclarecido sobre fraudes e mentiras que rendem muito dinheiro. Imperdível para qualquer cético que pretenda não ser enganado por vigaristas.
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  • shishir verma
    5.0 out of 5 stars The essential book for the educated
    Reviewed in India on December 24, 2018
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Every sensible person and all those who want to become sensible and sensitive and mature must read this no nonsense book. It must be introduced as a textbook for all educated people.
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