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An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural is a 1995 book by the conjuror and paranormal investigator James Randi, with a foreword by Arthur C. Clarke. It serves as a reference for a variety of topics within pseudoscience, the paranormal, and hoaxes. The Encyclopedia received generally positive reviews. In 2006, Randi made the work available free online.

An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural

Author	James Randi with foreword by Arthur C. Clarke
Language	English
Subject	Scientific skepticism
Publisher	St. Martin's Press
Publication date	1995
Publication place	United States of America
Media type	Hardcover/Paperback
Pages	284
ISBN	0-312-10974-1
OCLC	29953440
Dewey Decimal	001.903

Background

James Randi was a Canadian-American magician, escape artist, author, and scientific skeptic. Randi had a varied career, performing stage magic, mentalism, escape acts, and other illusions. After seriously injuring himself in an escape act, Randi quit escapism and stage magic. He subsequently devoted more of his time towards investigation of the paranormal, publishing several books on the topic including Flim-Flam! (1982), The Truth About Uri Geller (1982), The Faith Healers (1987), and The Mask of Nostradamus (1990). Randi's Encyclopedia, which is his final book, is presented as "a guide to the many subjects that are usually included in the 'supernatural' category". It was written in the wake of a legal dispute, the financial burden of which had been "very ruinous" and took time away from his investigations.

Contents

In his introduction, Randi notes that "hough it is not widely accepted or even well known to the public, it is a fact that no occult, paranormal, psychic, or supernatural claim has ever been substantiated by proper testing". According to Randi, other encyclopedias on the paranormal have been compiled by "undiscriminating and rather naive authors" and are characterised by "nquestioning belief in every sort of unproven claim of magical, occult, and mystical notions". He further remarks that these volumes "can give students only the affirmative view of subjects that have often actually been long ago disproved". Randi thus wrote his Encyclopedia as an alternative to these volumes. The Encyclopedia contains more than 600 entries, many of which are cross-referenced and/or illustrated. A range of topics are covered, including

• spiritualism
• mentalism
• cryptozoology
• pseudoscience
• alternative medicine
• parapsychology
• quackery
• occultism
• hoaxes

The book also includes a foreword by science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke, who describes himself as an "awestruck fan" of Randi. Randi had previously appeared on Clarke's 1985 television series Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Powers, where he demonstrated "how psychic surgeons, spoon-benders, and mind-readers achieve their effects".

Reception

In a review for the scientific journal Nature, Walter Gratzer described Randi's Encyclopedia as an "excellent compendium", praising it for being "copiously cross-referenced" and for "unearth many strange historical episodes". However, Gratzer also wrote that Randi "missed a few opportunities" by making only brief mention of scientology and not including entries for Alister Hardy, the Urantia cult, or Rupert Sheldrake. A review published in several newspapers praised Randi's "ability to deflate the practitioners of the occult in understated prose". In The Manhattan Mercury, R. M. Seaton noted that Randi "exposes the frauds that have been believed by gullible people from ancient times right up to the present".

In The Indianapolis Star, Rich Gotshall gave the book 21⁄2 stars out of 4, describing it as "interesting and fun", also depicting Randi's style as "straightforward, at times almost clinical". The book received a "B" grade in Entertainment Weekly, with David Hochman writing that it is "less a scholarly text than a diatribe against the dubious, from the abominable snowman to zombies", while also noting that "Randi never lets you forget that if something seems too weird to believe, it probably is". In the Enterprise-Record, Dan Barnett described the book as a "mishmash", stating that it "disappoints the reader who is looking for the kinds of exposes Randi is famous for". Barnett noted that the more interesting entries in the encyclopedia are "those that suggest ways in which psychics and others might be able to trick even to the soberest among us".

Of the UK edition, entitled The Supernatural A-Z: The Truth and the Lies, James Stannage wrote in the Manchester Evening News that the encyclopedia was "highly informative, thought-provoking and, best of all, entertaining". Chris Mellor also wrote in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner that Randi's entries are "occasionally dismissive but always thought-provoking and entertaining". The UK edition was also chosen as one of the 1995 "science books of the year" by the science staff at The Daily Telegraph.

Editions and translations

• First edition (St. Martin's Press, 1995)
• Paperback edition (St. Martin's Press, 1997)
• UK edition: The Supernatural A-Z: The Truth and the Lies (Headline, 1995)
• German edition: Lexikon der übersinnlichen Phänomene: die Wahrheit über die paranormale Welt (Heyne, 2011)
• Online edition (James Randi Educational Foundation, 2006)
• Ebook (James Randi Educational Foundation, 2011)

In the online edition, Randi made several corrections, both factual and typographical. He also "dropped in a few jokes" that were not in the original publication. This edition does not include the original introduction or the foreword by Arthur C. Clarke.

Notes

1. Full title An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural: James Randi’s Decidedly Skeptical Definitions of Alternate Realities

References

1. ^ "James Randi Educational Foundation — An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural". randi.org. 2006-01-05. Archived from the original on 2010-01-25. Retrieved 2023-08-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2. Ball, Philip (2020-10-29). "James Randi (1928–2020)". Nature. 587 (7832): 34. doi:10.1038/d41586-020-03050-5. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
3. "James Randi: Magician and sceptic dies aged 92". BBC News. 2020-10-22. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
4. ^ Fox, Margalit (2020-10-22). "James Randi, Magician Who Debunked Paranormal Claims, Dies at 92". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2023-03-23.
5. ^ Randi, James (1995). Encyclopedia of claims, frauds and hoaxes of the occult and supernatural: James Randi's decidely skeptical definitions of alternate realities. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-10974-5.
6. ^ Gratzer, Walter (1996-02-29). "It's no go Blavatsky". Nature. 379 (6568): 782–783. doi:10.1038/379782a0. ISSN 0028-0836.
7. "Hardcovers in brief". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
8. "Hardcovers in brief". Palm Beach Daily News. 1995-06-25. p. 21. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
9. "Book briefs". The Press Democrat. 1995-07-09. p. 63. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
10. Seaton, R. M. (1995-07-16). "A book filled with things that aren't so". The Manhattan Mercury. p. 26. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
11. Gotshall, Rich (1995-09-24). "Perceptions of deception". The Indianapolis Star. p. 52. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
12. Hochman, David (1997-06-13). "An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2015-01-09.
13. ^ Barnett, Dan (1995-10-01). "Walking over hot coals made easy". Enterprise-Record. p. 38. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
14. Stannage, James (1995-07-14). "Yogi buster". Manchester Evening News. p. 48. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
15. "Mellor, Chris (1995-07-21). "Taking the mystery out of the myth". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. p. 6. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
16. "From ant man to UFO debunker". The Daily Telegraph. 1995-12-06. p. 20. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-29.
17. "An encyclopedia of claims, frauds, and hoaxes of the occult and supernatural". www.worldcat.org. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
18. "An encyclopedia of claims, frauds, and hoaxes of the occult and supernatural : decidedly sceptical definitions of alternative realities". www.worldcat.org. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
19. "The supernatural A-Z : the truth and the lies". www.worldcat.org. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
20. "Lexikon der übersinnlichen Phänomene die Wahrheit über die paranormale Welt". www.worldcat.org. Archived from the original on 2023-08-13. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
21. "E-Books". JREF. Archived from the original on 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
22. ^ "James Randi Educational Foundation — An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural". 2010-02-04. Archived from the original on 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2023-07-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)

See also

• James Randi Educational Foundation
• Skeptic's Dictionary

• 1995 non-fiction books
• Books by James Randi
• Books about the paranormal
• Scientific skepticism mass media
• St. Martin's Press books
• Supernatural healing