The New Age: Notes of a Fringe-Watcher
by Martin Gardner
Book Summary Information
Author: Martin GardnerEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1991-04
ISBN: 0879756446
Number of pages: 273
Publisher: Prometheus Books
Book Reviews of The New Age: Notes of a Fringe-Watcher
Book Review: A collection, not an overview
Summary: 4 Stars
I reserved this book at my local public library, based on its title, which is somewhat inaccurate. The book is, as other reviewers have noted, a collection of magazine articles and book reviews, with some added comments at the end of each, rather than a historical overview of the New Age phenomenon. Gardner does richly deserve credit for his fairness in including replies from people who disagreed strongly with him. Still, much of the book is dated, describing people and phenomena it was important to challenge at the time of writing but now faded from the public eye; I skipped or skimmed many parts. I find Michael Shermer's book Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time more comprehensive; though it too is largely a collection of articles, they are longer and generally go deeper; Shermer has expanded many of them well beyond what he originally published in periodicals.
In spite of my criticisms, I find much of Gardner's book interesting -- the most useful parts for me were his devastating exzmination of L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology, and the book reviews, as a guide to further reading.
Summary of The New Age: Notes of a Fringe-Watcher
Martin Gardner confronts new trends in pseudo-science and the paranormal: from the much-publicised past-life exploits of Shirley MacLaine to the latest in perpetual-motion machines, from "prime-time preachers" to the "channelling mania" of the past few years.New Thought Books
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