How Mumbo-jumbo Conquered the World: A Short History of Modern Delusions
by Francis Wheen
Fourth Estate, £16.99, ISBN 0007140967

This is a book full of tales of the irrational. Throughout three hundred-odd pages you feel the weight of far more material and erudition than can possibly be squeezed into one volume.
You won’t forget the image of the Blairs rebirthing within a ‘Mayan’ pyramid while smearing each other with mud to the rhythm of ancient chants. Thinking of Edward de Bono using ‘water logic’ to shave (moving his head instead of the razor) conjures up one bloody mess that should raise a smile.
In amongst the great yarns however is a serious purpose. Wheen believes that the achievements of the Enlightenment have been overthrown by a mess of economic fundamentalists, holy warriors, mystics, and sensationalist historians.
The real and devastating consequences he illustrates in the contrast between America’s presidential elections of 1800 and of 2000. The former was contested by Adams and Jefferson, two major Enlightenment thinkers. In 2000, Al Gore identified Francis Bacon as “the greatest villain who ever lived because he assumed that human intellect could safely analyse the world without reference to … God”. George Bush proclaimed his dependence on Jesus at every possible turn. Wheen quotes Jefferson approvingly “Truth will prevail unless by human interposition disarmed … Errors cease to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them”. Yet, in 2000, free peoples enthusiastically elect Mumbo Jumbo. Wheen seems unsure whether Jefferson was plain wrong and the attractions of simple nonsense are too great, or if some political and economic form of Jefferson’s “tyranny and kings” is at work in society holding reason at bay. He has made the case that nonsense is a great force in the world and that it has awful consequences. How and why he has left to another book.

The Scientific Study of Society
by Max Steuer
Kluwer, ISBN 1402073216

There has been much noise from postmodernist quarters and other niches claiming that social science is an impossible quest. Steuer aims to show the error of this view, not by engaging in philosophical dispute, but by systematically displaying a wealth of research in the five social sciences: anthropology, economics, sociology, social psychology and political science.

In exactly the same way that a proper scientific approach to natural phenomena can rescue us from the delusions and fancies of mere speculation and figmentalism (my word for “belief in figments”), a strong case can be made – and Steuer makes it – for the value of real social science.
Sceptics who may be suspicious of the goings-on in sociology and the other disciplines should be reassured by the huge amount of serious empirical investigation into the workings of society. Steuer writes that “the book could have been called Social Science: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Spot the Impostor.”

The main part of the book comprises chapters on crime, migration, the family, money, housing and religion, and each chapter shows how each science has thrown light on these areas, covering research carried out during the 1990s.

In the chapter on religion, Steuer reports on a study by economists that makes “a persuasive case that the introduction of the doctrine of purgatory by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages can be reasonably understood as a profitable product innovation to take to the market.” One of the researchers in political science argues that the phenomenon of churches beginning to champion the poor rather than propping up hierarchical regimes is best explained in terms of competition from other religions.

This book is a substantial undertaking, and the author, an economist at the LSE, has done an unusually good job of summarizing a vast range of material in clear jargon-free English.

Paul Taylor

Fifty Key Thinkers in Psychology (Routledge Key Guides)
by Noel Sheehy
Routledge, ISBN 0 415 16774 4 (hbk), 0 415 16775 2

Psychologists will recognize the usual suspects, and a few less expected ones, among these ‘key thinkers’. Each gets a page or so of biography, and four or five of exposition. These will be useful to students who have already done say a year of psychology, and want summaries, and to teachers who want a few personal details. The problem is that, first, the thinkers are presented alphabetically rather than chronologically, and second, too little is said as to why they tackled the problems they did, and how, and what it all meant – at least in terms understandable by the lay person. What, in fact, are they the key to?
Psychology, like all science, is cumulative, but more than most, it is reflexive, part of its own subject matter. Understanding needs some grasp of its social, cultural and scientific setting, and of the progression of enquiry. These I did not find here. The reader may be left with an impression of unrelated bits and pieces.

John Radford

Pseudoscience and the Paranormal: Science and the Paranormal
by Terence Hines
Prometheus Books, $21.00, ISBN 1573929794

Is there no limit to the number of strange things people believe? This updated edition of Terence Hines’ 1988 book offers an intriguing and sometimes dispiriting introduction to the strange world of pseudoscience.
Hines covers a wide range of topics including so-called psychics, life after death, psychology and parapsychology, astrology, UFOs, faith healing, alternative medicine and other fads of the past two centuries. All the usual suspects are here – the Bermuda Triangle, the Turin Shroud, the Roswell ‘aliens’ and many more. Hines gives an admirably concise summary of each, and sums up the main arguments against them.
The inevitable drawback is that there is insufficient space for a detailed discussion of each subject, but Hines gives a useful and wide-ranging bibliography which will help readers explore any or all of these topics further.
The section on faith healing is particularly fascinating, exploring the sad truth behind so-called ‘cures’. Hines cites the case of one cancer patient who suffered severe spinal injuries as a direct result of her ‘miracle cure’. She was one of many who died despite their supposed ‘cures’.
Some of Hines’ topics are more controversial. He casts doubts on many aspects of Freudian psychology and on some environmental health scares. Perhaps a third edition could include a better index. For example, given that the first illustration in the book is one of the Cottingley fairy photographs, it’s frustrating to find that the index has no entry for “Cottingley Fairies”. (The case is indexed under “Doyle” instead.) Some of the illustrations are very poorly reproduced. But these are minor quibbles with a useful and interesting book, which serves as a valuable examination of a wide range of hoaxes, frauds and popular delusions.

Inamorata
by Joseph Gangemi
Viking, $24.95 ISBN 0-67-03279-4

I suspect that many of us who are intrigued by paranormal
phenomena also enjoy a good mystery. Inamorata satisfies
both appetites.
In his first novel, Joseph Gangemi takes us to Philadelphia during a revival of the Spiritualist movement. It’s 1922 and the Scientific American has offered $5,000 for conclusive evidence of psychic phenomena.
Our protagonist, 23-year old Harvard psychology graduate student Martin Finch, works for a professor who is the head of judges for the Scientific American contest. Finch’s job is to investigate the contestants’ claims of psychic ability. After exposing several frauds, Finch is assigned to Philadelphia in his professor’s stead to investigate a medium, Mina Crawley, who has come highly recommended by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Upon arrival and exposure to Mina’s feminine charms, Finch must fight to keep his investigative objectivity. The story’s suspense intensifies as Mina’s abilities are tested and her relationship with Finch develops. He explores several possible explanations for Mina’s ability. Is it supernatural as claimed? Is it an extremely well-executed magician’s trick? Or does his own field of study, psychology, hold the answer? Readers who are familiar with paranormal history may recognize many of the characters names from reallife. The allusions to the sexual behaviour of Mina’s husband, Dr Arthur Crawley, may however seem over-thetop for readers not familiar with English magician and occultist Aleister Crowley. With references to the Catholic church and a dying sceptic’s admission that he wanted to be proven wrong, we are reminded how powerfully the human psyche needs to believe – to project itself into an eternal existence.
Finch and his professor primarily, and other characters to some degree, each struggle with the tension between believing and not believing. I like that Gangemi stays true to this tension, deftly weaving evidence for multiple explanations for Mina’s seeming success as a medium. Ultimately, he lets the reader decide what or whether to believe.
Gangemi’s degree in psychology is put to good use with specific descriptions of mental disorders and psychological theories. It’s always nice to accidentally learn something while reading for pleasure. And a pleasure it was.

Alicia Hill Ruiz

Hoaxes, Myths and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking
by Robert E Bartholomew and Benjamin Radford
Prometheus, ISBN 1591020484

Readers of this journal will hardly need to be instructed in the need for critical thinking, of course, but you could usefully put this book into the hands of a bright youngster who shows disquieting signs of tending to believe what he is told. By following the guidelines lucidly set out in the introductory chapters, he will learn to avoid the pitfalls of credulity and grow up to be as leery a doubter as you or me. Discussion of general themes such as “what is normal?” and “memory reconstruction” will open his eyes to the wider picture, teaching him that normality is a relative concept, and that witness testimony is a fragile commodity to be handled with care.
These general themes are illustrated with a fascinating diversity of case histories which demonstrate those principles in action. Drawing largely on articles previously published in The Skeptical Inquirer, and solidly backed with extensive references, they range from the flying saucer myth to shrinking genitals panics, from mad gassers to invading Martians. The astonishing chronicle of England’s black helicopters, contributed by that doughty investigator David Clarke, admirably shows how the media and witnesses between them conjure up a mass delusion which impresses by its extent – until it is disassembled item by crumbling item.
The book is evidently aimed at use in an educational context, to judge by the set of questions at the end of each chapter. But readers of any age – this elderly reviewer included – will learn much from this excellent manual, which I strongly recommend.

Hilary Evans

Why We Exist: Inferences from Science for an Explanation of Human Purpose
by Eugene Bell-Gam
Pen Press Publishers Ltd, £9.99, ISBN 1-904018-86-6

Judging by the title alone I thought this book might be an interesting read even if I disagreed with the author’s conclusions. Unfortunately, when I read the blurb on the back warning bells started to ring when I saw questions like “Where did our life force come from?” and “Where does it go when we die?”. The mention of a “life force” suggested some kind of quasi religious viewpoint, but Bell-Gam’s thesis is far worse than that though – it’s bizarre.
Early chapters in this slim volume (it’s less than 200 pages) focus on origins, and it’s here one starts to groan when anti-evolutionary, creationist, and intelligent design arguments are trotted out. It’s curious why he’s sympathetic to young earth creationism because it’s not crucial to his thesis, but it is to some brands of biblical literalism. Bell-Gam believes that we are part of a cosmic experiment, what he calls the Solar Laboratory Theory.
His evidence for this comes from arguments for intelligent design and several spurious analogies between the brain and computer technology. By the time he got round to explaining his view of human purpose I’d lost interest; he doesn’t have anything original or especially insightful to say about it anyway. One is left with the impression that a modest knowledge of science has been mixed with pseudoscience and a hefty dose of muddled thinking.
A quick investigation showed that Pen Press is a self-publishing outfit which charges authors to publish and market their work. I can only conclude that Bell-Gam should have saved his money, and that readers save their money by avoiding this over-priced nonsense.
The only positive thing about this book is that the writing is quite good and there are references at the end of each chapter.

Dene Bebbington

Love and Eugenics in the Late Nineteenth Century: Rational Reproduction and the New Woman
by Angelique Richardson
Oxford University Press, £45, ISBN 0198187009

Nowadays eugenics is a dirty word, calling to mind Nazi experiments and compulsory sterilisation. But a hundred years ago it was a hotly debated topic. There was great concern over perceived racial degeneration in Britain, particularly the prevalence of hereditary diseases and the ill-health and poor physique of large slum families. Eugenicists argued that selective breeding was the answer to both problems. If only the healthiest people bred, the race would improve.
Some commentators argued that any woman wishing to marry should choose the husband most likely to give her healthy children, disregarding such complicating factors as love and sexual attraction. Having as many healthy babies as possible was seen as a woman’s duty and destiny. Fin de siècle feminist writers such as Mona Caird, George Egerton and Sarah Grand took up this debate, exploring the eugenics question in short stories, novels and journalism.  Richardson’s book examines these women’s work, exploring ways in which the eugenics debate informed wider debates on the role of women and the nature of marriage. Some of the issues have uncomfortable resonances with today’s arguments about genetic screening and ‘designer babies’. Are we as different from the Victorians as we would like to think?

Chris Willis