Customer Reviews

The Mask of Nostradamus: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Prophet

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Randi's book gives you an excellent--and most importantly--a reliable account of the life and alleged prophecies of Michel de Nostradamus. This book is truly a gem. It was really fascinating to read of the many instances of utter credulity (and unfortunately instances of dishonesty) that so many believers and followers have had to resort to in order to hold onto this illusion of mystical prophetic fulfillment. Though Randi (correctly) debunks virtually every one of Nostradamus' allegedly fulfilled prophecies, I believe it serves Nostradamus' memory finer, and ourselves better, if we remember and commend him for what he was, rather than for what he was not. That is what Randi has done. Nostradamus was a fine man and a fine physician, but that's all, and that only.

Ignore the reader from NY. Like many he believes any small measure of "psychic" power "amazing". What Randi finds amazing is what I myself do, the beauty and miracle of a flower growing, the skills of the pyramid builders, when you can do that "psychicly" then I'll believe all the money wasted on "psychics" worth it. In the meantime, don't be fooled, question, and ask yourself as Randi does, "so what!"

Randi subjects Nostradamus to an intense scrutiny, applying strict logic every step of the way
The end result is a colossal waste of time--- logic and prophesying don't mix. Neither do logic
and Quantum physics, for that matter. In the matter of Nostradamus' most famous prophesy,
i.e., the death of French King Henry II, Randi dissects the quatrain and scornfully proclaims
that:

Lions were not King Henry's heraldic animal.
His jousting opponent could not be considered "young" and the king "old".
The king's visor was not made of gold.

Did I say Randi applied strict logic? Well, maybe not. Let's see:::

If you hear, "King of the beasts", what animal do you think of? That's right, lions, and the keyword is "King."
Henry's opponent is also a lion, as part of the pride, as it were.

At the time of the joust, Henry was 40 or 41, (pretty old for those times) while his opponent was 29.
Old and young, hmmm--- sounds okay to me.

Lastly, the king's visor was not made of gold. I dunno, but then neither does Randi. Anyway,
who cares? Maybe the visor was gilded, or something. Or maybe Nostradamus used the term
"golden" for some deep, mysterious, spooky reason! Hoo, hah!

Mr. Randi is probably the best known debunker of psychic phenomena. He enjoys his role, and doesn't limit his comments to just that type of phenomena, but also includes psychology, physics, and other individuals who might disagree with him. While it is true that humans cannot "see" around corners, and no person has been able to produce 'proof' of their abilities, there still remains the mystery of existence. As a matter of fact, the researchers at Princeton University, School of Applied Science, has verified an "ultimate example" of dreaming precognition. The details were forwarded to Dr. Robert G. Jahn's group PEAR. Dr. Jahn is the former Dean of the School of Applied Science. Brought to Randi's attention, he ignored this development. How many times in our history have we ignored another truth, because it didn't fit in with our "world view."