Skeptoid: Critical Analysis Of Pop Phenomena [Paperback]

Brian Dunning (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2008

As its name suggests, Skeptoid is a collection of skeptical factoids - short pro-science essays debunking a broad variety of phenomena in pop culture with pseudoscientific or paranormal foundations. The foreword is by James "The Amazing" Randi, probably the world's best known debunker of psychics and paranormal frauds. Skeptoid's chapters are adapted from the first 50 episodes of the popular critical thinking podcast of the same name. Just about every popular pseudoscience is represented here: Everything from paranormal phenomena such as haunted houses, Bigfoot, and ghost lights to quack health trends like organic food, chiropractic, and wheatgrass juice.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brian Dunning is the producer and host of the popular critical thinking podcast "Skeptoid: Critical Analysis of Pop Phenomena" at skeptoid.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 222 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434821668
• ISBN-13: 978-1434821669
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very insightful, January 10, 2008

By 

B. Witts "Behavior Therapist, Adjunct Profess... (Minnesota) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Skeptoid: Critical Analysis Of Pop Phenomena (Paperback)

Brian Dunning is fantastic at taking a critical perspective on popular topics such as hauntings, science, new age movements, organics, and more, and conveying it to believers and disbelievers alike. Whether you're a hardened skeptic, a new age hippie who wakes up every morning to organic wheat-grass juice while discussing chemtrails on your blog, or somewhere in the middle, you cannot afford to miss this book. Highly recommended.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The truth is a beautiful thing, January 11, 2008

By 

Dr. Matt Navarre "msnmedia" (Portland, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Skeptoid: Critical Analysis Of Pop Phenomena (Paperback)

This is a remarkable collection of incorrect beliefs laid bare. Brian has a knack for finding these nuggets of BS, researching the truth, and presenting the unbiased evidence mixed with insightful opinion. It's also very entertaining - I laughed out loud many times. Highly recommended.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great skeptic's reference, March 4, 2008

By 

B. Justin (Sunderland, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Skeptoid: Critical Analysis Of Pop Phenomena (Paperback)

Skeptoid by Brian Dunning is indeed a great book. It is a fairly quick read, and made for great quick breaks at work and around the house. As a fairly recent subscriber to the podcast (last 3 months) I hadn't read or heard most of the first 50 which are included here. My favorite was #29, Orbs in the camera. This one holds a special place in my heart, my brother and I would go out to graveyards when we were younger and take polaroids of this "phenomenon" and be excited that we captured ghosts on film. After getting older (and thanks to some critical thinking) Ive always wondered what those things actually were, and now I know. Hopefully we can look forward to Skeptoid #51-100 in book form soon.