| Title | : | The Mask of Nostradamus |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0879758309 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780879758301 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 265 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1990 |
The Mask of Nostradamus is the first in-depth biography of this intriguing sixteenth-century astrologer and physician whose book of prophecies, The Centuries, is claimed by many to have foretold the Great Fire of London, the French Revolution, the rise of Hitler, and other crucial historical events. In his superb study of Nostradamus' life and times, Randi shows the extent to which contemporary beliefs in magic and astrology adulterated sixteenth-century science, and how Nostradamus used his skills as a physician and poet to become a cherished counselor to the courts of Europe. Finally, Randi exposes some of the tricks used by Nostradamus to make his prophecies seem authentic, and the rationalizations of his predictions by his followers through the centuries.
Four hundred years after his death, Nostradamus continues to fascinate us. This is the first serious exploration of this complex figure whose fame still echoes in our own time.
The Mask of Nostradamus Reviews
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I always enjoy James Randi's work debunking charlatans - it's a mixture of serious research, insight into con artists, and snide little zingers. I love a good history book full of gossip.
The Mask of Nostradamus dives deep into French history and current events, not only in Michel de Notredame's life and background, but also little snapshots of the eras his prophecies allegedly refer to. It is, admittedly, a little dry, so don't pick this book up unless you enjoy quibbles over 16th century typography and French geography and primary sources. Luckily, I do! -
I can't help but feel that this book could have been halved, but also tripled in size. Randi is, in this book at least, very much the magician he is on stage with his prose and I can't help but think that he drags a lot of parts unnecessarily out instead of stating them outright. I get that it's probably meant to intrigue the layman reader, but it really didn't interest me. I would have preferred a longer, perhaps a little more scholarly book.
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A through research and dissection on one of the biggest quacks of mankind. The book could have been 50 pages less.
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The Mask of Nostradamus / 0-87975-830-9
I am a huge fan of James Randi's work in debunking various 'psychic' frauds who prey on innocent victims for fame and fortune, so it was a foregone conclusion that I would read "The Mask of Nostradamus". However, I will admit up front that the work has some slight flaws, in my opinion.
The largest criticism I can level is that if you've read any of Randi's other works, a great deal of this book will seem like repeat material. Randi's treatment of magic vs. science will be very familiar at this point and a repeat reader will likely not find this section useful. However, I do not suppose it is completely fair for me to criticize Randi for laying this important and useful foundation every time he begins another book on a new facet of mythology, so I should temper this criticism as simply a note of caution to the repeat Randi reader.
My other criticism of the book is that I wish the layout had been different. I would have preferred that the detailed examination of prophecy and failure come first, followed by a look at the time period and events which combined to allow the prophet to flourish in spite of his failures. Instead, the book is organized the other way around with the "Life and Times of Nostradamus" material preceding the actual in-depth analysis of the actual prophecies. This approach will tend to discourage all but the most dedicated reader, since the "life and times" of the subject isn't really the most interesting aspect of the story.
Despite the issues of organization and repeat material, this book is still worth the purchase to the regular Randi reader or Nostradamus enthusiast. Randi carefully lays the groundwork of the world that allowed Nostradamus to flourish and provides a great deal of source material from the time period, including a comical exchange between the prophet and one of his clients who begs repeatedly over the course of several letters for the prophet to perhaps try to make his prophetic handwriting legible for he cannot read many of the prophecies at all! Randi also examines many of the prophet's predictions, pointing out the vague lack of details and the failed predictions that had time limits attached to them - limits that have passed without the prophecy's fulfillment. If looking for information on the debunking of the Nostradamus trend, this book will definitely deliver, if you are devoted enough to slog through the introductory chapters.
~ Ana Mardoll -
Nostradamus’ enduring legacy is more astonishing than his prophecies. Randi unmasks the man and systematically debunks them. “Centuries” was a serial publication written by Nostradamus, and was nothing more than a series of convoluted poetry that has been re- interpreted to extract prophetic and subjective meanings. Randi refers to the believers as “Nostradamians”. They have, since his death, linked these verses to major world events and called them prophesies.
Nostradamus thrived during a time of political and religious violence. I get a sense of sympathy from Randi when he describes the medieval environment that Nostradamus lived in. Magic ruled over science, and anyone who acquired its knowledge gained power, respect and immunity in society. After reading this book, I questioned whether Nostradamus was an outright fraud. Did he make up his prophecies just to appease the political powers of the time? Was ambition his reason? Or altruism? Did he sincerely believe that he had powers of premonition, and used them not only to gain security but to help others? Randi mentions that Nostradamus was also a poet, and this skill may have been more helpful in producing the “quatrains” than his other fields of knowledge.
The people Randi really targets are the Nostradamians. Instead of letting “Centuries” die with history, they resurrected them whenever there was any remote similarity to a major world event. They are still at it today, and some verses have been fraudulently modified to suit the events. The prophecies have no fixed date, so they will never expire. I think what concerns Randi is that the Nostradamians make convincing statements without question. They have cognitive dissonance, and no truth can sway their beliefs. -
This book wasn't revolutionary or groundbreaking, but if you like Penn&Teller — Randi is a mild version of them. Not profound as Bertrand Russell or Carl Sagan, not Dawkins feisty, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. Wish you a pleasant reading.
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I like James Randi and was interested in his take on Nostradamus, but found this book excessively long and detailed. I knew little about Nostradamus before reading it, but would have been happy with "Nostradamus was an astrologer". No more debunking is required than that.
It was interesting to see the description of the nonsensical methods used by Nostradamus and the true believers ever sense. To summarize, decide what you want to predict, then rewrite things using whatever method is needed so it agrees with your prediction. This can include bizarre translations of other languages, changing words into anagrams and even changing, adding, or removing letters from the resulting anagrams, invention of symbolism, and on and on. If you can rewrite things arbitrarily, then anything predicts everything. Amazing, isn't it.
I also enjoyed his six classifications of Nostradamus' quatrains. It reduces the complexity and makes much clearer the methods used by Nostradamus and his subsequent followers. -
Not quite what I was expecting but an interesting read nonetheless. Randi makes no bones about his skepticism of all things that cannot be explained by logic and science and I am with him on that. This book is part an examination of the so called prophecies of Nostradamus, past biography, part skeptical observation on seers generally and part historical account.
It tells the reader a lot about the man and the time, as well as examining the vagueness of the prophecies and a comprehensive analysis of 10 of his most famous. It's all bunk of course, but that won't stop people reading anything they like into his sayings. -
Probably the best and most informative scholarly work on the subject of the Seer of Salon thus far written. Randi's writing shows a sense of humor characteristic of his style as he describes details of Nostradamus' family, life and history, and deconstructs erroneous but popular notions of the lore surrounding him and his work. If you want to be informed about Nostradamus, this is the book to read.
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Molto molto interessante, esaustivo e scientificamente attendibile nello smontare la presunta preveggenza delle quartine di Nostradamus!
Esattamente il libro che volevo leggere riguardo a questo enigmatico personaggio che ha saputo vendersi benissimo, ma che nulla dimostra abbia davvero avuto dei poteri divinatori!!!
Ammetto di averlo sottolineato tanto, ma è un libro bc, quindi dovrò liberarlo e ricomprarne una copia per me! :-) -
A scientific review of Nostradamus, although portraying him near to a quack. Hard to evaluate if he was really trying to falsify his claim to fame or really trying to keep himself away from the then Inquisitions.
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Randi reveals Nostradamus for what he was: a charlatan with very good PR skills.
