"Robert Park, in these 10 well-written essays for a lay audience, uses pathological science as a starting point for far-reaching discussions of science and society. Park is an articulate and skeptical voice of reason about science." -- Kenneth R. Foster, Science"In Voodoo Science, Park leads us on a sharp-tongued, meandering trip through fringe science's back alleys."--Savannah News"[A] superb book."--The Washington Times"A brilliant bit of Debunkery!'Debunkery' may be a new coinage, but...its meaning is clear and it surely describes Voodoo Science, this admirable new scientific polemic by a University of Maryland physics professor, Robert L. Park."--The Star-Democrat"Few books have had the impact on my thinking of Charles Mackay's Extrordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, published more than 150 years ago. It taught me that massive numbers of individuals have fallen victim to bizarre manias. Professor Park's Voodoo Science teaches us that, even in this age of science, it is still happening. My enthusiasm for this book leads me to recommend it, without reservation, to the intellectual community and The Rest of Us. Long life to Robert Park and his fellow thinkers who, sometimes with little profit to themselves, are so willing and able to lead us out of what I call 'dumbth.'"--Steve Allen, author and TV personality"Comparable to the muckracking efforts of James Randi and Carl Sagan in the magazine The Skeptical Inquirer, Park's book should be required reading for all science writers, journalists, and politicians."--Library Journal"Bob Park, part urbane physicist, part scrappy Texan, is a national resource. He's been observing scientists and their wannabes and their hustlers for decades, with the unblinking eye of his trade, and now he tells us what he's seen, with the narrative cadence of Will Rogers and the blunt-lucid prose of Hemingway. As he crafts his fascinating tales of pride and sham and delusion, he invites us as well to contemplate human nature in its struggle to make sense of, and find a context in, this astonishing universe. I couldn't put it down."--Ursula Goodenough, Professor of Biology, Washington University, and author of The Sacred Depths of Nature"New discoveries in science and technology have not only fueled an explosive economy but also have provided unheard-of opportunities to those who would mislead the public whether through their own naivete or downright guile. The snake oil business is alive and well. Fortunately, we have a superb scientist to strip away the mumbo jumbo of these fraudulent schemers and reveal them for what they are. It is frightening to read how successful some of these purveyors of nonsense have been, even in the highest reaches of our government. All of us can thank Park for saving us from ourselves."--Val L. Fitch, Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor and Chairman, Department of Physics, Princeton University, Ex-President of the American Physical Society, Nobel Laureate in Physics"Science, as Richard Feynmann suggested, is what we have learned about how not to fool ourselves. There are few--far too few--accomplished scientists, skilled writers, who care greatly about the ways in which people DO fool themselves. Pseudoscience, anti-science, and simple fraud are frighteningly popular and dangerous ways, today, of fooling ourselves about reality. Professor Park is one of those who understand the scams and take the trouble to expose them. Voodoo Science is a powerful but readable assemblage of his findings and ideas."--Paul Gross, University Professor of Life Sciences, University of Virginia, and co-author of Higher Superstition"In Voodoo Science, Robert Park demonstrates how even science itself sometimes gets put in the service of delusion and self-delusion. From Star Wars to cold fusion, EMFs to UFOs, these dipatches from the front lines of scientific foolishness reveal how the things we want to believe often keep us from learning the things we need to know."--K.C. Cole, author of the bestseller The Universe and the Teacup: The Mathematics of Truth and Beauty"Television producers and newspaper editors have convinced themselves of a cowardly myth: that paranormalism may be drivel, but you have to serve it up because 'people' enjoy it more than its debunking. Professor Park does more than debunk, he crucifies. And the result is huge fun. I finished this brilliant book within a day, and then felt such withdrawal symptoms I went right back to the beginning and started again. Not only will you enjoy reading it. You'll never again waste time or your money on astrologers, 'quantum healers,' homeopaths, spoonbenders, perpetual motion merchants or alien abduction fantasists."--Richard Dawkins, Charles Simonyi Professor for the Understanding of Science, Oxford University, and author of Unweaving the Rainbow"Voodoo Science is chock-full of the latest pseudoscientific hoaxes, scams, and cases of sheer foolishness. Nothing and nobody are safe from Park's gaze, which ranges across the absurd and the sublime with equal impartiality.... Whatever else you may think about pseudoscience, at least it's entertaining. For much more of this high comedy, see the frequently droll and invariably enlightening pages of Robert Park's Voodoo Science--The New York Times Book Review"In his new book, Voodoo Science, Park takes on purveyors of scientific-sounding baloney in all its forms."--USA Today"Not one to suffer fools gladly, Park takes aim at what he calls 'pathological science, junk science, pseudoscience and fraudulent science.' He has targets aplenty. From homeopathy to therapeutic touch, from UFO myths to cold fusion, from self-deluding scientists to scientifically illiterate legislators, all are subjected to his penetrating critiques.... His lucid and often amusing analyses make a powerful case for rational thinking."--Time"Even more valuable than Park's arguments are his explanations. He has a gift for finding simple, direct ways to lead the reader through concepts like Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, making them seem interesting and accessible.... This is a clear and thoroughly entertaining guide to a world that often seems dry and maze-like."--The Boston Globe"I would like to make this book compulsory reading for medical students in their first year ... With brilliant insight and clarity of prose, [Park] describes the inevitable consequences of a debate between the true believer and sceptics ... This book was a joy and an entertainment."--Healthwatch Newsletter