The Truth About Uri Geller by James Randi (PDF)

Description

There is more to Uri Geller than his countless “miracles” – and James (The Amazing) Randi tells all in this fascinating examination of the Geller myth.The Truth About Uri Geller, formerly known as The Magic of Uri Geller, is a 1982 book by magician and skeptic James Randi about alleged psychic Uri Geller. In this comprehensive biography Randi challenges Uri Geller’s assertion that he performs paranormal feats. Randi explores Geller’s background as a stage magician, and explains how Geller’s spoon bending can be easily reproduced by any magician using sleight of hand.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I really enjoyed this book. Randi writes well and the book’s filled with various reports from others on Geller, revealing how, in his opinion, Geller performed all this tricks using simple conjuring techniques, many of which he describes in detail, and passed them off as psychic phenomena. Geller might have once been entertaining, but his former claims of PSI abilities led to large amounts of time and money being wasted on trying to prove the existence of phenomena that just don’t exist — unless you believe there’s something about ESP that stops it manifesting in laboratory conditions. The book’s also a timely reminder of just how sloppy scientists can become when they want to believe in something, and how easily intelligent people, even scientists, can be deceived by a skilled magician like Geller or the great Randi himself.

⭐Uri Geller was hounded from his home country of Israel and then from his adopted country of America. This book was written near the start of his rise to fame in the early and mid-70s, but Geller hasn’t changed his tricks so it’s as relevant now as it was then.Geller claims to bend metal and read minds using psychic powers given to him by aliens. He says he never cheats. Randi’s book boils down to this question: if any “psychic” feat can be convincingly replicated by a magician, should we believe someone who says he can do the same thing by psychic powers?How you answer the question depends on your worldview. If you care about the scientific method as the best way to determine truth about the world, you will find there is no evidence that Geller has psychic powers.As with all psychics who have undergone rigorous testing, Geller’s powers fail to work when simple controls are put in place. These days most investigators are a little more savvy about how to deal with testing psychics, but in the 70s the psychics ran the show. Geller’s so-called scientific testing at Sanford Research Institute was a joke, and Randi picks it apart piece by piece giving us all a sound lesson in experimental set-up in the process.Randi also reveals the techniques behind a few of Geller’s tricks – not all, because Randi was a professional magician and it’s bad form to give the game away. Randi also describes a few incidents where he replicated Geller’s tricks and then revealed the trickery, in order to try and convince people to be more skeptical about the claims of psychics.Geller has learned to fool others. The important lesson from this book is that believers fool themselves. If paranormal abilities can’t be demonstrated under controlled conditions, we are free to believe anything we like, ignoring the evidence that magicians can replicate the same feats. And believing anything on wishful thinking never gets us nearer the truth.

⭐Great book. James Randi is a genius and such an inspiring man. Must read for anyone who has doubts about the paranormal.

⭐I love what James Randi does. He exposes the con-artists who are tricking the gullible. James Randi used to be a magician known as the Amazing Randi. But there is a difference between being honest with people and making people think you are doing something supernatural.It’s one thing to say “I’m going to trick you” and to say “I possess magic”.In this book, James Randi exposes Uri Gellar. Uri was famous back in the 70’s for his supposed ability to bend spoons. This book also presented other things he claimed to do. Randi shows how many of these things could be done. He has the eye of a magician and can see the trickery. He has helped foil him on national television (Johnny Carson Show).The only problem I have is that Randi, I don’t believe, offers all of the details of the tricks. He is a magician and does not want to expose all of the secrets of the trade. But I will admit, I love the “Masked Magician” shows. I not only love being mystified, but also knowing the genius behind the trick. And I was a little disappointed in this regard.Thank you James Randi for all of your work and for exposing Uri Geller!

⭐Anything by James Randi is worth a read and this is no exception. I grew up seeing Uri on TV and was always curious about how he managed to do his conjuring and fool so many people. Mr. Randi explains it all.

⭐Scientific fact can be bastardized by people that want to make a quick buck. “There’s a sucker born every minute” but thank God, or whatever magic wizard in the sky you pray to, that there are people like James Randi to point out all the bulls***.

⭐Good book

⭐Randi exposes Uri Geller as a total conman! It wouldnt be so bad if Geller admited he was just a good magician but he is passing himself off as a psychic/guru which is a fraud. It is all about the money for Geller and with his manager sidekick they have conned their way round the World. He bends spoons and keys by distracting viewers and then either pushing them against a hard surface or physically bending them. When hes asked to do his ‘tricks’ under tight controls he fails. I was taken in by Geller as a kid and even bought one of his books a good few years ago. Don’t believe the hype, the guy is a total fraud and Randi does a good job of exposing him. Good book!

⭐A fascinating read but it could be so much better with a great deal of editing. Randi is NOT a writer! He’d have been far better off supplying all his material to someone else to write.However, I’ve still given five stars because he debunks Uri Geller thoroughly, and that to me is priceless!The book has many long passages of quotes from others, but it’s impossible to tell where these quotes end & where Randi is speaking again. He jumps around the narrrative confusingly, mixing tenses, making links to stories that lead nowhere – or “you can read about this in chapter **…” It’s unclear whether we’re expected to skip to that chapter and come back or continue through the book until we get there. As the book is confusing enough, I read it in page order – and it is hard to stop turning those pages, even though they’re so badly written!Randi is brutally honest, to the point of going into too much detail, complete with diagrams and/or photos, to expose very obvious tricks of Geller’s.Yet, with other tricks, he tells us they’re easily imitated, but doesn’t tell us how – incredibly frustrating! Perhaps this is due to the ‘magicians’ code’, but that in itself is an irritation (hey, magicians, we know it’s not actually magic!!)It is a really gripping read but be prepared for confusion & frustration at Randi’s appalling writing ‘ability’!

⭐This book exposes Uri Geller as a con artist whose PK tricks can easily be replicated by any magician including James Randi, the author.Randi reveals how the spoon bending, fixing a broken watch, teleportation, taking a photo whilst the lens cap is still on, and other tricks are performed. He also explores Uri’s abysmal performances in Israel and his tomfoolery in a parapsychologist’s lab. Although Randi respects Uri’s abilities as a magician he resents Uri portraying himself as a guru / psychic because this is misleading and an affront to a magician’s skill as an artist.Overall, this book was both revealing and very interesting.

⭐This is a detailed assessment of the trickery and deception perpetrated by Uri Geller over the many years, when he claimed to have supernatural powers whereas all his amazing performances were conjuring tricks, sleight of hand and other deceptive practices ably assisted by his personal conspirators highlighted by the author who could easily perform all of these tricks as an experienced magician.It shows Geller to be the arrogant self-centred illusionist that he really was and who wouldn’t admit that all of his illusions were just tricks and not attributable to his supernatural powers which he claimed he had.When subjected to detailed scrutiny by fellow conjurors assisting the scientific observers, he failed to perform many of his tricks and instead used many excuses to avoid showing himself up.

⭐I’m about half way through this book and am rather disappointed that although Randi says he can duplicate Geller’s ‘tricks’, he doesn’t say how, so we only have his word that he can. Personally I believe that Geller is a fraud; just a good magician and showman, but readers can make up their own minds.

⭐I bought this book as in my teenage years Uri Geller was on TV a lot of the time and enthralled the world on how he managed his “spoon bending” feats. Gradually Uri slipped from view, most of us assuming he was now working on some secretive government work. Uri Geller always denied that he was some form of Magician, but a person who was the focus of higher supernatural powers. Not the viewpoint of James Randi however, who felt affronted by such untrue and dangerous claims. Randi is a professional Magician however and felt honour bound to stand up for his industry and expose Uri’s deceptions which were leading people to think of him as a deity who could perform miracles. I really admire Randi’s tenaciousness in gradually dismantling Uri’s false claims, he did it constructively and always with great care and fairness. Read the book to see how! After reading it however, you might feel as I did – that whilst Uri Geller is no more than a Magician, he nevertheless must be one of the greatest ones the 20th Century has ever known….

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