Francis Wheen: How Mumbo-jumbo Conquered the World

Francis Wheen hates the mumbo-jumbo that seems to dominate the world these days. In particular, he attacks "holy warriors, antiscientific relativists, economic fundamentalists, radical postmodernists, New Age mystics [and] latter-day Chicken Lickens" who oppose rationalism and reason.

Wheen's style is entertaining, especially if you agree with him. The book's a bit shallow, perhaps, some of the cases could use deeper discussion. While he hits the nail on the head many times, the book isn't quite brilliant - just good. Some people would benefit a lot from reading it, but of course it's one of those books that's mostly read by the people who already agree with it (Dawkins' The God Delusion is another example).

Sure, the book could be better, but it's a good starting point to discover all the mumbo-jumbo that's filling the world. [ How Mumbo-jumbo Conquered the World: A Short History of Modern Delusions at Amazon.co.uk ] [ How Mumbo-jumbo Conquered the World at LibraryThing ]