The Thought Reader Craze
Victorian Science at the Enchanted Boundary
Published on 10. October 2012
Book
Paperback/Softback
238 pages
978-0-7864-6470-8 (ISBN)
Description
Beginning in 1870, the hunger for scientific discovery in Great Britain drove prominent scientists, philosophers and others to promote the legitimacy of telepathy. At the same time, mind-reading as a form of entertainment gained increasing popularity as persuasive performers like John Randall Brown, W.I. Bishop, and Stuart C. Cumberland convinced reporters that they truly could read the thoughts of others.
The widely publicized, sometimes bizarre, interactions between scientists and these charlatans ushered in the Thought Reader Craze, a period that lasted through about 1910 and saw entertainers make and lose fortunes and scientists make and lose reputations. This volume explores this unusual cultural phenomenon, showing how it was aided through the years by public scientific pronouncements, astonishing performances by the thought readers, and the rapidly changing industrial society.
The widely publicized, sometimes bizarre, interactions between scientists and these charlatans ushered in the Thought Reader Craze, a period that lasted through about 1910 and saw entertainers make and lose fortunes and scientists make and lose reputations. This volume explores this unusual cultural phenomenon, showing how it was aided through the years by public scientific pronouncements, astonishing performances by the thought readers, and the rapidly changing industrial society.
Reviews / Votes
"Valuable"-Psypioneer Journal; "rigorously researched"-Journal of the Society for Psychical Research; "fascinating accounts...the author's fluent style makes for enjoyable reading, the book is well illustrated, thoroughly referenced"-The Magic Circle; "fascinating reading. Wiley has combined exhaustive archival research with keen insight to bring this story to light"-Magic; "a remarkable job...highly recommended"-The Linking Ring; "Barry Wiley is a first rate researcher...thorough piece of work...required reading"-Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine.More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Jefferson, NC
United States
Target group
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
31 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
396 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7864-6470-8 (9780786464708)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Retired high-tech executive Barry H. Wiley is the author of numerous books on the history of thought reading and spiritualism. He is an associate of the Inner Magic Circle, London, and a member of the Order of Merlin of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He lives in Oregon.
Content
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1. Introduction ... and Mrs. Hayden
2. The Borderland
3. Crookes and D.D. Home
4. The First Thought Reader
5. The Crookes Galvanometer Tests
6. Muscle Reading?
7. W. I. Bishop and W.F. Barrett
8. The Greatest Rascal
9. Proof! The Creery Sisters
10. Truth! Barrett and Bishop
11. J.R. Brown and His Telegraph Test
12. Stuart C. Cumberland, Thought Reader
13. Thought Reading Extraordinary: Blackburn and Smith
14. W. I. Bishop and "THE SECRET"
15. The Thought Reader Craze
16. "The Willingness to Deceive"
17. The Conjuror and the Physicist (Devant and Lodge)
18. The Blackburn Revelations
19. Truth ... or Hunger
Epilogue
An Afterthought
Appendices:
A. Impossible or Supernormal?
B. Origins of Second Sight
C. The Date of the Coin Is...?
D. Coding of a Random Drawing
E. Techniques of Thought Reading (Contact Mindreading )
F. A Thought Reader's Novel
G. The Crookes- Fay Galvanometer Test, February 19, 1875
H. SPR Leaflet by Alice Johnson
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1. Introduction ... and Mrs. Hayden
2. The Borderland
3. Crookes and D.D. Home
4. The First Thought Reader
5. The Crookes Galvanometer Tests
6. Muscle Reading?
7. W. I. Bishop and W.F. Barrett
8. The Greatest Rascal
9. Proof! The Creery Sisters
10. Truth! Barrett and Bishop
11. J.R. Brown and His Telegraph Test
12. Stuart C. Cumberland, Thought Reader
13. Thought Reading Extraordinary: Blackburn and Smith
14. W. I. Bishop and "THE SECRET"
15. The Thought Reader Craze
16. "The Willingness to Deceive"
17. The Conjuror and the Physicist (Devant and Lodge)
18. The Blackburn Revelations
19. Truth ... or Hunger
Epilogue
An Afterthought
Appendices:
A. Impossible or Supernormal?
B. Origins of Second Sight
C. The Date of the Coin Is...?
D. Coding of a Random Drawing
E. Techniques of Thought Reading (Contact Mindreading )
F. A Thought Reader's Novel
G. The Crookes- Fay Galvanometer Test, February 19, 1875
H. SPR Leaflet by Alice Johnson
Notes
Bibliography
Index