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Fortune Telling & Divination
Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium by Mark Edward — book cover

Psychic Blues: Confessions of a Conflicted Medium

by Mark Edward, James Randi (Foreword by)
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Overview

Publication Date: May 15, 2012

"Mark Edward is an equivocator, fibber, and mountebank. Which begs the question: if a liar admits to lying, can he be telling the truth? He is a literate, informative, intellectual, a student of the psychology of humans, a foe of those who would defraud the public for personal gain, and as an author and practicing psychic, he is first and foremost an entertainer."—Joel Moskowitz, International Brotherhood of Magicians

Mark Edward confesses that for years he exploited believers who wished to connect with supernatural ideas and sad family members who missed dead loved ones.

Edward is a professional mentalist who has worked the Magic Castle in Hollywood for over thirty years and is also on the Editorial Board of Skeptic magazine, where he has worked with other critical thinkers to reveal the methods of psychic scamsters. This entertaining book is at once confessional and instructional regarding human belief and those who exploit it.

Edward believes that most practitioners of the psychic business are out-and-out scam artists, and that the common need to believe in things supernatural is merely a part of human nature.

About the Author, Mark Edward

Both skeptic and skeptical of skepticsm, author Mark Edwards has worked as a 900 number psychic, ghost hunter, and Hollywood Magic Castle medium. He has also worked virgorously to debunk psychic frauds and currently works on the Editorial board of Skeptic Magazine.

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Editorials

Library Journal

Edward's book, part memoir, part exposé, explores his years working as a psychic. He began his career at the Psychic Friends Network where he remained for close to ten years. He exposes the network as a fraud—old news to just about everyone. He then moves on to psychic fairs, call-in shows, and private parties. His own skills are more akin to those of a mentalist, able to pick up on clues and then offer seemingly "psychic" advice; for example, a woman without a wedding ring will likely be told she will find true love shortly. Next, he discusses his palm and tarot reading, again using more common sense than actual psychic ability. Overall his tone is condescending, bordering on nasty, e.g., women (most of his clients are woman) are depicted as shallow, vain, or even downright stupid. He tosses in redemptive tales meant to show he's not a bad person, but they seem contrived. VERDICT Recommended only for the true cynic who wants to confirm once and for all that psychics are con artists.—Susan Flaherty, Portland P.L., ME

Book Details

Published
August 7, 2012
Publisher
Feral House
Pages
340
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781936239276

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