The Truth About Uri Geller
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''The Truth About Uri Geller'', originally published as ''The Magic of Uri Geller'' in 1975, is a 1982 book by
magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...
and
skeptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
James Randi James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. Rodrigues 2010p. ...
about alleged
psychic A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, ...
Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other ill ...
. In the book, Randi challenges Geller's assertions that he performs
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
feats. Randi explores Geller's background as a stage magician, and explains how Geller's
spoon bending Spoon bending is the deformation of objects, especially metal cutlery, purportedly by paranormal means. It is a common theme for magic tricks, which use a variety of methods to produce the effect. Performers commonly use misdirection to draw th ...
can be easily reproduced by any magician using
sleight of hand Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card ...
. In 1991 Geller filed a $15 million lawsuit against Randi and the
Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the US non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to "prom ...
(CSICOP) over
slander Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
concerning Randi's statements that Geller had "tricked even reputable scientists" with tricks that "are the kind that used to be on the back of cereal boxes when I was a kid". The court dismissed the case and Geller had to eventually settle the case at a cost of $120,000. In February 1992, Geller sued Randi, Prometheus and local book distributors in
London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
, for
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
concerning ''The Magic of Uri Geller''. The lawsuit centered on the sentence: "He began his career as a stage magician in
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
where he was once arrested for claiming his feats were performed with psychic power", since Geller had not been arrested but merely sued. The publisher issued an
erratum An erratum or corrigendum (plurals: errata, corrigenda) (comes from la, errata corrige) is a correction of a published text. As a general rule, publishers issue an erratum for a production error (i.e., an error introduced during the publishing pro ...
that changed the phrase "he was once arrested" to "he was once sued". Randi commented in 1993 that "My position is that I made an unintended factual error in misinterpreting the words 'brought to court' and 'guilty' as 'arrested,' and that this was done without malice or reckless disregard for the truth." Geller lost this case as well and had to pay Randi's legal fees. In April 1992, Geller sued Prometheus Books for $4 million, alleging
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
in two other books. This suit was thrown out in 1994, and the judge ordered Geller to pay $20,273 in legal fees. After Geller's three lawsuits, Randi said he "never paid even one dollar or even one cent to anyone who ever sued me, and certainly not to Geller".


Reception

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'', and holds the all-time record for mos ...
reviewed ''The Truth About Uri Geller'' for ''
White Dwarf A white dwarf is a stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to the Sun's, while its volume is comparable to the Earth's. A white dwarf's faint luminosity comes fro ...
'' #43, and stated that "Randi puts the boot into the charismatic Uri. His scorn is withering; even if you think he leans too far towards skepticism (I don't), it's impressive and damning that Randi can duplicate any and all of Geller's paltry tricks without need to claim astral powers – while Geller's power mysteriously desert him when Randi or other professional magicians happen to be watching."


See also

*
Exposure (magic) Exposure in magic refers to the practice of revealing the methods of magic tricks. The practice is generally frowned upon amongst magicians, who believe that it ruins the experience of magical performances for audiences. Exposure is uniquely im ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truth About Uri Geller 1982 non-fiction books Biographies (books) Books by James Randi Prometheus Books books Scientific skepticism mass media