Dreaming the Future: The Fantastic Story of Prediction by Pickover, Clifford A - 2001

Prometheus Books, 2001. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A highly collectible first edition/printing, tight clean copy, protected in a new brodart wrapper, no inscriptions, unclipped dustjacket, this is not an Ex-Lib or a BCE/BOMC edition. Considering the number of ridiculous books touting various methods of prognostication, this levelheaded treatment of the topic is long overdue. Pickover, a Ph.D. in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, discusses pretty much any form of prediction you care to mention, from alepouomancy, predicting the future based on a fox's paw prints, to the zodiac, on which astrology is based. His section on famous soothsayers is particularly interesting; he points out, for instance, that it is nearly impossible to relate Nostradamus' prophecies to actual historical events because they often lack specific details and that Jeane Dixon, the famous tabloid "prophet," tends to get it right only when her predictions are so broad as to be meaningless. Unlike some debunkers, Pickover acknowledges our inevitable fascination with predicting the future, noting that, although hopelessly unreliable, it can be fun, exciting, profitable, and sometimes even spiritual. An excellent book for skeptics and believers alike.