Kirkus
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Prolific British science writer Clegg (Gravity: How the Weakest Force in the Universe Shaped Our Lives, 2012) takes ESP seriously but resists the temptation to add to the prolific genre that appeals to enthusiasts ("Of course, there are charlatans, BUT"). Actions such as clairvoyance or telekinesis must obey physical laws. The author finds none that apply, but believers often propose mysterious forces unknown to science, and Clegg does not deny the possibility. Establishment scientists have been investigating ESP for more than a century. Clegg delivers a detailed account of figures from J.B Rhine (1930s) and Russell Targ and Harold Puthoff (1970s), whose work was supported by the CIA. He does not neglect colorful figures such as Uri Geller, who, even though his feats flabbergast every lay observer and too many scientists, was no magician; professional performers can duplicate his tricks. Genuinely distressed, Clegg points out that ESP researchers have been sloppy about including controls and keeping an eye on subjects to prevent cheating; they routinely announce positive results, which are never dramatic (such as moving an object) but statistical (guessing more cards than expected), and other researchers attempting to duplicate them always fail. In a surprisingly optimistic conclusion, the author writes that some phenomena, particularly telepathy and remote viewing, may have a basis in reality and suggests experimental approaches with rigorous controls to prevent both subject and experimenter from cheating. Clegg accomplishes the impressive feat of persuading readers that ESP might exist, while delivering a delightfully astute examination of the current evidence, which remains frustratingly feeble.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Publishers Weekly
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By examining numerous major studies of supposed psychic powers-including telepathy, telekinesis, remote viewing, and precognition-Clegg (Inflight Science) swiftly kicks the science out of his subtitle. To do so, he brings a careful and critical eye to classic experiments involving psychic powers, conducted by the likes of Joseph Banks Rhine at Duke University starting in the 1930s and the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory beginning in 1979. In each case, Clegg, who holds a degree in physics from Cambridge, meticulously explains how the experiments were poorly designed and poorly controlled, and demonstrates how easily unscrupulous test subjects or researchers might have manipulated experimental conditions to produce misleading results, as when one of the moderators at Rhine's lab claimed to have "proved" that chicken eggs could control the heat lamps above them. Clegg also demystifies all of spoon-bending Uri Geller's supposed psychic powers, showing them for the parlor tricks they are. Through it all, however, the author remains somewhat of a believer-especially in the possibilities of telepathy-and oddly calls for more research into the matter. As of press time, no scientific evidence exists for extrasensory phenomena, but if you can prove it, talk to magician James Randi-he's offering a million bucks for that proof. (May 21) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.