The Mask Of Nostradamus: The Prophecies Of The World's Most Famous Seer
The Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer is a 1993 paperback book by magician and skeptic James Randi, originally published as a hardcover in 1990. Randi's biography looks past the mask of Nostradamus with a critical look of some of the alleged prophecies. He explains how people have rewritten his prophecies to suit history, and the tactics Nostradamus used to make his prophecies seem authentic.
Nostradamus' grandfather was Jewish, though converting to Catholicism, Nostradamus was looked upon with suspicion. However, by packaging himself as a diviner and prophet he was able to curry favor with the king and avoid discrimination normally suffered by others in France.
New Scientist wrote the book was a good biography exploring how people rewrite Nostradamus's predictions to give the illusion of fulfilled predictions. The Skeptic's Dictionary cites Randi as debunking Nostradamus' claimed predictions of Adolf Hitler.
John Koontz wrote about the book that "Randi can provide a much more parsimonious explanation than any given by true believers in prophecy".
John Blanton explains that in the book Randi described prophecy's believers willingness to bend the meanings of words in favor of their claims about Nostradamus.
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