Spiritual Snake Oil by Chris Edwards

Spiritual Snake Oil: Fads & Fallacies in Pop Culture, Chris Edwards. Tucson AZ: See Sharp Press, 2011. e-book, 148 pps.


     Spiritual Snake Oil is a very thorough and readable book. The author takes on the New Age and much of the silliness [and outright fraud] to be found there. The first chapter explains why debunking is important. The rest of the book takes on individual guru types and their specific "teachings" or "revelations." Many of the sellers of feel-good snake oil use their gross misunderstanding of science and specifically quantum physics to pedal their wares. Vibrations, secret antiquated manuscripts, and a dressing up of the pseudo-christian prosperity gospel are popular. Chris Edwards holds each item to a high standard: what is the evidence for each claim?

sapphoq reviews says: I really liked this book. Spiritual Snake Oil demonstrates the dangers of wrapping crap into palatable formats. Highly recommended. Suitable for teens as well as for adults.