Behind the Crystal Ball (Boxtree, £20, ISBN 0 7522 0549 8)—even the title of Anthony Aveni’s book is puzzling. It is a comprehensive history of magic right up to the present day, charting the gradual divorce of the occult from science and the reasons for the split. Interesting enough; but it’s difficult to pin down Aveni’s thesis. A pertinent remark comes near to defining it: “… my goal was to demonstrate that deep down science and magic are perhaps more alike than we might care to admit.” The “perhaps” is significant. Aveni is a master of equivocation.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
2
Babies are born with the neural foundations for maths
3
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
4
I’m the first person whose life was saved by CRISPR base editing
5
This physicist is hunting for the biggest black hole in the universe
6
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
7
We’ve uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
8
The best sci-fi novel in 2026 so far – plus 6 other great reads
9
US government wants to have a useful quantum computer by 2028
10
The most detailed survey of the universe ever conducted starts now
