Extra Sensory Perception:

by Joseph Banks Rhine

This is the original account of the basic experiment in parapsychology at Duke University, out which came the phrase, “extra sensory perception”—ESP, that now appears in all dictionaries. It was originally published in association with the Boston Society for Psychic Research, but it has been out of print for years. The Foreword by William McDougall, author of Introduction to Social Psychology, and the Introduction by Walter Franklin Prince, who was Research Officer for the Boston Society for Psychic Research, as well as all the illustrations, have been retained, but Dr. Rhine has brought the book up-to-date and written a new Introduction especially for this edition. The book remains, as Waldemar Kaempffert said originally in The New York Times, “A report that gives an account of the most important study ever made in what is known as telepathy, mindreading, and clairvoyance.”

Genres: Psychology, Science, Paranormal

230 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

J. B. Rhine was an American botanist who founded scientific research in parapsychology as a branch of psychology, founding the parapsychology lab at Duke University, the Journal of Parapsychology, the Foundation for Research on the Nature of Man, and the Parapsychological Association.

Reviews

[Romuald Dzemo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extra-Sensory Perception by Joseph Banks Rhine is a groundbreaking, scientific work that will surprise the world. In a field where there are no absolutes and no certainty, where there has been a lot of speculation, Dr. Rhine comes across as an expert, offering to readers the fruits of long years of research, facts about topics that still appear, to many people, obscure. Readers will gain a lot of understanding into concepts like telepathy and precognition.

I was first attracted to the gorgeous cover of this well-written book, and out of curiosity, I bought it. I don't regret the choice, because the book turned out to be an eye-opener in a subject I have merely read about in sci-fi. In clear and powerful prose, the author demystifies the myths about extra-sensory perception and demonstrates that things like telepathy and perception without the senses are infinitely possible. In fact, it's a skill that can be developed.

What makes this work so compelling is that it comes as a result of a huge number of experiments and research, a work that should be considered a milestone, a surprising breakthrough in an area of science where few people want to experiment. Extra-Sensory Perception is highly informative and readers can be sure it will alter the way they approach perception.

[Andy Kurzweil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the classic study of ESP by J.B. Rhine using the Zener cards (plus, circle, square, star and wavy lines). I found it an interesting read despite all the statistics. Some good discussion of the nature of ESP based on the results. The hard core skeptics won't be convinced, but if you're open to the possibility that ESP exists, I recommend this book.