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The Men on Magic Carpets: Searching for the Superhuman Sports Star
In the 1970s the US military believed they could create a '"super soldier"--one who could use psychic powers to walk through walls, disarm the enemy through telepathy, or kill a goat by staring at it. The brain behind these techniques was Michael Murphy, one of the founders of "New Age" spiritualism in the hippy enclaves of San Francisco. But Murphy's primary goal was to use these powers to create a supreme athlete capable of extraordinary sporting feats.
Murphy and his protégés have dedicated their lives to teaching athletes and coaches to use his methods. Runners locked in huts until they believed they were dead saints, spies using mind control to win chess matches, Russian Olympians "shape shifting," and golfers imagining they were Darth Vader--coaches and athletes soon began to trust in very weird things.
So weird, in fact, that sport's burgeoning obsession with money and image meant the hippies went underground and the superhuman powers became mythical. But the trailblazers are making a comeback, influencing some of the world's top teams.
Award-winning investigative journalist Ed Hawkins meets Murphy and his protégés as well as a cast of athletes and coaches convinced by their methods as he immerses himself in a world shrouded in secrecy and weirdness. In a simultaneously hilarious and unsettling tale, he experiences first-hand the techniques as he endeavors to reveal the truth about sports psychology.
Murphy and his protégés have dedicated their lives to teaching athletes and coaches to use his methods. Runners locked in huts until they believed they were dead saints, spies using mind control to win chess matches, Russian Olympians "shape shifting," and golfers imagining they were Darth Vader--coaches and athletes soon began to trust in very weird things.
So weird, in fact, that sport's burgeoning obsession with money and image meant the hippies went underground and the superhuman powers became mythical. But the trailblazers are making a comeback, influencing some of the world's top teams.
Award-winning investigative journalist Ed Hawkins meets Murphy and his protégés as well as a cast of athletes and coaches convinced by their methods as he immerses himself in a world shrouded in secrecy and weirdness. In a simultaneously hilarious and unsettling tale, he experiences first-hand the techniques as he endeavors to reveal the truth about sports psychology.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
304 pages, Hardcover
Published June 4, 2019
6 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Ed Hawkins
13 books4 followersEd Hawkins is an author and journalist, known for his investigative reporting. His work has appeared in The Times, the Guardian, and the Daily Mail.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 31, 2019
Infuriating.
Maddening.
This is a book about Ed Hawkins (a) having yarns with a bunch of guys who believe in magic mental powers; (b) cobbling together two years of said yarns; and (c) pretending he's written a book about something other than yarns.
There's no framing of these yarns nor any critical analysis of the accuracy of these yarns. In terms of wider relevance outside sport, the U.S. government might be in on these guys and their yarns, employing them in mission critical roles such as telling Iraqis not to get so stressed out about living in Fallujah.
Oh, and Uri Gellar has some sweet yarns such as telling Hawkins that Muhammad Ali got Parkinsons as a side effect of Ali's magic mental powers rather than repeated punches to the head.
Uri Gellar. The guy Hawkins tells us convinced the Soviets to sign nuclear arms limitations treaties through telepathy.
Theoretically (and I am guessing here), there are two elements to this book:
1. How, and to what extent, can a sportsman engage in mental gymnastics to improve his own performance? Can he trigger the right chemicals that slow down time? Can he perceive events in advance?
2. Is it possible to positively or negatively influence either inanimate objects (moving a soccer ball before a player kicks it) or other players by directing mental energy at it or them.
These are two very different things, yet Hawkins skips between them with no delineation nor sober analysis of the probabilities of either. He just scribbles down what is dictated to him by a grab bag of men with "successes" that seem remarkablely mediocre in respect of their self-professed powers:
"Gibson had an ability to see inside people's bodies and tell them about their injuries, past or present."
I mean, c'mon man. I know that's a crock, you know it's a crock, yet you expect the reader to swallow that and say "I can't believe that's not butter"?
Unfortunately, when Hawkins does go to the effort of seeing an actual experiment, it only makes the book worse. Hawkins retains a mind blowing level of credulity at embarrassingly amateurishly conducted test:
1. He doesn't know what is actually being tested.
2. He sees squat but "apparently" something happened because the person invested in the success of the test told him it did.
3. He repeats as fact something the test never proved, nor sought to prove, as though the test did prove it.
This is really basic stuff.
Because the protagonists are American or American associated, the narrative focuses on American sports, particularly the unconventional methods of Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
You know who are astoundingly good sports writers, especially about American sports? Americans.
Hawkins' inadequacies as an Englishman show up really badly. In idolising Carroll's weird methods that may have won the team a Super Bowl, once, Hawkins is uninterested talking about any actual football. The key takeaway we are supposed to accept is that because coach Carroll tries not to be mean to his players, he's unlocked the Konami code to winning the Super Bowlat will once and making the playoffs from time to time.
This book meanders to the "climatic" moment of Hawkins getting a second phone conversation with Carroll, a final moment of cringeworthy fandom. In the end, I'm not angry about the content of this book, I'm angry that the book is without content.
As a final aside, "sportsman" is a deliberate reference in this review. There are virtually no sportswomen or female mental scientists/gurus in this book. All I can recall are some creepy comments about Ana Ivanovic. 50% of the population have no meaningful voice here. It reflects just how much this book is just some yarns with some guys.
Maddening.
This is a book about Ed Hawkins (a) having yarns with a bunch of guys who believe in magic mental powers; (b) cobbling together two years of said yarns; and (c) pretending he's written a book about something other than yarns.
There's no framing of these yarns nor any critical analysis of the accuracy of these yarns. In terms of wider relevance outside sport, the U.S. government might be in on these guys and their yarns, employing them in mission critical roles such as telling Iraqis not to get so stressed out about living in Fallujah.
Oh, and Uri Gellar has some sweet yarns such as telling Hawkins that Muhammad Ali got Parkinsons as a side effect of Ali's magic mental powers rather than repeated punches to the head.
Uri Gellar. The guy Hawkins tells us convinced the Soviets to sign nuclear arms limitations treaties through telepathy.
Theoretically (and I am guessing here), there are two elements to this book:
1. How, and to what extent, can a sportsman engage in mental gymnastics to improve his own performance? Can he trigger the right chemicals that slow down time? Can he perceive events in advance?
2. Is it possible to positively or negatively influence either inanimate objects (moving a soccer ball before a player kicks it) or other players by directing mental energy at it or them.
These are two very different things, yet Hawkins skips between them with no delineation nor sober analysis of the probabilities of either. He just scribbles down what is dictated to him by a grab bag of men with "successes" that seem remarkablely mediocre in respect of their self-professed powers:
"Gibson had an ability to see inside people's bodies and tell them about their injuries, past or present."
I mean, c'mon man. I know that's a crock, you know it's a crock, yet you expect the reader to swallow that and say "I can't believe that's not butter"?
Unfortunately, when Hawkins does go to the effort of seeing an actual experiment, it only makes the book worse. Hawkins retains a mind blowing level of credulity at embarrassingly amateurishly conducted test:
1. He doesn't know what is actually being tested.
2. He sees squat but "apparently" something happened because the person invested in the success of the test told him it did.
3. He repeats as fact something the test never proved, nor sought to prove, as though the test did prove it.
This is really basic stuff.
Because the protagonists are American or American associated, the narrative focuses on American sports, particularly the unconventional methods of Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
You know who are astoundingly good sports writers, especially about American sports? Americans.
Hawkins' inadequacies as an Englishman show up really badly. In idolising Carroll's weird methods that may have won the team a Super Bowl, once, Hawkins is uninterested talking about any actual football. The key takeaway we are supposed to accept is that because coach Carroll tries not to be mean to his players, he's unlocked the Konami code to winning the Super Bowl
This book meanders to the "climatic" moment of Hawkins getting a second phone conversation with Carroll, a final moment of cringeworthy fandom. In the end, I'm not angry about the content of this book, I'm angry that the book is without content.
As a final aside, "sportsman" is a deliberate reference in this review. There are virtually no sportswomen or female mental scientists/gurus in this book. All I can recall are some creepy comments about Ana Ivanovic. 50% of the population have no meaningful voice here. It reflects just how much this book is just some yarns with some guys.
July 7, 2019
Exceptional. Just exceptional.
January 19, 2021
“Most people would think it’s weird [being open to the esoteric] but I’d say it’s a part of life and part of the potential”
While on the search for Tyson Fury’s latest book in the hopes of optimising my focus and improving my boxing, this book caught my eye in a sales bin. I didn’t realise it at the time but this was exactly what I was looking for.
My background is in theatre and the reason I love it is because there is an energy unique to live performance with a group of people which can create something electric and much larger than itself which goes on to become it’s own myth over time. Whose recollection of the show is true? Anyone’s/Everyone’s. And yet it if recorded and watched back it would not reflect the events that transpired and the feelings evoked and shared. I recognised the same thing in Hawkins’ exploration of sport and the bizarre/“science” and while never getting a straight answer from any of the questions posed in this I’ve gained something largely intangible but real.
Hawkins’ writing captures the elusive nature of energy and power. There’s no point in trying to pin down the particulars. I’m so glad to have read this book and be reminded of what makes me feel most alive. As such, I've come away with the kernels of a new approach to my goals and broader life. Weird thing to say I guess. Just read the book.
While on the search for Tyson Fury’s latest book in the hopes of optimising my focus and improving my boxing, this book caught my eye in a sales bin. I didn’t realise it at the time but this was exactly what I was looking for.
My background is in theatre and the reason I love it is because there is an energy unique to live performance with a group of people which can create something electric and much larger than itself which goes on to become it’s own myth over time. Whose recollection of the show is true? Anyone’s/Everyone’s. And yet it if recorded and watched back it would not reflect the events that transpired and the feelings evoked and shared. I recognised the same thing in Hawkins’ exploration of sport and the bizarre/“science” and while never getting a straight answer from any of the questions posed in this I’ve gained something largely intangible but real.
Hawkins’ writing captures the elusive nature of energy and power. There’s no point in trying to pin down the particulars. I’m so glad to have read this book and be reminded of what makes me feel most alive. As such, I've come away with the kernels of a new approach to my goals and broader life. Weird thing to say I guess. Just read the book.
December 26, 2019
A highly entertaining read. At times the author was a little self-indulged, especially in the attempt to interview Pete Caroll. Some of the claims and links he made were also a little far reaching at times. Overall a highly interesting and entertaining read though.
October 15, 2019
Absolutely loved it
Read
December 5, 2019Fascinating and entertaining read
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews