http://www.the-tls.co.uk/this_week/story.aspx?story_id=2106395

Mumbo!

Whew, I can't tell whether the writer is more praising the book or venting spleen. But, One of the skills required of a journalist these days is the ability to shout across Downing Street at persons entering Number 10 does seem to verify my guess that this source is the London Times.

I like this: As a category, mumbo-jumbo is highly elastic. True! I guess most peoples' beliefs are probably seen as mumbo-jumbo by somebody, somewhere.

does seem to verify my guess that this source is the London Times.

Could actually be any one of a dozen or more papers. Including The Times, of course, but since Murdoch took them over they prefer making it up to asking questions

The Reagans inevitably receive stick for trafficking in astrology;

receive stick? I think I understand, but haven't heard this grammarization...

Ah well, you should probably stick to American publications, then ...

Among the tainted areas he parades for scorn, and variously warranted full of “obscurist bunkum”, “swirling hogwash” and “mendacious codswallop”, are: the fundamentalist anti-Western doctrines of Islam; the surviving belief in creationism; the New Age voodoo practices of a counter-Enlightenment....

Sounds great! I looked up this book on Amazon and it appears to have a slightly different title than in the review (perhaps a diff. title for U.S. market?)-- Shooting Out the Lights : A Short History of Modern Delusions. see http://makeashorterlink.com/?D2A726E67

Eta

'Get stick' is more common, but then The Times Literary Supplement would hardly be likely to use a common (pun intended) word like 'get'.

Wonder where the idiom came from, though.

cheer

the sunshine warrior