The Ragged Edge of Science is a science book by L. Sprague de Camp, illustrated by Don Simpson. It was first published by Owlswick Press in 1980. The book is a collection of twenty-two articles (two of them book reviews) on various curiosities and wonders exploring the boundaries between science and pseudo-science. "The[ir] common thread is [their] skeptical takes on subjects that are often muddled by paranormal and pseudoscientific claims." De Camp viewed such phenomena from a skeptically rational viewpoint, pointing out the fallacies in supernatural and otherwise fantastic explanations. His debunking efforts were an important and characteristic feature of his nonfiction, and the present collection is a notable instance of it. The book's constituent articles were originally published in a variety of science magazines, science fiction magazines, and other publications from 1950-1976. Contents "Preface" Long Ago and Far Away "The Mayan Elephants" (from Astounding Science Fiction, v. 45, no. 4, Jun. 1950) "Faery Lands Forlorn" (from Science Fiction Stories, v. 6, no. 3, Nov. 1955 and v. 6, no. 5, Mar. 1956) "The Pyramids of Kush" (from Science Digest, v. 63, no. 4, Apr. 1968) "The Falls of Troy" (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, v. 38, no. 3, Mar. 1970) "The Quarter-Acre Round Table" (from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, v. 39, no. 1, Jul. 1970) "The Tower of Mystery" (from Science Digest, v. 68, no. 4, Oct. 1970) "The Street of the Dead: Teotihuacan" (from Science Digest, v. 68, no. 6, Dec. 1970) "Tula and the Vanished Toltecs" (from Science Digest, v. 71, no. 4, Apr. 1972) Round About the Cauldron "The Mystic Trance" (from Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories, v. 2, no. 4, Nov. 1951) "The Mountain of Light" (from Science Fiction Quarterly, v. 1, no. 6, Aug. 1952) "The Great Charlatans" (from Science Fiction Quarterly, v. 2, no. 2, Feb. 1953) "A Modern Merlin" (from Dynamic Science Fiction, Jun. 1953) "The Mysterious Kabbalah" (from Fate, No. 79, Oct. 1956) "Bridey Murphy and the Martian Princess" (from Science Fiction Stories, v. 7, no. 4, Jan. 1957) "The Great Satanist Plot" (from Exploring the Unknown, no. 20, Jun. 1953) "So You Want to Be a Prophet?" (from the Philadelphia Sunday Bulletin, Feb. 20, 1966) Science and Pseudo-Science "Worlds in Collision" (book review) (from Astounding Science Fiction, v. 45, no. 2, Apr. 1950) "The So-called Fourth Dimension" (from Future Combined with Science Fiction