I have read several books by John Gribbin on cosmology and quantum theory. They seemed to be excellent books.

Recently I discovered that he is the coauthor of The Jupiter Effect, a book published in the late seventies or early eighties. That book described the coming alignment (in about 1984, I think) of most of the planets on one side of the sun.

It predicted serious cataclysms due to the combined gravitational effect o f the aligned planets on the sun. The book was utter nonsense and denounced by mainstream science. When the book was no longer selling, the authors recanted, giving various excuses for what they had done, in hope of regaining their reputation in the scientific community.

To me, they are the worst type of charlatan. They made up lies in order to make a buck and they traded on their valid scientific credentials to get it published and sold. It is like a teacher lying to his students in order to con them out of money.

It makes me wonder how valid his other books are.