Jennifer P. (jenners) reviewed on 4/22/2010 + 121 more book reviews

This was the first book I've read by Mary Roach, and it won't be the last. Roach has a witty and skeptical mind, and she uses it to good effect in examining different ways that science has explored the afterlife. Roach isn't afraid to insert herself into the story, whether going along to interview a child that may have been reincarnated to enrolling in medium school. She brings a light touch to the subject, yet manages to work a whole bunch of science-cy stuff in a way that was fun and interesting. Although I didn't necessarily expect to entertained or amused by this book when I started, I was (entertained and amused). Plus I learned a lot of different things--some of which I wish I could wipe from my memory (e.g., the method in which mediums hid their "ectoplasm").


Roach explores quite a few ways that scientists have used to quantify, prove or document the soul and/or the afterlife. Some of the areas explored in the book include: interviewing children who were allegedly reincarnated; how early scientists looked for the human soul ... in sperm; attempts to measure the a soul by having people expire on a scale; a look at "the giddy, revolting heyday of ectoplasm" and mediums; modern mediums (including the lady that is the model for the TV show Medium); using acoustics to hear the dead; telecommunicating with the dead; hunting for ghosts; and attempting to measure near-death experiences in the operating room.

If you're looking for an offbeat read about a subject that I suspect all of us might be just a little bit curious about and you'd like a guide who is both an amusing and talented writer, then this gem of a book is for you. I personally enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. And although Roach's results are pretty inconclusive, she does hold out some tantalizing food for thought that won't leave readers completely empty-handed.

An excerpt: Carpenter points out that leprechauns have a volume similar to that of a human Mac. "This makes me suspect, " he writes, "that Leprechauns ... are most likely discarnate humans." This makes me, in turn, suspect that Donald Gilbert Carpenter is most likely not the staid scientists that his many equations and tables suggest.

Another excerpt: "Right," says the tutor after a minute has gone by. "Does anyone not feel a contact?" No one raises a hand. I haven't got my energy out the door, and apparently everyone else's is off in heaven at an ice-cream social. I raise my hand. The tutor comes over and puts her hand up to my face. She asks if I can feel my face. What does this mean? It's not numb, so I guess the answer is yes. I nod. "Okay, good, you've got it." She turns back to the group. I don't read minds, but I think I know what's going on in hers: AVOID THE YANK. The Yank is trouble.

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