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Book Review of Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
perryfran avatar reviewed on + 1223 more book reviews


I have read a couple of Roach's other books including Bonk, a funny and in depth look at sex and science, and My Planet, a really humorous look at Roach's everyday experiences that I enjoyed very much. I also have some others on my to-read shelf including Stiff that I've heard a lot of good things about.

I was kind of mixed on Spook, Roach's look at whether there is any scientific proof to show that there is life after life. She looks at things as diverse as reincarnation to scientists trying to weigh the soul at the moment of death. She also delves into near death experiences, mediums and the popularity of spiritualism in the early 20th century, and the use of scientific equipment such as tape recorders and other tools to try to capture or measure the presence of spirits. Of course Roach threw in a lot of humor in her discussions and some of her footnotes were priceless. But overall, I found the book to be rather ponderous and dry especially in some of the purported scientific methods used in these studies. I will be reading more of her books based on other reviews and hopefully I will enjoy them a tad more than this one.