Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Book #61: Spook


Title: Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife
Author: Mary Roach

Mary Roach wears her scientist's hat and looks into various avenues to prove the existence of an afterlife.

After reading Bonk and Stiff, I probably should have waited a few weeks before jumping into Spook. But I was so turned on (literally?) after her other books, that I couldn't wait. Spook was a bit of a disappointment. Although written with the same wit and following approximately the same format as her other works (each book has about 300 pages and tackles in 10 or so chapters various loosely-related experiences which tie into her main theme), it lacked the "ew gross"ness of Stiff or the bawdy humor of Bonk. But she does look at a great variety of experiences, from reincarnation stories in India, to Oujia boards, to how electromagnetic fields can make people think they're seeing ghosts, to scientific studies proving near-death experiences. It's a good read, just not as good as her others.

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