Synopsis
In STIFF, Mary Roach examined what happens to the body when a person dies. Now she takes the next logical step, and undertakes a humorous, skeptical, but ultimately hopeful search for verifiable scientific evidence of the afterlife and the soul, studying historical accounts and investigating current research into reincarnation and near-death experiences, and weighing or measuring the soul (on a scale, with X-rays, with quantum physics). She also examines a piece of "alleged ectoplasm" (it's actually regurgitated cotton cloth) stored at the Cambridge University Library, enrolls in a seminar for mediums, and goes ghost-hunting.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2005-10-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 311 pages | | Height: | 9.0 in | | Width: | 6.3 in | | Thickness: | 1.5 in | | Weight: | 16.8 oz |
Publisher's Note
Draws on the beliefs and achievements of a range of contemporary and historical scientists, engineers, and mediums to consider the feasibility of life after death, from a reincarnation researcher's experimentation with out-of-body experiences to laboratory investigations into ghosts and the nature of consciousness. By the author of Stiff.
Industry Reviews
"For all Roach's skeptical and often hilarious accounts, she is an eager volunteer and ready to accept evidence if evidence there be....Truly deft handling of the (mostly) daft."
Kirkus (08/01/2005)
"[A] smart, quirky, hilarious look at whether there is a soul that survives our physical demise. Roach perfectly balances her skepticism and her boundless curiosity with a sincere desire to know....She is an original who can enliven any subject with wit, keen reporting and a sly intelligence." (starred review)
Publishers Weekly (08/22/2005)
"[D]ependably witty, especially when it ventures far into the ether....[P]opulated by vividly evoked oddballs....SPOOK has great appeal on the basis of Ms. Roach's droll research....Ms. Roach makes herself a wry, enjoyable character throughout the book's escapades....In SPOOK, she makes a clever investigator and a thoroughly entertaining, if skeptical, tour guide."
New York Times - Janet Maslin (10/06/2005)
"Roach is a wonderfully vivid writer....And as a reporter, Roach has a keen eye for the perfect detail, an ear for the zinging quotation and a finely tuned sense of the preposterous."
New York Times Book Review - Kate Zernike (10/09/2005)
"...Roach is...a smart and breezy companion."
(11/21/2005)
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