What happens when we die? Does the light just go out and that's thatthe million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my lap-top?" In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless curiosity to bear on an array of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die. She begins the journey in rural India with a ...
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What happens when we die? Does the light just go out and that's thatthe million-year nap? Or will some part of my personality, my me-ness persist? What will that feel like? What will I do all day? Is there a place to plug in my lap-top?" In an attempt to find out, Mary Roach brings her tireless curiosity to bear on an array of contemporary and historical soul-searchers: scientists, schemers, engineers, mediums, all trying to prove (or disprove) that life goes on after we die. She begins the journey in rural India with a reincarnation researcher and ends up in a University of Virginia operating room where cardiologists have installed equipment near the ceiling to study out-of-body near-death experiences. Along the way, she enrolls in an English medium school, gets electromagnetically haunted at a university in Ontario, and visits a Duke University professor with a plan to weigh the consciousness of a leech. Her historical wanderings unearth soul-seeking philosophers who rummaged through cadavers and calves' heads, a North Carolina lawsuit that established legal precedence for ghosts, and the last surviving sample of "ectoplasm" in a Cambridge University archive.
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PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
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Good. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 312 p. Contains: Unspecified. May show signs of wear, highlighting, writing, and previous use. This item may be a former library book with typical markings. No guarantee on products that contain supplements Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed. Twenty-five year bookseller with shipments to over fifty million happy customers.
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Fine. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 312 p. Contains: Unspecified. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
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Seller's Description:
New. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 312 p. Contains: Unspecified. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
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Former library book with the usual stamps, stickers and labels. The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
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Good. There is either a name, note, or inscription on the inside cover. We flipped through this book and didn't notice any notes or underlines. Minor shelf wear. Very slight shelf wear to the dust jacket. This is a hardcover copy. Fast Shipping-Each order powers our free bookstore in Chicago and sending books to Africa!
Maybe it's because I love science, but I found this book fascinating in so many ways. We follow Roach while she does extensive research on what happens to our souls when we pass. It's so intriguing to know what so many people have done and the elaborate, although insane research methods used in the past. The way it's written too, makes it all the better. Mary Roach is genuinely hilarious and it shows through her writing, while still being able to be taken very seriously.
HesterPrine08
Oct 23, 2008
Dazzle Shot
Questioning if life after death is real, Mary Roach takes her science and hits the road. First pit stop is in Indian to investigate reincarnation with the story of a young boy claiming to be the reincarnation of a man in a village a couple hours a away. In this book you will learn the history of mediumship and the most famous frauds of its time. You will the read a Southern Gothic tale of a court case brought about by the ghost of a simple farmer's long dead father. Of course science will debunk many of these stories, but if you believe nothing can change your mind. Of course nothing can be proven until one dies.... But this is a fun educational read. Highly recommended to anyone who read Stiff.
aparajito
Nov 27, 2007
Morbidly Fascinating
After tackling the body in the wildly successful 'Stiff', the delightful Mary roach now sets her tirelessly curious gaze on the soul. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this book doesn't scale the same dizzying heights of its predecessor. While 'Stiff' was a revelation, in more ways than one, 'Spook' chooses softer targets, and even though Roach claims to have an open mind, the book reads more like a series of accounts of debunking rather transparent frauds, and is more a comment on human gullibility than anything more substantial. However, this is but a minor quibble - when you have a raconteur of Mary Roach's caliber describing her stint at an English medium school or her journey to rural India with a reincarnation researcher, you can be assured of a hell of a ride.
jel03
Jun 21, 2007
looking for answers?
keep looking! there are just more questions and no definitive proof either way . good read scientific and interesting.