Customer Reviews:
 Superficial yet wildly entertaining August 11, 2008
First, let me state for the record that I would follow Mary Roach to the ends of the earth and back. Her sharp writing, wicked sense of humor, and insatiable thirst for knowledge are intoxicating. Second, allow me to be perfectly clear: I am not a scientist, merely an overly inquisitive yet skeptical student with a lot of time on her hands, so if anything that follows in my review is incorrect, you can blame my professors. =) The broad and diverse field of parapsychology is a tricky subject to cover in less than 300 pages, even when narrowed to a particularly subject, such as life after death. It is especially difficult because the field is one that Western science in general trivializes and, more often than not, dismisses altogether. "Spook" is not as good as Mary Roach's "Stiff" and "Bonk" for that very reason. The last remaining research laboratory at an accredited university in the United States that studied paranormal phenomena (at Princeton, no less) was shut down in 2007, and other outlets for interested researchers are limited at best. However, Western science's attempts to discover the existence of an afterlife are rooted in a deeply flawed mindset, the one that all cultures have the same concept of a soul in the first place. In fact, Judeo-Christian theology is in the minority. Most cultures throughout the world participate in animistic ritual-based religions or, in many instances, a combination of an institutionalized religion and the beliefs of their anscentors, and the majority of these cultures believe in multiple souls and seemingly taboo (to us, at least) forms of worshiping them. Science will never be able to explain all that occurs in this world and, if there is one, the next, but as long as Western science closes its doors to the beliefs of other cultures, we will never learn how to reconcile and embrace the human desire to find, as the late Joseph Campbell once said, "...the experience of being alive." While it is by no means a fully fleshed-out attempt to research the paranormal, this book is still an entertaining and hilarious look at mankind's search for the answer to one of our most haunting (pun unintended) questions.
good followup to Stiff July 27, 2008
Mary Roach has followed up her 2005 book, Stiff, with Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife, which is even more clearly a book of interest for skeptics. With the same sense of humor, frequent use of interesting asides and footnotes, and a strong skepticism, she looks at attempts to apply science to the question of life after death. Spook covers experiments designed to locate a soul and find out what happens when you die. She looks at studies of reincarnation by Ian Stevenson and Kirti Rawat, the attempts to weigh the body at the time of death and see if it loses weight by Duncan Macdougall, attempts to X-ray the soul by Arthur Goodspeed. She went to Cambridge University and looked at their sample of Helena Duncan's vaginally-extruded ectoplasm from the archives of the Society for Psychical Research, which she describes as a ten foot by three foot piece of cotton fabric. She talks to Gary Schwartz at the University of Arizona about his tests with Allison DuBois, who inspired the TV series "Medium," and points out the criticisms of them by Univ. of Oregon psychologist and Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry Ray Hyman. She visits spiritualists, looks at Electronic Voice Phenomena or EVP, and tries out the "God Helmet" of Laurentian University psychologist Michael Persinger, and correctly expresses more skepticism about his work than some skeptics have. She looks at a couple of cases of claimed ghosts, at Warwick Castle in England, and the ghost of James Chaffin in North Carolina. And she looks at studies of near-death experiences. In the end, she is open-mindedly skeptical--she ends by saying "the debunkers are probably right," but chooses to believe in ghosts anyway because it's more fun.
 A truly unfortunate follow-up to Stiff July 10, 2008
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I loved Mary Roach's first book, Stiff, about what becomes of our bodies after we die. It was so fresh. It tackled a novel, but sensitive topic in a way that was very funny, but wasn't offensive. On top of that, I learned something. It was sophisticated irreverence.
I just learned that Mary has since written two more books and I was very excited to read them. Spook, about science tackling the question of the afterlife and the whether humans truly have an immortal soul seemed like it might be another fresh take on a dicey subject.
It wasn't.
All of the components that made Roach's sophomoric humor so successful in Stiff are missing in Spook. That form of humor works when you simultaneously demonstrate that you are capable of deeper thinking, analysis and understanding. In that case, it shows that you can work and play on many levels. When you just bring the juvenile humor, you just look juvenile. It's not a good look.
Feel free to skip this one, even if you loved Stiff. On the other hand, if you haven't read Stiff, you should, even if you read this book and hated it.
 Entertaining but not very thorough. May 14, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was entertained by this book at first because her research covered many areas I was unfamiliar with. I enjoyed that part however I felt like there was much missing. The Author carefully picked the items that already fit into her previous belief system and then rejected everything else. I am glad I read it because I can learn something new from everything...
This is overall a very incomplete study of the afterlife.........
Juvenile May 9, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was expecting more. given her access tos a diverse group of fascinating but unconventional people, Spook rarely rises above pointing and giggling.
Given the skewering Roach gives to her unwitting collaboraters, I wonder how many more books she can write before all doors are slammed in her face.
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