A well written and researched book with a good subtle touch of humor! It presents the facts and then allows you to make up your own mind! I enjoyed learning some new facts!

Blind Date with a Book 2020 comment by borrower:
"I love thought-provoking books like this."

I am an atheist, and so do not believe in the existence of the soul, but I found this book fascinating nonetheless!

How have scientifically-minded people tried to prove the existence of the soul? If you are, as I am, a collector of random facts, this will be a fun book for you and provide fodder for plenty of party conversations.

Roach's blend of science and humor makes for some damn fine entertaining and enlightening reading. This time around, the book is about the search for scientific evidence of the human soul. As in her previous book, Stiff, there are plenty of footnotes that will guarantee a chuckle. Recommended!

Believe in the existence of a soul or not, it's worth reading just for it's thought provoking possibilities.

I personally enjoyed Stiff more than this book, but Stiff was a little more tactile to research. I find the writing style complex, yet comfortable. I look forward to reading more in the future.

Was not as impressed as the first 2 comments, but they seem better read and written then me. Book well researched. The short asides and footnotes provide a well needed chuckle. I lost gas toward the end. Unsatisfying wrap-up. Quick read though.

Do ghosts really exist? No.* That out of the way, Ms. Roach's entertaining book is an examination of why, despite everything -- and I mean EVERYTHING -- people believe and try to find proof. What evidence there is indicates a dispiriting deterioration of character and mental powers after death. Shakespeare's post-mortem poetry, for example, has hit the skids. A ghost never has anything interesting, witty, or even useful to say (thanks for telling us about the housing bubble, spirit world!) And the afterlife? Don't ask. "We are all very joyful" is about as exciting as it gets. Do ghosts have to take an oath of confidentiality, like MI 6?

*Not that the author explicitly says so -- she's very gentle with people's opinions. But look at that Contents list, above.

Author Mary Roach admits up front that she is skeptical of all claims of life after death and has been since she was a teenager. Her aim in this book is to apply scientific rigour to the question of the afterlife and see what she can learn. Roach's approach to science books is to use a lot of humour and tangential asides to lighten the topic and to entertain. This worked very well in her more recent "Packing for Mars". Here, in Spook, she was either reluctant to let loose with the mocking commentary that was so effective in Packing for Mars because of the subject matter or her talent was not as developed as it would become. Either way, the humour is more subdued and a bit forced here. That being said, this is still an enjoyable book and covers a range of topics including reincarnation, measuring the weight of the soul, ectoplasm and mediums, ghosts, and near-death experiences. Whatever your views on the afterlife, this book will probably not change your mind, but it may at least make you think a bit about it.