Spook

Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife (2005) by Mary Roach. Roach fancies herself quite a wit, but I just found her tone and attitude to be irritating. She does, however, conduct a fairly interesting tour of the various activities pursued by people who believe, or pretend to believe, that we have souls which leave our bodies upon death. She explores reincarnation, scientific efforts to communicate with the dead through electromagnetic means, near-death experiences and many other aspects of the afterlife -- if there is one. Grade: B