Ghosts: A Natural History, Roger Clarke
For the record, I do absolutely believe in ghosts. I just wanna put that out there.
Ghosts: A Natural History is somewhat less scientific than the title makes it seem. It's more of a historical overview of ghost stories and the various explanations we've come up with, as well as digressions into famous ghost seekers and fakes. Roger Clarke is eminently suited to write this book, being a longtime fan of ghosts and the youngest member of the Society for Psychical Research (at 14!).
I did enjoy this book, though. I don't think ghosts are necessarily a subject you want a purely scientific approach to, and Clarke did really well in his overview of ghosts, our changing perceptions of them, how and why people fake them, how and why people believe in them. His chapters could be somewhat less neatly organized than one would hope, and I think the book dragged a bit toward the end, but overall this was still a fun read and one I'd recommend to people interested in ghosts.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/335365.html. Please comment over there if possible.
Ghosts: A Natural History is somewhat less scientific than the title makes it seem. It's more of a historical overview of ghost stories and the various explanations we've come up with, as well as digressions into famous ghost seekers and fakes. Roger Clarke is eminently suited to write this book, being a longtime fan of ghosts and the youngest member of the Society for Psychical Research (at 14!).
I did enjoy this book, though. I don't think ghosts are necessarily a subject you want a purely scientific approach to, and Clarke did really well in his overview of ghosts, our changing perceptions of them, how and why people fake them, how and why people believe in them. His chapters could be somewhat less neatly organized than one would hope, and I think the book dragged a bit toward the end, but overall this was still a fun read and one I'd recommend to people interested in ghosts.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/335365.html. Please comment over there if possible.