Before writing this, her sophomore effort, Mary Roach (author of Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers) spent nearly a year traveling, interviewing, researching, and even enrolling in medium school, with the hopes of either proving or disproving the seemingly unprovable: the afterlife. With a keen sense of a humor, a scientific mind and a mostly skeptical point of view, Roach writes of her experiences traveling to India to investigate claims of reincarnation, exploring the theory that a body loses 21 grams (presumably, the weight of the human soul) after death, charts ectoplasm's strange history, follows ghosthunters as they try to track down spirits with infrared cameras and tape recorders, and more.

Unfortunately (fortunately?), Roach's year-long investigation produces no real proof of the existence of a soul or of the possibility of an afterlife, but even still her experiences are no less fascinating. It also doesn't hurt that she has a fairly well-developed sense of humor for a skeptic. And it's this skepticism that makes her final statements in the book's afterward that much more eyebrow-raising, as she ends her year-long, largely fruitless journey with these reflections:

I guess I believe that not everything we humans encounter in our lives can be neatly and convincingly tucked away inside the orderly cabinet of science...I believe in the possibility of something more...The debunkers are probably right, but they're no fun to visit a graveyard with. What the hell. I believe in ghosts.

And even though the book doesn't produce one iota of evidence to support her final claim, I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree. After all, isn't it simply more fun to believe than to not?


In sum, Spook - 'though far from spooky and a bit dry in spots - is a enjoyable, quirky read for skeptics and believers alike. (Although be warned that weak-stomached readers may just want to skip the chapter on ectoplasm. It's truly amazing how much cheesecloth a scam medium can fit into her most private places. Ick!)

I began reading Spook almost immediately after I finished Mary Roach’s book Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.

Her humor & charming narrative style continued in following Science as it Tackled the Afterlife.

I think this book has a lot to offer to staunch skeptics & paranormal enthusiasts alike.

After reading my first Mary Roach book I’ve been wanting to check out her others but haven’t had much fo a chance to. I finally opened up Spook to continue the journey.

It’s definitely not what I expected and I think I enjoyed Stiff more but it was still a good time and very interesting information. I think sometimes Mary Roach enjoyed the researched more than our reading her books. It would be great to find the answers to all these questions and present them to the public in new and interesting manners.

Looking forward to the next one.

Least interesting and engaging of the books I've read by Mary Roach. The usual science and humor are there, but the aspects of the afterlife she tackles are just not that interesting. Lots of talk about mediums and ectoplasm and various studies, relatively few actual anecdotes of people who claim to have had encounters with ghosts, the afterlife, etc. Expected a lot more. Still, readable enough to finish and I appreciate her open-minded skepticism.

Didn't like this one as much as the other books I've read of hers ([b:Stiff|30734730|Stiff The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers|Mary Roach|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1466640054s/30734730.jpg|1188203], [b:Grunt|33252457|Grunt The Curious Science of Humans at War|Mary Roach|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1520811497s/33252457.jpg|46521429]) but it's probably the subject matter.

3.5 - Although I liked the premise of this book a lot, and have enjoyed Mary Roach's books before, I didn't find this one quite as engaging or compelling (perhaps since I have a comfortable belief in the afterlife).