Need to offer a quick recommendation: I’m currently reading Deborah Blum’s Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death, and it’s an absolutely brilliant book. It puts you right there at the end of the 19th century, with science and religion coming to terms with Darwin and Wallace’s theories of evolution. The book tells the story of the formation of the Society for Psychical Research, and how this extraordinary group of scientists were affected by their investigations. It’s not written to please skeptics nor true believers – you’ll come away realising how many fakes are out there, but also boggling at the talents (be they fake or real) of mediums such as Leonora Piper and Eusapia Palladino.
I’ll be reviewing it shortly here on TDG, but at the moment Amazon US is selling the hardcover version of the book for just $5.19. Really, do yourself a favour and get this one on your bookshelf…it’s the closest thing to a giveaway you’re likely to see. Not sure how many copies they have left at that price, but I wouldn’t wait around.
