Rating: 
Summary: Following a scientist's personal journey
Review: New research and breakthroughs on the scientific evidence for life after death are revealed in The Afterlife Experiments, a title following a scientist's personal journey from skepticism to belief. The difference between this and competitors: a series of rigidly monitored experiments backed with scientific protocol to reveal the results of mediums who claim to be bringing voices from beyond the grave.
Rating: 
Summary: I hoped for something better-- came up really short.
Review: I commend Dr. Gary Schwartz for attempting to place phenomena such as 'mediums' and the afterlife into the scientific eye. He does make an attempt, but his writing style and process was too flowery and pie-eyed. Yes, the numbers of 'hits' were higher than in a control situation, but most of the book was conjecture. What I don't understand, is when a medium is able to come up with astounding detail, yet each one comes up with "They're telling me about someone with an 'M' name..." Hell, everyone on the planet knows several people (live or dead) that had a name that began with M. In many ways, James Randi is correct in stating that most of the sitters (people that are being read by mediums) are gullible, driven by the love and desperation to have further contact with departed loved ones. Scientifically, it would have been better to make a more broadened case by including people who didn't know too many dead people or weren't close to them. Around 70% of the book appears as if Deepak Chopra wrote it, as it is filled with dripping, honeyed love of others-- continuation of the heart, blah blah. If this book was an attempt to bring current "scientifically unexplained" phenomena into a laboratory-tested arena, then it should have stated any phenomena in an exact and concise way. One last thing, the mediums were very general in around 70% of their readings ("an older man- he could be a grandfather or father") c'mon-- most of what they were saying could have pertained to most anyone. Of the few right-ons that were observed, the generalizations should have lowered the overall mark.
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Summary: a book for the skeptic
Review: It was only the great press and word of mouth that convinced me to buy this book -- but I'm so glad I did! As a skeptic I was thrilled to finally see a book on this interesting topic that was scientifically based. Athough I'm not a covert -- yet -- it was interesting reading and incredibly well-written.
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Summary: Honest Account of Significant Data Supporting an "Afterlife"
Review: Schwartz and Simon have given us a brilliant account of scientific research of immense and immediate political importance for anyone seriously interested in positing whether a part of us survives death. Never have such bold experiments been documented so thoroughly. Readers of THE AFTERLIFE EXPERIMENTS can thrill at the revalations of the experiments with a select group of highly talented mediums at the University of Arizona, discoveries which transform paradigms of agnosticism, atheism and even fundamentalist religious beliefs. Readers will likely come away from the work benefitting from the therapeutic gains arising from the data arising from this work. If you have ever lost a love, or want to prepare loved ones for inevitable losses, give them this book! It's prevention, it's therapy, it's provocative and it's unprecidented. Enjoy it! At the least, it supports the basic tenets of organized religion; at best, it's a watershed on the subject of life after death.
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Summary: BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT
Review: In offering evidence that consciousness survives bodily death, the author goes well beyond the "preponderance of evidence" standard required to prove civil law suits and, in this reviewer's opinion, easily exceeds the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard required for criminal cases.
Certainly, Dr. Schwartz has the credentials of a true scientist. He received his doctorate from Harvard and taught at Yale before moving on to the University of Arizona, where he is professor of psychology, medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and surgery as well as the director of its Human Energy Systems Laboratory. But Schwartz is not your mainstream scientist. Even though very much a skeptic himself, he had the courage to take on a research project in a scientifically taboo area after being introduced to a medium who immediately began communicating very evidential material from his mother. Schwartz arranged for five mediums, including the well-known John Edward and George Anderson, to undergo testing at his laboratory. All possible scientific controls and precautions were taken. The conclusion by Schwartz and Dr. Linda Russek, who collaborated with him in the research, was that the mediums were indeed gifted and able to communicate with spirit entities. In in the initial stages of the research, Schwartz found it difficult to believe what he was seeing and hearing. "My degree of doubt in the presence of all data was frankly irrational," he writes. "I was experiencing skeptimania." But as the research continued, Schwartz was forced to face the truth. "I can no longer ignore the data and dismiss the words," he continues. "They are as real as the sun, the trees, and our television sets, which seem to pull pictures out of the air." While the appendix to the book reads like a scientific journal, the book itself is well written in layman's language. To the "believer" in survival of consciousness, this book should signifantly bolster his or her faith. To the "true" skeptic, the book will open some eyes and the light might be allowed to penetrate an open mind. To the pseudo-skeptic, however, it will, unfortunately, do nothing more than raise eyebrows. These pseudo skeptics are the intellectually arrogant with closed minds who don't really examine the data. If Schwartz's research can't convince them, nothing can.
Rating: 
Summary: Book review
Review: I enjoyed this book in spite of the fact that it is not the "last word" on evidence for an afterlife. In my search for answers, I've read everything I can get my hands on covering this subject. The book I found most helpful and a fascinating read is "Contact the Other Side" by Konstantinos. It's in a class by itself.
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Summary: The Afterlife Experiments Revealed
Review: Schwartz conducted these experiments several years ago, publsihed them in the Journal of the Soc of Psychial Research and then invited professional skeptics to come to his lab and view the data for themselves. They declined. The skeptics objected to their validity on grounds that he did not test the generalization hypothesis, that the mediums used visual and verbal cues to obtain feedback to guide their readings and that one sitter was known to one of the mediums. Schwartz successfully answers these skeptic assertions in this book: he did test the generalization hypothesis and falsified it; he did conduct silent sitter readings (Miraval and Canyon Ranch phases) and the details and background to the previously known sitter with a new death in her family (unknown to the medium who read her the first time but unknowingly predicted by him during her first session) all adds up to compelling evidence for after death communication and answers all the skeptic asertions to date. Not one high profile skeptic who ranted about these experiments has seen fit to take up Schwartz' offer so he put out this "addendum" to the project to address their issues anyway. This is a must read for anyone interested in this subject as well as those who have been following this research; the original research papers are included in the appendices.
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Summary: flawed experiments that will do nothing to advance science
Review: Dr. Schwartz demonstrates limited understanding of cold reading. As a result each of his experiments fail to control for sitter bias, feedback, and the Forer effect. In some of the experiments half the reading was done without any sitter feedback at all. During these the mediums scored significantly lower, a clear indicator that they are getting their information from the sitter, not spirits. Yet Schwartz ignores those results. He repeatedly states the information the mediums come up with is very specific, and not vague. Yet the statements from one reading that were taken as refering to the sitter's daughter, a few pages latter Schwartz demonstrates they can be applied equaly as well to refer to himself. When a magician explains mentalist techniques such as "I'm getting an M name" Schwartz criticizes that medium Suzane Northrop does not do anything like that, offering the HBO footage as evidence. Yet quotes from that very same footage given in this book show Suzane saying "I hear a male with a D name" and "I also hear an L name". He repeatedly states the data is open for others to examine. Yet we know this is not quite true. When magician James Randi asked to see them he was told he would have to sign a statement that he would not share any information, opinions, or conclusions with anyone. Schwartz latter announced that he would not correspond with anyone unless they could pass a mediumship test of his own devising. There is finnaly a good experiment design finnaly given in the book. However that section is only one and a half pages long. It mentions six sitters were used, but only mentions the results for one of them. The book gets very insulting to anyone questioning his work. Skepticism is passed off as a mental disorder, or caused by a lack of love, rather than considering if there is any rational basis for their arguments. The only thing worse seems to be his grasp on physics, highlighted by this statement: "The photons that have traveled billions of miles to make their way into your pupils are not much larger than the head of a pin."
Rating:
Summary: Beyond the Norm
Review: The subjuct matter is, and always has been, attractively mysterious. However, previous valiant attempts to supply objective reasoning and logic to the subject have fallen short of digestible ....up until this well documented offering.
Mr.Schwartz's amazing case accounts are made disarmingly
visceral by Mr. Simon's writing style. Again, previous books on the subject are hard to digest because of their tendency to read like a term paper.
Life after death has been a question for human-kind debate
since the beginning of human-kind. "The Afterlife Experiments"
will cause the staunchest cynic to raise at least one eyebrow
and consider the possibility yet again.
Rating:
Summary: KEEP AN OPEN MIND
Review: Instead of just dismissing possibilities it is important to stay open to many unknowns. Reading books with facts that have been carefully gathered, like this one is where to take your curious mind; the Schwartz research is solid and worthy; he is a man with Harvard and Yale credentials and is a respected peer of Deepak Chopra. Simon is a fine writer/reporter and together they have presented a very exciting and readable book that may change your mind. If you are ready to be surprised, impressed, and wowed...read this book.
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