Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation: Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged

Rating:
Summary: The classic work on reincarnation
Review: "Suggestive" is putting it mildly (but is typical of Dr. Stevenson's cautious approach). "Pretty darn convincing" is more like it. This is one of Stevenson's original works from many years ago (the 1960s), but it has stood the test of time. If you read it and his more recent "Where Reincarnation and Biology Intersect," you'll have a fairly good idea of how convincing the evidence for reincarnation can be. Stevenson's research is very thorough, and this is a dense volume that can be a little dry to read. Each of the 20 cases is presented in sufficient detail to be compelling. It's not something you'll polish off in a couple of evenings, but you'll know you're in the presence of an honest-to-god researcher. Stevenson, who has been affiliated with the University of Virginia for decades, is almost single-handedly responsible for reincarnation being taken seriously in this country, and this book is a classic that should be one of the very first you buy on this topic. You'll be handing it out to skeptical friends and saying "Oh, yeah? Read THIS."

Rating:
Summary: Compelling, Well_researched
Review: There is compelling evidence of life after death, either in spirit in some other realm, or reincarnated here on Earth. (I tried to interview but he refused; I wasn't establishment enough!). Stevenson has always been careful to say his work is only "suggestive of reincarnation" but he clearly leans that way. His evidence is compelling that something strange is happening - especially when children remember past lives, call out for relatives (in there past life) by name, have unexplained bruises and recognize their old past-life neighborhoods. Yes, strange and wonderful indeed. But not, by any means, determinative of reincarnation. My feeling is that this can be explained by something simpler, and not as exciting: each life leaves an imprint - emotions and thoughts are like waves in a pond. Some extraordinarily sensitive people can pick up on those emotions and thoughts, like a sensitive radio receiving a signal from far away due to atmospheric skip. Children are open-minded - not dead-to-the-world like most boring adults. When they pick up on these messages, they speak them as their own, and even feel the memory is theirs. But, the "memory" is really a leftover, it is not real. The deceased person is as dead as a doornail, and has not come back to life. He/she can never know his thoughts and emotions were left behind and picked up by a sensitive child in India (a lot of this happens in India). Yes, it's a bummer. You don't live. But your thoughts do. Then again, this theory has a strong ethical component: leave behind good thoughts - you never know who will pick up on them when you are gone!

Rating:
Summary: the book for the skeptic
Review: Well,well, well...no stars are enough for this book. It seems the word belief does not exist in Dr Stevenson's dictionary , and with clinical detachment, he has investigated each and every of the 20 cases. He has avoided philosophy and religion talk etc and does not have his own agenda which he his trying to promote. There are many books on reincarnation written by those who want to make a quick buck, or those promoting a particular religious thought or simply to become popular and appear on talk shows and then charge people (gullible) on an hourly basis. Dr Stevenson is not driven by any such factor. Reading his methodolgy, he has actually gone about the research as any skeptic would. He has not believed the case story and then looked for evidence that would support such a case story, he has looked for the evidence any skeptic would. The presentation of evidence gathered is fantastic showing the corroboration of each evidence. The best thing I liked about his research was that he actually attempts to rule out any fraud in each case story. Unbiased and honest. The use of the word "suggestive" speaks for his style used in the book throughout. He does not attempt to force any philosophical, religious thought down the reader's throat. You are free to make your own conclusions....and yes, it is DARN RIGHT CONVINCING !