This is a fascinating though sometimes irritating book looking at the evidence for reincarnation through religious and scientific sources and a range of case studies from some intriguing ones that seem to defy rational explanation through to others much less convincing. Nearly the first third of the book is taken up with looking at the attitudes of the major world faiths towards reincarnation (basically, Buddhists and most Hindus accept it, while Christians, Muslims and Jews do not, though all three of the Abrahamic religions have a strand in their tradition that does or has accepted it at some point). The author evidently firmly believes in reincarnation and is, in my view, too ready to see events in supposed past lives as the explanation for all manner of psychological and other ills in people's current lives, and the acceptance of reincarnation as a valid phenomenon as being the cure for these ills in one's current life. His conclusion is the rather broadbrush and over optimistically naive one that if only everyone believed in reincarnation then all prejudice and hatred would disappear, as everyone would know that they had been reincarnated, or might in future be reincarnated, as someone of a different religion, creed, colour or sex. I am afraid I am not at all sure, even if reincarnation were widely accepted, that such prejudices would still not be present in many people looking for such factors as an excuse to hate the "other" in this life. That said, there is definitely a pleasant karmic thought that Nick Griffin or the EDL might be reincarnated as Muslims in some future life!

Generalities aside, what about the specific cases cited? I could have done with fewer, but more in depth cases, though, that said, the range given here is very wide. I find the ones involving young children particularly convincing when they have talked offhandedly, consistently and in detail about people and places in their past lives they could not have plausibly experienced in this one. Cases involving adults are often more problematic as the power of auto suggestion and buried memories from written or visual material seen earlier in life is clearly much greater. Even here, though, there is sometimes a wealth of detail about minor aspects of past lives that has been verified by researchers through looking through arcane records to which the subject could not plausibly have had access. What often is more convincing is the sheer ordinariness of many of the accounts of past lives; they don't all claim to be famous people (though one Swedish girl claimed in the 1950s to be the reincarnation of Anne Frank, but before the latter's diary was published and her name became well known). Some of the case studies involving members of the medical profession and near death experiences are also very intriguing and difficult to account for rationally. On the other hand, the accounts by famous people, e.g. General Patton, Elton John and Brian May of past lives are often rather generic and unconvincing and could have come from any number of other sources.

In sum, an interesting read for anyone with an open mind. I leave the book as I found it, not wholly convinced either way, but open to the fact that there are some human experiences that certainly defy conventional explanation. 3.5/5 ( )