A riveting firsthand account of one man's mission to investigate and document some of the most astonishing untold phenomena of our time
All across the globe, small children spontaneously speak of previous lives, beg to be taken "home," pine for mothers and husbands and mistresses from another life, and know things that there seems to be no normal way for them to know. From the moment these children can talk, they speak of people and events from the past -- not vague stories of centuries ago, but details of specific, identifiable individuals who may have died just months, weeks, or even hours before the birth of the child in question.
For thirty-seven years, Dr. Ian Stevenson has traveled the world from Lebanon to suburban Virginia investigating and documenting more than two thousand of these past life memory cases. Now, his essentially unknown work is being brought to the mainstream by Tom Shroder, the first journalist to have the privilege of accompanying Dr. Stevenson in his fieldwork. Shroder follows Stevenson into the lives of children and families touched by this phenomenon, changing from skeptic to believer as he comes face-to-face with concrete evidence he cannot discount in this spellbinding and true story. ( )

An interesting, yet exasperating book. Journalist Tom Shroder tags along on a few research trips of Dr. Ian Stevenson as he studies accounts of children remembering past lives. I've seen Stevenson's name for years, and bought this paperback years ago, I think in 2000. Stevenson has since passed, in 2007. Along the way, Shroder recounts a bit of Stevenson's life and works, but the focus is on some of the interviews during his research trip in Lebanon (among the Druse, who believe in reincarnation) and in India (among the Hindus, who believe in reincarnation).

Now, the whole point of the book, is retelling stories of children who remember past lives. (The subtitle of the book is "The Scientific Evidence for Past Lives," though the tagline on the paperback is "Compelling Evidence From Children Who Remember Past Lives.") If you've ever read those internet posts about children who tell their parents odd things, now imagine you locate the family. Unlike "past-life regressions" or your random weirdo who claims to be Napoleon or Cleopatra, or what have you, these cases seem to be folks coming back from the prior generation, and sometimes from the same family.

The problem with this book is there are just so many problems with these cases. Believers in reincarnation who want to prove it. Families who want some closure or continuation. Pressure, suggestions, faulty memories, selective remembering, etc. You can find holes and problems in every case, and Shroder tells you the problems. But, by the end of the book he seems to be a firm believer. Or firmish. For instance, on pp. 168-169, Shroder offers an entirely plausible skeptical account of how one of the cases may be all bunkum and no reincarnation. It actually makes sense. "Is that what you really think?" he is asked. "No," he says. Well, it made more sense to me. ( )

Old Souls: A doctor spends a lifetime studying reincarnation
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Tom Schroder was doing a story on a rather unusual subject. His editor has sent hem to interview a doctor that was publishing a new book in the field of reincarnation. While the doctor focused more on using hypnosis to help his patients recall past lives, he mentions another doctor by the name of Ian Stevenson that uses a more hands on approach to studying the phenomenon. He also mentions that the doctor has been studying the field for over forty years. Tom files the information away and writes his story and then moves on.

Except something about the subject interests him and draws him back to it on and off for the next several years. He can't really explain why but he wants to know more. One day he gets his chance when Dr. Stevenson is featured in a news story and says that he is planning to make a final research trip to both India and Lebanon to follow up on some interviews that he conducted twenty years before.

Tom meets with the doctor and explains that he would like to accompany him on his trip to chronicle it and write a book about the experience. The doctor doesn't give Tom an answer right away but does eventually agree to let him go.

Over the next year Tom follows the doctor around as he follows up on old cases and finds a few new ones along the way. Each case has it's merits and also some indications that that the subjects may be making their tale up. Yet Dr. Stevenson keeps on in search of that case that may one day prove that reincarnation is provable.

While Tom provides his take on the adventure at the end it is up to the reader to judge for themselves.

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I came across this book randomly and picked it up because I like to read about the supernatural. This book is definitely different than the usual bump in the night ghost stories I usually read. The author's account is interesting and details the trouble and travails that Dr. Stevens and the group encounters on their journey along with the actual interviews that the doctor conducts. The author is neither for against the idea of reincarnation, which is the approach he keeps throughout the book. He just feels that there might be something there, much like Dr. Stevenson.

The account kept me engaged through much of the book as the author describes very well the conditions found in the countries that they are visiting as well as the details of the interviews. Towards the end of the book the account does slow down a little bit, but that is mostly because the trip has to end eventually. In this case both the doctor and the author return to their homes and the author is left to sum up his feeling on the whole matter.

If you are interested in the paranormal, the phenomenon of reincarnation or the way different cultures view the idea of reincarnation give this book a read. It is definitely a interesting trip. m.a. c ( )

For anyone who has ever listened closely to the amazing things that children say. The author gives you the evidence then allows you to form your own thoughts on the subject of past lives. ( )

Its an interesting look at reincarnation. Whats nice about this book is that the author is a skeptic, initially, and at the end, is still a skeptic but open to suggestion - this means that you get the past life tale, but you also get the alternate theory. Also, the people in this story are average. There past lives are average. You will not find anybody claiming to be Cleopatra in this book.

The book is straight to the point, does not gloss over the faulty evidence, while at the same time manages to capture Dr. Ian Stevenson and the children he documented who claimed to be reincarnated.

I also want to add, this is the first description of India that actually seemed real... Usually, its described either as a place of strange beauty or the worst of the worst, but the India in this book seems like a real place. ( )