Ian Stevenson (1) (1918–2007)

Amazing that this book should still be in print. After Stevenson's research had been discredited and he made no serious attempt to defend himself, the book should have been consigned to the litter bin of history.

That it hasn't suggests that facts aren't going to change the minds of readers excited by the idea of reincarnation and eager to see it proved 'scientifically'.

Children who claim to remember a previous life have been found in many parts of the world, particularly in the Buddhist and Hindu countries of South Asia, among the Shiite peoples of Lebanon and Turkey, the tribes of West Africa, and the American northwest. Stevenson has collected over 2,600 reported cases of past-life memories of which 65 detailed reports have been published. Specific information from the children's memories has been collected and matched with the data of their former show more identity, family, residence, and manner of death. Birthmarks or other physiological manifestations have been found to relate to experiences of the remembered past life, particularly violent death. Writing as a specialist in psychiatry and as a world-renowned scientific investigator of reported paranormal events, Stevenson asks us to suspend our Western tendencies to disbelieve in "reincarnation" and consider the reality of the burgeoning record of cases now available. This book summarizes Stevenson's findings which are presented in full in the multi-volume work entitled. Reincarnation and Biology: A Contribution to the Etiology of Birthmarks and Birth Defects, also published by Praeger. show less

entertaining and informative

Dr. Ian Stevenson is Carlson Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Division of Parapsychology, Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry, at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. From the back cover: "Can anyone speak a language that he or she has not learned normally, in childhood or later? Claims to have accomplished this are made from time to time, but only rarely do they receive support when carefully examined. In this volume Dr. Stevenson presents detailed reports show more of two cases that seem authentic. Authentic instances of speaking a language that has not been learned normally (responsive xenoglossy) suggest that another personality (perhaps one of a previous life) has learned the language." show less