Amazon.com: Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life After Death: 9781594200908: Blum, Deborah: Books (original) (raw)
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Customers find the history content fascinating and compelling. They describe the book as a great read with excellent research quality.
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23 customers mention "History content"20 positive3 negative
Customers find the history content well-digested, fascinating, and compelling. They say it's a good historical biography, intelligent account of the brilliant Victorians, and a depiction of scientific research that was done in an attempt to explain the spirit world. Readers also mention the storytelling is a delight.
"...this comparatively small book, abundant information and rich field of very interesting drama played by those truly brave scientific minded people,..." Read more
"...This is an interesting and thought provoking read, though at times, I wished it was a little shorter." Read more
"...It's a well told story about a subject most of us have little knowledge of." Read more
"...As it is, GHOST HUNTERS is a very good history of William James's and his colleagues' efforts to use scientific methods in the investigtion of..." Read more
22 customers mention "Readability"20 positive2 negative
Customers find the book fascinating, wonderful, and well-written. They say it reads like fiction, is lively, and intelligent.
"...Very interesting and well written.After reading this book, I truly found William James - Great as philosopher and as psychic investigator...." Read more
"...Deborah Blum has written a scholarly but highly readable work...." Read more
"...This is an interesting and thought provoking read, though at times, I wished it was a little shorter." Read more
"...I listened to the audio book. The reader was okay, but the differentiation between voices could have been more distinct for me...." Read more
12 customers mention "Research quality"9 positive3 negative
Customers find the book's research quality excellent. They appreciate the documentation and argumentative support. Readers also mention the book is well organized and provides a good treatment of the findings.
"...that author could produce in this comparatively small book, abundant information and rich field of very interesting drama played by those truly..." Read more
"...derived from reading this book are (1) that there is much and well-documented evidence for the existence of telepathic and possibly spiritual..." Read more
"...The books are an intricate web of information and are very complex...." Read more
"...telling it well, it does seem to be well researched and a good treatment of the findings (aside from making it interesting)." Read more
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2015
There are many different views on this book. It is interesting to know how people read book from their own personal view, not from objective view point. I read this book one year ago. My impression on this book was Great!
This book shows clearly how hard original investigators tried to establish scientific study on paranormal phenomena in the world full of prejudice. This book shows well digested history of those great investigators establishing Psychical Research Society in Britain and in United States. It is very interesting and well documented, concise history, which we can read just like interesting mystery novel. But from these pages, we learn how hard they had to fight against prejudice of those famous so-called scientists such as John Tyndall and others showed. In America, William James almost single handedly fought with such scientists who lost scientific attitude and behaved just like believer of materialism, which we can say not scientific attitude. Science starts from collecting fact. If something strange things happens, we have to try to understand the facts and then try to solve why or how. William James showed how truly great he was as scientist and investigator in addition to as philosopher. At that time around 19 century, to accept Telepathy was fatal error to survive in the academic world. Now in 21 century, nobody deny existence of telepathy, clairvoyance and others. Now scientific world conveniently brings "Super ESP" to deny existence of After Life. How funny it is! To bring Super ESP to explain paranormal phenomena is just like bring Deus-ex-machina in ancient Greek Drama.
Anyway, this book shows those giants of psychic investigators at the time of creation in full blood. Very interesting and well written.
After reading this book, I truly found William James - Great as philosopher and as psychic investigator. Compared to other American intelligent of his ages, he stands on top of others distinctly.
This book also shows how those pioneer works such as "Phantasms of the Living" and "Human Personality and survival of its bodily death" were produced with hardship and brave mind.
So, it was amazing performance that author could produce in this comparatively small book, abundant information and rich field of very interesting drama played by those truly brave scientific minded people, especially by William James. I definitely recommend this book to serious researchers who like to know how investigators must be tough and brave to open new study field in academic world.
10 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2006
Ghost Hunters is a fine description of the effort to prove or disprove the existence and immortality of the soul. During the nineteenth century science was blasting through old boundaries and startling new developments and discoveries seemed to be announced every day. A group of Anglo-American researchers, led by the trailblazing psychologist William James, attempted to apply scientific techniques to the investigation of spiritualism, a craze for communicating with "spirits" which began with the famous Fox sisters in New York state and quickly spread. Mediums who claimed to be in touch with "the other side" held seances and delivered messages via a variety of methods from spirits to those still living.
Most spiritualists were obvious either con artists or mentally ill (or both). But there were some who seemed to defy rational explanation at least part of the time, and it was on these exceptions that James and his associates in the Society for Psychical Research in London and its trans-Atlantic branch in New York focussed.
The stories of the careers of these highly intelligent, scientific minded and curious men and women as detailed by Deborah Blum are absorbing. They were not fringe people, but included some of the greatest intellectual, political, and social lights of the day. They endured skepticisim and ridicule from many of their peers, but pressed on trying to solve the conumdrum of life after death. The stories of the mediums they investigated are also intriguing. I liked Leonora Piper, who though embarrassed by her apparent abilities put up with repeated investigations which sometimes left her physically injured and emotionally exhausted. I laughed at the stories of Eusapia Palladino, a lusty Neapolitan who was often detected cheating, but who sometimes produced unaccountable phenomena. Lastly I was perplexed by some of the strange tales of seances where some weird things were said and produced that no one could adequately explain away. If these stories were accurately transcribed and reported then it has to be admitted that some remarkably eerie spiritualist sessions took place.
In the end the investigators retired or died themselves, unable to produce definitive proof of immortality (but again leading to some highly unusual seances and odd "communications" that, if accurately recorded, leave one with much to ponder.)
Deborah Blum has written a scholarly but highly readable work. She very effectively mentions the more concrete scientific advances that were taking place at the same time that James and his partners were conducting their research, and places the "ghost hunters" soundly in the context of their time: a period when any mystery could be solved if solid science was applied and rigorous attention was paid to the tiniest detail. Its ironic but inevitable that the book has to end with James' ultimate question unanswered.
5 people found this helpful
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2014
This is the account of a dogged effort by scholars during the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century to unravel claims of a wide variety of supernatural and paranormal phenomena. Those involved were very prominent individuals including William James and several Nobel Prize winning scientists. The events they reported and investigated are often dumbfounding to read and inexplicable in scientific terms. Modern science is no more able to account for the phenomena reported than was 19th century science, and then as now, most scientists reject such reports but cannot adequately account for them. This is an interesting and thought provoking read, though at times, I wished it was a little shorter.
3 people found this helpful
Top reviews from other countries
5.0 out of 5 stars PERFECT
Reviewed in Germany on June 26, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the best I have read
Reviewed in Canada on August 21, 2017
Simply the best I have read .....Don't be mislead .....this book tells about brilliant Cambridge & Harvard graduates
.....who eagerly researched the truth about ......SPIRIT mediums ....
....and proved that in a few cases they were able to communicate with their friend almost 'immediately' after he died
These grads all INTIMATE colleagues ...were .....physicians scientists and professors who kept their records intact
....a 100 years ago for Debrorah Blum to put together
RJR
3.0 out of 5 stars Found this one a bit hard going in places.
Reviewed in Australia on June 28, 2021
This book was a mix of interesting and not so interesting. It gets too bogged down in parts which made some of it hard going and tedious, but other chapters were of interest. I thought it was interesting, but there are better books out there on this subject.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in India on June 13, 2016