After spending an adolescence of getting lost in fiction I came into adulthood feeling the bourgeoisie need to do something productive with every moment of the day. The love I had of reading Kafka, Kerouac, Wilde, or Orwell was being squashed by non-fiction. Try though I may, books like Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies (Jared Diamond) or Why Do Men Barbecue?: Recipes for Cultural Psychology (Richard A. Shweder) just did not cut it. The subject matter of both books is very interesting but getting through each chapter felt like watching paint dry. I wanted to learn about something new but this style of teaching reminded me why I often skipped classes in high school. Then I found Mary Roach; whose class, had she been my teacher, I would have never skipped.

I am not sure how to classify Mary Roach’s approach to writing. The genre in which her books are found is usually in science, but they read more like a tell-all exposé. In the view of Warhol, I might call her books ‘Pop Science.’ Her book Spook is a pleasurable in-depth look at the afterlife with a scientific flavor.

Roach went into this book knowing nothing on the subject and so takes her readers on an interesting journey while she researches the matter. We follow along as she learns about Spiritualism, Ducan Macdougall (made famous by the movie 21 Grams), how to expand her psychic abilities, gathering EVP’s at the Donner Camp, and one researchers methods of collecting reincarnation data. Roach’s naivety on the subject matter and the situations she puts herself in mixed with her ability to put humility and wit on paper gave me many laugh out loud moments.

From Chapter 7:

While at mediumship school in England, Roach is having difficulty ‘expanding her energy,’

“…The tutor comes over and puts her hand up to my face. She asks if I can feel my face. What does this mean?  It’s not numb, so I guess the answer is yes.  I nod.”

“Okay, good, you’ve got it.”  She turns back to the group. I don’t read minds, but I think I know what’s going on in hers: AVOID THE YANK. The Yank is trouble.”

From Chapter 8:

“The National Forest Service has a fine and terribly dark sense of humor, or possible they have none at all. For somebody, perhaps an entire committee saw fit to erect a large wooden sign near the site where fourteen emigrants bound for California were eaten by other emigrants bound for California when they became trapped by the savage snows of 1846 and starved. The sign reads: DONNER CAMP PICNIC GROUND."

…

A couple and their dog approach on the walkway.  “Are you taping birdcalls?”

I answer yes, for two reasons. First, because, well, literally, we are.  And because I feel silly saying, "We are wanting to tape the spirit voices of the Donner Party.”

The way in which Roach approaches her writing makes you feel as if she is a long lost friend who has returned from a trip and is settling in to tell you about her travels in detail. It is friendly, readable, and humorous; it is everything one would want a good story to be. Surprisingly, it is also informative.

I learned quite a bit of historical information in this book along with interesting tid-bits. One thing that I commend Roach for, which many exposes leave out, is citing her sources. There were many times I wanted to know more about a story Roach was telling, and the bibliography left me not feeling like I would need to spend the next hour searching on the internet for the information.

Does Roach’s book cover all research, historical and current, on life after death? No, but what book could? What her book does do is give a nice over view of some interesting aspects of life after death research. More importantly, Mary Roach writes in a way that made Spook a definite page turner.