I learned a number of interesting things reading Mary Roach's survey of the historical and scientific efforts to prove the existence of a soul. 2004 - Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers 2010 - Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void 2013 - Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal

2016 - Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War Spook has enough payload to justify the trip and the humor makes it a very spirited ride.

I particularly enjoyed the section on the possibility that infrasound, that is, sound at or about 18-20 decibels, might account for a wide range of supposedly psychic experience. As with Stiff, it is a bit hazardous reading this in public as one is apt to burst out into laughter every now and then, victimized by the snide commentary that makes this book great fun to read. Are there ghosts? Is there life after death? She examines a host of topics under her conceptual umbrella, looking at reincarnation, the hunt for the seat of the soul, the notion that the soul weighs 21 grams, ectoplasm, the effectiveness of mediums, including her stint in medium school, (she outgrew small but was not yet advanced enough for large school?) EVP, and more. It is only natural that she might continue that escapade with a look past the curtain. Roach is the author of Stiff, a raucous romp through the wonderful land of death. She was the guest editor of the 2011 Best American Science and Nature Writing, a finalist for the 2014 Royal Society Winton Prize, and a winner of the American Engineering Societies' Engineering Journalism Award, in a category for which, let's be honest, she was the sole entrant. Her 2009 TED talk made the organization's 2011 Twenty Most-Watched To Date list.

She serves as a member of the Mars Institute's Advisory Board and the Usage Panel of American Heritage Dictionary.

Mary has written for National Geographic, Wired, Discover, New Scientist, the Journal of Clinical Anatomy, and Outside, among others. Mary Roach is the author of the New York Times bestsellers STIFF: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers GULP: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal, PACKING FOR MARS: The Curious Science of Life in the Void BONK: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex and GRUNT: The Curious Science of Humans at War. Mary Roach is a science author who specializes in the bizarre and offbeat with a body of work ranging from deep-dives on the history of human cadavers to the science of the human anatomy during warfare.

Spook by mary roach