Mary Roach is the author of five best-selling works of nonfiction, including Grunt, Stiff, and, most recently, Fuzz. Her writing has appeared in National Geographic and the New York Times Magazine, among other publications. She lives in Oakland, California.
"The general reader's ideal emissary to the arcana of serious science... Roach's writing has what science has so far failed to find: a divine spark." -- Malcolm Jones - Newsweek "Dependably witty, especially when it ventures far into the ether... [Roach] makes a clever investigator and a thoroughly entertaining, if skeptical, tour guide." -- Janet Maslin - New York Times "Investigative reporting has no lighter, more irreverent spirit than Mary Roach... Spook is enormous fun." -- David A Walton - Pittsburgh Union-Tribune "Surreal, fascinating, at times absurd and always hilarious, Mary Roach may not reveal the street address of our final destination, but in Spook she makes it sound less like a morgue and more like a comedy club." -- Vince Darcangelo - Boulder Weekly "Funny and smart... since she's a scientist at heart, she also lasers through the smoke and mirrors." -- People "Reading Spook is like attending a lecture by a professor who is equal parts Groucho Marx and Stephen Jay Gould, both enlightening and entertaining." -- Dorman T. Schindler - Sunday Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News
"The general reader's ideal emissary to the arcana of serious science... Roach's writing has what science has so far failed to find: a divine spark." -- Malcolm Jones - Newsweek "Dependably witty, especially when it ventures far into the ether... [Roach] makes a clever investigator and a thoroughly entertaining, if skeptical, tour guide." -- Janet Maslin - New York Times "Investigative reporting has no lighter, more irreverent spirit than Mary Roach... Spook is enormous fun." -- David A Walton - Pittsburgh Union-Tribune "Surreal, fascinating, at times absurd and always hilarious, Mary Roach may not reveal the street address of our final destination, but in Spook she makes it sound less like a morgue and more like a comedy club." -- Vince Darcangelo - Boulder Weekly "Funny and smart... since she's a scientist at heart, she also lasers through the smoke and mirrors." -- People "Reading Spook is like attending a lecture by a professor who is equal parts Groucho Marx and Stephen Jay Gould, both enlightening and entertaining." -- Dorman T. Schindler - Sunday Denver Post & Rocky Mountain News
This is not about ghosts-rather, science writer Roach (Stiff) looks to science to determine whether the human "soul" exists in death. Unfortunately, neither science nor Roach is up to the task. Three of the 12 chapters deal with contemporary science (infrasound and electromagnetic waves, the personal computer, and the operating room ceiling where University of Virginia cardiologists placed equipment to monitor out-of-body, near-death experiences). The remaining chapters are devoted to such topics as medium school, the weight of a soul, the last surviving ectoplasm sample, and reincarnation. Readers come away with little new information or insight into the question originally posed but with many pieces of arcane trivia. Although deftly written and at times humorous, this book is superficial overall. Recommended for only the largest collections or where Stiff was popular. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/05.]-Michael D. Cramer, Schwarz BioSciences, RTP, NC Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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