Dr. Fontana's presentation is well suited to inform both the
experienced and new readers of the vast amount of research that
has already been undertaken in this area. I particularly liked
the way he presented the pros and cons of the various hypotheses
forwarded to explain the various phenomena. This is an excellent
introduction to the myriad facets of this fascinating subject.

Since becoming interested in psychical research some 15 years ago, I have accumulated a library of more than 1,000 books dealing with mediumship, channeling, near-death experiences, death-bed visions, apparations, past-life regressions, and every other aspect of the paranormal. This book is without a doubt the most comprehensive overview of the entire field that I have encountered.

The author is a professor of Transpersonal Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University in Great Britain and a past president as well as current vice-president of the Society for Psychical Research. Professor Fontana examines everything from the mediumship of the Fox Sisters of the 1800s to the recent
Scole experiments, including such famous cases as Patience Worth, Margery, the R-101 disaster, the cross-correspondences, to name just a few. He looks at the mediumship of Leonore Piper, Gladys Osborne Leonard, Eileen Garrett, Geraldine Cummins and many others.

So many of the earlier books present a one-sided view of various phenomena, but Fontana presents both sides, turning the evidence inside out and upside down,leaving no stone unturned. I had just recently reread a book about the mediumship of Mina Crandon, the medium in the sensational "Margery" mediumship of 1920s. I finished the book not knowing what to believe as there was strong evidence for Crandon being a gifted medium, but there was also some evidence suggesting fraud. The fact that the distinguished researcher, Dr. J.B. Rhine, was one of those concluding she was a charlatan made me lean toward that conclusion, even though I was mystified as to how so many other scientific examiners could have been duped. After reading Fontana's thoughts on the case, I am now back to believing that Crandon was a true medium, although she might have been a mixed-medium, i.e., one who occasionally cheated to please her audience when no phenomena manifested. There also seems to be the possibility that many of the mediums deemed cheaters were in fact sabotaged by malevolent spirits.

As Professor Fontana says, the question of whether or not our consciousness survives bodily death is without a doubt the most important facing us. For most religions, faith alone is seemingly all that is necessary. Perhaps that is the reason we have so much turmoil in the world today. Faith is not enough. We need conviction. That is what this book offers.