Oh, what to say about this one? A while back, I had read [Ghost Hunters: William James and the Search for Scientific Proof of Life after Death] by Deborah Blum. It was so fascinating that it made me want to look at some "primary source" material from the principals in the origins of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR).

This book wasn't nearly so readable. It was a fascinating glimpse into the mind of a very interesting man. But it was, at times, extremely hard for me to process what he was saying. James was many things: a trained physician, a psychology professor, a philosopher, as well as a psychical researcher in his later years. He was an academic, and much of what is written here is written for fellow academics of his time period. I found the personal letters included in the volume much easier to read, for the most part.

I've heard people say casually of James, "Oh, he became a spiritualist later in life." Not quite so. He always considered himself first and foremost a scientist in the field. James considered as scandalous the general scorn held by the scientific establishment for what we now call the "paranormal." Since these phenomena were so widely reported throughout history, he felt them worthy of study. The refusal by scientists to even look at them appeared, to him, a dogma as rigid as that of any religious cleric. The role of science, he insisted, was to investigate objectively the nature of the world -- even those parts that didn't fit current scientific theories. This (and his own search for meaning in life) was the impetus behind his psychical research. And while he clearly decided that something was going on beyond what established science at that time would accept, it's not accurate to call him a spiritualist in the classic sense. His writings indicate that he had not accepted, at least as proven fact, the existence of life after death -- though he clearly leaned toward wanting to believe in it, and refused to accept scientific claims that it was "impossible."

The most tedious section of this book, for me, was the section about the investigations into "Mrs. Piper," a medium who was extensively investigated by the Society for Psychical Research. Yet this section gives us a clear glimpse into his investigative method. He pulls out those exchanges where the medium, in her trance, appears to be in some ways "on target" with her communications from the "beyond." He indicates what is accurate, what is not, what may have been known to the medium through "normal" channels. The thoroughness of how he dissects the communication is part of what makes it tedious, yet it demonstrates how critical he could be in analyzing his subject. Indeed, he alienated some of his spiritualist acquaintances and colleagues with his seemingly skeptical analysis!

The book also explores the development of James' religious thought, which is related to his search for the truth regarding life after death. His was a rather unconventional belief system, but he clearly wanted -- needed -- to believe that there was some higher power in the universe.

His views about the relationship of human consciousness and "psychical" phenomena are quite interesting, and seem to grow out of his intense, pioneering work in the field of psychology combined with his philosophical/religious speculations. He credits his friend and SPR colleague Frederick Myers for much of the groundwork.

I wouldn't recommend this for the casual reader who is interested in the paranormal. For someone who is seriously interested in the roots of paranormal research, this is probably a must-read. Thus I found it difficult to rate. I gave it 3 1/2 stars, which is a "guardedly recommended" kind of rating. It wasa bit too tedious a reading experience to give it the rating for which its historical significance in the field would seem to entitle it. ( )