Reincarnation: The Phoenix Fire Mystery

by Sylvia L. Cranston (Editor), Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (Foreword)

This classic anthology offers ancient and modern perspectives on Job's 'If a man die, shall he live again?' Spanning over 5,000 years of world thought, the selections invite consideration of an idea that has found hospitality in the greatest minds of history.

Genres: Philosophy, Religion, Psychology, History, Spirituality, Metaphysics, Literature

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Elentarri]

DNF

8 February 2024: I read a bit and skimmed some more, but this isn't really my "thing" and I seem to have lost interest in the subject. This is an anthology, almost encyclopedic in nature, that provides various opinions on reincarnation, by very many people.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great primer that you can dip in and out of at your leisure.

This book looks first at mythology as the earliest explanations of reincarnation, with sections of the book devoted to each culture's symbolism or belief system.

Reminiscent of Jung's Man and His Symbols, but on a slightly deeper level.

I liked it because I enjoy being able to pick up a book like this that tackles a deep subject, and not be overwhelmed by some pragmatic, academic explanation.

It's very accessible in terms of being able to read an excerpt, put the book back on the shelf, and come back later when you'd like a new perspective on the same teaching.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Collects writings, mostly brief exerpts, on reincarnation from different cultures and times, East and West; also the compilers write about the symbols used to represent rebirth and reincarnation, objections to the concept, etc.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

562 pages!!!!! My overall take away is that all but one of the world’s religions and belief systems accept the existence of reincarnation. The book makes that abundantly clear. It starts deep in the early history of civilization and follows the growth of the concept of metemphysics/reincarnation through ALL religions until 553 CE when the Fifth Ecumenical Council mandated by Emperor Justinian banned belief in reincarnation for christianity. At this point there are many people who do believe, including many prominent christians - in spite of that council.

Some of the believers detailed in this book include Buddha, Jesus of Nazareth and Sri Krishna all the way up to Balzac, Ibsen, Whitman, Ben Franklin, Albert Schweitzer, Carl Jung, Nietzsche, Thomas Edison, Joseph Wood Krutch, Norman Mailer, Charles Lindbergh, Pearl S. Buck and MANY others… A large portion of the book is a challenging read because there is one short biographical/philosophical entry after another for each of these famous believers and many more. It is a bit like reading an encyclopedia. If you are curious and open minded it is worth the effort.

[Bridgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe in reincarnation and found this book very educational in how reincarnation is believed in different cultures and contexts. I read this book years ago.

[Leanne]

three pages at a time, stop, think, repeat.

[Ivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book limited in scope, of limited interest, mainly as a retrospective into the past of archeologic and anthropologic research. Unfortunately it is spoiled by pages of unfounded assumptions, questionnable source material, affabulations, weasel words, jumping to conclusions, perpetuating urban myths, bad science and many other downsides.

Today it is unthinkable to read a popular science book as badly sourced as this one, and it definitely makes you thankful for the Internet, Snopes and the use of quantifiable science in archeology and antropology today.
A very weak 2 out of 5, for effort expended before the advent of Internet made this and many other popsci books obsolete.