Past Lives: An Investigation into Reincarnation Memories

by Peter Fenwick, Elizabeth Fenwick

Drawing on more than one hundred firsthand accounts from individuals who believe that they can recall a previous existence, an intriguing study of reincarnation examines whether people are experiencing actual memories or thoughts and ideas based on imagination. Reprint.

Genres: Nonfiction

332 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Peter Brooke Cadogan Fenwick was a British neuropsychiatrist and neurophysiologist who is known for his studies of epilepsy and end-of-life phenomena.

Reviews

[Kassi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike most books about past lives (I would imagine), this book does not assume an position for or against past lives/reincarnation. Instead, it provides the reader with scientific evidence, case studies, and a no-nonsense approach to analyzing the experiences described in the case studies. I am fortunate that I found this book first before trying others about Past Lives because this book covers everything I wanted to know and left me to draw my own conclusions. I would highly recommend this book to someone who is interested in knowing about past lives and reincarnation without any bias for or against it. I would also highly recommend this book for anyone interested in psi phenomenon who has an interest in the subject, as a person reading this book would be unable to become ungrounded by some of the assumptions other psi phenomenon subjects can have. Very excellently written, wonderful book.

*Update*

I just reread this book and I can say that it holds up to time. While the research is old, it is still valid. Some more discoveries have been made in neuroscience since the publication of the book. Either way, I still give it 5 stars and I still love it for its no-nonsense approach.

[Carole Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book of the year! ^.^

I randomly found this while looking for a poem book (which I never found >.>) and since I've been doing some research on this phenomenon of reincarnation I thought this would be a rather good book to read. For this review, I'm going to divide and conquer:

The Good

The authors did a wonderful job collecting stories and past life memories from over 100 people.
I loved how the incorporated theories, beliefs, and facts along with the stories. It wasn't all just stories or all just facts and theories; a nice blend.
I loved how they were completely unbiased. They played both sides of the field: being believers and being critics.
It allows YOU to come up with your own conclusion
Very thought-provoking
Nicely organized.
The Bad and the Ugly

Some of the sections seemed very tedious and rather boring
Some of the stories seemed out of place
Conclusion
Not much I can complain about. It was a fairly decent book for if you want to learn more about the theory of past lives. I found it entertaining and within an hour or so I read like 200 pages. haha. In the end, I would recommend this to those that want to do some of their own research about reincarnation, because it is very informational and you'll gain a good amount of knowledge. It may also convince you or aid your non-belief in past lives. All-in-all I stamp this with 4 stars. ^.^ Good way to start the year.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

All kinds of intriguing cases of people who believe they have lived before, or know someone who seems to have lived before. The authors are psychiatrists and they have very little to say about the truth or lack of it in what their informants are saying -- they just present case histories. I was hoping for some analysis here.

[Jessica Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had some interesting stories that seem to support the theory of reincarnation, or at least of the collective unconscious. Other stories that the authors believed to support the theory did not hold up so well in my mind. Still, an interesting and sometimes thought-provoking read.

[Ci · Rating 3 out of 5]

One should just read the first several chapters and the last one. The middle part is very tedious and somehow comes across of being incredulously naive.