Shortly, we found ourselves on the main road to Delhi. Now after 1 a.m., the street was nearly empty. Smoke drifted in the headlights. I kept waiting to emerge from the cloud, but it only got thicker, to the point where I felt I was having difficulty getting oxygen.

‘It’s a lot worse at night.’ Stevenson said.

‘You mean, it’s like this every night?’ I asked.

‘It’s from all the dung fires,’ he explained, calmly staring into the darkness…” (151)

After media bombardments of New-Age-steeped, fantastical accounts of past lives and reincarnation, it was refreshing to read a book that explores the research of Dr. Ian Stevenson in an even-handed way. Dr. Stevenson travelled all over the world for 30 years, collecting no-frills accounts of reincarnation from young children. These accounts are well documented and, in my opinion, his research provides some of the most persuasive proof of reincarnation.

Tom Shroder was a newspaper editor and reincarnation sceptic when he travelled with Dr. Stevenson to Lebanon and India to interview previous and new subjects of his study on past lives. Although I found Shroder’s scepticism a bit over-the-top at times, I found that this critical tone balanced the book.

The book reads like a travelogue and the Shroder’s detailed descriptions of life in India and Lebanon are fascinating. He presents the story has a personal journey, detailing what he saw, the response of people Dr. Stevenson interviewed and his own reaction as a reincarnation sceptic.

If you’re looking for a ‘believe-it-or-not,’ fantastical account of amazing reincarnation stories, you won’t find them here. Shroder is blunt when describing the stories that didn’t live up to expectation. He plays the devil’s advocate and conjures up likely explanations for seemingly magical connections between dead individuals and the children who they’ve allegedly reincarnated as. On several occasions, though, he genuinely stumped and grudgingly admits that there is no likely explanation for these connections.

Along the way, he examines the counterarguments for reincarnation, its the cultural background, and even attends a conference of scientific professionals who have dedicated their careers to studying ‘paranormal phenomena.’

At times, the book sunk into intense naval-gazing, analysis and speculation and I found myself yawning. But overall, Shroder offers a readable overview of the topic.