Life Before Life: Children's Memories of Previous Lives [Paperback]

Jim B. Tucker (Author), Ian Stevenson (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: April 1, 2008

This popular examination of research into children’s reports of past-life memories describes a collection of 2,500 cases at the University of Virginia that investigators have carefully studied since Dr. Ian Stevenson began the work more than forty years ago. The children usually begin talking about a past life at the age of two or three and may talk about a previous family or the way they died in a previous life. Their statements have often been found to be accurate for one particular deceased individual, and some children have recognized members of the previous family. A number have also had birthmarks or defects that matched wounds on the body of the deceased person. 

Life Before Life presents the cases in a straightforward way and explores the possibility that consciousness may continue after the brain dies. It is a provocative and fascinating book that can challenge and ultimately change readers’ understandings about life and death.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Is reincarnation possible? Tucker's book full of real-life evidence and an explanation of how quantum physics allows for it makes one think the better question may be Is it impossible? Basing his argument on a study of more than 40 years' duration into the lives, present and past, of more than 2,500 children, psychiatrist Tucker makes a pretty solid case in favor of reincarnation. He opens with the story of William, born five years after his policeman grandfather, John, was killed, with birth defects similar to John's fatal wounds. William was able, at three, to report John's last moments, of which he couldn't possibly have had any knowledge. Then there is the Turkish child who insisted on being called by the name of a man who had lived 50 miles away. Taken to the man's town, the child proceeded to the man's home and identified the man's parents in a roomful of people. All the stories were checked by scientist-interviewers, and all potential deception was eliminated; hence, Tucker introduces powerful grounds for credulous speculation. Donna Chavez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"In this very elegant book, Dr. Tucker offers the most convincing scientific evidence for the fact that our consciousness survives physical death.  And indeed, takes quantum leaps of creativity in the form of reincarnation.  The model that Dr. Tucker presents opens a new vision of who we are, limitless beings that fill up all of space and time."--Deepak Chopra, author of  Life After Death: The Burden of Proof

 

"[A][ solid case for reincarnation…. Tucker introduces powerful grounds for credulous speculation."--Booklist

"Jim Tucker gives us a clear, concise and eminently rational insight into a 40 year investigation of what is unquestionably the best evidence for the existence of reincarnation. We are lucky to have in him a worthy successor to Ian Stevenson."--TOM SHRODER, author of Old Souls: Compelling Evidence From Children Who Remember Past Lives
 
"Anyone with an open mind, on reading Dr. Jim B. Tucker's Life Before Life, will realize that our conventional concepts of life and death are ripe for revision.  The possibilities raised by this book for human destiny are as hopeful as the current view is grim.  Life Before Life is extraordinarily important."--Larry Dossey, M.D., author of The Extraordinary Healing Power of Ordinary Things, Reinventing Medicine, and Healing Words
 
"With his training as a pediatric psychiatrist, and the mind of an inquiring scientist, Dr. Jim Tucker takes a fresh look at one of life's most intriguing questions:   'Does consciousness survive death?'   Through the hundreds of case studies of his predecessor, Dr. Ian Stevenson, and his own cases, Dr. Tucker adds new insight to this amazing research, and draws us closer to understanding this perennial mystery."--CAROL BOWMAN, author of Children's Past Lives and Return From Heaven
 
"Life Before Life adds to the increasingly impressive science of consciousness and the continuity of mind/memory…this book is the tip of an important iceberg that will continue to expand our knowledge of the spiritual reality of Life."--C. NORMAN SHEALY, M.D., Ph.D., President, Holos University Graduate Seminary; Founding President, American Holistic Medical Association; author of Youthful Aging--Secret of the Fountain
 
"Jim B. Tucker's fine presentation of Ian Stevenson's decades of rigorous scientific research into evidence of children's apparent past-life recollections expresses the true spirit of scientific skepticism, rather than the knee-jerk materialism that all too often waves that proud banner."--B. ALAN WALLACE, President of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031237674X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312376741
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Reincarnation

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 79 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Straightforward, unbiased presentation May 30, 2006

By Stephen Sakellarios

Format:Hardcover

In "Life Before Life," Dr. Jim Tucker, successor to Dr. Ian Stevenson at the University of Virginia Division of Personality Studies, presents their work in a way that is rigorous enough for the scientific community, and yet readable by the lay audience. Dr. Tucker's approach is disarmingly straightforward, as he rationally examines all sides of the issue. In a non-threatening manner, he presents evidence which, if taken seriously, is inherently radical. Where I would characterize the stance of mainstream science with red flags like "in denial," Dr. Tucker calmly acknowledges that mainstream science is by nature conservative; where I would say something like "reincarnation has been proven, already, let's get on the stick," Dr. Tucker carefully explains what the alternative interpretations are, the extent to which they are plausible, and the extent to which they probably are not.

If it were possible to convince mainstream science with a calm, rational, non-threatening explanation, this book would do it. To borrow from something philosophy professor Dr. Robert Almeder told me when I interviewed him for "In Another Life," if it were possible to calmly and rationally explain to a man that his brother is a murderer, without his going into denial and ridiculing you, then Dr. Tucker is the man who could do it.

In short, the information is here. The work has been done, and the results are in. To use one of Dr. Stevenson's own analogies, the tennis player has hit the winning shot, and it was in-bounds. Now it is up to the scientific community, and the society at large, to come to grips with it. In order to do that, they will have to admit that much of our currently-accepted philosophy is wrong, psychology is wrong, genetics is wrong, and much more.... It's like the 75-cent accounting error that leads to the international hackers--if the materialistic view of the world is correct, this research simply shouldn't be there. But it is, and Dr. Tucker is just sitting down with you on a fine Sunday afternoon with a glass of tea, and telling you. (If you don't cup your hands over your ears and say "yah, yah, yah," though, you may spill your tea.)

One of the subtle points that Dr. Tucker makes several times in this book, addresses the various objections to the work that have been put forth by skeptics. He points out that these alternative explanations, what he terms the "normal" explanations, may (if stretching) fit the facts of a particular class of cases, but not all. Another such explanation may fit another class of cases, but again, not all. If the cases are taken as a whole, however, then these explanations aren't adequate. In other words, one has to isolate out a group of cases while deliberately ignoring others, in order to infer that these explanations are reasonable, because the cases one is ignoring would invalidate the explanation. Similarly, Dr. Tucker points out that if there exists an adequate number of extremely strong cases, then by inference, most likely the cases that couldn't be proven so conclusively still have similar characteristics. As an example, if we have quite a few cases in which notes were taken of the child's statements about his past life, showing conclusively that it was not a matter of the two families mis-remembering or exaggerating what the child had remembered; then by inference, the other cases, in which we don't have that conclusive evidence, probably were also not a result of the two families mis-remembering or exaggerating. If your grandfather mysteriously goes outside twice a day, and on three occasions you have hidden behind a bush and have seen him smoking a cigar when he's gone outside, the most logical explanation is that twice a day he sneaks out to smoke a cigar. Dr. Stevenson and colleagues have "caught grandpa" outside smoking the cigar on several occasions, as it were, by obtaining notes taken of the child's statements before the two families had the chance to share information. Therefore the most likely interpretation is that this kind of sharing is not behind most of the reports, even when notes had not been taken beforehand. What the skeptics are doing, is to deliberately set aside the incidents where Grandpa was observed smoking, and then state that the rest is mere speculation. Well, the rest may be speculation to one degree or another--but it most definitely is not mere speculation. And therein lies the logical flaw.

This book contains the gist of over 40 years of work by Dr. Stevenson and colleagues, which is ongoing. They have 2,500 cases, and this book presents some of their strongest, as well as drawing briefly on statistics from large numbers of cases which can be grouped into various categories. It is not a substitute for reading Dr. Stevenson's reports directly, but it is an excellent introduction and a must-read for anyone interested in the field of reincarnation studies, afterlife studies, the mind-body relationship or any aspect of the Dualism vs. Materialism controversy. Read more ›

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Interesting, yet Scientific Look at Reincarnation January 7, 2007

By D. Buxman TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Given my Lutheran upbringing, I've always been suspicious of claims of reincarnation. These feelings have been eroded lately with my study of Buddhism and a news report that I saw where a four year old boy clearly demonstrated memories of life as a World War II fighter pilot. As such, I was pleased to find this book. It's not your typical new age psuedo-science hodge-podge of anecdotal accounts, but rather is a legitimate scientific examination of the possibility of reincarnation, explored through children's accounts of past lives, usually starting around the age of 2 or 3 and fading around 7 or 8. Dr. Tucker has documented over 2,500 cases in countries all around the globe. He examines different types of accounts and attempts to address the various explanations for each.

While a book like this could come off about as exciting as reading the Yellow Pages, Dr. Tucker takes care to discuss interesting individual accounts in addition to explaining the results of his studies. If you have an open mind concerning reincarnation, this book will raise your awareness and provide you with the information necessary to develop your own informed opinion.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Reincarnation Nearly Proven July 7, 2006

By Martin A Hogan HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Dr. Tucker has produced a sensible, straightforward book packed full of real-life evidence. With an easy narrative, he explains how quantum physics makes the possibilities real. There are more than forty years of research of over 2,500 children, in which Dr. Tucker gleams stories, both coincidental and precise, to support the very possibility of reincarnation. Dr. Tucker was trained as a pediatric psychiatrist and takes a very fresh look at this contentious subject. The book is very pragmatic and scientific in its approach of the subject. Some of the stories will make your hair stand on end, but one gets a real sense that reincarnation is not fantasy, but reality.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS BOOK DRAWS YOU IN ...... NEED MORE STARS!! January 3, 2007

By pwindsinspirations

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am still reading it and have had trouble putting it down! I have many many books on this subject and most just left me feeling emply, needing more. This book is not that way! The people whose stories he write about glues you to the pages and make you reflect before reading on.

This is the kind of book that can change the way we think about living and life in general. The messages are full of hope and give me peace of mind. SO many people THINK they are living but they are just doing that, living, going about daily taskes mindless NOT experiencing the Fullness that life has to offer.

These Stories offered here open not just the heart but the mind as well and MAKE you think about why you are here and how you can improve life for others as well as your own..WELL WORTH THE READ!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent study on children who remember past lives November 19, 2009

By World Music Fan

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I highly recommend this book over any other book on the subject of past lives. Dr. Tucker, who has taken over the practice since the passing of his predecessor Dr. Ian Stevenson began this project, researches and studies subjects using a scientific approach, which few others do such as Carol Bowman, at least she never mentions any in her book but instead just accepts people's claims. Dr. Stevenson's work was brilliant but this book removes the rather dry scientific case study approach and makes it more readable. What makes Tucker's stories amazing is the subjects are children between the ages of about 4 - 7 who remember previous lives that are verifiable because often the previous persons died shortly before these children were born. The studies take these children to villages or to families of the deceased to verify or "solve" the question of whether this person really is the deceased person incarnate. The stories will astound you and have you convinced that we've most likely all been here before and will no doubt be here again.