Customer Reviews

Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(18)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Writing about reincarnation brings the skeptics out of the woodwork and many people in Western culture say, "I don't believe". The Judeo-Christian ethic does not believe in coming back in the form of another person. Bruce Leininger, a Human Relations executive, and his wife, discussed their two-year-old son James' nightmares and bizarre conduct. Soul Survivor, will be released in June 2009 dispelling some of the doubts that Bruce had about the phenomenal behavior of his son. Ken Gross provides a great assist in conveying their story.

Since their son was a lot different than most two-year-olds, Bruce and Andrea Leininger sought the help of Carol Bowman, renowned author, who wrote books about vivid past lives of her children. The Leininger's needed a better way to contend with the mysterious recollections by their son with his screaming in the night as his plane dove into the ocean in flames. "Little man" James would describe his life as a fighter pilot and how he died when he was unable to get out of the cockpit of his Corsair, which had been hit by enemy aircraft in the battle for Iwo Jima.

Bruce and Andrea were unable to rationalize James' behavior. They could not explain his vast knowledge of airplanes, crew members, or recollection of actual events which had taken place during the life of James M. Huston Jr. At the age of four, James was able to name crew members who had died before him and states he met them in heaven before his birth as James Leininger. "He was a four-year-old, and he was saying things that made his parent's skin crawl," according to Ken Gross.

Bruce became a first-rate detective in the ensuing years, uncovering actual people who swore that his son James III was indeed James Jr. after many years had gone by. Bruce met with surviving crew mates, the sister of James Jr., and had his little son speak with her. Astonishingly, they had conversations which started in the 1940's, and continued as if it were yesterday. There was noticeable sibling bonding as the two of them exchanged words of affection, even though they were 80 years apart!

James will turn 11 this year and the nightmares are gone, but many of the memories linger on. Reading this book may not change beliefs in reincarnation, but may cause wonder for the skeptic. Soul Survivor is strongly recommended.

Clark Isaacs
Reviewer

I have enjoyed Carol Bowman's books in the past so this was a natural for me when I saw the Leiningers interviewed on GMA about their son's past life memories. The Leiningers do not present a very sympathetic picture in the beginning of the book - shallow corporate power couple, obsessed with perfection, frantic over their son's acceptance to the "right" kindergarten making their gradual forced conversion to belief in reincarnation more powerful. I especially loved the last chapters where Bruce is underemployed and begins really opening his heart to the elderly WWII pilots and surviving family members; it shows real growth from the absentee father who had been working 12-hour days to the man who cherishs every minute spent with the crew of the Natoma Bay. Therein lies the rub: 50% of the book is spent viewing the life of the Leiningers pre-conversion, as average American consumers - decorating house, attending cookouts, choosing wall paper and wall colors. Only the last two chapters document James meeting his Natoma crew mates, recognizing them instantly by voice, meeting his sister Anna and knowing intensely personal details of her girlhood, and meeting airplane pilots who recognize him as a trained professional. These astonishing meetings are given barely one sentence each while whole pages earlier in the book are devoted to Andrea's housecleaning regimes. The writers state that James was the star of the Natoma crew reunion, but no details are given. It feels like they ran out of room at the end of the book, but rather than edit the first chapters they shoehorned all the really interesting material into the last two chapters failing to detail conversations or meetings. Maybe they are saving that for a sequel? Another kvetch, I bought the Kindle version which does not contain photos, maps or illustrations - does the print version contain material other than text? I would have loved to have seen James 2 and James 3 as avatars (reincarnations) are said to closely resemble their immediate past lives.

Whether you believe in reincarnation or not, this story is extremely meaningful. Bruce Leininger's research uncovered the stories of the 21 men who died while serving our country off of the escort carrier USS Natoma Bay during WWII. The military records had been classified for over 60 years until Mr. Leininger uncovered them in order to disprove the information revealed in his son's nightmares. The accounts of these mens deaths had never been published.The surviving family members were unaware of how their loved ones had died until the records were sent to them by Mr. Leininger. If this story is compelling for no other reason, the painstaking research and discovery of military records that brought peace and closure to the surviving families who still grieved for their loved ones generations later is a monumental accomplishment.

Mr. Leininger stated that researching the details of how fighter pilot, James M. Huston, Jr., died and reconciling them with his son's night terrors was "a clash of faith vs. fact". His journey led him from trying to disprove the information to slowly substantiating it as a true historical account. The evidence is overwhelming. Whether you are a believer or a non-believer, this story is about a renewal and acceptance of faith. It made Mr. Leininger re-examine his own belief system and, ultimately made him believe even stronger in what God promises to all of us....that of our soul's eternal life.

Soul Survivor is a very interesting account of a very young child having dreams and knowing facts about historical happenings when he was entirely too young to have gained the knowledge through television, books or the Internet. Begging the question, is James Leininger really James Huston reincarnated or has James Huston's soul communicated with little James through his dreams?

Many parents have wondered where their toddlers come up with mature observations and such; Soul Survivor provides one answer because the Leiningers had both the curiosity and the courage to investigate the ramblings of their child. There are so many events in Soul Survivor that support the theory that souls are eternal and reincarnation is possible.

If read with an open mind, this reincarnation story is fascinating. I recommend this book to anyone who is teetering back and forth about their belief in reincarnation.

The Divine Plan: A Novel of Obsession

This was an amazing story! I'm usually quite dubious when it comes to such topics. Especially when it comes to the religious ramifications of "reincarnation." But then, as a realist myself, the concepts of "Christ" and "Salvation" have their own place on that shelf I call "Faith."

It was an incredible act of faith when Bruce set out to disprove the reincarnation of James M. Huston, Jr. in order to validate his own beliefs. I doubt my faith is nearly as strong. I don't usually go about asking questions that I don't want to know the answers to - but Bruce did. Thankfully, his faith seems to have survived intact. As for me - my mind has opened a little wider and my vision of God is filled with more wonder.

I have just finished a Master's Thesis on Mediumship and Evidence of Survival. It included a chapter on reincarnation. I was forced, by my research, to look at all sides of the question and to become quite critical and quite skeptical. I looked at many cases studied by Dr. Ian Stevenson in India. I also looked at a case that came up under hypnosis in America and had my doubts. I then looked at Jenny Cockell's case ACROSS TIME AND DEATH, and came away disturbed by some elements in her story that really discredited her. I then came across this book and applied the same criticisms to this story that I had applied elsewhere. I read one reviewer's remark that the child said very little in the TV interview, whereas his parent did most of the talking. So, needless to say I was on my guard! I came away from this book convinced that here we have an authentic "early bird" case; that is, a case where the young child, around age two, remembers and verbalizes past life details. I found that here, the father was EXTREMELY skeptical, and fought the idea of reincarnation to the bitter end. The book is extremely well written and builds the case step by step to what I felt was a rather emotional ending. This story deserves to be read, by believers and unbelievers alike, to increase our awareness, that no matter what our religious faith, there is more to life and its continuance than we know.

The story of James, both of them, presented in this book was captivating. With the research and undeniable passion for finding the truth that was displayed by the parents, the book was a good read. However, because of the tedious and unendingly boring pages about the alcoholic drinks being drunk, the ridiculous stories of wallpaper choices, the listing of menus and family personalities, I ended up skimming the story for "just the fact, ma'm." The writers should have taken a big step back and simply tried for a a more concise book rather than relating minutuae. Why didn't they offer more information about the family visit to the remote island where the plane crashed. It would have been much more interesting than all the pages filled with angst about the father's job woes and responsibilities.

Can a child see/feel/know things we adults can't? James appears to have knowledge far beyond his years and experiences - and Mom & Dad know they must prove or disprove what their precious child is experiencing. Since these episodes can be fully validated by written history and eye-witnesses, it just sends chills up your spine. Soul Survivor is not about religion, but it will either cause you to question your faith or re-enforce your faith.

I just finished reading this book after seeing the program about it on GMA. It was excellent! I couldn't put it down and completed it in a day and a morning. I found all aspects of the book compelling and real. There are facts and things that happened that could not possibly be made up. Many times I found I had goose bumps. The interjection of every day occurences, like the little boy flooding the bathroom or breaking his dad's car seat so the dad had to drive to Houston in a prone position cracked me up. The stories of the men of the Natoma Bay broke my heart and made me cry. It is just amazing. I have a renewed sense of faith. As a christian sometimes we just have to think outside the box. Perhaps that's what is meant by "everlasting life"?

Reading this book took way too much effort which is directly attributable to the poor writing of the author. About 80% of the book is wasted space that has absolutely nothing to do with the subject matter. It drags the real story down and after a while I got the feeling that the author was attempting to "fill space" at the request of the editor. I grew increasingly frustrated with having to read about the everyday errands the family was doing or what they were eating for dinner on such and such day. The actual story could have been told in 20-30 pages and it would have been fascinating.

My anticipation for this book was very high after reading the jacket summary and other reader reviews. I was anxious to learn how the subject's father, Bruce, was able to reconcile his Christian faith with what seems to be a past life experience...as this was to be a major focus of the book. What I found though was that Bruce's christianity is portrayed much more like a genetic predisposition that has to be "worked through". His religious belief seemed to be based on objective reasoning and a sense of duty, more than a personal relationship with his God. I'm not judging his faith, I'm only judging how the author portrayed his faith. The guy may spend his weekends going to door-to-door sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but the author doesn't describe him as being of that nature. Because of this portrayal, I never really bought the idea that someone could incorporate reincarnation into Christian dogma.

My final word of advice would be save your $15 and wait until this book is at your public library.