Extending the line of thought propounded in his Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home, Sheldrake continues his investigations of perceptions that don't seem to correlate to our known senses. It's a project that carries risks of which he is well aware ("[t]o go against this taboo involves a serious loss of intellectual standing, a relegation to the ranks of the uneducated"), and is careful to base his arguments on sustained research. Using a database of more than 4,500 case histories of "apparently unexplained perceptiveness by people and by nonhuman animals," Sheldrake investigates a wide range of psychic phenomena, organizing his inquiries by specific media. One chapter covers "Telephone Telepathy," whereby one can be thinking of a person who then calls or can "actively induce" someone to call. He also covers cats who rush to the phone when it is their owner on the line, but of particular interest are the studies and anecdotes presenting evidence of other sorts of telepathic or psychic communication between children and parents, as well as the tales of dreams and visions that seem to have predicted the tragic events of September 11. Some of the material fails to convince (such as the woman who says her husband can sense the correct Trivial Pursuit answer if she thinks about it), and some readers may wish that Sheldrake had more fully dealt with selective memory and retrospective narration where details are unconsciously embellished. Nevertheless, the title chapter is extremely convincing, dealing with those moments in which we "know" someone is looking at us, and turn around to find it to be so: Sheldrake has data on response rates that differ as to place, gender and type of gaze (curiosity, sexual desire, anger, etc.), and goes on to devote a whole chapter to "Surveillance and Wariness."
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Adult/High School-Sheldrake proposes that the mind extends beyond the conventionally recognized parameters; that "detectable effects" of this extended mental field can be measured in several phenomena associated with vision; and that there is a biological and evolutionary basis for telepathy. The author describes experiments that have tested the existence of the mental "morphic field" and briefly but convincingly refutes some of his critics by showing the flaws in their experiments. He outlines several projects that readers can undertake to investigate such questions as e-mail telepathy, silent calls to pets, and, of course, the sense of being stared at. A significant number of pages venture beyond the rigors of experimentation to include an excellent discussion of how various cultures view the "evil eye," many colorful anecdotes drawn from surveys, and occasional leaps of thought that seem to omit necessary connections. Sheldrake's trademark juxtaposition of fantastic subject matter with practical scientific discipline is highly entertaining and should prove irresistible to inquiring minds. For teachers and discussion groups, there are challenges galore for the curious, the credulous, the skeptical, or the anti-intellectual-and some invaluable examples of how science can work to reveal surprising aspects of our world.
Christine C. Menefee, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.