The untold story of an iconoclastic scientist: a psychiatrist who dedicated his career to documenting consciousness after death. Equal parts scientific detective story and intimate biography, The Incredible Afterlives of Dr. Stevenson shines a light on a significant figure whose life and work have not yet been fully explored. Bering boldly confronts readers with the complicated legacy of a man who many see as a Galileo-like rebel with groundbreaking ideas, ones that still have the power to upend everything we know about what it means to be human.
“The most enjoyable, informative, and surprising book I’ve read in a very long time. I was vaguely aware of Stevenson’s research into reincarnation, but Bering’s elegant and witty writing helped me see that research in the context of Dr. Stevenson’s profoundly unusual, brilliant mind. Rarely has the relationship between the discoverer and his discoveries been explored with such insight, understanding, and indeed, grace.”—Christopher Ryan, author of Civilized to Death: The Price of Progress
“Bering has written a brave, surprising, and deeply compelling book. What begins as a skeptic’s attempt to ‘explain away’ belief in an afterlife becomes something far more interesting: a witty, clear-eyed, and beautifully told examination of Ian Stevenson, the psychiatrist whose investigations into reincarnation and other anomalies remain some of the most enigmatic in modern science. A fascinating and wonderfully humane read.” —Paul Bloom, author of Psych: The Story of the Human Mind
“Here is a balanced biography of Ian Stevenson that is sensitive to our twentieth-first century concerns as it connects the psychiatrist’s humanity to his many books and ideas, including his early psychedelic studies and his final speculations on birthmarks and the ‘psychophore’ of the reincarnating soul. In these pages, the reader encounters both a humane fairness and a potential ontological shock.”—Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else
“Through Ian Stevenson’s life, Bering deftly examines the ignored and mocked corners of the behavioral sciences. Never dismissive and never credulous, Bering shows how parapsychology—ESP, survival, reincarnation—walked the same academic corridors as psychology and psychiatry. Bering’s clever biography shows that what’s been marginalized deserves a place in the light. A revealing tale, and a fun one.”—Joshua Blu Buhs, author of Think to New Worlds: The Cultural History of Charles Fort and His Followers
“This deeply researched and engagingly written biography does much more than tell the story of Ian Stevenson’s life and work on children with past-life memories, mediumship, apparitions, and extrasensory perception—it is a meditation on the implications of Stevenson’s findings for the relation of mind to body and the survival of consciousness after bodily death. Bering’s account is especially powerful because he comes to Stevenson from the perspective of cognitive psychology. It should inspire others who think they know what Stevenson was about, but have not read anything he wrote, to take up his extensive writings and form their own opinions about them.” —James G. Matlock, author of Signs of Reincarnation: Exploring Beliefs, Cases, and Theory
"Bering's book kept me hooked like a good novel does. Is there an afterlife or not? You need to keep turning the pages to find out, and Bering does a great job of keeping you on the fence. He does so effectively because he is a cautious, skeptical scientist writing about Ian Stevenson - another cautious, skeptical scientist. Well done!" —Robert Epstein, Ph.D., Senior Research Psychologist, American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology
Lively and brilliantly argued, The Belief Instinct explains the psychology behind belief. Drawing on surprising new studies as well as on literature, philosophy, and even pop culture, The Belief Instinct will reward readers with an enlightened understanding of belief—as well as the tools to break free of it.
Top 25 Books of 2011 by the American Library Association, Choice Reviews
Named one of the 11 Best Psychology Books of 2011 by The Atlantic
"A balanced and considered approach to this often inflammatory topic." ―Nature
“An interesting and pleasurable book to read, mainly because it throws up demanding challenges. It may never achieve the notoriety of The God Delusion but its fundamental approach took me from Professor Dawkins's cliché-ridden arguments into more original territory.” —The Catholic Herald
“A colorful romp through psychology, philosophy and popular culture.” —New Humanist
“Witty . . . . [Bering] employs examples and analogies that make his arguments seem like common sense rather than the hard-earned scientific insights they really are.” —New Scientist
“Bering's contribution to answering the question [of God] is worthy of consideration by any thinking person.” —The Scientist (Magazine of the Life Sciences)
A bold and captivating journey through some of the most taboo issues related to evolution and human behavior.
“This book could fuel a score of dinner-party conversations…this is more than some scientific stocking-filler: it uses science to unsettle our most embedded assumptions. It is deeply thought-provoking.” ―Sunday Times (UK)
“Jesse Bering is the Hunter S. Thompson of science writing, and he is a delight to read—funny, smart, and madly provocative.” —Paul Bloom, author of How Pleasure Works
“Excellent in its entirety, woven of Bering's rare tapestry of scientific rigor and a powerful, articulate social point of view.” ―Brain Pickings
“You must buy [Bering's book] to be both entertained and the life and soul of cocktail parties from now ‘til the end of the world.” ―Jezebel
“Bering's jokes about the things that make us most squeamish invite us to share his joyful curiosity about human sexuality, to see the world through his eyes...As Bering describes it, the complex interplay between biology, psychology, and culture suggests that what makes us most human--empathy--is also what makes us the most complicated beast of all.” ―Bookforum
“While remaining strictly true to the scientific facts of any given issue, Bering keeps readers on their toes with his signature salacious quips and stray, juicy peeks at his personal life.” ―Carl Hays, Booklist
“Anyone familiar with [Bering's] columns knows the goofy, self-deprecatory way he has of digesting lofty concepts. This book . . . is a prime specimen.” ―Newcity Lit
“These entertaining essays offer a cornucopia of ideas that will reward readers with hours of conversational gambits.” ―Publishers Weekly
“Anyone interested in reading about the latest developments in sex research told with a generous dose of self-deprecating humor will enjoy this essay collection.” ―Library Journal
“An accessible, lively, thought-provoking book for anyone curious about what it means to be human.” ―Kirkus
From science to politics, psychology, history, and his own reflections on growing up gay in America, Bering confronts hypocrisy, prejudice, and harm as they relate to sexuality on a global scale.
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice
“As informative as it is entertaining . . . Bering's latest is a delightful, intelligent, and thought-provoking addition to the growing body of our sexual knowledge of self.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Bering's a supple, witty writer, and praiseworthy terms like wry and irreverent suggest themselves readily. The book is a humane flirtation with the often-strange intimacies that drive people's lives.” ―Michael Washburn, The Boston Globe
“A master craftsman at refashioning reproductive biology into provocative composition, Bering nimbly probes ‘the darkest corners of our sexual nature" with no illicit aftertaste.'” ―Kirkus Reviews
"As a sex writer, Jesse Bering is fearless—and peerless." —Dan Savage
“Against a colorful backdrop of science, history, and psychology, Bering calls on human society to stop judging people's sexual preferences based on a personal belief about what's normal or natural, instead asking what is harmful. [He] throws a bucket of ice-cold water on topics that often become overheated by the fires of morality, religion, and politics.” ―The Scientist
“[A] lively exploration . . . Bering has a very entertaining writing style, but don't let that distract you from the serious stuff he's talking about: this isn't just a list of so-called perversions but, instead, an exploration of the way the human mind and body work and the way we are all just a little bit unusual.” ―Booklist
Authoritative, accessible, personal, profound—there’s never been a book on suicide like this. It will help you understand yourself and your loved ones, and it will change the way you think about this most vexing of human problems.
"Bering carefully balances his natural whimsy and avid curiosity with deep compassion in this look at how suicidal urges work ... Both heartening and deeply illuminating.” —Publishers Weekly
"Touches upon some deep questions relevant to all of us ... Bering is refreshingly direct. He grasps nettles and assiduously avoids clichés. [The book] transcends its own objectives. It is a fascinating, thoughtful, unflinching meditation on one of the most intriguing and curious aspects of the human condition.” —Evening Standard
“What undergirds Bering’s inquiry is the belief that locating the psychological blunders that lead to suicide can help, in time, to curb their prevalence.” —The New Yorker
"A necessary contribution to the demystification of a subject still underdiscussed, Bering’s book is wise, warm, and sure to encourage conversation.“ —The Irish Times
"He weaves together personal stories, delves into whether nonhuman animals die by suicide, and examines the relation of religion and self-killing. These angles offer a critical perspective on a devastating problem." ―Scientific American
"Suicide is one of the toughest subjects to write about, and psychologist Jesse Bering does it with candor, scientific integrity and genuine empathy in Suicidal. . . . Suicidal is a vital book--informative, engaging, and enlightening despite its dark subject matter." ―Shelf Awareness
"A deeply moving narrative that cuts to the heart of the ultimate question any of us could ever ask: why should I live? Given what’s at stake in the topic, Suicidal may very well be the most important book you will ever read." —Michael Shermer, Skeptic Magazine