Original posted on Facebook April 23, 2021

In October 2019, I purchased this book with big plans to read it in the length of time it would take someone to complete a standard college course. Fast forward to December 2020 and I had reread the first chapter 3 times and still no progress. At that time, I decided to commit to a new habit. I would read at minimum 1 page a day in a paranormal book to expand my knowledge in the field. This worked. I finally finished reading “An Introduction to Parapsychology” 5th Edition by Harvey J. Irwin and Caroline A. Watt.

Would I recommend this book? Maybe, it really depends on the person asking. There is a lot of good information about how the study of Parapsychology came about and the actual experiments used in the field. This is not a “sitting by the beach” type of book but if you are looking for a basic reference to get you started, this one may fit that need. There is very little content regarding the survival question so if your main focus is haunt type phenomena and you are not as concerned about how mediums may or may not communicate with the dead, then this one is likely going to be a pass for you.

Pros: I was able to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by Parapsychologists in designing experiments and the struggle to be taken seriously within the scientific field. I also learned about specific researchers in the field so I can look for their publications for future readings.

Cons: Sometimes felt like reading about paint drying.