Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman
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Book Reviews of Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
Book Review: Clinical look at Life & Afterlife
Summary: 3 Stars
This book tries to answer the age-old questions pondered by many of us. Is there a God? Is there life and death - and if so, what would it be like? Eagleman, a neuroscientist, presents a series of short and snappy hypotheses - fresh and genius in their formulation - that explore the afterlife in addition to reflecting on the wonder of human life. Yet, I found it ironic that a book centered on the really big questions about humans and humanity was so clinical in its approach and its telling - "android-like" in presentation - back to back theories stacked up in a cool, unemotional and detached manner. That being said, after completing the book, it certainly has left me thinking about what will be.
Book Review: Light reading, yet profound
Summary: 3 Stars
I heard and interview with the author on the radio and was intrigued enough to pick it up. It is a collection of vignettes each describing a possible afterlife. While they are all thoroughly thought out, they are not very long. I found some quite profound and provocative, many amusingly interesting, and a few somewhat lame.Book Review: It was ok...
Summary: 3 Stars
I had higher expectations for this book. I expected more variety within the stories, and felt the majority were very sci-fi, based upon atoms, neutrons, etc. I was disappointed that I didn't find a story that really stood out or resonated with me.Book Review: An Hour To Kill
Summary: 2 Stars
You buy this book based on a favorable review from the NYT, expecting a collection of vignettes that explore life after death through philosophy, science, and spiritualism. You are disappointed. First off, it is written entirely in second person, which begins to grate on your nerves 30 pages in. Secondly, the chapters are remarkably like the pot-induced discussions you had with your friends as a teenager. You decide that the book has some mildly amusing moments, and if someone had an hour to kill, say at the airport, and the book was just sitting there on the seat next to her, she could do worse things than read it. Like watch CNN.Book Review: Sum a disappointment
Summary: 2 Stars
I had expected the "tales" would at least take off from information that is already accepted, and then go into 40 possibilities. The book is made up of totally imaginary stories which aren't very interesting.