Ian Stevenson Knihy

Exploring the phenomenon of children recalling past lives, this book presents over 2,600 cases from various cultures, particularly in South Asia and West Africa. The author, a psychiatrist and leading investigator, highlights 65 detailed reports where children's memories align with specific details of their claimed former identities, including family and manner of death. Notably, connections between these memories and physical traits like birthmarks are examined, inviting readers to reconsider the validity of reincarnation beyond Western skepticism.

Children's extraordinary memories of previous lives.

Many cultures accept that a person may die and then come back to life in another form, but Westerners have traditionally rejected the idea. Recently, however, surveys conducted in Europe indicate a substantial increase in the number of Europeans who believe in reincarnation, and numerous claims of reincarnation have been reported. This book examines particular cases in Europe that are suggestive of reincarnation. The first section provides a brief history of the belief in reincarnation among Europeans. The second section considers eight cases from the first third of the twentieth century that were not independently investigated, but were reported and sometimes published by the persons concerned. The third section covers 32 cases from the second half of the twentieth century that were investigated by the author. Many of these cases involved either children who exhibited unusual behavior attributed to a previous life, or adults who experienced recurrent or vivid dreams attributed to a previous life. In the fourth section, the author compares European cases suggestive of reincarnation with those of other countries and cultures.