What do you think?
Rate this book
Talking to the Other Side: A History of Modern Spiritualism and Mediumship: A Study of the Religion, Science, Philosophy and Mediums that Encompass this American-Made Religion
Since its birth in 1848, Spiritualism as a religion, science, and philosophy has experienced great highs and lows. At the center of this purely American-made modern-religious movement are "mediums"-the people who are able to communicate, in some way, with spirit entities that are no longer on the earth plane.Based on three years of on-site investigation, and a plethora of data and research collected on the modern Spiritualist movement in America, Talking to the Other Side focuses upon the ethno-religious aspects of the religion, mediumship, and the mediums themselves.The first four chapters offer an expansive review of the history of religion in America, mediumship, and the Spiritualist movement. Chapters 5?7 comprise the research and data that were compiled and analyzed based on fieldwork analysis, a comprehensive questionnaire, personal interviews, and published literature on the topic of Spiritualism and mediumship.According to Spiritualist mediums, "people don't die, bodies do." Talking to the Other Side offers a contemporary look into the lives and backgrounds of the mediums who bridge this world and the Spirit world, connecting those who have passed over with those they left behind.
364 pages, Paperback
First published July 21, 2005
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 31, 2022
Fascinating book on the history of Spiritualism. I used the first part of the book in a paper discussing how Spiritualism was thoroughly a part of culture and society in America from the late 1800s-early 1900s.
March 5, 2015
Look. I write historical fiction. I'm university and seminary trained (B.S. from a private university, an M.Div. from an old-line seminary, a D.Min. from another) and additional coursework toward a second doctorate (an Ed.D. in educational and counseling psychology) from a state-owned university.
At the time I was reading this book, I was working on my third novel in a series of Westerns, set in 1880s Nevada, where Spiritualism was a cultural force to be reckoned with. It offered entertainment, empowerment (especially to women) and a meaningful alternative to the usual fabric of American religions, despite its difficulties with the skeptical voices of law enforcement, religion and the media.
I hoped Leonard's book would help with my revision of my book, "The Pinkerton Years," and compliment the other research I'd done. To be frank, Leonard's treatise--without apology I suspect, an unmassaged PhD thesis--has something to offer someone. It was materially descriptive, offering information most people wouldn't easily access. As a bibliographic review of the literature--typical of some doctoral projects--it was complete enough for most readers.
However, Leonard is a believer. His being a believer "tainted," in my mind, the final product.
At times, I wondered if Leonard was naïve. Other occasions, I wondered if it was the school he was attending, or the committee he was submitting to that wasn't insisting on something more honest and substantial. I try not to be a negative reader or researcher--we're all "time-bound" to some extent, and the hermeneutic we look at the world with is a very personal pair of glasses--but Leonard's effort, because of what it claims to be, made me uneasy.
A couple of examples. The sociological research was dismal. Leonard would have done well to review Rodney Stark's thoughts on religious affiliation (socialization vs. affiliation vs. conversion) or Roozen's contributions regarding religious growth and decline when offering comments in the social sciences. The lack of citation or framework from any reputable religious sociologist, young or old, was simply strange, since the book attempts to answer reasonable questions regarding the movement's beliefs, members and history.
As a basic history book, unabashedly apologetic to Spiritualism and the movements / mediums which contributed to it, it's fine. Maybe it excels even. But as a scholarly work, it is seriously lacking.
I'm appreciative of Leonard's contribution to the movement. He apparently writes educational pieces for a Spiritualist association, a fact I didn't uncover until I was nearly finished with the book. It's an insider's viewpoint, and that complimented and confirmed conversations I'd had with other insiders. And for that I'm grateful. Reading Leonard, however, is like reading Howard Zinn (whose work I admire.) It's a revisionist work, and if you understand that upfront--the man is preaching to you, even when he says he isn't--you've got a reasonable effort. I was simply hoping for more.
At the time I was reading this book, I was working on my third novel in a series of Westerns, set in 1880s Nevada, where Spiritualism was a cultural force to be reckoned with. It offered entertainment, empowerment (especially to women) and a meaningful alternative to the usual fabric of American religions, despite its difficulties with the skeptical voices of law enforcement, religion and the media.
I hoped Leonard's book would help with my revision of my book, "The Pinkerton Years," and compliment the other research I'd done. To be frank, Leonard's treatise--without apology I suspect, an unmassaged PhD thesis--has something to offer someone. It was materially descriptive, offering information most people wouldn't easily access. As a bibliographic review of the literature--typical of some doctoral projects--it was complete enough for most readers.
However, Leonard is a believer. His being a believer "tainted," in my mind, the final product.
At times, I wondered if Leonard was naïve. Other occasions, I wondered if it was the school he was attending, or the committee he was submitting to that wasn't insisting on something more honest and substantial. I try not to be a negative reader or researcher--we're all "time-bound" to some extent, and the hermeneutic we look at the world with is a very personal pair of glasses--but Leonard's effort, because of what it claims to be, made me uneasy.
A couple of examples. The sociological research was dismal. Leonard would have done well to review Rodney Stark's thoughts on religious affiliation (socialization vs. affiliation vs. conversion) or Roozen's contributions regarding religious growth and decline when offering comments in the social sciences. The lack of citation or framework from any reputable religious sociologist, young or old, was simply strange, since the book attempts to answer reasonable questions regarding the movement's beliefs, members and history.
As a basic history book, unabashedly apologetic to Spiritualism and the movements / mediums which contributed to it, it's fine. Maybe it excels even. But as a scholarly work, it is seriously lacking.
I'm appreciative of Leonard's contribution to the movement. He apparently writes educational pieces for a Spiritualist association, a fact I didn't uncover until I was nearly finished with the book. It's an insider's viewpoint, and that complimented and confirmed conversations I'd had with other insiders. And for that I'm grateful. Reading Leonard, however, is like reading Howard Zinn (whose work I admire.) It's a revisionist work, and if you understand that upfront--the man is preaching to you, even when he says he isn't--you've got a reasonable effort. I was simply hoping for more.
December 4, 2014
Great read on the history of Spiritualism. If you ever want to know the history, science, and philosophy behind Spiritualism, Leonard writes very clearly and succinctly on the subject.
July 17, 2016
A fantastic book - very well-researched and rich in Spiritualist history. Such an important book to understand the Victorian Spiritualist movement and its players.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews