HUNGRY GHOSTS Joe Fisher Toronto, McClelland & Stewart, 1991. 296pp, paper, $6.95 ISBN 0-7710-3146-7. CIP Post-secondary Reviewed by W.F. Benson. Volume 19 Number 5 1991 October Joe Fisher has written what is both an intriguing investigation into New Age Channelling and an interesting study of duplicity and the willingness of indi­viduals to suspend critical judgment and individual self-reliance. Using his abilities as an investigative reporter, Joe Fisher was able to prove that the concrete information supplied by the guides he interviewed was fabricated and that the various guides themselves offered conflicting views, ideas and directions to him. He is not as successful in establishing whether the guides were spirits or merely multiple personalities of the subconscious minds of the mediums involved. While the book follows Joe Fisher's own progression from willing romantic believer to disillusioned sceptic, his excessive dwelling on the former extends the book's length unnecessarily. The verbatim quotations from specific channelling sessions appeared excessive and, like the pictures inserted in the middle of the book, lent little of sub­stance to the overall impact of the book. Of far more importance is Fisher's too short research of the history and literature dealing with mediums, spirits and spiritualism over the years. Hungry Ghosts is an awkward book that begins and ends by stressing scepticism and an open mind while repeatedly emphasizing that there may be good spirits watching, protecting and guiding us. It is a conundrum that ; rises more questions than it settles while insisting that the prime premises that the book is based on, including reincarnation and the existence of spirits, be accepted on faith. A good bibliography is included with both related books and periodicals listed to assist in further research concerning contact with the spirits. W.F. Benson, Nanaimo, B.C.