I know people who seriously, honestly, truly believe in reincarnation. And I occasionally find myself saying things like "In my next life, I'm going to learn to draw" or "In my next life, I'm going to learn to speak more languages." However, I would actually count myself among the nonbelievers. (Well, I hedge my bets. I think reincarnation is wishful thinking; if there is an afterlife, it's really unlikely that we're going to figure out what It is.)

Mary Roach's book is more entertainment and anecdote than a serious look at various beliefs about the afterlife. Tired of reading about hucksters and scammers, I ended up skipping through some of the later chapters.