Don't be put off by the title of this book. It is not only entertaining but is often inspiring -- and I almost didn't read it because the title included the word Psychic. Though I have had similar experiences to the ones the book describes, I feel that the word "psychic" is a negative description for the kinds of spiritual events that the book depicts.

I must say I enjoyed reading the book. More Psychic Roots is a collection of a wide variety of unusual genealogy stories and experiences that have been contributed by genealogists, hobbyists, and professionals. This book is the sequel to Mr. Jones' book Psychic Roots which contained a collection of stories from primarily professional genealogists.

The stories revolve around the theme of the unexplained experiences that genealogists encounter in their research. These are true accounts of how hunches, intuition, and chance events play a part in helping a family historian find their ancestors.

Some of the stories are quite extraordinary. For instance, there are a few stories about researchers that had sent for a microfilm or book to research a certain ancestor. By mistake, the lending repository sends them the wrong resource. Miraculously the book or film sent ends up being the right one for finding a long lost ancestor.

I particularly loved the story about the researcher who despaired to find her American Indian ancestor in the census because Indian names were spelled phonetically by the census takers. She was resigned to looking at every frame of the census for the county in which her ancestor was supposed to have lived. As she was looking at the film using an automatic film reader, she fell asleep. When she awoke the film had stopped on the very frame where her ancestor was listed. Coincidence?

If you like such shows as "Encounters With the Unexplained" and "Unsolved Mysteries" you will love this book. In fact, material for an episode of "Unsolved Mysteries" was actually taken from Mr. Jones' earlier book Psychic Roots.

For me Chapter 12 was a problem because that is where Mr. Jones relates experiences involving mediums and spiritualists. To his credit Mr. Jones also includes comments from those like me, who believe that solid research is the surest way to do one's family history research. Though I have had similar unexplainable experiences with the ancestors I am researching, I do not agree with seeking those experiences through a medium or psychic.

My way of evaluating how much I like a book is sometimes done by counting the number of pages I have highlighted for later reference. Out of the 250 pages in this book I highlighted 49 pages, which contained stories I wanted to reread. This book was an enjoyable read despite my aversion to the title. It costs $24.95 and I predict :) that you will have a fun time reading it. More Psychic Roots by Henry Z Jones, Jr.