A Pulitzer Prize–winning author tells the amazing story of William James' quest for empirical evidence of the spirit world. What if a world-renowned professor of psychology at Harvard University, acclaimed as one of the leading intellects of the time, suddenly announced that he believed in ghosts? At the close of the nineteenth century, Dr. William James, a founder of the American Psychological Association, did just that. James joined with two other brilliant thinkers to form the American Society for Psychical Research. This riveting book is about their investigations of ghost stories—and their courage and conviction to study science with an open mind.