The Spirits' Book

The Principles of Spiritist Doctrine

Allan Kardec

1898 translated version, 438 pages

The Spirits' Book (Le Livre des Esprits in original French) is one of the five fundamental works of Spiritism, and was published by the French educator Allan Kardec in 1857. It was the first and remains the most important spiritist book, because it touches in first hand all questions developed subsequently by Allan Kardec.
The book is structured as a collection of FAQs, grouped by theme, occasionally interrupted by lengthier articles on specific subjects. A good translation of the Spirits' Book is usually a light reading, presenting the doctrine very clearly, which allows anyone to readily understand it and choose to adopt it or not.
The book is divided into four "books", each one split into several chapters. Chapters are not regularly subdivided into sections — though most have titles marking the beginning of particularly sought subjects.