John Benedict Buescher, chief of the Tibetan Broadcast Service of the Voice of America, received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in religious studies. He has published books and scholarly articles on the history of religion and comparative religion, including The Other Side of Salvation: Spiritualism in the Nineteenth-Century Religious Experience and Echoes from an Empty Sky: The Origins of the Buddhist Doctrine of Two Truths.

"In this richly detailed biography, Buescher takes seriously both Spear's most inspiriting ideas and his most outlandish in order to access the inner depths of nineteenth-century radicalism and unravel its hidden logic. . . . Buescher is one of the most knowledgeable students of lesser-used primary sources on nineteenth-century spiritualism. A generous citizen of this area of study, he makes a wealth of research materials including bibliographies, primary sources, and visual images available on his frequently updated website." —American Historical Review"Buescher's biography of John Murray Spear offers a transect through Spiritualism's heyday, from its rise in the reformist circles of the mid-nineteenth century to its increasingly eccentric and esoteric manifestations that marked the movement's decline toward the end of the century. Extensively researched and engagingly written, Buescher's biography of this influential and often notorious Spiritualist offers a vivid tour of some of the further reaches of nineteenth-century American culture." —The Journal of American History"John Buescher draws on a vast array of primary sources to tell the riveting story of an American Faust, a Universalist minister who first gained recognition as a radical abolitionist, labor reformer, and opponent of the death penalty, but who in middle age became a medium for spirits he described as "entirely foreign to his own consciousness." —Touchstone"Buescher offers a book on John Murray Spear, whose 19th-century life trajectory placed him in some of the period's most colorful and innovative religious and social movements. Born into a Universalist family, Spear was at turns a Universalist minister, abolitionist, spiritualist, pacifist, death penalty opponent, women's rights advocate, failed inventor of a perpetual motion machine, and vocal supporter of anarchists and socialists. . . . Recommended." —Choice"A biography of the American abolitionist, social reformer, and spiritualist (1804-87), who attempted to build machines that would harness psychic power." —The Chronicle of Higher Education"Anyone interested in the work of Emma Hardinge Britten should study this biography, because she regarded him as a leading spokesperson for the Free Love agitation, which made such a big contribution to the collapse of American Spiritualism . . . The life of John Murray Spear is a cautionary tale, important to all students of mediumship, and showing what happens when the spirits are inadequately tested." —Psypioneer"The Remarkable Life Of John Murray Spear: Agitator For The Spirit Land by John Buescher is the biography of one of 19th century America's most idiosyncratic and radical religious figures whose flamboyant spiritualist proclivities led him to protest slavery and capital punishment, invent 'spirit machines,' and perhaps most surprisingly-advocate 'free love.' While Spear help[ed] organize public support for anarchist, socialist, peace, and labor causes, his personal life was an eccentric mixture of the comic and the profane and provides contemporary readers with a remarkable perspective on 19th century American religious and social life. An impressive body of well research[ed] and superbly written detail, The Remarkable Life of John Murray Spear is informative, entertaining, and very highly recommended reading on the life and times of a remarkable, distinctive man who helped to shape American history." —KNLS Bookwatch"Grounded in seldom-used primary sources, this is a rigorously researched, clearly written, and fascinating biography of an important nineteenth-century radical. This volume on John Murray Spear is a valuable and necessary step to uncover the lived experience of spiritualism." —Stephen D. Andrews, Indiana University"John Buescher has written a lively, richly-detailed account—and sometimes free-swinging critique—of one of nineteenth-century America's most idiosyncratic and radical religious leaders. By turns warmly sympathetic to Spear and his spiritualist colleagues, then harshly critical of their 'neo-gnostic' tendencies, Buescher both tells a good story and draws many inferences for present-day religious and cultural debates. Even those who might draw different conclusions should be informed and engaged by the tale he tells." —David W. Wills, Winthrop H. Smith '16 Professor of American History and American Studies, Amherst College"There is probably nobody living more qualified to write this work and nobody who has explored the available sources and contemplated the social meaning of nineteenth century spiritualism more completely than John Buescher. His contribution in this area is unprecedented and vital." —Mark A. Lause, University of Cincinnati

John Benedict Buescher, chief of the Tibetan Broadcast Service of the Voice of America, received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in religious studies. He has published books and scholarly articles on the history of religion and comparative religion, including The Other Side of Salvation: Spiritualism in the Nineteenth-Century Religious Experience and Echoes from an Empty Sky: The Origins of the Buddhist Doctrine of Two Truths.

"In this richly detailed biography, Buescher takes seriously both Spear's most inspiriting ideas and his most outlandish in order to access the inner depths of nineteenth-century radicalism and unravel its hidden logic. . . . Buescher is one of the most knowledgeable students of lesser-used primary sources on nineteenth-century spiritualism. A generous citizen of this area of study, he makes a wealth of research materials including bibliographies, primary sources, and visual images available on his frequently updated website." —American Historical Review"Buescher's biography of John Murray Spear offers a transect through Spiritualism's heyday, from its rise in the reformist circles of the mid-nineteenth century to its increasingly eccentric and esoteric manifestations that marked the movement's decline toward the end of the century. Extensively researched and engagingly written, Buescher's biography of this influential and often notorious Spiritualist offers a vivid tour of some of the further reaches of nineteenth-century American culture." —The Journal of American History"John Buescher draws on a vast array of primary sources to tell the riveting story of an American Faust, a Universalist minister who first gained recognition as a radical abolitionist, labor reformer, and opponent of the death penalty, but who in middle age became a medium for spirits he described as "entirely foreign to his own consciousness." —Touchstone"Buescher offers a book on John Murray Spear, whose 19th-century life trajectory placed him in some of the period's most colorful and innovative religious and social movements. Born into a Universalist family, Spear was at turns a Universalist minister, abolitionist, spiritualist, pacifist, death penalty opponent, women's rights advocate, failed inventor of a perpetual motion machine, and vocal supporter of anarchists and socialists. . . . Recommended." —Choice"A biography of the American abolitionist, social reformer, and spiritualist (1804-87), who attempted to build machines that would harness psychic power." —The Chronicle of Higher Education"Anyone interested in the work of Emma Hardinge Britten should study this biography, because she regarded him as a leading spokesperson for the Free Love agitation, which made such a big contribution to the collapse of American Spiritualism . . . The life of John Murray Spear is a cautionary tale, important to all students of mediumship, and showing what happens when the spirits are inadequately tested." —Psypioneer"The Remarkable Life Of John Murray Spear: Agitator For The Spirit Land by John Buescher is the biography of one of 19th century America's most idiosyncratic and radical religious figures whose flamboyant spiritualist proclivities led him to protest slavery and capital punishment, invent 'spirit machines,' and perhaps most surprisingly-advocate 'free love.' While Spear help[ed] organize public support for anarchist, socialist, peace, and labor causes, his personal life was an eccentric mixture of the comic and the profane and provides contemporary readers with a remarkable perspective on 19th century American religious and social life. An impressive body of well research[ed] and superbly written detail, The Remarkable Life of John Murray Spear is informative, entertaining, and very highly recommended reading on the life and times of a remarkable, distinctive man who helped to shape American history." —KNLS Bookwatch"Grounded in seldom-used primary sources, this is a rigorously researched, clearly written, and fascinating biography of an important nineteenth-century radical. This volume on John Murray Spear is a valuable and necessary step to uncover the lived experience of spiritualism." —Stephen D. Andrews, Indiana University"John Buescher has written a lively, richly-detailed account—and sometimes free-swinging critique—of one of nineteenth-century America's most idiosyncratic and radical religious leaders. By turns warmly sympathetic to Spear and his spiritualist colleagues, then harshly critical of their 'neo-gnostic' tendencies, Buescher both tells a good story and draws many inferences for present-day religious and cultural debates. Even those who might draw different conclusions should be informed and engaged by the tale he tells." —David W. Wills, Winthrop H. Smith '16 Professor of American History and American Studies, Amherst College"There is probably nobody living more qualified to write this work and nobody who has explored the available sources and contemplated the social meaning of nineteenth century spiritualism more completely than John Buescher. His contribution in this area is unprecedented and vital." —Mark A. Lause, University of Cincinnati

John Benedict Buescher, chief of the Tibetan Broadcast Service of the Voice of America, received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in religious studies. He has published books and scholarly articles on the history of religion and comparative religion, including The Other Side of Salvation: Spiritualism in the Nineteenth-Century Religious Experience and Echoes from an Empty Sky: The Origins of the Buddhist Doctrine of Two Truths.

"In this richly detailed biography, Buescher takes seriously both Spear's most inspiriting ideas and his most outlandish in order to access the inner depths of nineteenth-century radicalism and unravel its hidden logic. . . . Buescher is one of the most knowledgeable students of lesser-used primary sources on nineteenth-century spiritualism. A generous citizen of this area of study, he makes a wealth of research materials including bibliographies, primary sources, and visual images available on his frequently updated website." —American Historical Review"Buescher's biography of John Murray Spear offers a transect through Spiritualism's heyday, from its rise in the reformist circles of the mid-nineteenth century to its increasingly eccentric and esoteric manifestations that marked the movement's decline toward the end of the century. Extensively researched and engagingly written, Buescher's biography of this influential and often notorious Spiritualist offers a vivid tour of some of the further reaches of nineteenth-century American culture." —The Journal of American History"John Buescher draws on a vast array of primary sources to tell the riveting story of an American Faust, a Universalist minister who first gained recognition as a radical abolitionist, labor reformer, and opponent of the death penalty, but who in middle age became a medium for spirits he described as "entirely foreign to his own consciousness." —Touchstone"Buescher offers a book on John Murray Spear, whose 19th-century life trajectory placed him in some of the period's most colorful and innovative religious and social movements. Born into a Universalist family, Spear was at turns a Universalist minister, abolitionist, spiritualist, pacifist, death penalty opponent, women's rights advocate, failed inventor of a perpetual motion machine, and vocal supporter of anarchists and socialists. . . . Recommended." —Choice"A biography of the American abolitionist, social reformer, and spiritualist (1804-87), who attempted to build machines that would harness psychic power." —The Chronicle of Higher Education"Anyone interested in the work of Emma Hardinge Britten should study this biography, because she regarded him as a leading spokesperson for the Free Love agitation, which made such a big contribution to the collapse of American Spiritualism . . . The life of John Murray Spear is a cautionary tale, important to all students of mediumship, and showing what happens when the spirits are inadequately tested." —Psypioneer"The Remarkable Life Of John Murray Spear: Agitator For The Spirit Land by John Buescher is the biography of one of 19th century America's most idiosyncratic and radical religious figures whose flamboyant spiritualist proclivities led him to protest slavery and capital punishment, invent 'spirit machines,' and perhaps most surprisingly-advocate 'free love.' While Spear help[ed] organize public support for anarchist, socialist, peace, and labor causes, his personal life was an eccentric mixture of the comic and the profane and provides contemporary readers with a remarkable perspective on 19th century American religious and social life. An impressive body of well research[ed] and superbly written detail, The Remarkable Life of John Murray Spear is informative, entertaining, and very highly recommended reading on the life and times of a remarkable, distinctive man who helped to shape American history." —KNLS Bookwatch"Grounded in seldom-used primary sources, this is a rigorously researched, clearly written, and fascinating biography of an important nineteenth-century radical. This volume on John Murray Spear is a valuable and necessary step to uncover the lived experience of spiritualism." —Stephen D. Andrews, Indiana University"John Buescher has written a lively, richly-detailed account—and sometimes free-swinging critique—of one of nineteenth-century America's most idiosyncratic and radical religious leaders. By turns warmly sympathetic to Spear and his spiritualist colleagues, then harshly critical of their 'neo-gnostic' tendencies, Buescher both tells a good story and draws many inferences for present-day religious and cultural debates. Even those who might draw different conclusions should be informed and engaged by the tale he tells." —David W. Wills, Winthrop H. Smith '16 Professor of American History and American Studies, Amherst College"There is probably nobody living more qualified to write this work and nobody who has explored the available sources and contemplated the social meaning of nineteenth century spiritualism more completely than John Buescher. His contribution in this area is unprecedented and vital." —Mark A. Lause, University of Cincinnati