Book Title: The Mediums' Book¹
Author: Allan Kardec 
First Published: Paris, 1861

Description:        

Description 1: From the back of the book²:

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God…” (1 Jn 4:1).  This work, the second volume of the Codification of the Spiritist Doctrine, explains how and in what ways spirits manifest themselves in the physical world and how to test them to determine if they of God.

The Mediums’ Book is the second of the five volumes comprising the Codification fo the Spiritist Doctrine.

Its author, Allan Kardec, explains that The Mediums’ Book combines “the special teachings of the Spirits concerning the theory behind all kinds of manifestations, the means of communicating with the invisible world, the development of mediumship, and the difficulties and pitfalls that may be encountered in the practice of Spiritism.”

The Mediums’ Book is indispensable reading and provides priceless advice to Spiritists.  It will always be a precious source of knowledge for any person who inquires into and considers the mediumistic phenomenon that has increasingly manifested itself throughout the world within or apart from formal Spiritist activities. 

Since we human beings are in integral part of the interchange between the physical and the spirit planes of life, it is best we understand the mechanisms of this relationship as much as possible. 

The Mediums’ Book is the safest manual for all those who dedicate themselves to activities involving communication with the spirit world. 

Description 2:

This book is extremely valuable for any serious student of Spiritism and is essential for those who participate in mediumship sessions. The second book of the codification of Spiritism not only explains the physical occurrence of spirit communications and/or mediumship phenomena, but also provides us with a guide to the disciplined and knowledge-based practice of mediumship oriented towards its true, benevolent purpose. 

Allan Kardec describes the book³ as follows: "It constitutes the complement to "The Spirits' Book" and contains the experimental piece of Spiritism, just as the latter contains the philosophic piece.  In this work, fruit of a long experience of laborious studies, we sought to clarify all the questions tied to the practice of the manifestations.  In agreement with the Spirit teachings, it contains the theoretic explanation of the diverse phenomena and of the conditions in which they are produced.  But the section pertaining to the development and exercise of mediumship was, on our part, a topic of particular attention and focus."      

The serious and moral nature of the practice of mediumship within Spiritism follows the instruction provided by Kardec, who recognized the need for comprehension of both the phenomena in operation as well as the nature of the communicating spirits, recognizing both the wide range of advancement, knowledge and morality among the spirits (just as among men) as well as the ultimate fraternal goals of the practice of mediumship. 

This importance is reflected in a comment by Anna Blackwell in her 1876 translation into English where she writes, "The high moral tone of 'The Mediums' Book', as of all the writings of Allan Kardec, is in unison with the assertion so often repeated by the spirits whose communications he has coordinated with such exceptional clearness and reach of thought, that the aim of the open intercourse which is now being established between spirits and men is not the mere gratification of curiosity, not the mere enlargement of the sphere of interesting inquiry, not even the mere giving of the certainty of our continued existence beyond the grave.  That sole aim of this intercourse is the moral improvement of the human race, which it will accomplish through the new light it will throw on the nature and purpose of human life."

¹ Translation of original in Portuguese, titled “Le Livre des Médiums”
² As published, in 2009, by the International Spiritist Council
³ in Le Revue Spirite ("Spiritist Journal"), from 1861