(I have found a better text.)
Allan Kardec — A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Allan Kardec, the nom de plume of H. Leon Denizard Rivail, was a French educator and philosopher born in Lyon on October 3, 1804. Rivail spoke several languages, and his impressive intellectual background allowed him to teach courses in comparative physiology, astronomy, chemistry and physics in a prestigious scientific school in Paris. For one of his research papers, he was inducted into the Royal Academy of Arras. He organized and taught free courses for the underprivileged.
In 1854, at the age of 50, Rivail heard of the mysterious paranormal phenomena that had taken America and Europe by storm. Despite his skepticism, he was convinced by close friends to attend an experimental meeting where he was able to witness such occurrences first-hand. His intellectual curiosity and scientific instincts told him that there had to be a rational explanation for these phenomena. Consequently, he began soon afterward to conduct investigations of his own.
Using the same logical rigor that he had applied to his work in education and science, Rivail set out to understand the phenomena. He submitted questions to different channels (mediums), in different countries. The answers were compared, analyzed, and organized for inclusion in The Spirits’ Book, which was first published in 1857.
To keep his new area of research apart from his writings on education, Rivail — on the advice of spirit instructors — adopted the name Allan Kardec, which he was told had been his name in a previous incarnation. In addition to the publication of the books listed below, he founded the Spiritist Society of Paris and La Revue Spirite, a journal he edited until his death on March 31, 1869.
Books by Allan Kardec:
The Spirits’ Book
The Gospel – Explained by the Spiritist Doctrine
Christian Spiritism
The Medium’s Book
Heaven and Hell
Genesis
Posthumous Work
(from:
http://www.allan-kardec.org/whosallan.html )
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The Spirits' Book
Allan Kardec
The Spirits' Book is a work at the center of a way of life based on the evolution of the human spirit. It endorses the Christ as the supreme model for human conduct and thought, and stresses the need for inner-transformation and self-knowledge as essential avenues to fulfillment and personal realization on Earth. The reader discovers in its pages that life on Earth is an educational experience designed by God to benefit the eternal consciousness of each individual. In the process of this education, the reader learns, each person comes gradually to understand and accept responsibility for his or her own actions becoming thereby a participant in God's overarching plan: the movement of all human consciousness toward a state of perfection. It is the means of attaining perfection—ethical, psychological, and intellectual—that comprises the book's teachings and makes it a particular valuable contribution to present day discussions regarding the nature of suffering, the possibility of transcendence, and the future of the human race.
The Spirit's Book contains the basic tenets of the Spiritist Doctrine. But whether one is a Spiritist or not, this book is a must-read for every spiritually-inclined person. The “dialogues” between Kardec and the spirit instructors reveal a wisdom that challenges many of our preconceived notions about our spiritual reality, as well as about the causes and purposes of many things and events that are seemingly inexplicable. On a more personal level, the questions and answers featured in the book invite us to a better understanding of the higher-self within each of us; they show us, too, how our past can be reflected in our present successes and struggles and how we can unlock the gates to a brighter, better future. Throughout, Kardec's flawless logic, coupled with the spirits' superb discernment and compassion, make The Spirits' Book a source of inspiration and resolution for the questioning soul, a guide for living ethically in our unsettled world.
