Soul Survivor

By: Bruce Leininger, Andrea Leininger

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's Summary

This is the story of James Leininger, who---a little more than two weeks after his second birthday---began having blood-curdling nightmares that just would not stop. When James began screaming out recurring phrases like "Plane on fire! Little man can't get out!" the Leiningers finally admitted that they truly had to take notice. When details of planes and war tragedies no two-year-old boy could know continued---even in stark daylight---Bruce and Andrea Leininger began to realize that this was an incredible situation.

Soul Survivor is the story of how the Leiningers pieced together what their son was communicating and eventually discovered that he was reliving the past life of World War II fighter pilot James Huston. As Bruce Leininger struggled to understand what was happening to his son, he also uncovered details of James Huston's life---and death---as a pilot that will fascinate military buffs everywhere.

In Soul Survivor, we are taken for a gripping ride as the Leiningers' belief system is shaken to the core and both of these families come to know a little boy who, against all odds and even in the face of true skeptics, harbors the soul of this man who died long ago.

©2009 by Andrea Leininger and Bruce Leininger (P)2009 Tantor

Critic Reviews

"I believe with all my heart that James Leininger is James Huston again. His story is riveting." (Concetta Bertoldi, author of the New York Times bestseller Do Dead People Watch You in the Shower?)

A wonderful true life story

I had heard the Leiningers on Coast to Coast AM radio. When I discovered the book on Audible I was to get it. There was no disappointment for me. I listened with rapt attention to the book. I'm a believer in reincarnation and so I didn't have the problem with the book, having read Ian Stevenson's works on the subject. I highly recommend this book.

A Compelling Affirmation of Lives Continued

Any additional comments?

I am a military history buff, and am open-minded about reincarnation as a possible or even probable reality. That said, I'm not a New Ager either. Soul Survivor was a compelling and fascinating read. Though at times it over-indulged the banalities of the family's daily lives, the core story was a meticulously documented and researched walk through the lives of a dead WW2 pilot, the young boy he later became, and the astonishing facts that explained their journeys. I appreciated the candor of addressing the conflicts in religious beliefs, versus the conclusions that inexorably were to be drawn from "James 3's" vivid and detailed past-life experiences. This work is a window on a realization that life doesn't necessarily flow in directions that conventional dogmas demand. Well done.

Too much fluff

I was intrigued about this book when my skeptical father recommended it. Although it might be better in print than on audio, it was a severe disappointment. The story could have been told in half the amount of time. There is way too much useless information that is obviously added just so the story could be a book instead of a magazine article. I grew to dislike the parents, especially the mom who seemed to want to use the book simply to brag about herself. Finally, the narrator couldn't have been more soporific. He read the book as if he was being forced at gunpoint. Particularly annoying was his "voice" of Andrea Leiniger. He simply sounded like a drag queen. I found myself anxious for it to be over (or at least get to the point), but, unlike a hard copy book, you can't skim ahead without being afraid of missing something. Unfortunately, there was little to miss.

Looooooooong!

This 9 hour story has about 40 minutes of substance. The constant delving into details of details of details that are in no way connected to the story is extremely tedious. If a point could be made, or a aspect of the story told in a paragraph, this book spends a chapter. I have been an audible member for over six years and have listened to countless hours of audiobooks. This is unlistenable. Search the story on the internet. Get the 2 page summary.

written for juveniles

I agree with a previous reviewer that it is written on the order of see spot run. This book was obviously written for young juveniles and not adults. Fantastic event but amazingly boring. Look for another book on this event instead.

soul survivor

the writing is about like "see spot run". it is by far the worst audible book of all the hundreds that i have downloaded....terrible

Compelling!

A friend recommended this book to me. He was a Marine. I really had my doubts as I started the book. Never ever believed in reincarnation. Then as time passed this little boy was a little mind boggling. So much research was done by the father, Bruce. And he just could not belive what he was hearing from a little 1 1/2 year old toddler. The history of the battles and the facts from James this little kid are intriguing. I mean how could this all be real. Listen to this read and make up your own mind. After a few chapters I almost put the book down. Glad I read (listened) to the whole story.

What you need to know before buying this but… It is a fast, and terrible, good read, LOL!

What you need to know before buying this but… It is a fast, and terrible, good read, LOL! What I mean by this, is that I would recommend reading it because it is very interesting and it is a super quick read, but the book was written like someone with little to no experience in writing. Perhaps that is the case since the parents are the authors with the help of Ken Gross. It is very repetitive and has way too many silly details (including names of stores, what food was bought and made, stories about the mother’s past, etc.) that could have totally been left out of the story. I read all the one star reviews and many of the others. They all seem to be correct. I am led to assume, like many other reviewer‘s, that the publisher needed so many pages/words from them in order to publish their book and that’s why there are many things repeated and minor details in the book that could’ve been left out. This could’ve been a five star book, if it was written better.

amazing story.......well written

This is an excellent book, well written with incredible detail. The Leininger family have provided for anybody that is fortunate enough to read their story.... a valuable gift in passing on their family experience.

Very grateful for their dedication to their son, finding the truth and sharing what they discovered with the world.

Too much unnecessary dialogue

The book included too much personal detail about relationships and relatives that did not pertain to the story. This made the book unnecessarily long and tedious. I preferred the Primetime special as it captured the essence of the story succinctly.