Maclean's has now posted on its website the magazine's review ofThe Third Man Factor, titled 'Someone who'll watch over me', written by Brian Bethune.Here's an excerpt:

Once you start looking for accounts of a “thirdman,” a mysterious, saving—and literallyimpossible—presence who appears to people at times of extremestress and danger, you can find them by the dozen, says JohnGeiger, who presents an array of them in The Third Man Factor(Penguin). They’re fascinating to read, but this deeplyhumane book is far more than the sum of its parts: Geiger elegantlydemonstrates how these divergent and very personal experiencesreveal our profoundly social nature...Geiger is relentless andpersuasive in investigating the science behind the experiences, anddescribing the cascade of factors involved, starting with monotony(humans don’t cope well with sensory deprivation) andmultiple triggers (deadly combinations of hunger, thirst, fear,isolation, loss). But what he keeps coming back to, rightly, is thesocial nature of the phenomenon. Whether it is our brains or ourguardian angels providing the solution, they do not proffer it asthe fruits of our own wisdom. “We’re hardwired forcompanionship,” Geiger concludes.

Not only did Brian obviously really get the book -- and like itjudging from his very positive review -- but so did the illustratorMaclean's used. The full size image is in the gallery.