Author Description

Dozens Of Books, Articles, Television Shows, And Films Relating Near-death Experiences Have Appeared In The Past Decade. People Who Have Survived A Close Brush With Death Reveal Their Extraordinary Visions And Ecstatic Feelings At The Moment They Died, Describing Journeys Through A Tunnel To A Realm Of Light, Visual Reviews Of Their Past Deeds, Encounters With A Benevolent Spirit, And Permanent Transformation After Returning To Life. Carol Zaleski's Otherworld Journeys Offers The Most Comprehensive Treatment To Date Of The Evidence Surrounding Near-death Experiences. The First To Place Researchers' Findings, First-person Accounts, And Possible Medical Or Psychological Explanations In Historical Perspective, She Discusses How These Materials Reflect The Influence Of Contemporary Culture. She Demonstrates That Modern Near-death Reports Belong To A Vast Family Of Otherworld Journey Tales, With Examples In Nearly Every Religious Heritage. She Identifies Universal As Well As Culturally Specific Features By Comparing Near-death Narratives In Two Distinct Periods Of Western Society: Medieval Christendom And Twentieth-century Secular America. This Comparison Reveals Profound Similarities, Such As The Life-review And The Transforming After-effects Of The Vision, As Well As Striking Contrasts, Such As The Absence Of Hell Or Punishment Scenes From Modern Accounts. Mediating Between The Debunkers And The Near-death Researchers, Zaleski Considers Current Efforts To Explain Near-death Experience Scientifically. She Concludes By Emphasizing The Importance Of The Otherworld Vision For Understanding Imaginative And Religious Experience In General.