This work is a comprehensive collection of near-death experience (NDE) cases and interpretations. Contributions to the collection are made by writers from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, biology, philosophy and religion.

The Near Death Experience: A Reader is the most comprehensive collection of NDE cases and interpretations ever assembled. This book encompasses a broad range of disciplines: psychological researchers discuss cognitive models and Jungian theories of meaningful archetypal phenomena; the biological perspectivedescribes how brains near death may produce soothing endorphins, optical illusions, and convincing hallucinations. Philosophers present empirical analyses and images in archetypal theories, and the symbolic language of comparative phenomenological theories. Christian, Jewish and Mormon responses to NDEs outline the religious perspective, and the mystical and spiritual interpretations of NDEs are also explored.

"The 24 essays and book excerpts in this volume provide a comprehensive, interdisciplinary study of near-death experience (NDE), including cases and interpretations." -- Library Journal"... a good overview of the subject ... The Near-Death Experience has much to offer ... [This is] a valuable resource for courses on death and dying and on NDEs." -- Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research