Book Review: The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People are Proving the Afterlife Page: 164
This review is part of the collection entitled: Journal of Near-Death Studies and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries.
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BOOK REVIEW
J. Kenneth Arnette, Ph.D., Ph.D.
Transpersonal Institute for the
Scientific Study of the Paranormal
The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary
People are Proving the Afterlife by Eben Alexander with Ptol-
emy Tompkins, New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2014, 165 pp.,
$16.99 pb (ISBN 978-1-4767-6640-9).
This book by Eben Alexander, MD, neurosurgeon and near-death ex-
periencer, is the follow-up to his best selling Proof of Heaven: A Neuro-
surgeon's Journey into the Afterlife (2012). In his new book, Alexander
entertains and attempts to answer three questions that he says "have
been intensely important to us: Who are we? Where did we come from?
Where are we going?" (p. xviii). The book comprises an introduction
and seven chapters, plus an appendix and bibliography. Each chap-
ter focuses on a "gift," such as knowledge or hope, given to humanity
through near-death experiences (NDEs). Much of the book consists of
letters that Alexander received following the publication of his first
book and reflections on his experience in the context of the present
book's subtitle. The letters are intended to illustrate the theme of each
chapter.
My interest in this book comes from the fact that I have been an
NDE researcher for about 25 years and continue to pursue the field
through my current study of philosophy; by the time of publication of
this review, I will have earned my B.A. and will be heading to gradu-
ate school. Previously, I had careers in physical chemistry and coun-
seling psychology, so it is from those vantage points that I conducted
J. Kenneth Arnette, Ph.D., Ph.D., LPC, is a master's candidate in philosophy at the
University of Memphis. His doctoral degrees were in Physical Chemistry from Florida
State University (1981) and in Counseling Psychology from Colorado State Univer-
sity (1997). He is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado. Having published
research on NDEs, he continues to explore the scientific and spiritual implications of
NDEs as founder and director of the Transpersonal Institute for the Scientific Study of
the Paranormal in Memphis, TN. Correspondence regarding this review should be sent
to Dr. Arnette at e-mail: jkarnette@hotmail.com.Journal of Near-Death Studies, 33(3), Spring 2015 2015 LANDS
164
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Arnette, J. Kenneth. Book Review: The Map of Heaven: How Science, Religion, and Ordinary People are Proving the Afterlife, review, Spring 2015; Durham, North Carolina. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc948080/m1/1/: accessed March 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .