Synopses & Reviews
The author of the #1
New York Times bestseller
Proof of Heaven teams up with the sages of times past, modern scientists, and with ordinary people who have had profound spiritual experiences to show the reality of heaven and our true identities as spiritual beings.
When Proof of Heaven was published, some readers contacted Dr. Eben Alexander to argue that his near-death experience was impossible. But many more have written to say his story resonated with them in profound ways. Thanks to them, Dr. Alexander came to realize that sharing his story has allowed people to rediscover what so many in ancient times knew: there is more to life—and to the universe—than this single earthly life.
Dr. Alexander met and heard from thousands of individuals whom his story has affected. He, with coauthor Ptolemy Tompkins, also studied what the world’s religious traditions, philosophers, and scientists have had to say about the soul’s survival of death. He has been deeply surprised at how often those voices from the past sync up with what he hears from people today. In The Map of Heaven, he shares some of the stories that people have told him and links them to what the world’s spiritual traditions and its latest scientific insights have to say about the journey of the soul.
Part metaphysical and scientific detective story, part manual for living, The Map of Heaven explores humankind’s spiritual history and the progression of modern science from its birth in the seventeenth century, showing how we forgot, and are now at last remembering, who we really are and what our destiny truly is.
Review
“Neurosurgeon Eben Alexander generated enormous interest in what happens when we die in Proof of Heaven, his many-splendored account of his near-death experience. In The Map of Heaven, he expands his account by relating similar experiences of others, and by a rich analysis of supporting views from scientists and philosophers. The evidence Alexander offers suggests that the day is approaching when it will be considered irrational and unscientific not to believe in the survival of consciousness following physical death. This day cannot come too soon, for it will restore meaning and hope in a world besotted with the morbid fictions of materialism. Thank you, Dr. Alexander.”
Review
"Dr. Alexander does it again. He brings his unique and considerable scientific knowledge and illuminates the world of spirituality. He creates a geography of science and faith that shows us a larger world filled with hope and dignity."
Review
"Moving beyond Proof of Heaven, Eben Alexander here draws upon his own coma experience in combination with related accounts from a wide variety of sources to advance an ecumenical vision, which I strongly support, of recovering humanity’s lost wisdom through creative synthesis of the best in contemporary science and religion."
Review
"Eben Alexander proves to us once again that experience is the greatest source of knowledge. Relying on his own near death experience and those of others who have written to him, Eben takes us from the wisdom of the Greek philosophers through to modern medical researchers to give us an overview of that mysterious place known as the afterlife. . . . A courageous book that tackles the question of life after life with science, philosophy and the heart rending experiences of many who have gone to the other side."
Review
"In this important book, Eben Alexander describes how his own life-changing NDE was a personal example of what scientists, spiritual leaders and ordinary people throughout the world have been reporting, especially in the last two decades. This book makes it wonderfully clear how these mind-blowing experiences can have an enormous positive impact on the way we live our lives."
Synopsis
The author of the #1
New York Times bestseller
Proof of Heaven teams up with the sages of times past, modern scientists, and with ordinary people who have had profound spiritual experiences to show the reality of heaven and our true identities as spiritual beings.
The Map of Heaven takes the broad view to reveal how modern science is on the verge of the most profound revolution in recorded history—all around the phenomenon of consciousness itself!
When Dr. Eben Alexander told the story of his near-death experience and his vivid journey to the other side, many readers wrote to say it resonated with them profoundly. Thanks to them, Dr. Alexander realized that sharing his story allowed people to rediscover what so many in ancient times knew: there is more to life, and the to the universe, than this single earthly life.
Dr. Alexander and his co-author Ptolemy Tompkins were surprised to see how often his readers’ visions of the afterlife synced up with each other and with those of the world’s spiritual leaders, as well as its philosophers and scientists. In The Map of Heaven, he shares the stories people have told him and shows how they are echoed both in the world’s faiths and in its latest scientific insights. It turns out there is much agreement, across time and terrain, about the journey of the soul and its survival beyond death.
In this book, Dr. Alexander makes the case for heaven as a genuine place, showing how we have forgotten, but are now at last remembering, who we really are and what our destiny truly is.
About the Author
Eben Alexander, MD, has been an academic neurosurgeon for the last twenty-five years, including fifteen years at the Brigham & Women’s and the Children’s Hospitals and Harvard Medical School in Boston. He is the author of Proof of Heaven and The Map of Heaven. Visit him at EbenAlexander.com.Ptolemy Tompkins has been an editor at Guideposts and Angels on Earth magazines and is the author of four books. His writing has been featured in Beliefnet.com, Harper’s, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. He lives in New York.