Making extensive use of previously unpublished material this book gives an unprecedented view of the Waterloo Campaign from the viewpoint of a single regiment. It reveals the preparations that preceded the battle, the role of the regiment in the battle, and the long months spent in France after Paris fell, until the regiment finally returned home in December 1815. An Order Book for the year, and letters and diaries of several officers, shed light on the internal life of the regiment and their - occasionally humorous - social life.

Opinion has long been divided over Near-Death Experiences, or NDEs, some presenting them as evidence for the existence of the soul and life after death, others arguing that they are merely the chemical and physiological products of a dying brain. Susan Blackmore has interviewed many people who claim to have had NDEs, and after researching hundreds of case histories she offers an absorbing and detailed review of this fascinating and controversial phenomenon. While presenting clear physical explanations for the changes that take place within the brain, Blackmore argues that true spiritual transformation comes not from searching after a spirit or soul that survives death, but from reinterpreting the concept of "self" itself. Dying to Live succeeds in bridging the gap between the scientific and the spiritual points of view and shows how an understanding of NDEs can help us live our lives in the face of death and lead the way to genuine self-knowledge.