The millions of Americans who've had a near-death experience, and the millions more who continue to read such accounts, may feel as if the question of life after death has been answered. We experience a life review, a white light, a tunnel, a greeting from loved ones who've made the journey before, and so on. But are these near-death accounts really an accurate portrayal of the afterlife, and, more importantly, do they indeed tell the whole story?

Leland approaches the great question from several different perspectives, including our modern scientific research on the subject, afterlife reports from near-death experiencers, and his own vivid adventures in consciousness. He also integrates the afterlife views of various wisdom traditions including the Egyptian and Tibetan Books of the Dead, the dialogues of Plato, and the writings of 18th-century Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg.

What does he find? Leland's striking conclusion is that while these near-death reports are accurate, they are merely the tip of the iceberg of what awaits us in the afterlife, and that those who die knowing only of death from these reports may be wholly unprepared to make that ultimate voyage.
-- A lucid panorama of the afterlife for a generation of Americans beginning to reflect on their own mortality
-- Much like the Tibetan Book of the Dead, can be read as an initiation to prepare us for life on the other side
-- Alternating chapters tie Leland's own mystical adventures in consciousness with his scholarly review of how our modern view of death matches those of ancient cultures