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The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation 2nd Printing Edition

by Janice Miner Holden (Editor), Bruce Greyson (Editor), Debbie James (Editor)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 37 ratings
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A team of international experts presents the history, recent developments, and controversies in the intriguing study of near-death experience.

Experts from around the world share the history and current state of near-death experience (NDE) knowledge. They explore controversies in the field, offer stories from their research, and express their hopes for the future of investigation into this fascinating phenomenon.

As modern medical techniques for resuscitation advance, NDEs are more frequently reported. These include more than the popular notions of moving through a tunnel or seeing a light. They also include people, once revived, knowing things their knowledge of which can't currently be explained. As The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation makes clear, great controversy exists in the medical and psychological fields concerning NDEs. Are they caused by physiological changes in the brain, or are they biological reactions to oxygen loss or impending death? Are they a product of changing states of consciousness? Or are they caused by something else altogether? All of these ideas and more are discussed in this unique and comprehensive volume.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0313358648
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0313358647
  3. Edition
    2nd Printing
  4. Publisher
    Praeger
  5. Publication date
    June 22, 2009
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.14 x 0.75 x 9.21 inches
  8. Print length
    332 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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“Recommended.” ―Choice

“Practitioners and researchers specializing in near-death experiences review the scientific literature in and from the perspectives of their various disciplines, mostly mental health, but also other health care fields and the social sciences. Among the topics are pleasurable western adult near-death experiences and their after effect, western children and teens, a census of non-western experiences to 2005, world religions, veridical perceptions, explanatory models, and practical applications of the research. Most of the 11 studies are based on presentations at a fall 2006 conference in Houston, Texas.” ―Reference & Research Book News

About the Author

Dr. BRUCE GREYSON is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. He served on the medical school faculty at the Universities of Michigan, Connecticut, and Virginia. He was a co-founder and President of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, and Editor of the Journal of Near-Death Studies. A Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, he has received national awards for his medical research.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Praeger; 2nd Printing edition (June 22, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 332 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0313358648
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0313358647
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.44 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.75 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 37 ratings

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  1. Farnaz Masumian

    Farnaz Masumian
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    Farnaz Masumian taught world religions at institutions of higher education for 23 years, including the University of Texas at Austin, where she taught for ten years. Her primary research interests are in the areas of life after death, near-death experiences (NDEs) and meditation. Among her publications are several books, including Life after Death: A Study of the Afterlife in World Religions (One World Publications, 1995, reprinted in 2002 by Kalimat Press) and Divine Educators (George Ronald, 2005) which she co-authored with her husband, Bijan Masumian. Farnaz's most recent book is The Divine Art of Meditation: meditation and visualization techniques for a healthy mind, body and soul (George Ronald, 2014). Her latest book, which she co-authored with her husband (Bijan Masumian) and their son (Adib Masumian), is titled "The Secrets of True Happiness." This book will be available on Amazon in mid to late February, 2020.

    Farnaz's Life After Death book has so far been translated into Russian, Polish and Indonesian languages and won first prize in religion/spirituality category at the 1998 Beijing, China Book Fair. In October 2006, she also presented a research paper on “Spirituality, World Religions, and NDE” at the 30th anniversary conference of the International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS). In June 2009, the proceedings of that conference, including her research, were published as a book titled The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Bruce Greyson

    Bruce Greyson
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    Bruce Greyson, MD, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry & Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia, is one of the leading experts on NDEs.

    See more on the author's page
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4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
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K. R. Vincent
5.0 out of 5 stars 30 Years of NDE Research
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2009
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BOOK REVIEW
by Ken R. Vincent, Ed.D., author of VISIONS OF GOD FROM THE NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCE

THE HANDBOOK OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES: THIRTY YEARS OF INVESTIGATION (2009) Holden, J. M., Greyson, B., & James, D.

This book commemorates research into near-death experience (NDE) that has transpired since the publication of Raymond Moody's classic book LIFE AFTER LIFE in 1975. Its content is based on material presented at the International Association of Near-Death Studies (IANDS) Conference at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, in 2006.

The editors, who form a near-death studies' "dream team" are: Bruce Greyson, M. D., professor of psychiatry and Director of the University of Virginia Medical School's Division of Perceptual Studies (the premiere center for scientific research into life after death); Jan Holden, Ed.D., Professor of Counseling at the University of North Texas and Interim Chair of the Department of Counseling and Higher Education and an expert in all research done on NDEs since 1877; Debbie James, R. N., Senior Instructor of Nursing at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Nursing Education Department who has orchestrated almost all of the IANDS conferences ever held.

Normally an edited book that is based on a conference is simply a collection of the papers presented. However, this handbook of NDEs is a much more cohesive and coherent product due to the extensive editing and consolidation of the presented topics. The editors have successfully presented the exhaustive data in a logical and smooth, readable style.

The first chapter covers scientific NDE research for the past 150 years. The second chapter is a presentation of pleasurable adult NDEs, followed by a chapter on after-effects of pleasurable NDEs.

In my opinion, Chapter 4 on distressing NDEs is one of the most important in the book. Its author, Nancy Evans Bush, is the world's foremost expert on the "dark side" of NDEs, and she has data! In her analysis of 21 studies (N = 1,828), 9 of the studies had no distressing NDEs, but the other 12 had a 23% rate of distressing NDEs. One of her blockbuster findings is that - not just "evil" people - but anyone can face a "time of trial." In this sense, the distressing NDE mimics the ordeals mentioned in the afterlife and mystical experiences of the world's religions.

Chapter 5 deals with NDEs of Western children and teenagers. This is followed by Chapter 6 on Western NDE characteristics.

In Chapter 7 on non-Western NDEs, Allan Kellehear argues that the "tunnel" sensation and "life review" are not universal, although encountering deceased and/or supernatural beings is. The main problem with this material is that (with the exception of the Chinese and Indian data that do include a "life review"), the numbers for hunter-gatherer societies are miniscule and, in some instances, whole cultures are represented by a single case study.

Chapter 8 on world religions and the NDE is a treasure with its author, Farnaz Masumian, comparing the NDE with seven of the world's religions. Masumian quotes chapter and verse from the Holy Books of these religions to show their similarity and, occasionally, minor differences regarding afterlife and the NDE.

Chapter 9 covers veridical perception and NDEs. Jan Holden reviews the modern literature on apparently non-physical veridical perception (AVP). Holden notes that attempts to place targets in hospitals for NDErs to see during their out-of-body experiences have, to date, been unsuccessful; however, the shear volume of AVP anecdotes described by a number of authors over the last 150 years suggests that the AVP is real (p. 197).

Chapter 10 deals with explanatory models of NDEs and is written by Bruce Greyson, Emily Williams Kelly, and Edward Kelly. They offer a mountain of data to counter the claims of skeptics. They also point out that, in many cases, the skeptics have only "explanations." In virtually all cases, the authors counter with data.

The final chapter deals with practical applications of research on NDEs and is written with medical personnel, mental health personnel, and chaplains in mind.

This book is a "must-read" for anyone who is interested in the facts about research into NDEs.
96 people found this helpful
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kk_grayfox
5.0 out of 5 stars Summary of NDE Research up to 2009
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2013
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I'm giving this five stars but not because this is an exciting read. This book probably won't blow your mind. You will not read very many accounts of near death experiences, which, frankly, I think are the most interesting parts of this research.

Instead, I give this five stars because it is an honest, scholarly review of most of the research on NDEs up until 2009. For people who were not aware that this was a serious field of scientific pursuit, this is probably your best bet to know what's been done so far.

Probably the best part of this book (while simultaneously being the most disappointing) is seeing how far this research needs to go to further elucidate the mechanisms of this phenomenon. As a scientist myself (evolutionary biology), I can sense both the excitement at the fact that there is much to learn and uncover (it's a greatly neglected field despite it's obvious practical and theoretical applications and public interest), while also being aware that this field is unfortunately not something that comes easily funded. There lies a dilemma: we need larger more rigorous (= more expensive) studies, but practically nobody wants to fund it. The awarding of a $5 million Templeton Prize to a professor at UC Riverside for the Immortality Project gives hope that these questions will further garner the interest of granting committees (even though most of the grant won't deal directly with NDE's).

Anyway, to get to the point of helping individuals considering buying this book...

Hardcore skeptics: you will not be convinced that NDE's are 'real' phenomena based on this book, but it should give you food for thought

Hardcore believers: if you're not aware of the scholarly aspects of NDE research, this will help give you some perspective on what we know. But if you want to read first hand accounts of NDEs, this is not the book to go to.

On-the-fence Individuals: this is a great resource for understanding what we know and don't know.
45 people found this helpful
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W. Cheung
4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing BUT a bit biased
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2010
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This is quite a good book in the sense that it is quite comprehensive. A lot of authors (they are actually presenters in a 2006 conference in Texas) have done quite a bit of literature review for you. You get a review on the characteristics (including the after-effects) and demographics of so-called "near-death experiences" (the authors are all honest enough to specify that some of these experiences occur under great psychological and physical stress but not necessarily under "near-death" circumstances).

Very valuably, you got a literature review on cross-cultural reports of these experiences. This is in Chapter 7, by Professor Allan Kellehear. This is the gem of the book. PLEASE READ THIS CHAPTER FIRST if you do choose to buy and read this book. This is the most objective and least biased part of the book. Very scholarly indeed.

Every reader will have his or her own view. I am a medical specialist practising in Australia. (I am also a Christian and believe in afterlife). Reading scientific journals is part of my daily activities. From my own (probably biased) point of view, I find this book on the whole biased towards the assumption that near-death experiences may serve as "evidence" suggestive of an afterlife. There CLEARLY is an alternative interpretation. As pointed out in Chapter 10, CURRENT models of consciousness could not explain near-death experiences satisfactorily. Well, refine the model then. There is no need to jump to the conclusion that we need a "transcendental" model to explain things.

But this is indeed a unique accomplishment. Four stars.
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Reed
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2017
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the children chapter was great..
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Ivo Rubino
5.0 out of 5 stars Handbook of near death experience
Reviewed in Italy on March 29, 2018
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Testo eccezionale, che può servire da introduzione eccellente alle near death experiences, tema sconvolgente, ma assurdamente non noto in Italia!
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Debbie
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2013
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A brilliant summary of contemporary research on the NDE with contributions by most of the leading researchers and workers in the field. It is readable but at times, can be very academic and a difficult but enlightening read.
3 people found this helpful
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pat Sylvester
1.0 out of 5 stars Book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2020
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Not very interesting. just percentages.of age groups and so one. Very poor
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