Nota Bene: I am ASSUMING for the sake of this comment that the account rendered in the book is real, i.e. it is a sincere effort by a real human being with a real MD degree to relate, in good faith, an experience he believes in good faith that he had. I am ASSUMING that this book and story are not a cynical fabrication by someone who is looking to fool the gullible, nor an attempt to make a quick buck writing about something that will sell books. I have not made a *substantial* attempt to verify the existence of Eben Alexander nor to verify his degree and positions.I have not had a NDE myself. Whatever knowledge I have of them is strictly based on those of other people, often obtained quite indirectly. The first NDE I had heard about while I was on a retreat in 1968. It was a "negative" -- meaning frightening -- NDE. Eben Alexander's account of a NDE is of particular interest because it occurred in a hospital setting while the subject was under intense scrutiny and because the subject is a neurosurgeon. That he entered the experience more-or-less as an unbeliever makes it even more interesting. The book is also interesting about what it says about Eben himself and his family. He comes across as a very good man who is surrounded by a very loving family.Having said that, I will say that I found his account of his vision (I say "vision" as his story is an attempt to relate the audio-visual aspects of a memory of an event that was presumably not "audio-visual" in the usual sense of the word, as his sense organs were not functioning, and the experience no doubt transcended "audio-visual-olfactory-tactile" experience.) to be a bit amusing. I say "amusing" not in a disrespectful way, but to convey the, well, amusement, I guess, of seeing a grown, educated, American man find out, via a truly extraordinary experience which certainly appears to be a gift from God, that which the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches have been trying to tell people for the past 2000 years, and Protestant churches for the past 500: God is Love. God LOVES us. Eye has not seen nor has ear heard what God the Father has in store for us. God's love is universal. God transcends what we call time and space. (Actually, philosophers have been telling us THAT for a VERY long time.) There are non-corporeal beings who know, love, and serve God. Evil in the World is a consequence of free will. Etc. etc. These are things we all SHOULD have learned in Catechism and had reinforced through our own lives of prayer and particular relationship with God through the person -- at least for Christians -- of Christ Jesus. That the good Lord saw fit to arrange this particular experience for Dr. Alexander both speaks to the love of God, and to the difficulty Man has discerning His purpose in particular instances.While his experience and vision are extremely interesting, there are no surprises for a Christian, and probably none for a Jew either. (I am not sure how most Muslims would think of this, so I won't try to guess.) Also, Eben's NDE was tailored for his particular needs, apparently, as appears to generally be the case for the more credible NDEs. He saw and heard (and felt and was made aware of and was infused with) the things to which he, in particular, needed to be so exposed.Regarding the book itself: it is an easy read, but very moving. Toward the end I found myself blubbering like a baby, as I related to an experience one of his sons had. There is something like a surprise ending that, of course, I will not reveal.The book makes some recommendations in terms of websites (including one started by Dr. Eben Alexander and an associate) for those who wish to learn more about NDEs and other spiritually transforming experiences. He also includes a book list that is quite broad in its scope. It includes books by the Dali Lama, Douglas Hofstadter (a strict materialist), Francis Collins (a life scientist and a believer) and many others in a variety of fields. Oddly, his list does NOT include Christian mystics like St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, nor anything about Heaven by someone like Peter Kreeft. I suspect that Dr. Eben Alexander is not familiar with these authors.Buy it. Read it. Spend some time on your knees.