Customer Reviews

Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences

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This is my first experience with reading a book on near death experiences and the science behind it. I've read books before on personal accounts of the afterlife but these books mainly came from a New Age/Metaphysical perspective. Never before had I read anything coming from a scientific view. Dr. Long, a radiation oncologist, over the period of ten or more years had complied and studied hundreds of personal accounts of near-death-experiences and found some consistent similarities over the stories, regardless of nationality, religion, race, culture, and other demographics. I tend to be skeptical of a lot of different things, but Dr. Long, with his medical background lends credibility to this work. And the results of the research provide some convincing arguments.

Dr. Long asserts that there are 9 arguments that prove the existence of life after death. These arguments have been generated through the study of consistencies from the hundreds of NDE accounts that he's complied over the years. Some of these arguments include how: it can't be medically explained how people experience consciousness when they are clinically dead; blind people experiencing visual perceptions during their NDE (even though, blind people do not dream in visuals); children giving NDE details similar to adults, though they may have never been exposed to this concept; the "life review" experience tend to reflect real events. These arguments, along with the others, are the primary basis for Long's proof assertion.

Throughout the book, Long discusses each of these arguments, cites previous research from other scientists on this phenomenon that either compliments or refutes his claims, and justifies his arguments (including discussing some of the various scientific research methods). For me, the most convincing argument was from the visually impaired (blind) accounts, who for the most part had visually perceptive type of experiences. Stories from people who had never had an experience with sight, no perception of sight whatsoever and could account for some of the visuals that they perceived were remarkable. Another strong argument was how it could not be medically explained that people who were clinically dead, could have such a lucid consciousness, a consciousness which were described as more vivid than our normal day-to-day consciousness. Arguments against NDE have been that at death or near death, our subconscious mind takes over to put us into a dream-like state. But nonetheless, Long's argument here was very compelling. I considered all of the arguments to be definitely food-for-thought.

Most importantly, throughout the 9 arguments, Long discusses some of the personal stories of people who experienced the NDE phenomenon. To read these accounts was enlightening and inspirational. Whether individuals perceived themselves to be a "moral" or "immoral" person, the accounts mostly expressed peace, overwhelming love, and joy. Many expressed how these events changed their lives, in particular those who experienced scenes of their life unfold in front of them. These experiences seemed to give people a purpose.

This book was definitely an interesting and convincing read. I like how Dr. Long outlined the science behind his studies but also intertwined personal narratives from many of those who experienced these life-changing events. Like Long discusses, NDE happen to people of various backgrounds, belief systems, cultures and the like. What we can all gain from this book is a sense of purpose and appreciation for life--both for the life we are living and the life beyond. I highly recommend this book.

This is an excellent book, written by a medical doctor which offers new insights and conclusions about the Near Death Experience. The author has access to new and fresh accounts from experiencers, and he makes good use of earlier compilations and studies in the field. The book is well documented throughout. The author's conclusions are well worth reading and should point the way for even more detailed studies in the future. I recommend this to anyone familiar with the Near Death Experience and interested in its implications. Though there have been many popular books on the phenomenon, this is still a neglected field. Misunderstandings about the experience are rampant. And in my opinion, skeptical critics have done a very poor job of responding to the material that doctors have been accumulating on this for decades. Indeed skeptics who continue to maintain that the phenomenon involves delusions do not seem to have read the material on this that is available to all. The fact is, patterns emerge in the countless reports of these experiences and these patterns have certain clear implications. This book seeks to define and evaluate those patterns, and to draw conclusions about them, in a responsible, and credible way. Highly recommended.

As a Registered Nurse for 24 years, and in having cared for many critically ill and dying patients, and in also caring for my father whom I lost to cancer in 1998, I found comfort in Dr. Long's research that there is an event that occurs at the time of dying and/ or into clinical death. I find it inspiring and hopeful that a member of the medical community, with belief in his mission and determination to fulfill it, has listened to his patients, widened his data collection research to a global level, and taken on the task of analyzing these profound experiences to share with the world. Although it is a huge leap for Dr. Long, or anyone, to pronounce that he has uncovered actual evidence of the afterlife, it is quite difficult to deny consistency of the experiences across age, culture, geographic location, sensory limitations, etc. The consistency is amazing, and if the reader is paying attention, the experiences and data presented moves one to contemplate that our consciousness, even though our physical senses and/or beliefs may tell us otherwise, does not end at the time of death. Thank you Dr. Long.

I have read nearly every book published on the near-death experience since Dr. Raymond Moody's "Life After Life" broke ground 35 years ago. I really don't expect to find much new in the way of evidence, although new stories by experiencers add to the evidence already established. I think we are well past the point of diminishing returns in terms of research of the NDE, although there is always the possibility of some case surfacing that goes beyond the famous "Pam Reynolds" case. Of course, when such a case surfaces, the pseudoskeptics, i.e., the scientific fundamentalists, will attempt to pick holes in it, just as they have done with the Pam Reynolds case. And we will hear the same old argument that it is nothing but "anecdotal."

Even though I don't expect to find anything new in the way of evidence, I keep reading, though, because in my eighth decade of life I find a certain comfort and reinforcement in reading new experiences and new perspectives on the evidence. I have become a "vicarious experiencer" and like many of the experiencers discussed by Dr. Long in this book I no longer fear that I am marching toward an abyss of nothingness. It is like a person listening to his or her favorite music over and over again or reading the Bible every day. It is for the most part redundant, but it soothing and reinforcing. I haven't quite figured out what better things I might be doing with my time in my old age. Perhaps I should be hitting little white balls into holes, escaping life into novels or movies, or watching Oprah.

I found this book well written and believe it ranks up there with the best books on the NDE. I especially liked Dr. Long's approach of giving the skeptics view in each of the nine lines of evidence and then explaining why the skeptical arguments fall far well short of discrediting the evidence.

What the two or three negative reviewers don't seem to understand is that science is not limited to laboratories and test tubes. There is pure science or exact science and there is inexact science or courtroom science. One or two anecdotal stories may not make for science, but when you get scores or hundreds of them that can be examined and studied they do make for science, even if inexact science. Anecdotes are to courtroom science what individual elements are to laboratory science. Moreover, those negative reviewers don't seem to grasp the difference between evidence and proof, nor do they apparently recognize that proof is not necessarily absolute. They appear to be stuck in the muck and mire of scientism - which is to science what fundamentalism is to religion.

This book is worth every penny. Thanks, Dr. Long, for your dedicated research and for writing the book.

I had a near death experience which was written in this book. Prior to reading this book, I had no knowledge of what others experienced during an NDE, yet when reading this book, I was amazed to read how others described what I had felt, what I had come to know, and I know through their words that they had been there, too. How does one quantify such an experience? I cannot imagine. We do not have words that describe an experience such as this. All we can do is to report what we know in our hearts is true. It is not important whether or not my experience is accepted by others, although, I do feel it is important to share, to the best of my ability. Now that I have read this book, and read how others who have experienced what I experienced, I have no doubts that they have been there, too.
M

There has been much evidence throughout the ages of the existence of God and His plan for us all. The ultimate reality of restoration to Him is voiced in Dr. Long's book, Evidence of the Afterlife. His exquisite, inspired work is yet additional evidence that adherence to a consciousness of His existence and plan is being revealed. Yes, our ways of understanding are so perverted by our limited consciousness and understanding that He needs to lift up various emissaries to testify of Him. Dr. Long presents a coherent model, grounded in the testimony of persons that have peered through the veil of illusion that most live in. It is the best evidence we have thus far, and a pivotal springboard for further development of evidence.

Much evidence can be found in the transformation of lives. My own life has been guided by my NDE in 1976; I was 21 years old with a 4 year old son. I had been raised by an embittered, impoverished, lonely woman in the hot, harsh reality of a dingy apartment in LA. My former consciousness was replaced by an entirely new way of perceiving that I formerly had no clue to. I had learned that fear was the obstacle to overcome and love the vehicle. Immediately, I chose to make profound changes in my life, left a consciousness bound to the wheel of poverty and fear and, within weeks found rest and restoration in a life high in the mountains of northern Idaho. Before, I was likely bound by fear to repeat the cruel cycle of my childhood, and then I devoted myself to making sense of the experience within the context of this world, by faith. Eventually, I engaged in academic and spiritual training at a Christian university, and became a nurse engaged in ICU and hospice work. There I found the need for psychiatric and spiritual support for these dear ones, and trained as a psychiatric nurse practitioner and began practice. At the same time, I completed PhD training as a nurse research scientist studying people who were experiencing life-threatening events. For the last many years I have been privileged to in provide psychotherapy and spiritual support by the sea in the NW. Mine is not a perfect life; there are dark nights of the soul, but, if I choose (God's precious gift to us all), I am illumined with the same bright light of love and security that I experienced there. I long to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, yet am perpetuated this life by sharing His glory.

Very rarely have I revealed my experience to anyone except in the context of assuring others with death anxiety or for spiritual healing. Dr. Long's exceptionally inspired research and book has been an answer to prayer for me. It establishes a body of scientific evidence and interest in this larger reality of, not only what is in store for us, but also available now to those who have a consciousness now of what is. His work points the Way that He would have us be now and provides assurance He intends for us all to have of the existence of Him. This life is not out there, it is available here and now.

We must look to the evidence of faith revealed in the lives that have returned from this experience to learn more. Through the testimony of their experience and then the evidence of the effect of that experience in their lives we will come to know more about God's plan for us all. I would like to participate in creating a coherent model of how and why life choices are made enlightened by the reality of the NDE experience. The veil of illusion no longer exists for those that have "seen" the other side. One can no longer merely exist in a world without consciousness. The soul takes no pleasure in shrinking back, but is inspired to move forward imbued with the Will of God. We must pay greater attention to what we have heard from these with NDEs to learn about the transformation and manifestation by God here and now. The voices in Dr. Long's study can help point the Way to the larger reality God would have us live in. Yes, our instruments are inadequate to measure and quantify this reality. The reality will be revealed in the manner of life chosen. We must, moment by moment, choose to align our very beings with His and perpetuate the unfolding of His plan by incorporating this larger reality into this mostly mundane, unconscious world. There is a responsibility to live, love, teach, and heal those who are willing. I humbly, and with utmost gratitude, thank Dr. Long for persevering in his inspired research to provide this firm foundation, and to actuate within the scientific community the need to understand the implications for further research.

This book is full of sound reasoning and strict quality control, in my opinion. This is a study based on statistics, where minor inconsistencies in a testimony would lead to its exclusion from the study. From that perspective, it is thought provoking and quite effective in dismissing the skeptical arguments against the veracity of near death experiences.

However, reading this book is very frustrating. The author repeats himself unbearably, very often beginning a paragraph with the last sentence of the paragraph before it. Maddening and inexplicable, this gave me the impression of defensiveness and an unimaginative approach to writing the book. It would have been much more readable if it was half its length, and Im shocked the editors didn't notice this.

One of the best part of the book is reading the actual testimonies of people who went through the near death experience. They are almost always short excerpts, so I would recommend reading the whole testimonies on the website.

I wish there wasn't such a dense conglomeration of New Age baggage on the website, but look past that and read the actual testimonies. Good stuff.

I believe in the distinct possibility of an afterlife. Having had precognitive dreams lead me to conclude that if the Future could simultaneously exist with the Now, then the Future must reside in some other dimension of time and space. I believe in the distinct probability of a Supreme Creator. To believe that there isn't something more behind the majesty and mystery of Life is absurd. I also believe that we are fragments of what was once a totality - and if Love and Compassion and Creativity are in us, those attributes must be part of the bigger picture. The lesser cannot contain something that the greater does not possess. But following this reasoning, the dark side of Life is out there also - Evil, the Devil, call it what you will. Anyway - to paraphrase the Bard...there is more to heaven and earth than is dreamt of in our philosophies.

Paraphrase. Does the author of this book know what that word actually means? He uses it many, many times when offering up a quote from someone's NDE. If it isn't that person's actual words being offered us, why must the good doctor paraphrase that person's sentiment?

The main point, however, is the utter dishonesty and blatant hucksterism of the book's title, subtitle, red-ribboned (so that it will catch the prospective buyer's eye) cover announcement that says: "LARGEST NDE STUDY EVER CONDUCTED REVEALS PROOF OF LIFE AFTER DEATH." The title and subtitle are equally (and falsely) gradiose: EVIDENCE OF THE AFTERLIFE: THE SCIENCE OF NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCES. Truly extraordinary claims - and coming from a doctor no less! So I was thrilled when I found this slim volume in my local bookshop. Having heard many years ago that a number of hospitals throughout the land were going to place hidden messages in high, hidden locations in their operating rooms so that should a patient have an out-of-body experience while on the table they might float high enough to read the message and relate it back to the World once they'd regained (hopefully) consciousness. So, with the book's bold, emphatic statement I thought it might include the absolute latest results from that experiment that has been ongoing now for years.

No such luck. The book is NOT scientific whatsoever. It is strictly anecdotal. It even repeats the same oft-told tale of the OBE experiencer seeing a sneaker on a hospital ledge that was later found to be there. Is that the best verifiable evidence there is? Dr. Long, who wrote this book with help of an unexplained Paul Perry, bases his astonishing, almost dictatorial conclusions regarding the Afterlife on stories totally similar to those told in ALL the books on NDEs going back to Raymond Moody's seminal 1975 book entitled LIFE AFTER LIFE. There is, painfully, absolutely nothing new in this book that would qualify as scientific evidence for an afterlife. The chapter dealing with the blind NDE cases really doesn't clearly state that any of those reporting their experience were able to see in the way those who are not blind "see" things, colors, the world. The chapter dealing with children's NDEs are, according to Long and Perry, unaffected by the "Oprah" effect because the children five and under reporting their experiences are too young to have been influenced by the deluge of TV shows and specials and books that could have, conceivably, tainted their tales. The trouble is - the children five years or younger are relating their NDEs and OBEs after having grown into adulthood! Dr. Long bases the majority of his book on accounts of Near Death Experiences he has received via his website! That's it, that's all! He then does a bunch of statistics with his info in an attempt to make his findings seem scientific. But they aren't. They are stories from the internet - and from what I discern, the good doctor never really met with any of his e-mail evidenciary respondents. Did he check out any hospitals to see if the people writing him were ever actually flat-lining? No. He takes their written word as gospel truth - and then gives us bits and pieces of their testimonies...and for some weird reason he "paraphrases" many of them. Why? What is being added or altered in the paraphrased account? Real names aren't given. Dates aren't given. Nothing that is not already in dozens of other (and often much better) books is given. The book is a bomb, but not in the sense that Randy Jackson uses the word whenever he gets knocked off his feet by a fabulous singer.

There is a condescending tone that runs throughout the book that is also extremely annoying. He (Long or Perry) is extremely repetitious, especially when ending every chapter with a too-fast, too-assertive "Bingo!" moment wherein he concludes that there is Life after Death because of the anecdotes just given. He pounds his chest a bit much also in proclaiming he is a doctor. He actually begins the book with himself during his medical residency in 1984, stumbling upon mention of NDE while reading medical magazines in the University library. He is astonished to read about it, having never heard of such a thing before. Moody's book came out in 1975. It was a best-seller. It was the talk of the town and NDE became common knowledge with publication of that book. How is the heck could someone NOT have heard about NDEs for nine years, especially someone studying to be a doctor?

The book promises much via its P. T. Barnum-esque cover pronouncements, yet delivers nothing really new at all. It also has no index. And again, no mention of who Paul Perry actually is. And as I said in the beginning, given that physics tells us that energy cannot be destroyed but only transmuted, then the energy that perhaps creates the soul may, indeed, persist after physical demise. But that does NOT mean that it is a continued existence in the Elysian fields or the pits of Hell. (The negative NDEs aren't even discussed in the book, of which there have allegedly been several.) So, yes, there may be a life after death...but in the way that there is a lingering smoke after you snuff out a candle's flame. The smoke dissipates and becomes something else. We may die, retain our personal identites for a time and then become a part of the cosmos in a collective sense. The fragment returns to the whole, perhaps, but then may lose itself in becoming part of the Oneness from which we all came into being.

Anyway, the contents of the book do NOT match its cover. I was - and am - disappointed and pray that someday a truly great book about the possibility of an Afterlife is written before I discover the answer to the Great Riddle via direct experience.

Review of the book, Evidence of the Afterlife: The Science of Near-Death Experiences, by Jeffrey Long, MD with Paul Perry.

I first became aware of this book when I read on the Near Death Experience Research Foundation (NDERF) web site that it had shot to the top of the list of best selling books. As I collect every book I can that deals with the Near Death experience--I have over 375--I bought it. When I received the book I immediately saw why it had become a best seller. Both on the dust jacket and in the book it claims to have scientific proof of life after death. No wonder this book became a best seller; everyone wants to believe there is "proof" of life after death. But saying it does not make it so.

The contents of this book are based on accounts shared by numerous individuals who claim to have had an NDE or something related to it. They first described their experience and then filled out a questionnaire that is attached to their account. The author, using a technique called the Chi Square statistic, then evaluated the data supplied. On page 4 he states that "mathematical calculation(s) are 99 percent convincing that the afterlife exists."

On page 3 he notes: "I am a man of science, and as a result I have examined the data from the NDERF study in a scientific way. At NDERF we explored all of the elements in the NDEs of more than one thousand people, examining consistency among the accounts. In reaching conclusions about these accounts, we followed a basic scientific principle: What is real is consistently seen among many different observations."

What I find troubling is Dr. Long's apparent misuse of the term science. I have taught and done scientific research for the 30 years I was a professor of medical sociology. Scientific research is based on specific methods and assumptions. The objective of scientific research is an understanding of a specific subject. It is based on careful observations, precise measurements, and rigorous evaluations. Every step is clearly outlined and recorded so that the researcher and others can check what is done so as to identify mistakes, if any occurred, correct them and verify the conclusions drawn. Thus, step by step, the researcher and others can explore and explain the phenomenon under investigation. But the phenomenon must be observable, measurable, and verifiable. The Near Death Experience has none of these properties. Therefore all attempts to date have failed to verify accounts of individuals claiming to have experienced an NDE.

What various researchers besides Dr. Long have done is to collect vast numbers of cases and look at them for commonalities. These commonalities are argued to be the evidence that proves that NDEs are real. But NDEs, by definition, deal with the non-material, i.e. something that cannot be measured empirically or replicated, and hence verified. As I stated previously, the NDE is not amenable to science or its methods. There is no record that can be viewed independently or evaluated. Instead what we have are anecdotes where people report what happened to them but that cannot be empirically checked. I have studied thousands of NDEs and am totally convinced that they cannot be studied scientifically. Science studies empirical phenomena and the NDE is not empirical. I am not saying that the NDE is not real, only that it is not a viable area for scientific research.

Dr. Long, on page 45 states: "In my work as a radiation oncologist, my life is built around science. It couldn't be any other way. I deliver precision doses of radiation to kill cancerous tumors. There are few other forms of medical science that require such precision. I love what I do and have carried this love of science to other parts of my life. The data and conclusions you read here are based on the scientific principles I adhere to."
But there is no way that the precision he uses as an oncologist can be replicated in the study of NDEs. Dr. Long can control the doses he gives his patients and can measure the outcomes on various cancers. But he has no control whatever on what happens during an NDE. First of all he uses cases that are voluntary submitted to his website. He has no way of verifying their content. Because they contain similar content is, to him, proof. However being in a scientific field and doing science are not the same. Some very large studies have proven to be faulty when reevaluated by other scientists because they violated one or more aspects of the scientific method. So studies/reports cranked out by a scientist are not necessarily scientific.

On page 45 the author states: "By reviewing the findings of the NDERF study, I have derived nine lines of reasoning that--to my mind--prove the existence of life after death." He then spends from page 53 to page 187 listing and describing his "proofs." Briefly stated these nine proofs are:

1. Lucid Death - where individuals who are unconscious or clinically dead report having experiences where they see, hear, and encounter non-material realms
2, Out of Body - where individuals report that their consciousness separated from their physical body and visited non-earthly environs
3. Blind Sight - where individuals who were born totally blind are able to see and describe what they saw during their experience
4. Impossible Conscious - where people under anesthesia heard and saw what was happening to them while on the operating table
5. Perfect Play Back- where individuals undergo a life review where they see and experience the feelings that their actions caused others both good and bad
6. Family Reunion - where the person meets family members that predeceased him including some known in this life and some that died long before
7. From the Mouths of Babes - where very young children have the same experiences as adults
8. Worldwide Consistency - where people from all around the world and from radically different cultures are shown to have remarkably similar experiences
9. Changed Lives - Where those who have had in-depth NDE experiences return to life changed in very significant ways

While I do not believe that it is possible to prove scientifically the NDE, I personally accept that it exists and that the life forces of people survive the death of the physical body. Part of this is personal belief that comes from information similar to that listed by Dr. Long under the nine items comprising the bulk of his book since I have looked into and read much on the subject. Plus I have personally interviewed many people who have had NDEs. But mostly it comes because of accounts of close friends and relatives These include my mother, adopted daughter, grandmother, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and friends who have shared with me their near death experiences. I absolutely do not believe that they are making up these experiences or that they are delusional in any way. I have not personally had an NDE but I do not believe that it is necessary to have one to know that the reports of many thousands of people recorded in books, journals, diaries, letters and my personal interviews are true, that life does persist beyond the death of the physical body.

In summary, the subtitle of Long's book is inaccurate and misleading. While his book is interesting, informative and suggestive, there is no scientific evidence in his book. Furthermore, having taught statistics and statistical methods, I can state unequivocally that his statistical analysis is not only inadequate but wrong.

Harold Widdison
Medical Sociologist, Retired

Dr. Jeffrey Long does what has long been overdue, presenting the evidence that points to one astounding conclusion, that the "I" in us does not die when the body dies. Anybody familiar with the Near-Death literature will already know that the evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of life after death. All the old theories, trying to brush the phenomenon aside, crumble and fall to pieces in light of the evidence presented in this book. Dr. Long takes you on an incredible journey of people who remember their life after death.

You think that NDE's are just the whimsical neural firing of a dying brain? Far from it, as people who have died while under anesthesia have reported NDE's, as well as those who have had a cardiac arrest and had a flat EEG. You think NDE's are just dream like psychological projections to cope with a frightening physical experience? Again, you better hold the phone because Dr. Long points out that people report accurate details when out of body time and time again. They report details that they could not possibly have known unless they were indeed operating consciously outside of their body. And holy smokes! That's just two of the nine lines of evidence for the existence of life after death.

If you would like to expand your vision of life and the universe, start with this book. It just may change the way you view the world and hopefully give you a deeper sense of the profound mystery of consciousness.