"Is death the final event in human life, or does another existence follow? What are the signs and possible proofs of such continuity? Such questions have sparked speculation in philosophy, religion, art, and science throughout human history and remain a familiar concern for even the most casual observer of the human condition. In his provocative new book, Fred Frohock explores the possibility that our existence is neither defined by nor limited to the purely physical - nor is it terminated at death." "Frohock suggests that death's domain may not be quite the "undiscovered country" lamented by Hamlet. He wades boldly into the debates between hardcore materialists and devout spiritualists; provides glimpses of recent findings in brain research, the so-called mind-body problem, and consciousness studies; and in general offers an idiosyncratic introduction to some of the most provocative and least understood aspects of what we call "conscious" life. In the process, he provides fresh insights into the narratives, claims, and conundrums associated with life after death, near-death and out-of-body experiences, reincarnation, and a host of psychic phenomena that continue to puzzle the experts." "Leavened with humor and a Renaissance-style intellect that draws in Tolstoy and Hemingway along with films like Solaris and Blade Runner, Frohock's deep meditations are deftly interposed with brief fictional interludes that humanize his book's more abstract dimensions while exploring claims about the supernatural. Approaching the world's most baffling subjects with a critical eye, an open mind, and an agnostic's heart, Beyond looks beyond the last threshold and points the way toward a better understanding of human existence."--BOOK JACKET.

Introduction -- Stories: a past life, no. 1 -- Life beyond life -- Stories: a past life, no. 2 -- Past lives and reincarnations -- Stories: the migratory self, no. 1 -- Transitions : from life to near death -- Stories: the migratory self, no. 2 -- A catalog of vivid near-death experiences -- Stories: sanity and a visitor, no. 1 -- Science, religion, and the languages of faith -- Stories: sanity and a visitor, no. 2 -- Survival after death : how to think and talk about the unknowable -- Stories: closures.