Synopses & Reviews
A SCIENTISTS CASE FOR THE AFTERLIFE
Near-death experiences, or NDEs, are controversial. Thousands of people have had them, but many in the scientific community have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those people.
A highly trained neurosurgeon who had operated on thousands of brains in the course of his career, Alexander knew that what people of faith call the “soul” is really a product of brain chemistry. NDEs, he would have been the first to explain, might feel real to the people having them, but in truth they are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress.
Then came the day when Dr. Alexanders own brain was attacked by an extremely rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion—and in essence makes us human— shut down completely. For seven days Alexander lay in a hospital bed in a deep coma. Then, as his doctors weighed the possibility of stopping treatment, Alexanders eyes popped open. He had come back.
Alexanders recovery is by all accounts a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself.
This story sounds like the wild and wonderful imaginings of a skilled fantasy writer. But it is not fantasy. Before Alexander underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. That difficulty with belief created an empty space that no professional triumph could erase. Today he is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition.
This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life.
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“Dr. Eben Alexander’s near-death experience is the most astounding I have heard in more than four decades of studying this phenomenon. [He] is living proof of an afterlife.”
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"Eben Alexander brings a unique perspective to the sacred world combining a glorious, personal vision of spiritual consciousness with patient, insightful scientific inquiry.
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"I can highly recommend this
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"Proof of Heaven is more than just an awe-inspiring account of a profound encounter with spiritual reality. Dr. Alexander's neuroscience
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“Reading these pages youll discover how one precious young man treated life as a gift from God and thus became a gift from God. Just as his many videos and devotion to family and friends touched many hearts, I pray that this book will, too.” —Don Piper,
New York Times bestselling author of
90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life “When Will the Heaven Begin? shares Ben Breedloves profound message of hope and peace with the world. Ally Breedlove has done a remarkable job in this beautifully simplistic, heartfelt narrative that will endear every reader to Ben, while reminding us to live every day with joy.”—Elizabeth Bryan, coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Count Your Blessings
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“Eben Alexander brings a unique perspective to the sacred world combining a glorious, personal vision of spiritual consciousness with patient, insightful scientific inquiry. Proof of Heaven is a compelling story of what may lie ahead for all of us in the life beyond this one. We have nothing to fear.” —Allan J. Hamilton, MD, FACS, author of The Scalpel and the Soul and Zen Mind, Zen Horse
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“I can highly recommend this important book that has the potential to break many scientific taboos.” —Dr. Pim van Lommel, cardiologist, author of Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience
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“Proof of Heaven is more than just an awe-inspiring account of a profound encounter with spiritual reality. Dr. Alexander’s neuroscience career taught him that near-death experiences are brain-based illusions, and yet his personal experience left him dumbstruck. His honest struggle to make sense of this unforgettable journey is a gripping story, unique in the literature of spiritual experiences, that may well change how we understand our role in the universe.” —Bruce Greyson, MD, co-editor of The Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation
Review
Praise for Eric Metaxas and
Miracles
"[Metaxas] has taken a difficult and often controversial topic and presented it with clarity. Both erudite and intimate, Metaxas invites even the scoffer to wonder." -- Kirkus Reviews
“Miracles is the sort of book that -- once you've read it -- you'll wonder where it's been all your life.”
—Kathie Lee Gifford, Emmy-award-winning host, The Today Show
“If youre a skeptic, read this book with an open mind and you might just discover that miracles are real. If youre already a believer, be ready to be inspired.”
—Kirsten Powers, columnist for USA Today and The Daily Beast
"Alluring." -- Library Journal
"With this beautiful and moving and thoughtful new book, Eric Metaxas proves yet again to be a writer of the first order....Miracles is a cool rain of intelligent truth."
—Bret Lott, Best-selling author of Jewel; Non-fiction editor, Crazyhorse
“Take the brilliant mind of Eric Metaxas, add the provocative topic of miracles, and get ready to change the way you see reality forever.”
—Erwin Raphael McManus, Founder of MOSAIC and author, The Artisan Soul: Crafting Your Life into a Work of Art
“Metaxas's Miracles mixes storytelling with logic and inspiring beauty with profound mystery. Its an intoxicating combination.”
—Patricia Heaton, Emmy-award-winning actress, Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle
“In his inimitably entertaining way, Eric Metaxas shows us that it is okay to believe in a world in which God still speaks and shows up in the cosmos and the lives of people just like you. By opening this book, you'll embark upon a divine conspiracy. Are you ready?”
—Gregory Alan Thornbury, PhD, President, The King's College, New York City
“As Metaxas himself says, feel free to gulp. Reading Miracles is one of those life altering experiences.”
—Caroline Coleman, author of the novel Loving Soren
“Metaxas provides a compass for our intellect and inspires our journeys with profound miracle stories -- with his attuned humor shining throughout.”
—Makoto Fujimura, Artist and Founder, International Arts Movement (IAM)
“Eric Metaxas is like C.S. Lewis but with jokes: intelligent, spiritually profound, and full of wit. In Miracles, Metaxas himself is a testament that genius and religious faith are not mutually exclusive.”
—Susan E. Isaacs, author Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir
“Read this book to confront your doubt. Read this book to face down your fear of the afterlife. Read this book to re-enchant your humanity.”
—Owen Strachan, Author, Risky Gospel
“As a secular reader, I come to such books with a certain resistance. Metaxas won me over instantly by meeting me where I live. His intellectual honesty, coupled with an open-hearted wonder at the sheer breadth of human experience, is irresistible.”
—Christopher Noel, author, Impossible Visits
With wit and wisdom, Eric Metaxas will blow your mind with stories of phenomena beyond anything we might classify as merely natural. And he will bless your heart with what can happen in your life personally as you read stories of people (very smart people I might add) who "extra-ordinarily" encountered God's majestic purpose converging with their daily lives, stunning and humbling them forever. Are you next?”
—Emerson Eggerichs, author of 2007 ECPA Book of the Year, Love and Respect.
“A dense, edgy and awe-inspiring report on the possibility of the impossible.”
—Dr. Markus Spieker, Reporter for German National Television and bestselling author of Hollywood Cinema in Nazi Germany
“Miracles is a clarion call to any who, like Dante, have lost la speranza dell altezza. The rich variety of testimonies sing a song of hope and should rekindle in us the glorious certainly that there is a loving God, who is always there willing to help us.”
—Dame Alice von Hildebrand, author, Memoirs of a Happy Failure and The Privilege of Being a Woman
“No Christian thinker today combines reason and wit, argument and imagination, to greater effect.”
—Joseph Loconte, Associate Professor of History at the King's College, NYC and author, God, Locke, and Liberty: The Struggle for Religious Freedom in the West.
"Metaxas has done it again....he presents hope for the tone deaf who cannot hear the splendor of the music of the spheres, and he brings in sunlight for modern cave dwellers who have become accustomed to only shadows on the wall of our increasingly windowless world."
—Os Guinness, author Long Journey Home
“Miracles is just what I needed to remind me to keep asking to see the miraculous."
—Joy Eggerichs, Creator, The Illumination Project, and Founder of Love and Respect Now.
“The miracles in Miracles -- and Eric's own amazing miraculous experience -- bring out the
fact that the miraculous gift of eternal life that God provides can be experienced here on earth.”
—Luis Palau, International Evangelist
Review
Praise for Bonhoeffer
“Eric Metaxas tells Bonhoeffer's story with passion and theological sophistication.”
— Wall Street Journal
“Insightful and illuminating, this tome makes a powerful contribution to biography, history, and theology.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Metaxas presents a complete, accessible picture of this important figure, whose story is inspiring, instructive, and international in scope.”
— Kirkus, starred review
“Eric Metaxas has written a rich, detailed, and beautiful account of the great pastor and theologian.... Metaxas Bonhoeffer is a monumental achievement and a deeply important work.”
— Greg Thornbury, President of the King's College, New York CIty
“A captivating and inspiring read from start to finish..... Buy it. This book could change your life.”
— James N. Lane, Founder, New Canaan Society; Former General Partner, Goldman, Sachs and Co.
“Eric Metaxas Bonhoeffer is the biography for this generation. A masterpiece that reads like a great novel and weaves together in one opus an understanding of Bonhoeffers theology, the complex and tragic history of 20th century Germany, and the human struggle of a true Christian hero. Eric Metaxas is claiming his place as the preeminent biographer of Christianitys most courageous figures.”
— Martin Doblmeier, Filmmaker, Bonhoeffer
“With great skill, energy, and warmth, Metaxas reminds us why the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer stands as a rebuke both to believers and skeptics. Rarely has the story of a Christian martyr been told with such realism and depth. Its a gem of a book.”
— Joseph Loconte, Lecturer in Politics, The Kings College, New York City; Editor of The End of Illusions: Religious Leaders Confront Hitlers Gathering Storm
"Eric Metaxas has written the kind of extraordinary book that not only brings Dietrich Bonhoeffer, his times and his witness vividly alive, but also leaves us yearning to find the same moral character in ourselves. No biographer can achieve anything higher."
— Archbishop Charles Chaput in First Things Magazine
“Metaxas Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy is a modern-day classic that should be on ‘best of lists for the decade…”
— Relevant Magazine
“[A]n electrifying account of one mans stand against tyranny.”
—Human Events
Review
Praise for
Amazing Grace
"A fine and important book." -- Chicago Sun-Times
Synopsis
A Harvard-trained neurosurgeon’s minute-by-minute account of his own near-death experience—and what he discovered in the heavenly realm beyond life.On November 10, 2008, Dr. Eben Alexander was driven into coma by a disease so lethal that only 1 in 10,000,000 survive. Seven days later, he awakened with memories of a fantastic odyssey deep into another realm that were more real than this earthly one—memories that included meeting a deceased birth sister he had never known existed.
Dr. Alexander deployed all his knowledge as a scientist to find out whether his mind could have played a trick on him. In its shutdown state, there was no way it could have functioned at all. That left only one conclusion: that we are conscious in spite of our brains—that, in fact, consciousness is at the root of all existence.
The evidence supporting Dr. Alexander’s experience transformed him into a believer in God’s unconditional love and brought reconciliation to his family—and will upend our ideas about human consciousness and spirituality.
Synopsis
A scientist’s case for the afterlife…
Thousands of people have had near-death experiences, but scientists have argued that they are impossible. Dr. Eben Alexander was one of those scientists. A highly trained neurosurgeon, Alexander knew that NDEs feel real, but are simply fantasies produced by brains under extreme stress.
Then, Dr. Alexander’s own brain was attacked by a rare illness. The part of the brain that controls thought and emotion—and in essence makes us human—shut down completely. For seven days he lay in a coma. Then, as his doctors considered stopping treatment, Alexander’s eyes popped open. He had come back.
Alexander’s recovery is a medical miracle. But the real miracle of his story lies elsewhere. While his body lay in coma, Alexander journeyed beyond this world and encountered an angelic being who guided him into the deepest realms of super-physical existence. There he met, and spoke with, the Divine source of the universe itself.
Alexander’s story is not a fantasy. Before he underwent his journey, he could not reconcile his knowledge of neuroscience with any belief in heaven, God, or the soul. Today Alexander is a doctor who believes that true health can be achieved only when we realize that God and the soul are real and that death is not the end of personal existence but only a transition.
This story would be remarkable no matter who it happened to. That it happened to Dr. Alexander makes it revolutionary. No scientist or person of faith will be able to ignore it. Reading it will change your life.
Synopsis
An inspirational and heartrending memoir about Ben Breedlove, whose videos about his near-death experiences and visions of heaven went viral in 2012, written by his sister Ally Breedlove. On Christmas Day 2011, Ben Breedloves soul went to heaven. But it wasnt his first time there. Ben suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition that posed a constant risk of sudden death. His condition, a thickening of the heart muscle, worsened over time, leaving him weak and fatigued. It also led Ben to some close calls medically, in particular cardiac arrest on four separate occasions, during which he felt the presence of angels and experienced the perfect peace of heaven.
Precocious and warm, Ben was close with his family and two siblings, and forged deep relationships with his friends. He loved to wakeboard and wake surf, and he had dreams of visiting foreign countries around the world. He created the YouTube channels TotalRandomness512 and BreedloveTV, and co-created the channel OurAdvice4You, where he posted videos about everything from dating advice for girls to more serious topics like his spirituality and heart condition.
Unbeknownst to his parents and family, Ben created a two-part video called "This Is My Story," in which he used flashcards to tell the world about his near-death experiences and his beckoning toward heaven.
When he died a short while later, at the tender age of eighteen, his family and the rest of the world stumbled upon these videos. The world responded with overwhelming acceptance of the message Ben shared.
Sharing his vision of heaven was Bens gift to his family, and to the world. And now this is the Breedlove familys gift to us an in-depth look at the life and near-deaths of Ben, the strength and faith of a family, and ultimately, the hope of heaven.
Do you believe in Angels or God? I Do. Ben Breedlove
Synopsis
An inspiring and eye-opening exploration of the phenomenon of miracles from the New York Times #1 bestselling author of Bonhoeffer.
What are miracles, and why do so many people believe in them? What do they tell us about ourselves? And what do we do with experiences that we cannot explain?
In Miracles, Eric Metaxas offers compelling -- sometimes electrifying -- evidence that theres something real to be reckoned with, whatever one has thought of the topic before. Miracles is also a timely, thoughtful, and civil answer to the books of the "New Atheists" -- Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris -- who have passionately asserted not just the impossibility of miracles and the supernatural, but the outright harmfulness of belief in them.
Metaxas -- whom ABC News has called a "witty ambassador for faith" -- provides the measured and wide-ranging treatment the subject deserves, from serious discussion of the compatibility between faith and science to astonishing but well-documented stories of actual miracles from people he knows.
A more current, anecdotal, and personal version of C. S. Lewiss 1947 book on the subject, Miracles is a powerfully winsome challenge that miracles are not only possible but are far more widespread than most of us ever might have imagined.
Synopsis
AN INSPIRATIONAL AND HEARTRENDING MEMOIR ABOUT BEN BREEDLOVE, WHO SHARED HIS NEAR-DEATHEXPERIENCES AND VISIONS OF HEAVEN IN HIS VIRAL VIDEOSWRITTEN BY HIS SISTER, ALLY BREEDLOVE.
On Christmas Day 2011, Ben Breedloves soul went to heaven. But it wasnt his first time there. Ben suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a heart condition that posed a constant risk of sudden death. His condition, a thickening of the heart muscle, worsened over time, leaving him weak and fatigued. It also led Ben to some close calls medically, in particular cardiac arrest on four separate occasions, during which he felt the presence of angels and experienced the perfect peace of heaven.
Precocious and warm, Ben was close with his family and two siblings, and forged deep relationships with his friends. He loved to wakeboard and wake surf, and he had dreams of visiting foreign countries around the world. He created the YouTube channels TotalRandomness512 and BreedloveTV, and co-created the channel OurAdvice4You, where he posted videos about everything from dating advice for girls to more serious topics like his spirituality and heart condition.
Unbeknownst to his parents and family, Ben created a two-part video called "This Is My Story," in which he used flashcards to tell the world about his near-death experiences and his beckoning toward heaven.
When he died a short while later, at the tender age of eighteen, his family and the rest of the world stumbled upon these videos. The world responded with overwhelming acceptance of the message Ben shared.
Sharing his vision of heaven was Bens gift to his family, and to the world. And now this is the Breedlove familys gift to us an in-depth look at the life and near-deaths of Ben, the strength and faith of a family, and ultimately, the hope of heaven.
Do you believe in Angels or God? I Do. Ben Breedlove
About the Author
Eric Metaxas is the
New York Times #1 bestselling author of
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and the acclaimed
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, ("spectacular*... a crackling bonfire of truth and clarity.**"). His books have been translated into over 20 languages. After graduating Yale with an English degree, he published humor in the
New York Times and the
Atlantic and was a writer for Rabbit Ears Productions and VeggieTales. He has written over thirty childrens books, including the best-sellers,
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving and
Its Time to Sleep, My Love, illustrated by Nancy Tillman. Metaxas speaks to tens of thousands around the United States and internationally each year. He was the keynote speaker at the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast and at the 2013 Canadian National Prayer Breakfast, and he has testified before Congress on anti-Semitism in Europe. Metaxas is the founder and host of Socrates in the City, the acclaimed series of conversations on "Life, God, and other small topics," featuring Malcolm Gladwell, Dr. Francis Collins, N.T. Wright, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Dick Cavett, and Sir John Polkinghorne, among many others. He is a senior fellow and lecturer-at-large at The Kings College in New York City, where he lives with his wife and daughter. You can visit his website at
www.ericmetaxas.com.
* The Christian Century
** Books and Culture