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& REVIEWS THE BIG BOOK OF NEAR-DEATH and admits investigations have a long way EXPERIENCES to go. She stretches our minds on subjects by P. M. H. Atwater from consciousness to soul purpose and Hampton Roads, Charlottesville, VA, 2007 inner light, and brings us back to Earth on ISBN 978-1-57174-547-7 (473pp tpb) what we can learn about mortality from tak- Available: http://(www.hrpub.com ing the near-death experience seriously. r Phyllis Atwater has been writing Dr Atwater's large-format book is easy to Di near-death experiences (NDEs) read with pull-out text boxes, helpful defini- tions and illustrations. It goes far in helping since she had three of her own in early us explore what happens when we die. 1977. Each time she experienced something different, and from her research she's fig- ured that no two NDEs are exactly the same. MYSTERIES AND SECRETS OF TIME Her new book, with foreword by paranor- _ by Lionel & Patricia Fanthorpe mal researcher Brad Steiger (see his article Dundurn Press, Toronto, Canada, 2007 in our previous edition), is an encyclopaedia __ ISBN 978-1-884820-86-1 (93pp tpb) of everything you ever wanted to know Available: UK—Gazelle, tel 01524 about NDEs. In fact, Dr Atwater sees this 68765, email sales@gazellebooks.co.uk; book as a gift to the world, being the result Canada—Dundurn, www.dundurn.com of so many amazing contributions from nvestigators of paranormal phenomena for researchers as well as experiencers. She is over 30 years, Lionel and Patricia already giving half her royalties to the Fanthorpe have come across many examples International Association for Near-Death of time anomalies. In order to try to under- Studies and intends to hand over full owner- stand them, they have done extensive ship to the group within five years. research into the nature of time itself and how it was regarded by scientists from Te Aristotle through to Newton and Einstein. BIG BO O K They consider theories of time as subjective or objective, cyclic or linear, finite or infi- a NE A R-[ IE AT H nite, and they look into the theory of infinite ~ PUNPRICRICre regression as proposed by John W. Dunne in i] ree g! prop y I A [i a E Ni t An Experiment with Time (1927). They also discuss the possibility of time travel and the merits of some alleged "time machines". The Fanthorpes explore the philosophy and theology of time and the mysteries of reincarnation, time slips and déja vu, giving historical and modern-day case studies. In 2006, while conducting research in the Callixtus catacombs of Rome, Lionel encountered and talked with a priest figure from 17 centuries ago; he's convinced the priest was not a ghost but had glided through a time portal to meet him (Lionel is also a priest). One famous "time slip" cov- ered here is the case of two women who were walking in the grounds of Versailles in 1901 when they suddenly found themselves in the same place in the late 18th century. Examples of ordinary people as well as famous prophets such as Mother Shipton and Edgar Cayce who have seen the future are included, as are "conquerers" of time such as the mysterious Count of St Germain. Anomalous artefacts and even live creatures found in rock strata raise further questions about time travel and visits by ETs. In the conclusion to their fascinating study, the Fanthorpes suggest that a truly unified field theory must be able to account for every type of time anomaly that they identify. They propose the "instanton" as the basic particle of time, involved in energy exchange and momentum, thus the sub- stance of time is infinitely flexible. The field of near-death studies is growing apace, with an intriguing body of knowledge already amassed covering experiences of children and adults alike. According to reports, there are positive and negative reac- tions to this age-old phenomenon. In her Big Book..., Dr Atwater gets us up to speed on NDE research and the new crite- ria and models that have been developed in recent times. She outlines four main cate- gories of NDEs and then delves into the physiological and psychological after- effects, noting that children can be six times more likely than their elders to repress what happened to them. Common to NDEs are the classic "light at the end of the tunnel" reports, remembering everything about an emergency situation from an out-of-body perspective, and making a decision to return to the here and now for whatever reason. Next, Dr Atwater tackles the sceptics with answers to questions about dying and death THE BIG BOOK OF NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES by P. M. H. Atwater Hampton Roads, Charlottesville, VA, 2007 ISBN 978-1-57174-547-7 (473pp tpb) Available: http://www.hrpub.com D: Phyllis Atwater has been writing about near-death experiences (NDEs) since she had three of her own in early 1977. Each time she experienced something different, and from her research she's fig- ured that no two NDEs are exactly the same. Her new book, with foreword by paranor- mal researcher Brad Steiger (see his article in our previous edition), is an encyclopaedia of everything you ever wanted to know about NDEs. In fact, Dr Atwater sees this book as a gift to the world, being the result of so many amazing contributions from researchers as well as experiencers. She is already giving half her royalties to the International Association for Near-Death Studies and intends to hand over full owner- ship to the group within five years. BIG BOOK aE EITEN CES [ENCES The field of near-death studies is growing apace, with an intriguing body of knowledge already amassed covering experiences of children and adults alike. According to reports, there are positive and negative reac- tions to this age-old phenomenon. In her Big Book..., Dr Atwater gets us up to speed on NDE research and the new crite- ria and models that have been developed in recent times. She outlines four main cate- gories of NDEs and then delves into the physiological and psychological after- effects, noting that children can be six times more likely than their elders to repress what happened to them. Common to NDEs are the classic "light at the end of the tunnel" reports, remembering everything about an emergency situation from an out-of-body perspective, and making a decision to return to the here and now for whatever reason. Next, Dr Atwater tackles the sceptics with answers to questions about dying and death APRIL — MAY 2008 NEXUS #75 www.nexusmagazine.com