My first book, Conceptions of the Afterlife in Early Civilizations, has recently gone out of print. This means that for the first time I'm able to offer it as an exclusive benefit to Patrons as a downloadable PDF.
I'm very pleased to give people wider access to this book. The publisher's price was prohibitively expensive - even the paperback was $47 or £32 - never mind the hardcover at $116 or £85! I'll ensure that the new edition is more widely accessible - but until then here's a painless way to get the e-book. Just go here to become a Patron at the $10 level or above: https://www.patreon.com/gregoryshushan
You can read more about the book here https://www.gregoryshushan.com/books-more-info - and check out some of the reviewer comments:
"Shushan is at the forefront of a coming paradigm shift in western culture. [His] empirical method reveals many features of the human journey into death which parallel themes found in Christianity and other religions.... of all the scholarly literature I have researched over the last 5 years, I would place Shushan’s book in the top five most important for my recovering a more reliable vision of transcendence than historic Christianity promotes.... Thank you, Gregory Shushan, for helping me to get there." - Kurt Klaas, Calvin Theological Seminary (Amazon review).
"This is an incredible book for anyone with an interest in history, spirituality, neurology, and a burning search for answers. There's no other book like it. The amount of patience and diligence it doubtless took to put together (I have read the histories of several ancient societies; reading even one is no small task) is a marvel in and of itself. This is my personal thanks to Dr. Shushan for putting together this remarkable tome. I hope more get to read it." - Amazon reviewer.
"...a fascinating journey through ancient ideas about the afterlife.... But this is not simply a historical mapping of these early concepts, the author brings them to life and makes them relevant to contemporary concerns about what has become known as near-death-experiences.... This is a bold and engaging book." -- from the Foreword by Prof. Gavin Flood.
"... a dense, rich, thought-provoking work that points at some interesting questions while making a good stab at proving the value of this type of comparative study. Even readers who don’t agree with all of Shushan’s conclusions will have to admire his willingness to mount a full-scale attack on some of the big questions, not only of the anthropology of religion, but of human existence in general. 9/10." - James Holloway, Fortean Times.
“…one of the most interesting and methodologically reflective examples of comparative work in the study of religions.” -- Michael Stausberg, The Routledge Handbook of Research Methods in the Study of Religion.
"A very well-written book by a consummate scholar.... a major contribution to the field of comparative religion and near-death studies. It is a 'must-read' for students of religious experience." - Prof. Ken R. Vincent, De Numine.
"This book represents a scholarly and well-argued study, and is a landmark in both the anthropological study of afterlife conceptions and in research into NDEs. I recommend it highly, and I eagerly await its sequel, which according to reports in the blogosphere is now under way as a study of NDEs in relation to afterlife beliefs in worldwide shamanic and small-scale societies." - Dr. David Rousseau
"There are numerous positive reasons to read this book... Certainly in the area of 'near-death studies', Shushan's work is original, well argued, and much needed... The historical, theoretical, and ethnographic orientation of Shushan's work is a wonderful contribution to this important area.... [and] a valuable and important addition to the literature in religious consciousness studies, and the sociology of death and dying." - Prof. Allan Kellehear.
"...an ambitious, painstakingly researched, and well-argued attempt to see if the influence of near-death experiences (NDEs) can be detected in the afterlife texts of five ancient civilizations.... Scholars seeking to familiarize themselves with ancient texts that may provide insights into NDES... will find this volume a treasure-trove." - Robert Perry