Out of this World Otherworldly Journeys from Gilgamesh to Albert Einstein

This book takes the reader on a fantastic journey through a wide range of cultures and traditions to examine the phenomenon of ecstatic visionary experiences-from Sumerian Gilgamesh and the Taoist Immortals to the imaginative fiction of Jorge Luis Borges. The author provides a comprehensive tour of otherworldly journeys common from immemorial times among shamans, magicians, and witches, and illustrates their connection with such modern phenomena as altered states of consciousness, out-of-body experiences, and near-death experiences.

I. P. Couliano (1950-1991) taught History of Religions and History of Christianity at the University of Chicago. He is the author of several books and many articles in six languages.