Publisher's Synopsis
Takes the reader on a journey through all the traditions concerning ecstatic visionary experiences from Sumerian Gilgamesh and the Taoist Immortals to the maverick of fiction, Jorge Luis Borges. The book provides a tour of phenomena common from immemorial times among Shamans, magicians and witches and shows deep connections with such modern experiences as altered states of consciousness, out-of-body experiences and near-death experiences.