Perspective

"Sum, Forty Tales from the Afterlives" is written by David Eagleman and is a collection of forty scenarios that describe the possibilities that may exist in the afterlife. Eagleman is an accomplished author who has written the non-fiction tome, "Incognito," among other professional works. Eagleman's background makes him uniquely qualified in the writing of a book filled with thought-provoking stories and mind-bending possibilities of the type that are contained in "Sum."

Eagleman is not only a writer but also a neuroscientist. He majored in British and American literature at Rice University and earned a Ph.D. In neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine. He therefore has the benefit of a vast education in literature as well as science, elements of which are contained in many of the short narratives he has written about the afterlife.

There are a number of the episodes included in this collection that describe...