Abstract

John Martin Fischer’s book, Death, Immortality, and Meaning in Life is outstanding. It is very readable (often funny) and has a clear organization that makes it easy to follow. It is tightly argued and fascinating. It discusses ideas with enjoyable references to and discussions of the Buddha, Ram Dass, Gilgamesh, Stephen Jay Gould, Hinduism, Aldous Huxley, the Koran, C. S. Lewis, LSD, Christopher Marlowe, Somerset Maugham, reincarnation, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Star Trek, Jonathan Swift, and Rick Warren. There is an issue as to whether Fischer’s theories of meaning in life, badness of death, and goodness of immortality succeed. Still, the book is excellent. It is ideal for anyone teaching these subjects and will be of interest to laypeople as well as philosophers, theologians, and religious leaders who specialize in these topics.