Official Review: Heaven in '77 by Mark W Steinbach
Posted: 13 Jul 2016, 13:06
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Heaven in '77" by Mark W Steinbach.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Perhaps the greatest topic humanity has ever debated and pondered about is what happens to a person when they die. Mark W Steinbach's Heaven in '77, a short nonfiction book, tells the world what happened one night when a seemingly-spiked drink leads author Mark into a near-death experience.
The book kicks off with an brief explanation of Mark's past, then describes that fateful night when Mark slipped into his near-death state. The retelling of his experience is stellar, with all sorts of sensory details that make it clear what an amazing experience it was. This was by far the best part of the book, and luckily it's also the majority of its 45ish pages. The story also uses some photos of Mark and his family along with biblical passages. As someone who grew up Catholic (like Mark), I recognized nearly all of them, but there may be some new stuff there for people of other faiths.
For those who are anti-religion or anti-Catholic/Christian especially, this book definitely isn't for you. It speaks heavily of religion, particularly in Mark's NDE (near death experience) where he meets Jesus. For fellow Christians and those with open minds, the book is a really quick read and gives an interesting look into Mark's NDE. It doesn't go into much of the meaning behind things or even explain how Mark got sick (he had assumed his drink was spiked but when he was tested for drugs they found none), but the NDE itself is described in a rather cool way.
My biggest issue with the book was actually the way it began. I was worried at first with how much buildup there was, even going into detail about how his adoptive parents made it to America. It doesn't go on as long as I'd worried, though, and the information isn't all that important, it just helps build up the author's history. This is entirely skippable in my opinion, and perhaps would be better read after the book to give further insight into his family's past.
Overall, the thoughts that stick out when I think about [/i]Heaven in '77[/i] are "short", "not bad" and "nifty NDE trip!" For those who are really into NDEs, I can definitely suggest the quick read to you, as it's almost entirely focused on that moment in time. For anyone else, however, the lack of discussion after the event and the lack of a real plot (it doesn't go into any real detail about the event changing Mark's life in massive ways or anything) make it just shy of something I'd suggest. The book gets 2 out of 4 stars from me, although I'd give it 2.5 if I could.
******
Heaven in '77
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2 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
Perhaps the greatest topic humanity has ever debated and pondered about is what happens to a person when they die. Mark W Steinbach's Heaven in '77, a short nonfiction book, tells the world what happened one night when a seemingly-spiked drink leads author Mark into a near-death experience.
The book kicks off with an brief explanation of Mark's past, then describes that fateful night when Mark slipped into his near-death state. The retelling of his experience is stellar, with all sorts of sensory details that make it clear what an amazing experience it was. This was by far the best part of the book, and luckily it's also the majority of its 45ish pages. The story also uses some photos of Mark and his family along with biblical passages. As someone who grew up Catholic (like Mark), I recognized nearly all of them, but there may be some new stuff there for people of other faiths.
For those who are anti-religion or anti-Catholic/Christian especially, this book definitely isn't for you. It speaks heavily of religion, particularly in Mark's NDE (near death experience) where he meets Jesus. For fellow Christians and those with open minds, the book is a really quick read and gives an interesting look into Mark's NDE. It doesn't go into much of the meaning behind things or even explain how Mark got sick (he had assumed his drink was spiked but when he was tested for drugs they found none), but the NDE itself is described in a rather cool way.
My biggest issue with the book was actually the way it began. I was worried at first with how much buildup there was, even going into detail about how his adoptive parents made it to America. It doesn't go on as long as I'd worried, though, and the information isn't all that important, it just helps build up the author's history. This is entirely skippable in my opinion, and perhaps would be better read after the book to give further insight into his family's past.
Overall, the thoughts that stick out when I think about [/i]Heaven in '77[/i] are "short", "not bad" and "nifty NDE trip!" For those who are really into NDEs, I can definitely suggest the quick read to you, as it's almost entirely focused on that moment in time. For anyone else, however, the lack of discussion after the event and the lack of a real plot (it doesn't go into any real detail about the event changing Mark's life in massive ways or anything) make it just shy of something I'd suggest. The book gets 2 out of 4 stars from me, although I'd give it 2.5 if I could.
******
Heaven in '77
View: on Bookshelves
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