Kalweit traces in great detail and with admirable sympathy the rich textures of the shamanic tradition, across the globe and throughout recorded ethnological histories. Particularly interesting and useful is the comparsion with contemporary near-death experiences (no doubt due to Kubler-Ross' influence) and more importantly, his development of a new, apolitical, model of human consciousness, within which the ecstatic state is given equal consideration alongside rational, affective, and other socially construed 'normative' states of awareness. In my opinion, Kalweit's work is both more interesting and relevant than Elidae's now outdated period piece, and I can only hope that it will become the new standard in shamanic studies.