Rating: 
Summary: Are we having fun yet?
Review: I admit to being extremely surprised by the basic premise ofRaymond Moody's new book, which is that near-death experiences and"paranormal" phenomena in general do not prove the existence of life after death, spirits, etc. His logic is sound; I just didn't expect him, at this late stage in the game, to pull back from what 100% of his readers have always believed was his viewpoint. Moody uses a satiric, bubbly tone, similar to the way philosopher Mary Daly writes: word play, puns, alliteration and rhymes; and his aim, like Daly's, is to skewer mainstream thought and convention like meat on a spit and then roast it over the coals of his acrid wit and insight. Moody also knows a lot about mythology, history, sociology and of course psychology, and ties these fields into the discussion in a very interesting inter-discliplinary fashion. His premise is that as a species we are permanently fascinated with the paranormal because it entertains us, because it's fun, and that this is reason enough to continue studying it, despite the fact that we can't prove its claims one way or the other. I give Moody credit for having the courage to express ideas which many of his fans will find offensive and shocking. My complaint is that the writing style is dense, full of asides and overblown with academic syntax. I had trouble following him at times (and I'm no dummy). And despite his claims to the contrary, his discussion of such notables as Dannion Brinkley and Betty Eadie does come off sounding as though he thinks they're fakes, which is going to be hard for many serious students of the paranormal to swallow. I appreciated Moody's assessment of the three main players in the paranormal game, which never resolves itself and never goes forward: the paranormalists themselves, striving for credibility; the professional skeptics whose religion is not objective investigation but "Scientism"; and what he calls the funda-Christians, who see Satan in every fun and pleasant thing the world has to offer, paranormal experiences included. If you're expecting another of Moody's treatises on NDE phenomena, skip this one. But if you're willing to put aside your assumptions and beliefs and consider a totally new way of thinking about the paranormal, this book is worth the effort.
Rating: 
Summary: hmmmmmmmm..........
Review: I am an NDE-er. I have NOT read this book, I stopped reading books on the subject several years ago when I also decided the IANDS - international association of near death studies - was of no use to ME. Having died I am here to tell you YES we CAN die and come back to "life" aaaaaaaaaaaand once that's REALLY happened you KNOW there is no such thing as what people think of as DEATH. And that's all, it's simply not an issue anymore. I like most actual NDE-ers had difficulty re-entering a world full of people living in fear of each other, the future, the past, life, death, God, evil, the stars and just about anything else you can think of. Once I realized that was the problem I was fine. SO read this and anything else you can get your hands on so you can calm down and LIVE, that's all there is - LIFE! And life is GOOD!
Rating: 
Summary: Anger is not a new philosophy
Review: I found Dr. Moody's Title "The Last Laugh", a New Philosophy of Near Death, Apparitions, and the Paranormal, extremely deceptive. I say this because the book is not about the paranormal in general, it is mainly about the doctors anger at the philosophical institutions who have apparently distored his original position regarding the paranormal. It becomes evident that Dr. Moody's critics of the last 30 years have gotten the best of him, so in this book he relentlessly beats up the opposition, "the big 3", philosophical groups...The Skeptics, The Para-Psychologists and Fundamentalist-Christians, and their media representatives. In the book he creates a longwinded attempt to set the record straight on what he really thinks regarding the afterlife,(which never really comes to fruition), and the techniques "the enemies of truth", are using to keep the dialog at a stalemate regarding NDE's, and other paranormal experience. Each camp of the "big 3" has its own agenda which feeds off the others "expertise" of canned retoric like a well oiled machine, thus keeping the dialog regarding "new information" on the paranormal at a standstill or at the very least,... going in circles over the last 150 years. His argument does hold some merit, but to write a book as if his anger was a "new philosophy" on the subject of paranormal experiences was not the good doctors agenda. His agenda was to draw those of us who are interested in these experiences by branding his book a "new philosophy" and letting us subsidise his temper tantrum towards his critics. This book is not a new philosophy, it is an old con, "Bait and Switch", and never presents any new information on such an important subject as life and death,(which encompasses apparitions,nde's, etc). In the end, Dr. Moody foolishly tries to streamline the reader into thinking that the paranormal is God's attempt at entertainment,or at the very least that entertainment is the best way man has to express paranormal experiences and hold the interest of those who honestly inquire on the subject. Somehow this technique, (his new philosophy), will legitimize the truth, or help us find the truth. Perhaps make the truth more palatable. This is not a philosophy, it is a sentence, a silly statement, a single thought of an angry man drunk on self doubt and frustrated by his own previous lack of clarity. Dr. Moody's only saving grace in this book is his occassional position that there are groups that use the study of near death experiences to ease the grieving process, but for the most part the book is a history lesson with amusing antidotes, clever clips on various philosophies found in other literature or his venomous outbursts in which he intellectually disassembles his critics. God Doc, you sure are smart! There truely is NOTHING NEW about the titles subject matter unless you are in need of new material at your next high school debate club. Shame on you Dr. Moody for pretending to tell a "NEW PHILOSOPHY", with such a deceptive title! Well, your critics are now one person stronger and judging by a couple of other interviews, growing! The "Last Laugh", is on the reader who spent their hard earned money on a book that draws the right demographics to the wrong subject!
Rating:
Summary: Legitimate message, godawful book
Review: I think that the previous reviewer misses the point a bit. Moody isn't "pulling back." At least if you accept what he says, this is material that he intended to include as a postscript to "Life After Life" way back when, but that was omitted by the publisher in the interests of commercial success. He now insists that this material be considered a permanent addendum to "Life After Life." My only problem with it is, IT'S A NEARLY UNREADABLE BOOK with a message that is legitimate but could have been condensed to five pages. Moody takes on three groups -- the Christian fundamentalists, the NDE true believers and the closed-minded debunkers -- as exemplifying the most misguided approach to paranormal phenonmena, which they surely do. Moody insists on a "playful," non-dogmatic approach that recognizes the whimsical, elusive nature of paranormal phenomena. This is the legitimate message that could have been condensed to five pages. The problem being, the rest of the book, in which Moody seems to think that he is being playful and humorous, comes across a mean-spirited and utimately tedious rant at the expense of the aforementioned three groups. The writing is simply not worthy of someone with an M.D., a Ph.D in philosophy and many years of experience in this field. The objection is not, however, that "Raymond Moody doesn't believe in life after death anymore!!!!" This is the knee-jerk reaction of the NDE true believers, who Moody intends to upset and obviously enjoys upsetting. The objection is, "Raymond, you are so dogmatic in your playfulness that you sound like an irascible old crank." Despite all this, I would certainly encourage anyone who has Moody's other books to buy this one, because you won't have a complete understanding of him or his message unless you do.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to Read
Review: I wish I knew who the last laugh was on but I think it was me for buying this book. I am not done yet and don't know if I can finish but now I know why I should not use run on sentences!
Rating: 
Summary: The Last Laugh? That a Laugh!
Review: If you are looking for a good book to read on near-death experiences and the paranormal, then "The Last Laugh, a new philosophy of near-death experiences, apparitions, and the Paranormal," is definitely not for you! I am not exactly sure how Mr. Moody's first book was set up, but if it were anything like this one, it would not have been a best seller! In his premise he attempts to show that life after death and the paranormal are just entertainment, games, media, Hollywood...etc. and can very easily be seen that way. Yet, later he wants to conclude that near death experiences doesn't have to be experienced when one is near death. How can this be if a near-death experience is just to keep people entertained? He then totally discredits himself by telling the reader that he is not now, nor has never been an expert. That is the only time that I agreed with him! Throughout the whole book he tells how "we are going to look" at different events of the Paranormal. Yet he spends the entire time going on and on about a play of words (if I wanted to know another word other than paranormal, I would look it up in the thesaurus). If not that he talks about the different people attacking his first book. (Parapsychologists who say he has no proof, the Professional skeptics, and the Christian Fundamentalists who say he is going to hell) Eminem also choose to attack the people who attacked him in his life through his songs. Most of his music is band in many schools and even the writing circuits. If Dr. Moody did not try to be so elaborate and get to the point, the book could have been shorter and more entertaining. Then everyone else could be "laughing" with him.
Rating:
Summary: Backs off his previous position on NDE's
Review: Raymond Moody gives his overall attitude to the field of the paranormal and I'm in some respects sympathetic. A big revelation for his fans is that Moody has backed off his claims that NDE's can be interpreted as evidence of life after death.
Good for him! NDE's are poor evidence of life after death and these experiences have other better explanations. If your a survivalist, believing in some sort of meaningful survival after bodily death, then this maybe a shock. However, there are better sources of evidence suggesting an afterlife than NDE's. Please read "Immortal Remains: The Evidence for Life after Death" by Stephen E. Braude.
Rating:
Summary: Making Fun
Review: Raymond Moody thinks that the study of the paranormal, and even the Near Death Experience has some entertainment value. He says that parapsychology can't begin to study the paranormal because it is "literal nonsense". He does not agree that we should allow our minds to fall into the scientism camp, but regardless, we must feel free to be entertained. This book isn't funny. Dean Radin's "The Conscious Universe" is an interesting counter-point to this book.
Rating:
Summary: Making Fun
Review: Raymond Moody thinks that the study of the paranormal, and even the Near Death Experience has some entertainment value. He says that parapsychology can't begin to study the paranormal because it is "literal nonsense". He does not agree that we should allow our minds to fall into the scientism camp, but regardless, we must feel free to be entertained. This book isn't funny. Dean Radin's "The Conscious Universe" is an interesting counter-point to this book.
Rating:
Summary: His Legacy?
Review: Respecting Dr. Moody's previous work, I forced myself to read the entire book. What a waste of time! As previous reviewers have noted he could have shortened it to 3 or 4 pages. Did he write this to try to change his legacy?
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