Cyberspace may seem an unlikely gateway for the soul, but as science commentator Wertheim argues in this "wonderfully provocative" ("Kirkus Reviews") book, cyberspace has in recent years become a repository for immense spiritual yearning. 37 illustrations.

A man arrives at the gates of heaven holding a faith that’s not his own; another clutches a suitcase he’s unwilling to give up. One woman demands to be sent back, while another asks for a new name. Hands empty or full, hearts joyful or disappointed or appalled, these people and others approach the twelve open gates of heaven, only to discover the truth about their loves…

This entertaining and insightful novel both skewers and celebrates small-town New Zealand. Pat `Pearly' Gates has achieved a lot in his life and evinces considerable satisfaction in his achievements. He has a reputation as a former Otago rugby player and believes he would have been an All Black but for sporting injuries. He runs a successful real-estate agency in a provincial South Island town, of which he is the second-term mayor. Popular, happily married, well established, he cuts an impressive figure, especially in his own eyes. But will his pride and complacency come before a fall?

When it comes to the Bible, you have no idea what you don't really know. For ages, misconceptions about what it supposedly says and signifies have been passed down, repeated, and taken as Gospel. Now, for true believers and skeptics alike, Christian author J. Stephen Lang dispels common misunderstandings, shatters the inventions of modern translator, and corrects misguided assumptions by going to the source: the Bible itself.

Q. Why are there almost as many jokes about death as there are about sex? A. Because they both scare the pants off us. Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein first made a name for themselves with the outrageously funny New York Times bestseller Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar.... Now they turn their attention to the Big "D" and share the timeless wisdom of the great philosophers, theologians, psychotherapists, and wiseguys. From angels to zombies and everything in between, Cathcart and Klein offer a fearless and irreverent history of how we approach death, why we embrace life, and whether there really is a hereafter. As hilarious as it is enlightening, Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates is a must-read for anyone and everyone who ever expects to die. And now, you can read Daniel Klein's further musings on life and philosophy in Travels with Epicurus and Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change it.

A HEAVENLY NOVEL WITH A HUMOROUS TWIST In this light-hearted and poignant tale, author Richard Miller ponders the questions that learned scholars have mused over for years. Why are we here and what really matters? People on a quest for the answers have looked to the stars for guidance. They have solicited advice from clergy. They have gone on retreats and walkabouts. In Outside the Pearly Gates, Saint Peter asks newly arrived Alan Geddes five critical questions that will put a different spin on 'What really matters.' These are the questions that will also determine whether he can journey beyond the Pearly Gates to a joyous place where it's always seventy-two degrees and you don't need any sleep.Does Alan have the right answers? Do you?