Alterations of Consciousness: An Empirical Analysis for Social Scientists

This book is the only one of its kind, which is why it's highly recommended. Not only is it hard to find books regarding altered states of consciousness, but it's hard to find ANY books so thoroughly researched that treat many altered states of consciousness as phenomena to be dealt with on their own terms. What I mean is, without endless attempts at "debunking" or showing them to be false. Baruss never assumes materialism is true. He offers explanations of altered states of consciousness, but seems open to the possibility that many anomalous states reported by people are exactly what they say they are. This even-handed approach is useful when dealing with humans who have experienced these things, even if it's an unpopular position in the world of Materialistic Psychology.