Perhaps the most comprehensive and thought provoking examination of the Near Death Experience I have read to date.

Consciousness Beyond Life, The Science of the Near-Death Experience by Pim van Lommel M.D. was published back in 2007 with the english translation published three years later.

Dr Lommel was a Cardiologist who pubished a series of papers on Near Death Experiences following cardiac arrest within the Dutch hospital system (link to the 2001 study published in the Lancet here).

After identifying exactly what a NDE is and why it might be important Van Lommel presents a deep dive into a variety of possible non-local (that is, consciousness manifesting outside the physical brain) explanations for these experiences.

The questions still outnumber the answers, but in view of all the reported experiences of consciousness, we ought to seriously consider the possibility that death, like birth, may be a mere passing from one state of consciousness into another.

Pim van Lommel

This book covers a great deal of ground with respect to NDEs.

• The long history of reported near-death experiences across cultures and religions.
• An overview of the current (as of publication date) scientific literature on the topic. 
• Unpacking one of the larger and more compelling studies on the topic. A large Dutch prospective study that I covered here. 
• The physiological effects within the brain once the heart has stopped. (It seems unlikely that the brain is capable of complex, organised mentation as soon as 15-20 seconds following cardiac arrest).
• Some basic explanations of the neuroanatomical functions of the brain. And a presentation of the mysteries of our DNA.
• The relationship between the brain and consciousness.
• Relevant aspects of quantum physics and how they might explain NDEs. 

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“Following the more theoretical aspects about consciousness and the brain in the last chapters, with a more scientific view at the various aspects of nonlocal consciousness, I want to reconsider some of the implications of NDE and nonlocal consciousness in relation to ethical, medical, and social issues in our predominantly materialist Western society. If it really is true that the essence of our endless consciousness predates our birth and our body and that it will survive death independently of our body in a nonlocal space where time and distance play no role, there will be no beginning or end to our consciousness.”

Even though it is a few years old now, I highly recommend that you read this book. It provides a deeply thought-provoking, comprehensive and sensible overview of the NDE phenomenon as well as an exploration of some (science-based) explanations for it.