Outstanding book that gives perspective to how the Tibetan culture views death and the afterlife. No matter one's religious background, I found these writings comforting to a topic that scares me to no end. ( )

The Penguin Classics 2005 hardbound edition is the first complete translation of the whole cycle, rather than just the section that has been translated many times before (chapter 11 in this edition). It also includes introductions, notes and general interpretation aid from actual holders of the lineage/transmission, which probably makes it more accurate than many alternatives (given how heavily Vajrayana Buddhism relies on oral transmission).

What I appreciated most was the translation itself (by Gyume Dorje), done in prose (while preserving line breaks) and aiming to clarity and precision rather than "beauty". Given that beauty is a subjective concept, I tend to find 19th century translation of Buddhist texts rather unreadable: this edition is as readable as the subject allows.

I heartily recommend this edition to anybody who wants to read the "Tibetan book of the dead".

As for the content itself, I don't feel it can be rated. It is a classic from an ancient spiritual tradition, and as such its value depends on one's spiritual path and practice. For myself, having read it, I cannot help seeing it as magic rather than spirituality (despite being myself a buddhist and influenced by Tibetan buddhism among other schools). It is fascinating as an anthropological and cultural document, but I haven't found it useful as a spiritual tool. In this I obviously differ from countless generations of Tibetan buddhists: my judgment is not to be taken as condemnation, but as a personal view based on my own inclination and experience.