From Christianity to Hinduism, from the brush of Michelangelo to the pen of Dante, people across the millennia have tried to envision and describe heaven. In this engrossing cultural history, Catherine Wolff describes how different faiths and religions have framed it, how the sense of heaven has evolved, and how nonreligious influences have affected it. Suggesting that the idea of a better world is central to our humanity, Wolff looks deep into the accounts of heaven to discover what's common among them and what makes each conception distinct.

"With eloquent reporting on various cultures and faiths, the author presents her work as 'a history of hope'.… A soulful, far-reaching primer on what lies beyond."—Kirkus Reviews