Despite (or perhaps because of) the criticism, the interest in Michael Newton has exploded in the post-pandemic era. As organized religion declines, "Spiritual But Not Religious" (SBNR) individuals are desperate for a theology without dogma. Newton offers that.
For the first 38 years of his life, Newton was an agnostic. He approached hypnotherapy with a strictly clinical lens, using standard age-regression techniques to help clients recover childhood trauma. He lived in a world of cortical homunculi, behavioral conditioning, and Freudian defense mechanisms. The "afterlife" was a fairytale for the weak-minded.
If you are a student or researcher looking for the book often called a "solid guide," you are likely referring to (part of the Edinburgh Critical Guides series).