Complex sentence: Mack's interest in the spiritual aspect of human experience has been compared by the New York Times to that of a previous Harvard professor William James, and like James, Mack became a controversial figure for his efforts to bridge spirituality and psychiatry.
Split into simpler sentences: Mack's interest in the spiritual aspect of human experience has been compared by the "New York Times" to that of a previous Harvard professor, William James. Like James, Mack became controversial for his efforts to bridge spirituality and psychiatry.