Rating: 
Summary: Hard To Write a Review - Very Subjective
Review: I think this book deserves 3 stars with a caveat. Some will like the book and many will think it is nonsense.This is one of those touchy-feely short large print font books about 200 pages long and if it was written in a normal #8 font would be under 100 pages. It is a best seller like (another short book in big print) "Who Moved My Cheese". It has a few simpler messages but not much more. Either you are open to a short sermon on one man's view of the meaning of life and or you will not like the book. I am sure some people will absolutely love this book. It is all very subjective. If you give this as a gift think about the recipient first otherwise they might just throw the book away. Jack in Toronto
Rating: 
Summary: Not for "sophisticated" readers?...
Review: In my mind, "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is a fine book for what it is. Regard it, if you want, as a fable of what might happen to some of us after we're dead. You can argue that it's sentimental, emotional and riddled with more cliches on a single page than what's found in director Frank Capra's entire filmography. But people expecting a seismic shift in their lives -- something wise, shattering and "attitude-altering" from anything receiving great word-of-mouth that skyrockets in popularity -- are forever doomed to disappointment. There are few things worse than when so-called "sophisticated readers" (and I include myself in this group), attack a book mercilessly, feeling so let down by high expectations. "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" moves quickly, is never dull and wears its heart with earnestness. Sure, it's cloying in a way that will irritate those used to so-called "fine literature," those paperweight-thick tomes filled with big words and pretentious phrases. But "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is remarkable in its simplicity, and it has all the basic story telling elements down that makes for a good read. I really believe it's the kind of title that will never go out of print. People will still be talking about it fifty years from now. And it will forever polarize readers. I think it's too easy for people, some guilty of overt intellectual snobbery -- to scoff at works like "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" -- at the exclusion and denigration of all that is mainstream and "popular," as if the masses who made this book a success are all wrong and they themselves are sure-headed and right. Just don't believe them. "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is for you if you find other thick and weighty titles a little daunting after a while. It's the perfect "break," a refreshing change of pace for a guy like me used to going through so many books that feel like work, titles filled with depressing themes and sentences as tortuous in construction as they are in their efforts to provide messages that are pseudo-revelatory and profound. I like books for the "masses" just as much as I like prize-winning titles stretching several hundred pages each, some good, some great and some awful. And "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" isn't designed to please critics. It's unfair and just plain mean-spirited to accuse any author of "making money" or "selling out" when it's obvious that he/she has tapped into something that resonates and brings optimism to many people who might otherwise avoid books. There's nothing wrong, in my view, with reaching out to as many people as possible and giving them hope and contentment amidst the turbulence of their everyday lives. I'd like to think "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" is a response to fashionable pessimism, the type found at any gathering of intellectuals (I know, I've been to some, and they're awful). But it isn't. Having said this, author Mitch Albom still surprised this old codger (me) with what he reveals on the last page. (Don't cheat -- it has no text -- but it's a doozy.) This made me even more fond of the book. However simplistic, straight-forward and "seemingly" effortless, I won't fault Albom for knocking out something that feels aimed straight from his heart to yours, even if he doesn't always connect. "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" will always generate arguments, pro and con. Yet its fans will always outnumber its critics. This is a book that will refuse to be dismissed. And this is a great thing, you know, people arguing the merits of books. Hence I'm not embarrassed to admit that "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" falls into my category of "guilty pleasures." But I don't feel guilty. And you shouldn't either.
Rating: 
Summary: Choose Life
Review: In the same way that The Lovely Bones dug a hole in my gut with longing and if-onlys, this book manipulates the heaven out of my emotions. And I don't mind that at all. Like The Lovely Bones, this book deals with how people go through the motions of cleaning up after the death of a loved one, while the dead learn to cope being dead -- and with the fact that the life led may be over, but there are still lessons to be learned from it. Or in this case: an old man dies trying to save a little girl, and then gets to reaquaint himself with the wonders of life while settling onto the cushy clouds of paradise. Mitch Albom is a winning fabulist who shines and thrives with good intentions. That's where he strikes profoundly. It keeps him real. I have a problem with the heaven thing. Don't get me wrong. I hold on to something between faith and hope that we can look down and somehow stay connected to and nourished by what we've left behind. However, the afterglow of Heaven-based stories for me is as bittersweet as it is life affirming. Why couldn't poor old Eddie get to enjoy some of this knowledge back on earth. Therein lies a good part of Albom's message: seize the knowledge of your worth and meaning now. A terrific read. Another Amazon quick-pick I recommend is THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put this book down.
Review: I just got this book today when someone recommended it to me and when I started reading it I couldn't put it down. I skipped dinner and didn't do my homework but it was just that good. It leaves you wondering if you ever made a difference in someone's life here on earth. Then it makes you wonder who the five people you will meet in heaven are. This book was truly inspirational. It makes you want to go out into the world and try and make as big as impact on people's lives. I recommend anyone to read this book whether you believe in heaven or not. It's an absolutely amazing book.
Rating:
Summary: A great lesson to learn, yet too easy
Review: This story delivers what it promises. It's easy to read, and not recommended by me for people who are in search of a challenge. This simple, easy to read book, took me less than an evening to complete. First of all, I believe the plot was a little weak in most of the book and stronger in other places. In some chapters, the author seemed to just ramble on. Here is the a short outline of the book. A man (Eddie) passes a way, and learns a valuable lesson from five people he meets in heaven. He finds that heaven is not just a lush garden, but five people who affected your life and they explain the meaning of your life. I found myself getting lost some parts, and getting bored in others. It seemed to even out to become just at a rating of OK, because I found the book a precious lesson to learn by all people. As I have said before, this book is not recommended by me for people who enjoy challenging novels. It wasn't as thought-provoking as I imagined.
Rating:
Summary: Good Book to Read
Review: The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a fast-read that goes through and teaches life lessons. It was a good book, with simplistic writing, and easy concepts to understand. It makes you think on how the world works and who you have affected in your life. This book was emotional at times, and really got you into the book. The reason I rated this book a four because the book lacked excitement in some parts of the story where I just got bored and tired of reading, but overall it was a good book.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful little book
Review: The main character in this book is Eddie, an 83-year-old man who still works at an amusement park called Ruby's Pier, doing maintenance on the rides. He is a lonely and bitter man, limping on a leg which was wounded during the war and mourning the loss of his beloved wife 36 years before. He dies soon after the book begins and begins his entry into heaven by meeting and talking to five people whose lives were entwined with his in ways he never dreamed. Eddy learns about love, life, and forgiveness and most importantly, he learns what the purpose of his life was. This is a lovely little book which will touch your heart.
Rating:
Summary: A "Gotta Read Book"
Review: Someone recommended this book to me and spoke so highly of it that I was a bit skeptical as a critical reader. But the story is so well-told and thought-provoking that I could not put it down. I'd previously been recommended (at last a dozen times) "Tuesday's With Morrie," but thought "yada yada yada," but now, after reading "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," I can't wait to read it, and am off to order it ...
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: The book has large print, it failed to deliver a decent plot, and it was written for those who can't be bothered to think. Just one of those book written quickly for a fast buck. On the best seller list? I still can't figure out why. Save your $ and read it from the library. It will only take you 30 minutes to read it all.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad chicken soup for the soul
Review: After reading this book myself, I am convinced there can be only two explanations for its stellar reviews: either Mitch Albom's PR people paid someone off, or else no one actually read the book before reviewing it. I simply cannot believe that any reviewer of respectable reputation read this book and liked it. Beware, readers. The critics are lying. It is not uplifting or heartwarming; it's saccharine. It is not inspirational; it's preachy. Albom's characters are slaves to a contrived plot. The problem is, Albom is *trying* to be heartwarming, and he's *trying* to make us cry, and we can tell. The only thing worse than a manipulative tear-jerker is a would-be manipulative tear-jerker that can't even do it's job. The result is a book that reads only slightly better than a daytime soap opera. We see the wheels of the plot grinding, and we understand where Albom is trying to take his story, but he never gets there. Please don't ignore me or write me off as a heartless cynic, because I'm not. It isn't hard to tug on my heartstrings. I cry during commercials for Walt Disney World and AT&T. Half the books on my shelf have tear stains splashed across their pages. I'm an emotional, romantic person, and I really wanted to like this book. But I did not shed a single tear for Eddie, or any of the other poor characters trapped inside this novel, and that's because Albom never got me to care. This novel is bad chicken soup for the soul. Spare yourself.
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