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Summary: Five People You Meet in Heaven
Review: I was given this book as a Christmas gift, and I read it in a couple of hours. Albom presents a "heaven" without a God and without joy. I found it trite and depressing. As far as I can figure, Albom thinks heaven is a way to create closure and explanation for one's life that is not possible in this life. That makes far too little of both heaven and life on earth. If you are at all introspective or a believer in any kind of loving god, this book won't get you any farther along the road.
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Summary: self introspection
Review: I was out of town,in a bookstore thumbing through this book, when from over my shoulder I hear " you MUST buy that book". I turned to see an old friend, who added, "after reading this book I stood in the shower for an hour sobbing". Of course I bought the book, loved it, and the introspection it created in my mind throughout the next week. I lent it to my boss, who was leaving to attend a family funeral; he said, "this book made that experience a much more fulfilling esperience." I bought 10 for Christmas gifts, and have had positive responses from most. This a fun read that offers the reader a thoughful look at ones life, and the choices we make.
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Summary: Endearing, a true family book
Review: We have passed this book around our home, and each of us has gained something monumental from it...what a beautiful story and an even more beautiful insight into both the life we live today, tomorrow, and for eternity. Even better than "Tuesdays wtih Morrie."
Rating: 
Summary: just an afterschool special
Review: Well, nothing against all the positive reviews, but I really did not like this book. It had all the subtlety and nuance of an afterschool special.I mean, what a great premise: a grizzled, injured war vet with a guilty conscience and a dead-end life gets a chance to re-examine his earthly existance with the aid of five heavenly guides. Wow. Unfortunately I thought the book simply failed to deliver a good story. I found it way too sweet and pat and I really could not feel like I got to know the main character at all. Every situation was cliche, and every ending was just so pat. I kept waiting for the grand insight that would make it all worthwhile, but it never came. Instead, made-for-TV quality expositions on heaven and the meaning of life. Too bad.
Rating:
Summary: Wondeful little book
Review: I read this book in one sitting and I thought it was a beautiful book. The summary of the book is at the top so I'll skip that and just go to what a special book this is. It makes you think how every action you do in life has a reaction and it helps you appreciate the people in your life and accept them for who they are. I think this book is the type of book that comes along so rarely, it is the type of book that everyone would like. Fantasy/Sci-fi readers (myself), Classis Literature, regular fiction, thrillers, etc. this book transcends all that and touches something that every person on this planet will have to deal with, death and what comes after. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: A good reflection on life!
Review: I read this book as a recommendation. No fancy advertisements, no pressure from book of the month clubs. Just a friendly recommendation of a story that someone thought I might enjoy. I thank that person for doing so. Eddie is a 83-year-old maintenance man that most would probably never see in our world these days. The type that is too unimportant to get rid of. But, as his death quickly overtakes him, we are shown how this forgotten old man was such a grand figure. It makes one think about people that they see everyday without really knowing anything about them. Anyway, we are then told how Eddie was and something about his life as it changes from birthday to birthday. Finally, we follow Eddie into heaven where five instrumental figures from his moral life appear. He is ultimately surprised at the influence he had on each of these people as they demonstrate the true value he had in their lives. When you finish this book you will find that the old maintenance man from Ruby Pier was much more than he ever gave himself credit and it makes you reflect on how all of our lives our interconnected with each other somehow. The next time you wish someone a "Good morning" or a simple "How are you?" remember that your action may have more impact than you can ever imagine. Just ask Eddie.
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Summary: Six reasons to go to heaven
Review: Five reasons to buy The Five People You Meet In Heaven: 1. It DOES make you think about life in a new and optimistic way. 2. It's a good excuse to have a big cry without making your husband or wife nervous. 3. It's satisfying to see an everyman hero who served for his country and kept his life tidy but without making a splash find not only peace but relevance. 4. It has the easy quality of a fairy tale to read, but the depth of a bona fide fable. 5. It remains likeable even when you can feel Mitch Albom's fingers tugging on your heart strings a little too professionally. A lot of Mitch Albom's fans, especially those of the winning and true Tuesdays With Morrie, seem to be a little disappointed with Five People You Meet In Heaven. I recommend they read it again one day, when they feel in the mood for whimsical reflection. Where The Five People You Meet In Heaven is a bestseller floated on ther author's credentials, there's an accompanying word-of-mouth buzz being genereated by a very different book called In The Ghost Country -- and I think it's because it has the metaphysical scope and magic of Five People you Meet In Heaven, and the stark undeniable truth of Tuesdays With Morrie. Where Tuesday With Morrie is about a series of conversations with a dying mentor, In The Ghost Country is (partly) about Peter Hillary's conversations with his dead mother, who seems to come to life again as he walks to the South Pole. It couild be bizarre, but the way it's written -- and set against the background of Hillary's turbulent and corpse-strewn life as an adventurer -- the haunting of this complex man (the son of Sir Edmund Hillary, the Everest pioneer) seems as natural as a day at the zoo. He has the kind of conversations we'd all like to have with our dead friends and loved ones. Instead of going to heaven to meet his dead friends, Hillary goes for a time to hell. What's gratifying, is that In The Ghost Country is finding a grass roots audience generated by love for the book instead of hype. (The power of democracy, eh?) And because The Five People You Meet In Heaven has vbeen playing a silent part in that, it's a sixth reason to buy Mitch Albom's book. They make a very interesting pair, especially as a springboard to discussion.
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Summary: A Captivating and Enlightening Tale
Review: Mitch Albom's novel is one of the greatest novels I have ever read - for the simple reason that it was not AT ALL what I expected. From reading reviews, summaries, and the title, I expected a spiritual, perhaps preachy, but still interesting book. What I got instead was one of the best symbolic and literal combination tale on the meaning of life. The Five People You Meet in Heaven is full of exciting surprises on each page. It combines the page-turning thrill of an action novel with the simplicty and beauty of a poem. You may not agree with Albom's viewpoints, and maybe you'll even think he is being preachy. But it is well worth the risk. Albom presents five main lessons (and there are many more in there) that every human I have ever met could certainly stand to learn. Had I known what I would get out of this novel, I would have paid three times the price.
Rating:
Summary: Not my favorite Albom book
Review: I have heard so much of Tuesdays with Morrie and went to buy it, but it wasn't in stock. I bought Five People instead and was a little disappointed. It was well written though. I really like Albom's writing style, but by the end of the book I felt sad for Eddie. I felt like he learned his life lessons when his life was over. Maybe that is the point Albom was trying to make...Learn in life; not in death. I don't know.
Rating:
Summary: Great characters!
Review: With "The Five People You Meet In Heaven," Mitch Albom does a nice job of creating characters that drive the story, rather than vice-versa. If you're tired of plot-driven novels with thin, and often cliché, characters, then you're likely to dig this one. If you're into writers like Albom, Dan Brown, Sue Monk Kidd, etc., then there's a new writer you should check out: GREG IPPOLITO. His most recent novel, "Zero Station," is a politically charged page-turner that pits its main Gen X character (John Saylor) against his Baby Boomer parents, teachers, etc., during the winter of 1991 -- in the heart of the Persian Gulf War. Right now, Ippolito is still a relative unknown (a friend turned me onto his work)...but this is a must-read. You can check him out and read an excerpt at: http://www.zero-station.net Don't miss it.
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