Rating: 
Summary: Big Disappointment
Review: After working in a discount bookstore for a couple of months last fall, I decided to find out what the hype around this book was all about. I couldn't have been more disappointed when I discovered the flat characters, contrived plot and pathetically oversimplified philosophical tid-bits. I wish I could say that I finished it, but by the fourth or fifth insight I'd grown so tired of Redfield's elementary-school-grammar-class sentence structure that this one was buried at the back of my bookshelf never to return.
Rating: 
Summary: So what color are energy fields, anyway?
Review: Everyone I've heard of that's read The Celestine Prophecy either loves it or hates it. Personally, I am on firm middle ground. While I found the amateurish storytelling trite and distracting, I thoroughly enjoyed the content. I can't see energy fields or travel to Peru, but the Insights did make me realize a few things about myself and my interactions with others. It made a very strong impression on me--and isn't that the mark of a good book? I passed it around to my friends (we refer to it as "the Book") and they had positive reactions as well. One friend actually can see the energy fields. Perhaps he is more enlightened than I, but regardless, The Celestine Prophecy had the power to make me think, answer some serious questions about myself, and provided an interesting theory about some of the worldwide changes we see today. Critics may call it "New Age BS" but I consider it worth the several classes I skipped to read. I do encourage everyone to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: If you are looking for a philosophy, may I suggest the Bible
Review: I know this book is appealing. I know that the language of forgiveness is appealing. I know that it is wonderful that the book inspires so many people to become more spiritual.But the hard facts are, this book is not the Bible, even though it *seems* to take up where the Bible left off. The Bible is complete, and as a book of philosophy, I have yet to find its equal. I am not a crusading Christian. This isn't about whether your religion is better or worse than mine. This is about people believing, and reforming their lives because of, this book. That is a dangerous practice to be part of, especially for those who are unaware of the differences between what this book professes and what the major world religions hold to be fundamental principles. Check it out for yourself. The Bible really doesn't need elaboration.
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Summary: Wonderfully simple or simplistic?
Review: It's said that there are two kinds of simplicity: the simplicity before and after complexity. Certain mystics convey a wisdom which cuts deep despite a surface simplicity. This "transparent" clarity often rests on a foundation of intellectual rigor -- a time of complexity-- which, ideally, is evident without drawing attention to itself. To my mind, the reason for the polarity of viewpoints on this book is that it has elements of both kinds of simplicity. On the one hand, it makes a lot of amateurish mistakes in the writing and translates sophisticated thought into dime-store slogans. The sophomoric problems are readily transparent. And yet, there is something compelling about the book which has spurred its astronomical sales, a core distillation of mystical wisdom in a very simple form. I derive a great deal of pleasure from my readings of Ken Wilber, A. H. Almaas, Stan Grof, Michael Murphy and other real pioneers of the human potential movement. Intellectual rigor, depth of analysis, and scholarship have their place; however, I'm not quite so quick to latch onto the "pre-sophisticated" dismissal of this book. It serves as an important touchstone to spur many people in their turn away from a decaying materialist culture and towards a spiritual path. Sure much of the simplicity in the book is "pre-sophistication": one doesn't get the impression that Redfield could dazzle us with scintillating prose should he make that effort. And yet, I also see a core simplicity which derives from a deeper and wiser source. Whereas other writers might cultivate a more heroic (and egoic) intellectual pizzazz, I get the sense of Redfield being a rather humble scribe struggling to transcribe a vision from a deeper source. This, in itself, is admirable. Few will progress particularly far on the spiritual path if this is the last book they read. Awakening, even to a moderate degree, requires discipline, practice, commitment, radical honesty, and time. But I, for one, thinks t! his book nudges a lot of people in the right direction and I applaud its wide reception. All it takes is reading something like the "post-modern generator" webpage which generates outrageously realistic and completely nonsensical articles approximating those of post-modern philosophy to realize that the intellectual's addiction to sophistication can take equally ridiculous turns as your average New Ager.
Rating: 
Summary: couldnt put it down until finished @48hrs!
Review: This book opened my eyes to a whole new world. If you truly understand this book you realize the reality of Quantum Physics;you see things differently when you look at them differently.
Rating:
Summary: A drugless Acid Test
Review: I read this book a few weeks ago and the only parts I valued were its abstract ideas on where humanity was heading. I am currently reading The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and I am finding a LOT of similarities. The talk of vibrations/vibes and being "in synch" with others is covered in both (along with other things). TCP seems to me like a poor Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test brought about by the New Age trend.
Rating:
Summary: Crap - hysterical - awful - soul deadening crap
Review: I have to write to say that I have found a use for this book. If one reads it aloud at parties it provides hours of amusement. It serves much the same purpose as watchng Ed Wood movies. But if anyone is actually thinking of reading this all the way through I would strongly recommend against it.
Rating:
Summary: An insightful book to be read again and again
Review: What's with all the bad reviews??? This book has a LOT to tell us. The reason it is written with simplicity is...there is so much information, we NEED it in simple terms. Aren't there enough "high class" books out there, to tell us the quantum, metaphysical hypothesis of such and such and blah, blah, blah? This book is BEAUTIFULLY simple. And yet...each time it is read, you'll find you're "at" a new insight in your life. If you are reading this expecting writing similar to Tolstoy, you are not understanding the meaning of this book. Read it with an open heart, let the message and the vision move you. Simple can be powerful, when you get your ego out of the way. Sharon Elaine, author of The Book of Affirmations
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Summary: A rose by any other name . . .
Review: If you gave this book a low rating, then you didn't get it. Try Spirit Song by Mary Summer Rain or The Edgar Cayce Primer . . . maybe these will help you get it. (Both books are available from amazon.com) If you gave this book a high rating, then you're probably looking to expand on what you received from this "prophecy". Read Spirit Song by Mary Summer Rain and The Edgar Cayce Primer. Good Luck to all on your path of "The Way".
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Summary: A Primer on People
Review: Once you get past the sophmoric writing style and rather silly premise, there is something to be learned. James Redfield explains, in simple terms, the types of personalities that must co-exist in this world. Through an implausible story, Redfield explains one man's journey of self-knowledge ... who he is, how he relates to others, and how he must learn to open up to other people. In learning how other people operate, he can also learn how to communicate effectively with them. Is it a silly book? Yes, somewhat. Is it a worthless book? Only if you cannot get past the words and find the meaning.
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