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Summary: Good Book
Review: This book is thought provoking for people looking to enhance their understanding of their own selves. Written as a guidance for understanding, this read has been helpful in establishing a more mature understanding of the individual and their desires and needs in life.
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Summary: new age?
Review: New age does not mean "non-christian". Did you ever listen to new age music? It often has a Christian background!
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Summary: Ignorance, not knowledge of Science, required
Review: Some claim that a thorough knowledge of science is required before one can appreciate this book. The opposite is the case - one must be ignorant of science to buy this claptrap. As evidence, simply note the myriad basic science errors Zukav makes on his first two pages of the chapter titled "Evolution":"...evolution means the progressive development of organizational complexity". Wrong. Evolution means "change", not "change into something more complex". Further, how complex a being is is a fairly subjective assessment. Zukav confidently asserts that "a monkey is more complex ... than a horse". By what measure? It appears that he took advantage of the scientific ignorance of his audience to assert what he wanted. He presses this when he states "the organism that is best able to control its environment and all the other organisms in its environment is the most evolved". Every biologist reading this must have doubled over in laughter. Folks, evolution is about reproduction and survival, not control. And just when the poor biologists are recovering, Zukav delivers this zinger: "'Survival of the fittest' means that the most evolved organism in a given environment is the organism that is at the top of the food chain in that environment." To say this is preposterous is being kind. Our laughing biologists above are now in a dead faint, since Zukav has essentially claimed that only the top predators can be "fit", and algae that has survived for millenia aren't. It just gets worse from there, and I seriously doubt that anyone with even a rudimetary knowledge of science got past that absurdity before tossing this tormented tome in the trash. Zukav simply ignores the facts so he can tell you all what you want to hear. What is sad is that so many of you are buying it.
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Summary: Don't Take Yourself Too Seriously, Zukav
Review: Zukav's views are derivative and yet very interesting. The book is worth reading, but after listening to him speak on NPR's "New Dimensions" I'm afraid the man is taking himself way too seriously. He has begun a project called "Genesis" (I think he has a God complex) where he is offering retreats (California, of course) to help people "evolve". I do however, like his initiative to enlighten people about the responsibility of free-will and the consequences of being unaware of your emotions.
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Summary: Words sans logic
Review: An amazing demonstration of lots of words making much ado about fantacies and make believe. A very feely book which has no compulsion about contradicting itself but the words just keep on aflowing. The reader cannot argue or discuss the topic of the book since the entire exercise is a fantasy of the author with no appeals to logic or even good sense but lots of gooey emotions. No mental stimulation here unless you enjoy sappy schtick.
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Summary: Thought Provoking Book
Review: Gary Zukav gives a theoretical/scientific perspective to the soul, in that we are more than our physical bodies and senses. For an enlightening and practical approach to spirituality, I whole heartedly recommend the books by Sri Chinmoy for the true seeker.
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Summary: New Age Platitudes
Review: Zukav sets out to present a simple and logically-structured summary of New Age thought. No sources are quoted, no authority given for the pronouncements made here. The ideas range from trite to absurd. We learn about the group soul of animals, the role of dolphins, crystals, etc. I found this book to be lacking in depth and texture. I hope our souls are richer and more substantial than depicted here.
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Summary: This book makes you think!
Review: The author describes many aspects of the soul. While his theories do not stem from the Christian belief system, it's more of a scientific approach with lots of speculation, discussing various possibilities of certain spiritual applications. It's a deep book to say the least, but it's very interesting and rarely ever has an author discussed the subject so intensely. One other book that I really like and highly recommend because it defines what the soul really is and has fabulous chapter on the healing of soul, is Dietmar Scherf's "I Love Me: Avoiding and Overcoming Depression" which is also available at Amazon.
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Summary: Great book, ancient wisdom in plain understandable english.
Review: This book will give anyone an insite into the ancien wisdom teachings. It's practical and honest,modern laguage and terms make it an enjoyable read. I rate it highly amoung my extensive library of esoteric material.
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Summary: you're not missing out on anything
Review: I read this book because of Oprah's intense praise for it, and was very disappointed. I started out enthused to read this book, believing I would like it and learn from it, but felt unfulfilled when I finished. Thanks to the library, I did not waste any money on it. My time was not wasted however, because at least I know I'm not missing out on some potential life-altering insight. Even though this book is poorly written, I drudged through it, thinking I must be not "enlightened" enough to appreciate it. Now I am ashamed of doubting my own intuitive response. Zukav's belief in reincarnation and his explaination of karma jerked me to back to my senses. I retrieved any credibility I had given to the author and regurgitated any previous info I had started to swallow. I believe in consequences, but his ultra-heavy trip about karma started me feeling guilty and scared about the bad karma that inevitably awaited me, until I remembered he is just a man and I know more about myself than he does. He seems to assert that every single bad thing you've ever done will boomerang back to you, regardless of any improvements you make in your future life. I believe that forgiveness and grace allow you to not have to experience all the evil (bad karma) you may have spewed out into the world. He attempts to explain why bad things happen to good people as that they must be paying for their relative's bad karma, possibly from some other lifetime; while I believe that if bad karma is due, it will fall only upon he who caused it. I reserved my initial disdain for the book until I finished, thinking some great revelation was just around the corner, but the street never ended; it never went anywhere. The 5 star reviews are so polar to my own, I really can't believe we read the same book. The only insight I received was to take Oprah's book recommendations with a large helping of salt.
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