One

Rating:
Summary: Takes you beyond "Illusions" to limitless possibilies.
Review: "One" is a deep, thought-provoking book. If you haven't read "Illusions" (and I highly recommend that you do!) you may founder a bit at the beginning, but you'll soon find your footing in Richard Bach's presentation of parallel lives based on choices we've made in our lives. Just stepping back to see that we are always making choices (sometimes not consciously) can help us better understand where we are in life and where we are going.

As much as I love this book, "Illusions" is my favorite, primarily because of it's simplicity. "One" is complex, not in the writing style, but in the possibilities it presents.

Rating:
Summary: Boring, but somewhat inspirational
Review: First of all, I like to congratulate all the readers that read this book more than once. That is quite a feat. ONE time is more than enough. This book is so boring for a fictional read. It reminded me of the movie, "Solaris", which is about going back in time only it added another twist: if you could change the past, would you? Anyway, that movie is just as boring, but I must say it is better than this book because the actress is hot. I thought the author's concept of "One" is quite confusing. For instance, the chapter when Leslie encourages her younger self to pursue playing the piano, a path she had not taken, this will affect her life and what she is now. In any case, I don't think one decision can totally change a whole person's life as some readers suggest. If this was the case, we would all be in deep trouble. There are always exceptions, such as deciding to buy that lottery ticket and winning, but usually it takes many decisions to shape one's life. I don't buy this decision-making plot or the plot that everything is "One". But two stars for the nice self-help pieces littered throughout the book and for the nice cover.

Rating:
Summary: Flight is freedom once again and for everyone.
Review: Flight is freedom, freedom from time and space. As in two of his other books, Illusions: The Tale of a Reluctant Messiah and Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach uses flight maturely and appropriately as a chance to learn without the constraints of earth, or reality. As the plane he and his wife are flying in disappears from radar and reality, they have the chance to see the infinite possibilities of their lives: past, present, and future. They learn eventually that they are a part of each other, and that everyone is ONE. The readers are the writer, heroes are murderers, and you and I are interchangeable pronouns. It is a complexly simple and beautiful idea. However, unlike two of the author's other stories of individuals who are socially shunned, rebel teacher-types, this one stresses the submission of the individual to the whole; definitely not written for the fiercely independent individuals who may be expecting encouragement rather than calmness from the book. The reason for only a four-star rating is not indebted to any socially radical leanings, but is for a contradiction from this usually mentally agile author. Toward the end of the story, our humble narrator stumbles a bit by mentioning a higher power. Was getting past this dependence not the point, or has the grand and gaping logic of philosophy circled and returned, recycled, to a dependence on something other than ouselves? Do I hear the Pageites rattling somewhere in one of their name-induced wars? The eloquence and energy of the story, though, fade any inconsistency to a mere blur on the horizon. It is an honorable tribute to those moments of tearful and laughing love for the world, the universe, humanity, and for the ecstasy of existence.

Rating:
Summary: Another great book by Richard Bach
Review: Have you ever read a book that made you stop and think? One that is different than all the others?

Over the past weekend I read Richard Bach's book, "one". It is a book that is written in a story format; one that has many messages in it and one that makes you stop and think.

It is about choices we make. And how the direction of our lives comes down to the choices we choose. To quote from the book: "A tiny change today brings us to a dramatically different tomorrow. There are grand rewards for those who pick the high hard roads, but those rewards are hidden by years. Every choice is made in the uncaring blind, no guarantees form the world around us."

I found myself involved in the story, when I finished the book I had many thoughts about my own life. It is a book that I would recommend you to read!

On the back cover the following quote is shown. It is a good quote for reflection!

"I gave my life to become the person I am right now.
Was it worth it?"


Rating:
Summary: Deeply moving
Review: I read "Illusions" by the same author when I was 13 or so, and it opened my eyes to the fearful clinging and self-doubt that prevents so many people from reaching their full potential. Reading "One" twenty years later made me feel ashamed of the opportunities I had let slip past, and of the neglectful way I often treat my future self. It also renewed my resolve to take responsibility for my every dream, doubt, achievement, and failure. And it made me appreciate Richard Bach that much more for writing the two books that have most influenced my outlook on life.

Every choice you make in every moment of your life, whether it's your whim to smile at a stranger in an elevator, your last-minute decision to eat a healthy meal instead of an artery-clogging one, or your whim to read one book and not another affects more than your next few seconds or minutes or hours. It can affect your entire future and the lives of others. I missed this point when I read "Illusions"; "One" drove it home.

"One" isn't as tidy as "Illusions." It introduces a lot of ideas but doesn't follow through on some of them to the extent that "Illusions" did. You may find this either a blessing or a curse, depending on how much material you need before you can run with it on your own.

There's a lot more to the book than what I've mentioned. Some of it bored me and some of it even annoyed me, but that happens when we listen to our best friends speak with candor. Maybe it was something I already knew; maybe it was something I'm not ready to know yet; or maybe it was just plain wrong. Bach shares his soul generously and we're free to take it or leave it. What we learn, or fail to learn, from an experience is also a choice. What I learned in "One" may escape your notice entirely. What I failed to learn may be your epiphany.

Or not. Because everything in this review may be wrong. :-)

Rating:
Summary: Recalls some of the greatness of "The Bridge Across Forever"
Review: I really love Richard Bach's _Bridge Across Forever_ - truly, it's one of my favorite books. _One_ reminds me quite a lot of _Bridge_, but lacks the awe-inspiring inspiration of that earlier work.

While _One_ is definitely an enjoyable read, and contains some wonderful passages and wisdom, it is often saccharine and somewhat preachy. Bach will occasionally phrase questionable ideas as absolute fact, which doesn't sit well with me, and, although I have a reasonable tolerance for "hokey" stuffs, Bach pegged the meter more than a few times in _One_.

While it is, without a doubt, thought-provoking and insightful, and shouldn't be dismissed out-of-hand, I feel that _Bridge_ is a thoroughly better novel. Still, an enjoyable read, and if you're a fan of Bach's work, you will assuredly like it.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully inspiring!
Review: I think I read this book at exactly the right moment in my life. It was when I was ready and when I needed this type of inpiration and insight the most. It was a time in my life when I felt like things were going downhill faster than an avalanche. It was this choice I made to read this book that changed my life. Because I read this book, I am much more fully aware of what I do and how it might affect my life as well as those of others in the long run. Thanks to this book, I am much more mindful and aware of my life and feel like I am "living" in the fullest sense of the word! Another book I really like now is "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. It is a theoretical book on human nature and consciousness in general but it is truly inspiring! I am absolutely sure that my life would not be the same without these books.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Inspiring
Review: One is a wonderful book about the idea that everything is happening at the same time and that there is only one whole with many different parallel realities.
Fun to read, and food for thought.

Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking!
Review: One makes you think of what else could be out there, other than your own life. Maybe there is a parallel one in which you make different decisions and they affect you as such in that world! This is a must have for your personal library! I also recommend "Eternal Undying Love" by Brett Keane


Rating:
Summary: A hidden sci-fi book is this
Review: Some other people keep talking about parallel universes, time travels, simulated worlds, etc etc. Here is a naive book about all. How every single decision in one's life forks the path in front and how everything, in the end, is just a single one thing!
Such a book would be a feelingless creature if no love is put in. So be it! A full of love story, on the other hand!