Rating: 
Summary: Two roads diverged in a wood...
Review: ...And I took the one less traveled by...The essence of this book is summed up in the first three words. Life is difficult. Peck shows us that our avoidance of problems and their accompanying suffering are the root of mental illness. Difficulties are a fact of life, and they never go away. By refusing to acknowledge and overcome them, we create a barrier to our spiritual growth. When I first read this book several years ago, I was not ready to hear its message. I had created my own reality, believing that I was working at my full capacity and was on the road to achieving my full potential. While this book was not the source of revelation, it has been a catalyst to help me realize the self-deception that kept me from being a truly loving person. There is a long road ahead, but I am now on the path of lifelong learning and growth. The Road Less Traveled has helped me identify and remove many of the barriers that up until now had held me back from being the person God created me to be. ...And that has made all the difference. Larry Hehn, author of Get the Prize: Nine Keys for a Life of Victory
Rating: 
Summary: Hit the Road Scott...
Review: I cannot find the courage to
express my true feelings about
this... uhm..... book. Squiggles
Rating:
Summary: An oversimplified pop psychology book
Review: I read this book years ago, long before I ever developed major depression. At the time, I found that it sounded good but then again I wasnt mentally ill when I read it. Years later after I developed severe depression problems, once in a while Id see this book at the bookstore. And Id think "what a waste of money that book is." Folks, I must inform you that this book is WAY oversimplified and doesnt do people with depression problems much justice. The author, a Medical Doctor and psychiatrist, basically tells us that we are responsible for our own moods and feelings, thoughts and in general our overall life condition. However, I can tell you that for a person with severe mental illness its NOT true. Serious mental illness is a brain illness, not "psychobabble" and not something that can be remedied by "tough love." Peck should apologize to all the seriously mentally ill individuals in the world for his oversimplified, "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" preaching. The fact is that depression and other serious mental illness are brain based medical illnesses. You cant just "tough it out" and pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you have significant mental illness. You need medications first and foremost. I cant believe a Medical Doctor would write a book like this, with the message of tough love so hammered into it. I think its unfortunate this book has sold so many copies, because it misinforms the reader about the true underlying causes of depression. Ultimately this is a book written around a staunch feeling of denial regarding depression and mental illness. Individuals with mental illness who are in denial to one degree or other oftentimes cling to fallacy-like thinking such as put forth in this book. That you can "tough it out" and "suck it up" if you have depression and that ultimately, YOU are responsible for your own predicament. When thats just not true...oftentimes its the other way around. The depression is the underlying cause of your life's failures and the less you treat your depression medically, the deeper in the black hole you slide. This book just perpetrates old myths regarding depression and other mental problems. "Tough love" is fine when youre trying to get that rebellous but otherwise healthy 18 year old out of your house and get out on their own. But its not usually appropriate to individuals with serious mental illness. Quite frankly, this book insults me.
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Summary: Before Peck Forgot His Own Advice
Review: "The Road Less Travelled" is a book about non-conformity - being brave enough to admit that your life isn't going as well as you think it is, and finding your own path towards the truth, love, and perhaps even God. Most people with even the most modest amount of self-awareness go through a stage whereby they challenge their own/parents/friends/societies beliefs and start to look for answers. Few however, truly do change; instead they resign themselves to a mediocre existence of habitual worship (to God or to money) and habitual love. This book's message is clear: do not to give up so easily, keep on searching! At the time M. Scott Peck wrote the book, a main area of interest to him was Zen Buddhism, which fundamentally deals with the fact that our desires cause suffering (see "The Four Noble Truths of the Buddha"). As a consequence of this, the book is a mixture of his own brand of psychology and psychotherapy (think along the lines of C.G. Jung), Eastern philosophy with a dash of Christianity thrown in for good measure. Peck's questions and ideas are nothing new, however, he skilfully relates his own professional experiences with patients to exemplify the importance of self-understanding, so that we might break free from our suffering. As part of this, Peck obliges us to examine the fundamental questions of our existence - what is the real nature of love? Is there any order to the universe? What is the meaning of life itself? Peck never directly gives us the answers, but does ask the questions and offers up his own theories. "The Road Less Travelled" is a good book for those searching for some truth in their life, and one that I think everyone should read at least once. After this however, Peck clearly forgot his own advice. He became a "Born Again", started up a foundation, and gave several lectures on psychology, life, and his love of Jesus (see "Further Along the Road Less Travelled"). I am not saying there's anything wrong with choosing a religion, though in my experience you develop a tunnel vision on things, which is clearly what happened of Peck. Still, "The Road Less Travelled" comes recommended to everyone, just realise that Peck doesn't have all the answers.
Rating: 
Summary: I Must March to the Beat of a Different Drummer???
Review: I must march to the beat of a different drummer because M. Scott Peck's book, THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED, didn't do much for me. Granted his section on love is one of the best I've ever read and worth the price of the book. However, as with his book, "PEOPLE OF THE LIE" I was left with an uneasy feeling that the nuggets of truth in this book were mixed with an unorthodox view of religion. This book was presented to me as a profoundly Christian book. I was taken off guard by the fact that it is not. Peck basically writes that God is the collective unconsciousness of the human race. Our conscious minds are our our individuality. Our unconscious minds are the bridge between us and God. By learning how to bridge this gap we can become God in all of his attributes and God, in turn, will become transformed into something else. He goes on to write "One way or another, these concepts have been set forth before--by Buddha, by Christ, by Lao-tse, among many others. The originality of this book results from the fact that I have arrived at their meaning through the particular individual byways of my twentieth-century life. If you require greater understanding than these modern footnotes have to offer, then by all means proceed or return to the ancient texts." Spirituality without religion with the possibility of becoming God does not interest me. This is not a rejection of all of Peck's works. The reader will find that in later books he does identify himself with Christianity in a more orthodox way.
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Summary: Groundbreaking and still relavant
Review: The most important thing I learned reading this book was the definition of real love. I could define here what Peck gets across, but I'd rather just recommend the book. Just this aspect of the book is worth the time and the price of admission. If you ever wondered about love, real love between people, read it. Peck does go off on some tangents. Not all of this book is well written in the sense that it is easy to read or flows well, however, the insights gained are worth the effort. There are a few things here that I don't agree with and I'd imagine, most likely, that over time, Peck has changed some of his early held positions. But what he says will cause you to think. Another good subject is the idea of religion. Anyone that thinks there are not religious is simply wrong and Peck makes a strong argument as to why. Are you an atheist? Well don't be so quick to think that means you are not religious, you may be more religious than you think. There are case studies and stories and some position statements. It is a book worth reading if not because it was a best seller for a long time when it was first published but because Peck is simply able to explain in an understandable fashion why people often need help in life and how life itself is simply hard. "Life is difficult" is how the book starts. It is a strong recommendation from me. Life is about loss. See my review of "My Losing Season" by Pat Conroy, another master of reading into the heart and soul of man, for another good book dealing with the difficulties and trials of life.
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Summary: Stands the test of time!
Review: I read this book about 12 years ago and it is still one of my favorites. I keep going back to it whenever I feel frustrated, lost, afraid, or depressed and it almost always puts me back in perspective again. Although there are truckloads of self-help books in the market today, this is one of the most well written, inspiring, and insightful. There are a few books that have significantly changed my life for the better and I can honestly say that this is one of them. Another book I recently discovered is "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato. This book has taken me to the next step in my understanding of life, love and spirituality and I would also recommend this one for those who are ready. Both of these books are truly exceptional! Thanks to wonderful writers like this, people like myself have a guiding light to walk the path.
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Summary: Psychological wholeness as a means of Spiritual growth
Review:
In this 70's self-help book, Peck seeks to usher the non-religious into a program of spiritual growth by proposing that a commitment to psychological wholeness and recognition of (and acceptance of) personal responsibility essentially equates to spirituality. The book is both a religious theory and a self-help manual rolled into one, and ultimately suggests that by committing one's self to personal responsibility, psychological health and the pursuit of truth we are in fact, whether religious or not, bringing about spiritual growth in ourselves and others and more or less aligning ourselves with the creative force (call it God or whatever you want) of the Universe, of which we are all a part. While forming a cohesive theory, Peck's ideas borrow parts of Buddhism, Christian Mysticism, New Age thinking, Jungian psychology, transpersonal psychology, and who knows how many other traditions. In a nutshell, Peck asserts that life is difficult; an unending series of proplems if you will. And that accepting this basic truth is the beginning of the journey. "Discipline" as he defines it (delaying gratification, acceptance of responsibility, dedication to truth, and balancing) is our toolkit for facing and resolving life's problems and growing (psychologically and spiritually) in the process. He incorporates into this process definitions of spirituality and Love, and goes on to lay out a theory of God, Grace, evolution, consciousness, etc. He even deigns to explain sin and the ever-debated "problem of evil". Ultimately I found his ideas excellent food for thought, and the self-help portion of his message a worthy framework for making changes in one's approach to life. But, having read widely on the subject of religion, spirituality and consciousness I found his foray into these areas quite simplistic and myopic (written from an entrenched position as a psychoanalyst who ironically, despite his exhortations for us to see things from another angle, couldn't seem to see things though any other lens than a therapist's - explaining almost every spiritual and psychological problem as laziness on the part of the patient). Overall this book is well worth reading and great food for thought. I'll probably go on to read his later books to see how his thoughts evolved over his career.
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Summary: Please take Rebecca's review with a grain of salt
Review: This book is one of the best books I have ever read! Let me say that to start. I am putting up this review as a refutation to Rebecca's review. If she would have literally turned the page and read the next paragraph, she would have seen the context in which the sentence is given. Obviously, the sentence sounds quite pernicious by itself. But Mr. Peck clears this up in the next paragraph as he explains that the situation where he would need to have sexual relations with a patient doesn't exist. As a Physics major, We rely on the facts not emotional knee-jerk reactions to difficult situations...
Rating:
Summary: The Best Book I Ever Read
Review: Let me get to the point. This is the best book I have ever read. Period. I read the book with the premise that perhaps every thought was correct. I was never so moved and I became a much wiser man. I crossed over to the spiritual side for the first time as an adult.
-dk
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