Rating: 
Summary: Sound Advice, Even After Twenty Years
Review: I finally stopped and read this classic work, and while some of the language and events are dated, I found the book still a rewarding experience. By dealing with discipline, love, growth and religion, and grace in an engaging and personal manner, M. Scott Peck shows himself as a valuable guide in assisting us on our journey of personal transformation.
Rating: 
Summary: Self-righteous and Spiritually Novice
Review: Peck conveniently opens his work with the Buddhist notion of suffering and goes on to make such anti-Buddhist claims as: "Only people have spirits which are capable of growth." He misapplies term "Maya" and fails to recognize this term does not have the same meaning for all Buddhists and Hindus. Furthermore, Peck may find it difficult to find a serious Buddhist practicioner who agrees that sex or psychoactive drugs can provide us with a glimpse of Nirvana. If his misinterpretations weren't enough, Peck concludes his work with a very narrow, evangelistic, Christian-based vision of spirituality. In his the last sections of his book Peck fails to recognize those eastern religions, which he so swiftly prostituted and used to support his definitions of "love," as now being valid means of spirituality. Peck's definition of love is both narrow and undeveloped. His notion of being "trapped into marriage" leaves one wondering why one should marry at all. It is as if Peck self-righteously proclaims that the highest form of love is to be a psychotherapist, (like this is a profession exempt from selfish motivation and desires), and guide others along the path of what he claims is "spiritual." These are just a sampling of the ridiculous "insights" Peck makes in his work which is neither groundbreaking or objective. It is a book full of personal values and judgemental speculations which Peck tries to pass off as experienced, clinical advice. The small amount of truth in this book has been published in numerous, more objective self-help volumes. It scares me that over 6 million people own this book.
Rating:
Summary: Mind Candy/ Liberal Opium
Review: "The Road Less Traveled" should be entitled "Highway To Wacko Liberalville." Dr. Peck is merely cashing in by selling regenerated, simplistic, humanistic psychology mind candy. I do agree with his premise that life is tough and there is no free lunch. However, he contradicts himself by stating that the "scientific-method" must be employed to test ones' "traditional" belief system. Unfortunately, in the same instance Peck leads the reader to assume that a hypothetical/metaphysical construct such as "spirituality" is a tangible entity that can be directly observed, and measured under scientific scrutiny. Further, he appears to assume that if one is actively practicing the religion of their parents, he/she is narrow minded and blindly accepting the faith system (typical thinking among the smug, anti-Christian "know it all," misguided, narcissistic liberal left). This type of book generally also appears to appeal to personality disordered/disgruntled human service workers including counseling psychologists (versus clinical psychologists) and MSW's who either lack the ability to grasp more abstract clinical theory or have ax to grind due to their own poor object relationships in past. How do you know your place in this world? First understand the world you live in. I suggest political science books authored by Dinesh De'Souza, Martin Gross and Alvin Schmidt (Available on Amazon.com) Then, you may see why such self-help books like Dr Peck's are so popular (i.e, feel good mind poison for the liberal elite).
Rating: 
Summary: A new approach to live and grow
Review: In many of the self improvement books available in the market today, a number of areas are stressed as relevant in our personal growth - self control, discipline, empathy and love. We are informed that if these are present in our lives, we will obtain happiness, fulfilment and maximise our talents and abilities. In addition to these, all problems will be solved or at least be seen as opportunities to be welcomed with open arms. We are in control of our destiny. Limits lie within us and the environment is only the means by which we reach our ambitions. If "The Road Less Travelled" had followed these much trodden pathway, its fate would be like many of its contemporaries; no reprints and best forgotten by those who had read them. M. Scott Peck fully acknowledged that life is difficult and this forms the first sentence in the book. Although to some extent the author wrote on self development and growth, this forms only the peripheral. Problems exists and it do not go away. The author fully acknowledge the significant of religion and grace (the unexplainable in science) and its role in providing us with our fulfilment in life. The author unashamedly points out his conviction on this matter with rigour and wrote passionately and convincingly. Any books on self development and improvement that emphasised mainly on our personalities and actions simply ignored the many real limitation in our actions. Born with disabilities, incurable illness, tragedies and accidents, all these are beyond our control and impact our lives tremendously. Our actions then becomes our limitations. Nevertheless, the one small blemish in this book is the overconfident and belief in psychoanalysis of the author. I am not a great fan of Freud and I find somehow unconvinced our midnight dreams are the wisdom of the unconscious. However this should not distract us from the great worth of the book and it should be thoroughly read and absorbed. Undoubtedly, M. Peck Scott has provided to us a new approach to live our life and it should be adopted by many as the right course to embark upon.
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate Guide to Spiritual Growth
Review: When someone comes to me for help, completely devastated, I hand them this book. I do this because i believe that you cant just tell someone how things are, but you can show them the path you have taken. This book is about life. It is a book of self-realization. The Road Less Traveled is a VERY good read for people of all religions, including atheists and agnostics. Scott Peck is completely open minded and looks at things from all angles. I recommend this book to all open-minded individuals.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent place to begin
Review: The word "love" is so overused that, for me, it has lost virtually all meaning. However, this author manages to provide a valuable exposition of the subject, and does so quite convincingly from his perspective as a Christian and a psychologist. While I don't believe one book can provide all the answers to life's questions, there are those rare books that can provide the reader with a new and useful way of thinking; one piece of the puzzle, so to speak. This is one such book. I also recommend "The Monk and the Philospher" for those of you looking for an extremely well-written, cogent dialogue on life's ultimate meaning. It is a conversation between a French philosopher and his son, who holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology but left the western world to become a Buddhist monk. Whatever your religion, I believe you will find the discussion worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: The mother of all self help books
Review: This is THE book to read if you have any interest in personal growth. It also has the best chapter written about love, ever. Hands down my favorite book. Be prepared to really think about your life!
Rating:
Summary: IS THIS BOOK THE ANSWER TO "THE QUESTION"?
Review: I don't know why I read this book when I did. I had been recommended it years ago but it bored me then. I stopped reading it after 40 pages. For some reason I picked it up this week. I was having real problems with an out of marriage relationship. The book really helped me to understand love. But so much more. It seemed to me to be a mystic experience. An awakening. By far and away the most moving and influential book I have ever read in my life. Scott Peck attempts to answer the meaning of life question. The crazy thing is that I had already reached the same conclusions somewhere in myself. Seeing them in print linked to love and grace was a very very moving experience. I now know why I was feeling closer to God than at any time in my life.
Rating:
Summary: A very good sel-help primer.
Review: Of the many paths there are of spiritual growth, author, Scott Peck, (psychiatrist) focuses the reader mostly on the values of discipline, genuine love and the miraculous assistance of grace. These are the major themes that make up his ambitious message; much told from his experience as a psychiatrist. All this makes for thoughtful reading for those who need to be reminded of the basic virtues that love and discipline would offer in developing meaningful relations with the self and others. Love, discipline and grace--so elemental, so over-looked and so misunderstood, but not in The Road Less Travelled. Peck takes great pains in defining his own terms for clarity of reading. It surely appears as though he has carefully arrived at his definitions through much humble introspection and studied observations of others--being at once insightful, yet scientific. To bring more substance to his discussion of love, he props his definitions against the common misconceptions of love, thusly exposing its fraudulent forms. To illustrate, he defines love as, "The will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth." Additionally, "Falling in love, is not an extension of one's limits or boundaries; it is a partial and temporary collapse of them." Other notable quotes: "Without discipline we can solve nothing." "God wants us to become Himself (or Herself or Itself)." And, "Evil people resist the awareness of their own condition." These are challenges to the reader. But perhaps you may take objection to the following quotes: "Move out or grow in any dimension and pain as well as joy will be your reward. A full life will be full of pain." "I have stated that discipline is the basic set of tools we require to solve life's problems. It will become clear that these tools are techniques of suffering... ." "One measure--and perhaps the best measure--of a person's greatness is the capacity for suffering." Unequivocally here, a belief in the necessity of pain. Despite his attitude that suffering is on the path to joy, the book (copyright 1979) went on to be a national best-seller for four years. Clarity and readability are the strengths of this book, with many chapters focused on examining and changing behavior. To that end this is a valuable book. But for those looking to work with more esoteric ideas, this is not likely to be a redeeming resource as it only scratches the esoteric surfaces, albeit quite energetically. An intelligently written book of great care and precision from a memorable author/psychiatrist who surely walks the road less travelled. A very good primer for those beginning their own path.
Rating:
Summary: A classic in its genre; a definitive book
Review: This a definitive book, and a classic of its kind. When The Road Less Traveled was first published, and Scott Peck was making endless personal appearances--before the book was well known, I was corresponding with him. I was struck by his book, and was sure that it would become a best-seller. This is a seminal work, of immense value, written by a truly sensitive man who has the background, the education, the experience and the insight into the human condition to do his subject justice, and he certainly does that. He is well-respected by his peers, as well, unlike many professionals who take up the pen rather than practicing their craft. I knew a psychiatrist on the West Coast who worked with him in Washington, D.C. Walter (his first name) was impressed with Scott long before he wrote of his experiences, and the conclusions he drew from them. In our correspondence, I recognized a thread, and told Scott that I thought he must be a mystic. He answered that he had studied Zen, but that he was a 'Christian mystic.' I recommend this book, and its author. You should read it. Joseph Pierre,
author of THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS: Our Journey Through Eternity
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