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Summary: The Still Self in Tolle's Prose--Detailed Review.
Review: Stillness Speaks is a concise delivery of what the experience in Stillness is when put to words. Tolle's book this time is written in a kind of Zen like prose. A true economy of words, just the bare expression and simple flow of the quiet Spirit of life that is underneath (and through)the life of form.
I've read some of the negative reviews that people have written and would like to briefly address the common theme. It seems that people are having a very difficult time accepting a book of so little words and content.
I understand that if you are searching for a 'fix it', self-help type book, this book will be a big disappointment to those. In this book, Tolle is now expressing his theme of Presence, that he so thoroughly covered in The Power of Now, in a more deeper manner, through...Stillness. The book can be seen as a meditative experience through reading. For those that object to the economy of words, you can read any serious, well respected spiritual text and you'll find that richness and simplicity. Look at Tao Te Ching, Bhagavad Gita, Gospel of Thomas, Jesus' Parables and Zen writings to name a few things. Great sages like Ramana Maharshi, when asked questions would often not even reply and just sit in silence in front of you, making you go deeper within yourself beyond mental modifications.
If you really crave more content, Tolle has many helpful tapes/videos available with lectures that discuss spiritual growth and all it's aspects in an extremely thorough fashion with quite a lot of content. (Go to his website for a long catalog of materials)
Please remember, Tolle's teachings are about dissolving your false, mind made self, not self improvement (especially in some pop pyscology kind of way!). That might be a bit tricky for some to comprehend, but that is where the difference lies in Self-Realization & self-help. Tolle is not a self-help guru, his teachings point towards deconstructing the false self you've too closely misidentified with---the source of all your psycological suffering. Read this book with a Zen-Like mindset and you might enjoy it. The other issue people had was the cost of the book. I might go along a bit with that, I do feel the publishers did overprice the book by at least a few dollars and have taken advantage of Tolle's popularity. However, it is still an interesting book and I did find it worthwhile.
Rating:
Summary: better than The Power of Now
Review: Destined to be a classic in the non-dualist tradition, Stillness Speaks is a modern day manifestation of Eternal Truth in book form. Here E.Tolle has presented us with the very living heart of his timeless realization: we can't think our way out of the human dilemma, indeed thought itself is the great stumbling block. But behind all the mental noise, before concepts even arise, there is the pure awareness, the clear blissful consciousness that we really are. These pithy aphorisms can't take us there via ego interpretations and understandings, but they do point so very clearly to That. That which we really are. In the tradition of the great no-self Masters, Mr Tolle is telling it like it really is. This book is not for everyone, not nearly,because few are ready to go beyond the small minded idea that we exist individually as separate beings. For those ready to go beyond doing to being, beyond concepts to consciousness, this book is a wise and wonderful collection of "fingers pointing at the moon."
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Summary: awakening is not so cheap
Review: Gee! So many critics to this book. What a shame! Then again, if awakening was so cheap that you could find it in a book, there'd be a lot more enlightened people. A "good" book can only point you back to yourself. There is nothing of value in the book itself. If you liked Mr Tolle's previous The Power of Now and it gave you a glimpse of another dimension to life, and you're thinking a follow-up would really nail this "enlightenment thing" for you, of course you'll come away disappointed with this book. The disappointment is built-in to your EXPECTATION and HOPE that some future book or event can transform your life. At the very point of looking to the future for your enlightenment, looking to the next moment, the next book, the next guru, you miss this moment, you miss what is, as it is, the very thing you seek. Preceding all this anyway is the assumption that you even need to be enlightened. Where you are, however you are, is what is, the divine expression; whether awakened or not, happy or sad, whether on a spiritual or material journey, everything is as it is. There is nothing you can do but SEE this. "We", "you" and "me" are simply the awareness behind the seeing of our life drama unfolding in all its manifestations. If you see, that's what is; if you don't see and are frustrated by not seeing, that's what is too - all divine. It may be the case that this book might not be the most appropriate as an introduction. I tried reading [another book] many moons ago and it came to nothing. Like the [other book], this book's sutra-style presentation perhaps is not the most conducive invitation to awakening for most people. Perhaps the immense power of this book is more apparent when something is already stirring within you. Otherwise, it may tie you up in frustrated thinking. I would recommend the following book before Stillness Speaks: [another book]. You can only get it from Amazon UK. To me, this is the single most clear and concise book about awakening. For me, this book ended the "path" to awakening that I felt books like [another book] and similar books laid down (although all these books stress there is no path). This is the book that really brought home the fact that there is no path! It may well be the last book you ever read. Also recommended is [another book], another radical and immensely powerful perspective to awakening. These 2 and Stillness represent my favourite books.
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Summary: Words that point beyond words
Review: .
The fact that this book stirs up controversy speaks of its real power, and the power of any teaching that goes beyond the narrow range of our human expectations. In the Introduction, Tolle says, "If you come to a spiritual teacher - or this book - looking for stimulating ideas, theories, beliefs, intellectual discussions, then you will be disappointed. In other words, if you are looking for food for thought, you won't find it, and you will miss the very essence of the teaching, the essence of this book, which is not in the words but within yourself." And later, "Allow the book to do its work, to awaken you from the old grooves of your repetitive and conditioned thinking." "This book, of course,uses words.... the thoughts within this book don't say 'Look at me.' but 'Look beyond me.' Because the thoughts came out of stillness, they have power -- the power to take you back into the same stillness from which they arose." I have nothing to add to this clarity.
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Summary: Those seeking more knowledge will be disappointed
Review: This book will not make you more knowledgable. Rather, if its message reaches you, it will make you less certain about what you think you know. Let me explain why this is a good thing. If you consider yourself to be on the spiritual path, it is extremely important to ask yourself what your real motivation is. Do you have a desire to attain to the ultimate bliss? Do you want to feel more secure? Do you want to feel like you have life all figured out? Watch out. If you are still desiring (as most of us are), even if you are desiring something spiritual, you will never attain it. The basic requirement is to be without desire. I don't know about enlightenment, because like most people I still have desires, but I have noticed that when I surrender to life instead of desiring something more, I am much more peaceful and happy. Oftentimes people start a spiritual search in order to gather more knowledge; they want to formulate a belief system and find "facts" to back it up. This gives a false sense of security, and if you examine it closely, you will realize it is false because all belief does is suppress doubt. If you really know something, belief is unnecessary. Do you have to believe in the sun or the air? There is no need. The Power of Now will give you much more information to cling to than this book, which is probably why many readers prefer it. The Power of Now is an excellent introduction to Tolle's message and will help you to understand this book better. However, Tolle has wisely made it more difficult to reduce his latest book to a system of beliefs. Instead of knowledge, which is borrowed information, Tolle gives readers their own eyes to see. If you are tired of reading ABOUT living in the moment and are ready to TRY IT OUT, this book is an excellent place to start. I also highly recommend Osho's Book of Secrets, a collection of 112 meditation techniques fully explained. Let me close by quoting Tolle: "Do you need more knowledge? Is more information going to save the world, or faster computers, more scientific or intellectual analysis? Is it not wisdom that humanity needs most at this time? "But what is wisdom and where is it to be found? Wisdom comes with the ability to be still. Just look and listen. No more is needed. Being still, looking, and listening activates the non-conceptual intelligence within you. Let stillness direct your words and actions."
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Summary: Another diamond in the rough
Review: Another diamond in the rough of transcendental literature.
Ekhart readers please note - if you read to gather facts & data as in an academic research approach, you'll find nothing new here. If, on the other hand, you appreciate the value of constantly exercising your dormant 'spirituality muscles' on a routine basis, then you'll find E. Tolle has put himself into the position of exercise coach in a beautifull & constantly uplifting manner in this book.
Just open the book & 60 seconds later you've got that nudge; changing the direction, focus & content of your awareness. If you like to be constantly nudged out of programmed mind patterns, you'll find this book (at the price of 2 beers) to be an indispensible investment.
Rating: 
Summary: A Slap In the Face
Review: 144 pages of disappointment. I cant believe that Eckart Tolle would put his name behind a book like this. What was he thinkng?
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Summary: A Turn For The Worst
Review: This book fails to inspire. How can a book that is mostly filled with white pages do anyone any good. I felt like I paid for the paper, instead of the words. Shame on the publisher!
Rating: 
Summary: Degrading the asset he uses to communicate his message
Review: I was disappointed with this book. Sure, stillness transcends the mind and is pure consciousness, but a most powerful asset we all have is our mind. Thoughts are creative and parent our lives. When we devalue our mind, we devalue creation. I have been a meditator for years, and travel the spiritual path. I believe in enbracing and transcending the mind -- not devaluing it. I recommend Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self to optimize our role in the universe (find unity in diversity), to be our best, bring out the best in other people, make the most of every situation and maximize our emotional and spiritual lives.
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Summary: Stars seem irrelevant
Review: It's exceedingly difficult to give this book a "star rating" because it may be the greatest book ever written, or it may be a total crock. Tolle says if you can get past your chattering, discursive mind, you will enter a new place of bliss and stillness. Is this true? I don't know. I can't get past my chattering mind. Sometimes, when I pick this book up, I think it points the way to the salvation of mankind. Other times, it makes me think of what my grandfather used to tell me: "If you don't put your tongue in the place where your old tooth was, you will grow a gold one." This is simply a nasty thing to tell a child -- give them an impossible task, and tell them something cool would have happened if only they had been able to do it. But both this book and the Power of Now do make one indisputably valid point: we spend too much time in our heads, when we should realize deeply that the present moment is ALL WE EVER HAVE. I have not achieved transcendent bliss since I discovered Tolle, but I do more frequently take notice of the HERE and NOW, and find I am somewhat happier for it.
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