Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: This book draws the reader in from the beginning. You open the book to find that the story begins with "The End". The author's cleaver writing, naturally, pulls the reader to find out how the story began.
The main character, Eddie, feels as if he has lead an insignificant life with nothing extraordinary to offer to the world. Through the author's depiction of heaven, Eddie learns of his importance on earth.
A deep, thought provoking book that I found to be a little depressing at times. Though I did find some of the content to be somewhat dark, overall I was left with a good feeling in the end. A quick read and good discussion book.
Rating: 
Summary: The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Review: This was the most wonderful book I have ever read. The story makes you think about your own life and who you would meet in heaven. I coudn't put the book down and didn't want the story to end. I laughed and cried. Mitch Albom is a talented writer and I hope he writes more fiction novels.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking but not wholly satisfying.
Review: Before I read this book, the people I knew who had read it were firmly in one of two camps: 1) "Hated it...too schmaltzy." or 2) "Loved it...very inspiring and thought-provoking." Having now finished the book myself, I can clearly understand both positions. I find myself conflicted...occupying the middle ground between the "love it" and "hate it" camps.Yes, absolutely, it is schmaltzy. I sometimes found myself getting annoyed at how hard Albom was working to make me care about Eddie...to be meaningful...or to play with my emotions. And yet, there were times when I was genuinely touched by the writing or something that was happening. I really loved the ending...and that's as much as I can say I really loved. In the end, it is certainly thought-provoking in regard to his view of heaven. But I found it (at least most of it) too depressing a view of heaven...i.e., if that's what I have to look forward to, why would I want to go?
Rating:
Summary: Very thought provoking!
Review: Once you have started, You will not be able to put this one down without finishing it. "The Five People you meet in Heaven" really hits home with anyone curious as to the meaning of life, "why are we here?", etc...
Although we cannot verify that this is what we will face in heaven, it does assure us that everyone counts in this world and that we truly affect others whether we think so or not. The monetary and worldly success is short; the spiritual side is what lasts. I am normally not a fiction reader but I highly recommend this book. It even tugs at your emotions a little.
Rating: 
Summary: The Five People you meet in Heaven
Review: I would NOT recommend this book to anyone who will die or knows anyone who has died. What does that tell you!!!! Too much of the characters experience was extremely negative and so very sad. To be introduced to people you touched negatively and you didn't even know them??!!!! And now what do you do?? It just kills me (pun intended) that this author is making a mint on this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Sentimental and Thought Provoking
Review: I was a little put off by the brevity of this book and give it 4 stars for that reason. However, the sentimentality contained wihin did get to me and made me consider more the impact I may have on others and they have on me. Great book if only for that very reason!
Rating:
Summary: Touchy Feely - Hard To Rate
Review: This is one of those books that you will either love or hate. It is a short book in large print what I would put in the class touchy-feely. It is a fiction story of a dying man with flashbacks. He then meets the people in heaven. Out of this he thinks that he has learned the meaning of life. I tend to not like these psychological message books myself. It is very short. The story took a lot of imagination to write but then it is a quick read and you are done. In that way it reminds of the book "Who Moved My Cheese" another short large print and popular best seller. Some people might just love the book. The book is what it is. Know your subject before giving it as a gift. Also if you can maybe borrow someone else's copy for a quick preview first Neutral rating. Three stars. Jack in Toronto
Rating:
Summary: what life is all about
Review: a tale of anamolous convention that molests the notion of unequivical sanctimonious congruity, but does so with a passion that nearly eclipses that wondrous and loving book titled "what life is all about" by MO. both, though entirely different, reach and strike at the heart of the human condition. if you don't own both correct your err now.
Rating:
Summary: If that's heaven, I'm staying here.
Review: Sorry, nine million satisfied readers, but in my opinion, this book is absolute junk. The opening section of the novel, in which Albom describes Eddie's last day on earth, is beautifully told and rings absolutely true. But when Eddie dies and is taken to heaven, the book turns deadly. Is there anyone on this earth who does not already know that his life has been changed by other people in ways he cannot begin to know? But this is the great revelation of The Five People You Meet in Heaven. If you are the kind of person who will be astonished to learn that your life was spared, sometimes deliberately, sometimes inadvertently, sometimes accidentally, by someone who did something you never suspected--for instance (and believe me, this is melodrama of the lowest order)by someone who kept you alive shooting you in the leg--then this book will be a revelation to you. If you believe that certain events in your life which were always inexplicable can somehow have their motives made clear to you and that these clarifications will shine a great light and in turn reconcile you to life's tragedies, bringing you to a kind of heaven of the mind--and in this book, it takes people already dead and in heaven to do it--then you will be greatly comforted. I found the entire book preposterous, sentimental and as deep as a sheet of paper. Everyone in this book is so busy saving everyone else that it astonishing that anyone ever has to suffer. Five Days is formulaic in the extreme, a kind of dime store version of Thornton Wilder The Bride of San Luis Rey (an infinitely better book). Nice to know, though, that Eddie occasionally did something wrong; he's responsible for one of his wife's great tragedies. Cliched, sentimental and downright silly--I can't understand what the fuss is about, but then I keep wanting a book to add something to what I already know.
Rating:
Summary: Five Suggestions Why This Book is a Best Seller
Review: Mitch Albom seems to have captured the attention of the reading public with FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN much as he did with the still best-selling TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE. Through a simple tale of the death of a lonely old man whose life has been a series of 'disappointments and failures' who upon entering Heaven discovers what his life really meant, Albom is able to communicate matters spiritual and corporeal. It seems to this reviewer that there may be five reasons for the success of this book. 1) It is short, readable-in-a-small-amount-of-time view from a man in the Media (yes, we all fear the media is usurping our individuality..) 2) It is written with a simplicity that allows the ideas expressed to be easily accessed 3) It draws characters who seem like old friends we all have known 4) It spans a history of Americana over 83 years - the life of the main character - in a 'good old days' manner and 5) It offers a plausible explanation for an afterlife, in a world that is teetering on the edge of spiritual vacuum. In other words, Albom has once again given the public a time of quiet repose to make sense of the world now and later, and as with TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, he is able to confront us with the idea of death and help us come to a certain peace. Those are enough reasons for a little book to justify its best-seller status. Great literature this is not. Profound new philosophy this is not. But is is a thoroughly enjoyable, popular reminder that there is a meaning to life on earth. "..each affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world is full of stories, but the stories are all one."
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