Rating: 
Summary: A True Treasure
Review: I was under the impression this was a collection of essays or articles, but it is a collection of quotes. The quotes aren't bad, but not up to par with what I expected. I nearly gave it three stars, but the quotes are pretty good and would be appreciated if you were looking for quotes (and not essays).
Rating: 
Summary: Collection of Quotes
Review: I was under the impression this was a collection of essays or articles, but it is a collection of quotes. The quotes aren't bad, but not up to par with what I expected. I nearly gave it three stars, but the quotes are pretty good and would be appreciated if you were looking for quotes (and not essays).
Rating: 
Summary: Hot Air in a Book
Review: M. Scott Peck reaches new heights of Blowhardiness with this dull tome of the world's most exhausted quotes. Where haven't we seen these quotes before--a thousand times over? People, wake up, this guy loves to hear himself talk and see his name in print. And have you all pick up the tab!!
Rating:
Summary: Thoughtful and inspiring collection of quotes
Review: More than just the usual topical selection of quotes, Dr. Peck has carefully selected quotes with his life philosophy in mind. Truly an inspiring and uplifting collection.
Rating:
Summary: Hot Air in a Book
Review: My self-help phase is well behind me now. There comes a time when you have to stop sifting yourself and just admit: This is what you are. It doesn't mean you should--or can--stop trying. It just means that mortal flesh is not infinitely pliable, that there is no transformation-in-a-bottle to be had. Books abound which promise E-Z enlightenment, and people abound who have failed to avoid them, to their sorrow. M. Scott Peck's remarkable career has bucked the marketing trend of these books by reiterating the commonplace truth, "Life is difficult." The wisdom that so many people have found in his works is thanks to his clinical psychological experience and to his Christian faith, which nowadays is somewhat filtered by a nimbus of syncretism. He hasn't always made all the right moves. _People of the Lie_ nearly went off the rails toward the end when he used his theories about evil to settle some old personal scores. And _The Different Drum_ threatened to float away into the New Age, as well as betraying some truly embarrassing political stupidity about communist countries. But _The Road Less Traveled_ was a lodestar for me at an impressionable age, as it was for millions of others.So it is with a degree of nostalgia that I took up _Abounding Grace_. I am an insatiable quote-hound, so I hoovered the contents as fast as I could, and passed them along to people who could also appreciate them. It is a big book with a dozen chapters, with many subheadings for each one. The authors of the quotes are identified, but not the sources, and there is no index. The narrative introductions to the sections are themselves strewn with quotes-a little sneakiness by the author to get me to read them? They also include various anecdotes and personal opinions about the virtues being treated. The quotations are well chosen, many of them being unfamiliar to me (which, if I do say so myself, is saying something). All are good and pithy, and are sure to strike a chord with someone. He indulges in an ipsedixitism or two, quoting himself, but that's okay; he's entitled. _Abounding Grace_ is a fine handbook of wisdom, which looks like it will return many hours of pleasurable self-discovery.
Rating:
Summary: A drop of ink / May make a million think -- Lord Byron
Review: My self-help phase is well behind me now. There comes a time when you have to stop sifting yourself and just admit: This is what you are. It doesn't mean you should--or can--stop trying. It just means that mortal flesh is not infinitely pliable, that there is no transformation-in-a-bottle to be had. Books abound which promise E-Z enlightenment, and people abound who have failed to avoid them, to their sorrow. M. Scott Peck's remarkable career has bucked the marketing trend of these books by reiterating the commonplace truth, "Life is difficult." The wisdom that so many people have found in his works is thanks to his clinical psychological experience and to his Christian faith, which nowadays is somewhat filtered by a nimbus of syncretism. He hasn't always made all the right moves. _People of the Lie_ nearly went off the rails toward the end when he used his theories about evil to settle some old personal scores. And _The Different Drum_ threatened to float away into the New Age, as well as betraying some truly embarrassing political stupidity about communist countries. But _The Road Less Traveled_ was a lodestar for me at an impressionable age, as it was for millions of others. So it is with a degree of nostalgia that I took up _Abounding Grace_. I am an insatiable quote-hound, so I hoovered the contents as fast as I could, and passed them along to people who could also appreciate them. It is a big book with a dozen chapters, with many subheadings for each one. The authors of the quotes are identified, but not the sources, and there is no index. The narrative introductions to the sections are themselves strewn with quotes-a little sneakiness by the author to get me to read them? They also include various anecdotes and personal opinions about the virtues being treated. The quotations are well chosen, many of them being unfamiliar to me (which, if I do say so myself, is saying something). All are good and pithy, and are sure to strike a chord with someone. He indulges in an ipsedixitism or two, quoting himself, but that's okay; he's entitled. _Abounding Grace_ is a fine handbook of wisdom, which looks like it will return many hours of pleasurable self-discovery.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book on ethics by Scott Peck
Review: Scott peck has put together this anthology of quotes on the virtues of happiness, courage, compassion, purity, perseverance, courtesy, faith, goodness, love, respect, strength, and wisdom. If you have a natural philosophical bent you will find most of the quotes in this 384 page book to be quite profound. If you have no interest in a collection of quotes then don't buy this book. If you do read on and see what you think of this sampling of quotes found in the book: CHARITY Posthumous charities are the very essence of selfishness when bequeathed by those who, when alive, would part with nothing.
-Charles Caleb Colton Charity, to be fruitful, must cost us.
-Mother Teresa COMPASSION One cannot weep for the entire world. It is beyond human strength. One must choose. - Jean Anouilh Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat... We must find each other.
-Mother Teresa GRATITUDE A thankful heart is the parent of all virtues. - Cicero Into the well which supplies thee with water, cast no stones. - Talmud No duty is more urgent than returning thanks. - Saint Ambrose Wise men appreciate all men, for they see the good in each, and know how hard it is to make anything good. - Baltasar Gracian HAPPINESS When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us. - Helen Keller Happiness is itself a kind of gratitude. - Joseph Wood Krutch I find my joy of living in the fierce and ruthless battles of life, and my pleasure comes from learning something. - August Strindberg If only we'd stop trying to be happy, we could have a pretty good time.
-Edith Wharton COURAGE Often the test of courage is not to die but to live. - Vittorio Alfieri What is to give light must endure burning - Victor Frankl Sometimes even to live is an act of courage - Seneca Courage is like love; it must have hope for nourishment. - Napoleon I Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. - Muriel Strode It often takes more courage to change one's opinion than to stick to it.
-George Christopher Litenburg Why not go out on a limb? Isn't that where the fruit is?
-Frank Scully
Rating:
Summary: Wise purchase
Review: So I walk into this store, and I am going through books casually...and this book really caught my eye. It made me sit and think...I didnt think much thereafter. I bought it.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful
Review: The truth must be told. We don't own this book ... yet. Instead, we browsed through it at a very large, library like bookstore. The look and feel of the book made it difficult to put back on the shelf. Indeed, we found that this thick book was a feast of words, containing hundreds and hundreds of quotes - 1,600 or so -- on topics having to do with virtue: happiness, courage, compassion, purity, perseverance, courtesy, faith, goodness, love, respect, strength, and wisdom. But it proved to be much more than just the usual collection of great quotes, or words of wisdom to look at once in a while, or copy onto websites and into newsletters. "Virtue" when served up by M. Scott Peck goes beyond conventional, dogmatic wisdom that sees goodness as something to be applied externally, and medicinally. Peck thoughtfully reflects on what virtue is, what it means to individuals, how it emerges in each of us, from deep within. Before each section of quotes from a variety of people from different cultures, times, and beliefs, he offers his own reflections and experiences (on light purple paper, so you can easily see where each section begins) about the topic. We love this book because it gives us all those favorite quotes, and some delicious food for thought. For the M. Scott Peck fan (The Road Less Traveled), this book will be a welcome gift (its on MY list to give and get)!
Rating:
Summary: A Bountiful Gift for Wisdom Seekers!
Review: The truth must be told. We don't own this book ... yet. Instead, we browsed through it at a very large, library like bookstore. The look and feel of the book made it difficult to put back on the shelf. Indeed, we found that this thick book was a feast of words, containing hundreds and hundreds of quotes - 1,600 or so -- on topics having to do with virtue: happiness, courage, compassion, purity, perseverance, courtesy, faith, goodness, love, respect, strength, and wisdom. But it proved to be much more than just the usual collection of great quotes, or words of wisdom to look at once in a while, or copy onto websites and into newsletters. "Virtue" when served up by M. Scott Peck goes beyond conventional, dogmatic wisdom that sees goodness as something to be applied externally, and medicinally. Peck thoughtfully reflects on what virtue is, what it means to individuals, how it emerges in each of us, from deep within. Before each section of quotes from a variety of people from different cultures, times, and beliefs, he offers his own reflections and experiences (on light purple paper, so you can easily see where each section begins) about the topic. We love this book because it gives us all those favorite quotes, and some delicious food for thought. For the M. Scott Peck fan (The Road Less Traveled), this book will be a welcome gift (its on MY list to give and get)!
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