Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful lessons for everyone
Review: This book was recommended years ago by a Brasilian friend. I never took his advice. I kept hearing about this book for years. Finally a friend recommended it again. He said he thought it would help me get through a tough time and he was right.
I found useful ideas on almost every page.
Sure the ideas are not groundbreaking, but they are perfect for those of us that feel like we may have lost our way. It motivated me to make changes in my life that seemed so simple but turned out to be so profound.
It inspired me. I hope you too can learn from it too. I've since recommended this book to others, it's lent out to a friend as we speak.
Rating:
Summary: a great book
Review: i really don't see why so many people are giving this book bad press. for me it was absolutly fantastic. this is the type of book that once u pick up you really can't put down. the story keeps your gripped and the images the paulo produces are so vivid. the only bad part about this book is that you want to become a shepard!!! really do buy this.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: When I finished the book about five minutes ago, I was immediately compelled to write a review for it before I go back and read it again. It's simplicity and brevity harks back to the Prince and like that book, its message is ageless. Very few books leave such a feeling in me, this one definitely did, no doubt. I recommend this book to anyone who is open enough to question their ultimate destination and the path that takes them there. Thank you Paulo Coelho for your refreshing novel!
Rating: 
Summary: Follow your dreams
Review: I really enjoyed this very simple and light hearted tale about not being afraid to follow your dreams and take chances. I can't believe it got so many bad reviews!
This book is about ones boy's journey as he sets out to follow his dreams. He meets all sorts of interesting characters who are all somehow connected and know what he is supposed to be doing. The book is full of metaphors to which many people can apply to everyday life. All of us have been at a crossroads in our lives at some point or another, all of us have been made to made some decisions which at the time seemed shakey. This book is not only entertaining but causes you to think a little about what's holding you back from doing what you really want to in life!
Bottom line: A wonderful and quick read!
Rating: 
Summary: Annoying yet charming.
Review: I can sum up what Coelho is trying to say, by quoting a new age bumper sticker : "Find what you love, and love what you find."
As I read this story, I fluctuaded between annoyance at the totally obvious metaphors being shoved down my throat, and interest in the possibility that there would be something wonderful to tie it all together. Ultimately, it fell flat, and never really told me anything useful, or interesting. Yes, I did draw parallels between the boys life and my own, as was intended. But the answers and ideas given were things I figured out as a teenager / early 20s. This would have been okay if the story itself had been intriguing. It had moments of humor and heart, but never even tried to develop them. I hardly even cared about the boy and his Personal Legend (a phrase which is always capitalized and repeated way to many times). This book could be good for young teens who haven't figured out the way yet, or for an adult who needs a lighthearted reminder of the ultimate simplicity of life. Overall, this book is like alchemy.. A lot of mumbo jumbo, and instead of gold we are left with a lump of lead.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book!!!!
Review: This book was fantastic. I can't believe it received so many bad reviews. Clearly the much of the book consists of METAPHORS and are not meant to be taken literally. I loved the fact that the book was so simple. Its so refreshingly different from so many other overly verbose books. It reminded me of the Little Prince for those reasons.
Pretty much everything that happened in the book has happened to me in some form. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an open mind, not cynical, and is able to interpret ideas in a non-literal manner.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it ;o)
Review: I really enjoyed this book, maybe because of the timing of the book. it is quite simple, and easy to read. but it really allowed me to sit back and think about my own life and if i am doing what i really want to be doing. I was reading this book when I got accepted to a college 10 hrs. from home, and it actually gave me a little nudge to go for it!
Rating:
Summary: Learning lessons, a fable.............
Review: The Alchemist, a very short book, is a delightful fable about following your heart to reach your dreams. The tale centers on an Andalusian shepherd boy who dreams of a treasure near the Great Pyramids. He decides to follow through on his dream and along the way faces many challenges, threats and choices. He learns many lessons on his journey with help from those surrounding him. It follows along the classic fable lines of repeating the lessons in variations, with the final outcome known to the reader before it happens, but loosing none of it's delight. This is the 10th anniversary of this book's publication, it is sure to become a modern classic fable.
Rating:
Summary: You have to read it al least once!
Review: How do you know that it's truly great? Some people love it and some hate it. Only something worthy can produce such intense opposite opinions. It's not as simple as it seems to many. Being a cosmopolitan person who traveled the World following my destiny, I can say that the book left me in awe. Talking about books is like talking about taste of food- who wants to talk about it- just taste it. So, just read the book, reflect and look beyond the storyline.
Rating:
Summary: Simple and refined
Review: While deployed in Afghanistan a friend gave this book to me. thank god she did. It is an easy to read book FILLED with subtle dialogues about life and parables of destiny. Much Christian and buddhist wisdom is in it with many ancient texts. It is about the path of a boy who is, like us all, uncertain of his destiny and the risks a fulfilling life involves. To sum it up, "its the journey your life takes, not where it ends, that matters". Its good for those graduated students or young adults who dont know where they belong in life or are afraid to acheive their dreams. Not recommended for older adults who are set in their ways or highly pessimistic. Remy!
| 
