Rating: 
Summary: More cultural Imperialism disguised as Enlightenment
Review: Redfield's tome espouses a series from a manuscript from a 300 BC (I believe). Peru is best known for its' uncanny desert drawings on the Ica Nazca plains and is doubtful that a "manuscript" could exist from this time. Redfield presents "Celestine Prophecy" in a straightforward manner. I'd like to know how everyone he contacts in Peru are English Speakers? I often speak Spanish in Miami and New York in the United States. Like the "ugly American" in every country Redfield escapes dubious situations with bizarre regimes with the excuse "I'm a tourist!" He acts as though ignorance of politics is an act of grace after all his "Celestines" will be vibrating on such a high plane they won't need to worry about food, clothing, or shelter or the lowly humans who don't perceive them (Kind of like our cultural and economic elite eh? Maybe that's the parable). I don't know what he ate in Peru but it didn't sound like any food I know. There are reasons for verisimilitude. A dose of reality. Perhaps if we understood "those countries" a little better would neither mythologize nor demonize them and perhaps they would not seem like empty cyphers and blank slates to lord our own god like power over or possessing special gifts of prophecy. They are folks like you and I surprise. This is a dangerous book in that it perpetuates the lie of the American and the worst of the "New Age" mind that of "The Farmer's Almanac" mixed with a little exoticism. Cotton Mather wouldn't have been too understanding of Peru either. All of this is highly implausible and the necessity of "protecting" oneself from "energy thieves" and persons of "violent dispositions" is just an appeal to fear which spiritually is a place not many "enlightened" persons like appealing to. Peru is a beautiful land that deserves your respect and proper presentation and if Mr. Redfield wants to espouse his new age populist beliefs in the good old USA my bet is he'd be at a loss for how to get away with his lack of reality. Place this author in the USA and his book becomes just another self help book. I don't think anyone would believe in 9 or 10 prophecies and revelations hidden in Death Valley for instance though it's just as likely they'd be there. Think about it there is abundant spiritual literature-- check out "Nothing Special, Living Zen" by Joko Beck (which is contemporary) or read about Macchu Picchu and the Indians in the Andes or skip to Central America and ACTUAL Mayan codices. "The Popol Vuh" is an ACTUAL interpretation by archaeologists of a Mayan text and it took the people that worked on decoding it a long long time. It took much longer than it takes Mr. Redfield to write a populist literature that makes him a fortune not worth contributing too. I also as another reviewer read a book I didn't buy. There are many better books to waste money (and time) on. Try. I know I will.
Rating:
Summary: Just boring....
Review: I don't want to say too much about the CP. Had a hard time trying to finish it, it was just plain boring, with a terrible language. And what goes for the insights, well, most ambulatory people have come to see them by themselves. It's simplified basic psychology for the most. And with all the sequals from Redfield, this must be a really undeserved moneymachine ripping unsecure (?) people of their money.Can't begin to explain what a relief it was to pick up Dharma Bum by Jack Kerouac after the CP.
Rating:
Summary: The Celestine Profit
Review: The only way I could muster up any respect for James Redfield, the author of this "book" is if I thought that maybe he wrote it as a scam to squeeze some money out of new-age yuppies. That at least would lend some credence to a work which resorts to every conceivable new-age cliche to express a trite and even somewhat facistic new-age philosophy. JR uses the "government coverup" cliche to appeal to conspiracy theory buffs; has the "insights" written in Aramaic to give them some sort of biblical authority, but then hs them found in Central America to exploit the new-age concentration on lost Central American civilizations such as the Mayas; he uses quantum mechanics to appeal to "new paradigm" thinkers in scientific fields (even though Redfield himself seems to be inhabiting a Ptolemaic universe where the Earth still moves around the sun. See the chapter, "the message of the mystics" and check out his mystical experience of the moon to see what I mean). Alone, the notion that an ancient Aramaen text would be spewing out new-age truisms regarding co-dependent relationship dynamics is laughable; together with an incredibly poorly written book, it is deplorable. For those who weren't able to read through this entire book to it's conclusion, I sympathize. But it really is worth picking it up and finishing it just to see the thrilling culmination where JR envisions an inevitable coming technocracy where technology will be advanced enough (emphatically NOT at the expense of the environment) to allow us more leisure time as a species to pursue spiritual matters, thus poo-pooing the notion that of Karma yoga where spiritual equilibrium arises out of one's devotion to work. He also envisions a kind of new age pyramid scheme where people will be giving money to folks who offer them spiritual guidance (kind of sets himself up for a nice tidy fortune, don't he?) A direct quote from the book: "When people come into our lives at just the right time to give us the answers we need, we should give them money." Urk! I enjoy spiritual literature. I had this book recommended to me by a friend whose opinion I had previously trusted. I don't really understand how the Celestine meme has infected so many minds. I know that those who love the book have a built in defense against critics which says that those who don't like the book weren't meant to receive its teachings at this time, aren't open-minded enough, etc. Hogwash! Spend some time reading classic religious texts: Meister Eckhart, Lao Tzu, The Upanishads, or read some Sufi tales. Or read modern spiritual works that are at least worthwhile: Thomas Moore, Carlos Castaneda, Matthew Fox. Do anything but expend your spiritual energy in the fast food drive-thru of the Celestine Prophecy.
Rating:
Summary: New Age Psycho babble
Review: The best aspect of this book was that I didn't have to pay for it. I was given this book by a girlfriend that insists in "gave her clarity" and a "course to live her life by". After reading this book I had realized I needed a new girlfriend. The adventure story as vehicle for life fullfilment with the Catholic Church as the bad guys. Pure drivel. Maybe Clancy should write about finding nivarna in a retired Russian submarine. I was very amused to see that after the commercial success of this book, Redfield has discovered a tenth insight. That says it all.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is a great book.
Review: This book is not only a story but a guide to tapping into great things. u should read it if u get a chance.
Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Book for the Open Minded Soul
Review: If you are open to new ideas and unhappy with the ones you already have then this book is for you. If on the other hand you are set in your ways, and negative about anything good then you might better look elsewhere. This book is about love, enlightenment, Peace and change. James Redfield takes the beliefs of many and puts them in an understandable and engrossing story that anyone can comprehend. If you get tingles when you talk of spiritual matters then read this book. If you like well written stories that are easy to read and have underlying lessons to be learned, read this book. I personally have 3 copies but I never get to see a one because I always have someone who wants to borrow it, sometimes more than once.
Rating: 
Summary: Time of your life
Review: The book offers a lot more than just philosophical views of life. The new awareness this books speaks can relate to people at different times. Some people who are at a critical time in their life will find that this book can bring a new view of life that just might make you see the world in a whole new light. The books is uplifting and really sets things in perspective.
Rating:
Summary: It's not for everyone...coincendence?
Review: Here we have this best seller. In my eyes, The Celestine Prophecy is an amazing book. What I find the most interesting is the great discrepancy in reviews...it's readers either loved it or wanted to grind it up in their garbage disposal so as to never see it again. This is where I think Redfield did his job...and did it well. Those whom it should have affected and allowed to have it affect them are the books biggest fans. Redfield wrote a novel that obviously means the world to him. His presentation was amazing, and he graciously avoided the complexities of writing that many philosophers fall into. He took an unbelievably strenuous topic and made it apply to everyday life, just as the actual insights do. These insights are not events that require you to have a PHD to understand. They occur every second of every day, from the route you take home from work to how many cups of coffee you have in the morning. I think it's wonderful that an author like Redfield was b! rave enough to write about a topic that is obviously not understood by everyone, but means so much to some. Congratulations, Redfield, on a beautiful book. Even if you only touched one reader, you've done more than most authors of today. I believe that the way you acquire the novel is key to the very enjoyment, however. An old friend of mine recommended it...it took me a few months, but i bought it, took my time and thoroughly read it, sometimes putting it down for days at at time to take it all in. When I finished it, I felt it was my "duty" to pass it on to someone that it would touch as it touched me. I met a man in the airport, and we shared a couple of drinks and our life stories. The strange coincendences that we had in common were so overwhelming to me that I realized that he, too needed to see what Redfield was all about. He promised to read it, and although we never spoke again, I'm quite sure it touched him too. Find a friend, lover, neighbor or ! stranger to give this to...after reading it, you'll know wh! o it should be, and that's no coincedence.
Rating:
Summary: A story fit for elementary school students -- maybe?
Review: I was persuaded to read this book by the praises of my college acquaintance, a major in the field of classics. Two afternoons later when I finished the book, I couldn't help but feel a pressing dissapointment. I wondered: "Is this really the literary level that most people enjoy reading?" I am relieved to learn -- from the majority of these comments -- that it is not. People really do deserve more credit.
Rating:
Summary: It deserves more......
Review: 3 stars? Only 3 stars? I give this book 5 STARS!! Let me tell you that this book improved not only my life, but, to date, 14 other people for whom I bought or told about the book. These people have all come back to me and, each in their own way, thanked me for enriching their minds. For me, this book took my own life experiences, without preaching, and directed them through a different thought process. Like through a funnel, my life experiences could finally be seen, through only my eyes, a constanst stream of universality. Since then, I slowly began to practice certain methods of thought, from the Insights that truly moved me (rational philosophy and strong logic). To say the least, I am very glad that I did. I suggest that everyone who is ready to face themselves on the most personal and spiritual level possible; everyone who seeks evolution; everyone who seeks a higher sense of self-awareness; you owe it to yourself to give this book a read, with open mind! . Genuinely,
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