Rating: 
Summary: Could be simple
Review: Get this book. I mean, buy it this moment. This book explained some very difficult concepts in some very easy ways. Even if you even have a clear understanding of these concepts you'll enjoy this book, as it will give you a better way to communicate these ideas to others.
I should mention I have given this book to friends and they have had trouble with it. I think 3 out of 5 people can't use this as a Buddhist primer. However, if you've got a C of better in a community college philosophy class, you should do fine with this it. I'd give it a shot, no matter what you think your ability to understand is. As something contained in this book may really speak to you, and serve to help unravel even more.
Rating:
Summary: Explains Buddhism easily but not condescendingly.
Review: I read this book when it first came out and since that time have recommended to many friends who expressed an interest in Buddhism. Even as a Buddhist, some of the books that come out seem incredibly complex, and I have trouble figuring out what they're trying to say. (And, let's face it, one of the beauties of Buddhism is its simplicity.) This book clarifies the important parts of the religion/philosophy in an easy to understand way while never being condescending.
Rating: 
Summary: Good intro, but not enough to change your life
Review: This is a good introduction to Buddhism. It gently explains how suffering is rooted in ignorance ("not seeing" as Hagen likes to say). But the author doesn't stress enough that practicing daily meditation is necessary to produce a real change. Without daily practice, the ideas in this book remain merely that -- ideas.
Rating:
Summary: Split my third eye open
Review: This was one of my first few books on buddhism and I thought it was an incredible study. It's not the type of book that you read it once and move on; it's study material. You read it once, you read it twice and you read it thrice. I found myself reading a chapter and thinking about it for days. Then I would go back and re-read it and think some more. The way that it's presented was in my opinion, very clear, conscice and precise.He allows you to discover for yourself the art of seeing. First, you can't learn compassion from a book, first you see then you practice compasion like out of unwilled intention. You won't learn this is a book. Those who are reviewing this book saying that it missed "this" and "that" missed the whole point. The beauty of this book is that Steve allows you to see it for yourself. He doesn't serve it on a silver plater (no fast food enlightenment here - sorry folks) but he makes you work for what he points at - uninterested minds recoil now. I'm under the impression that he knows that if he tries to describe the "process" too much, conception comes in and ego's assimilation fragments the idea and then the windows are all fogged up. He did an incredible clever job of sublety pointing to directions that lead to the path - it's a raft. He even describes that it's impossible for you to get truth from a book, you have to see it for yourself; that's why he keeps saying "see", learn to "see," just "see," etc; It's a reminder. You must do the work yourself - no one will do it for you. This book surely helped me start to see the path. Hopefully it will help you too.
Rating:
Summary: great for people new to buddhism!
Review: I have gone through and read many books on Buddhism and this one is the absolute best. It explains things simply and easily and the author applies Buddhism to modern day life. I have found other Buddhist books "too religious", but not this one, this book could be for anyone with any life philosophy - from an atheist to a muslim. This book helped me understand the fundamentals of Buddhism and since then I have been able to attend Buddhist classes and follow the the Buddhist beliefs and lifestyle.
Rating: 
Summary: Huh?
Review: I had read several other books about Buddhism before I picked up this one, and I have to say it did not live up to its title. After reading it, I still found Buddhism to be bewildering, and frankly, I think there is something fraudulent about a religion where people compete to show how enlightened they are by being as obtuse and incomprehensible as possible. I see nothing plain or simple about Buddhism, as it seems to contradict everything we know about the world. Saying you don't have a self is psychological suicide--and it's silly, because all you have to do is look in a mirror to figure out that you exist. This book did nothing to clear things up for me.
It has been a few years since I read the book, and my spiritual journey has taken me to a way different place than where I was at the time...so maybe I should thank Mr. Hagen for keeping me from pursuing any further the dead end of Buddhism. Personally, I think there are better basic explanatory books on Buddhism, like *The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching* by Thich Nhat Hanh. Mr. Hagen's book will leave you just as puzzled as you were before you read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good read, good perspective. Just don't stop here.
Review: I feel that Steve Hagen is on the right track. He emphasizes all the facets of Buddhism, explaining how the heart of the Buddha's teachings have nothing to do with the culture that's accumulated over it. He also stresses the point that Buddhism isn't about accepting a belief or a view, but is based on direct seeing and experience. Plus, he has enough humility to tell the reader things like, "You are the ultimate authority, not me or anything else," and, "Don't take any of these things on faith. Try them out." He presents all this with a very clear head and gets straight to the point, explaining and demonstrating that Buddhism has nothing to do with rituals or "worshipping Buddha."
His book is successful in many regards. Yet there is one concern I have about it. Despite the wisdom with which he approaches the subject, Hagen still seems to accept and present Buddhism as an intellectual philosophy. As a result, he ends up presenting a view of the universe that's largely fatalistic; that is, everything is just going to vanish over time, and suffering is caused by the inability to see and accept that. The subtle irony here is that this is also nothing more than a view.
This is not a bad book by any stretch, and it provides the right ideas on many levels, but please... if you're really interested in enlightenment, don't stop at this book. I'm sure the author would encourage you to do the same. Read it (there are valuable ideas here), and then read others. Keep reading. Try books by authors such as Ram Dass and Robert Anton Wilson. Check out some of the books about G.I. Gurdjieff. Read Aleister Crowley's "Eight Lectures On Yoga." Get familiar with the idea of cosmic consciousness and the severe limitations of rational thought and the five senses. I could go on, but the point is that there is much, much more to the subject of enlightenment than the information in this book.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best books
Review: This book cuts to the chase. Its not page after page of fluff and abstract as many Buddist books are. This book goes straight to the heart of what the Buddha taught and not all the "extras" that have been tacked on by various sects. Mr. Hagen has an excellent straight forward writing style and he doesnt complicate the teachings. I have read over 30 books on Buddism and this book is light years ahead of the rest. For those who need a lot of airy-fairy gobbly gook type stuff, this is not your book. For those who take being AWAKE seriously..you wont find a better guide.
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