Rating: 
Summary: Illusions, a masterpiece
Review: "Illusions, The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" is a thought provoking look into life on earth and beyond. Two pilots, Don and Richard give people quick flights for three dollars a ride. Their simple career ends up being a journey into the human soul. Don, the messiah is here to teach the unknowing Richard about the ways of the world and the universe, and inform him he too is a messiah. The book portrays the events the two men go through in order to discover all of the lessons that Richard needs to learn. Every few pages or so, quotes concerning life lessons pop up and offer Richard and the reader inspiring knowledge about the world. This book encompasses spirituality, but mainly offers a glimpse into the human mind and spirit. I reccomend this book if you like novels that make you think, and not simply cheap entertainment.
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Summary: A Book of Imagination - dare to dream!
Review: Illusions is an old favorite of mine which I suddenly ran into again, much like an old friend. I read it many years ago while in college and somehow I connected with it. I am too much of a hard nosed realist and cannot suspend belief beyond a point. So I prefer to treat Don Shimoda's (and later Richard's) various fantastic deeds as metaphors. I don't claim to be right; others may have their own take. It does not matter because the worth of the book lies not in the story line (charming as it is) but rather in the lessons embedded in it. In Seagull, Richard was teaching, almost didactic. In Illusions, he and the reader are both students, discovering that the world is even more wonderful than we thought. The combination of the story line and the aphorisms in the "Messiah's Handbook" makes for a read that is both entertaining and educative. Maybe some of the aphorisms are old-hat, even simplistic, but I liked a great many of them. In a way, Illusions is itself the Messiah's Handbook! Open it to any page; you may not find the answer to your specific problem but it will certainly set you thinking.
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Summary: Great refresher course in life...
Review: You probably won't be convinced of all the ideas and philosophies in this book unless you already subscribe to them! What Bach does, though, is present them in a fun, and coherent narrative. I wasn't surprised by anything I read here, but was reminded of many beliefs I have, which had been covered with the dust of everyday life for some time now...Bach made me dust them off and reconsider them very seriously. One reviewer says this book is shallow, and that "this little book's argument utterly falls apart under any serious consideration". My response is that this isn't a book about thinking, its a book about doing! You're not supposed to consider it, you're supposed to do it! From Bach's introduction of the book, and the overall feel of the book itself, I don't think he's writing this in order to preach or teach; he's writing down his discoveries of what works best for him. Seems to have hit a chord with more than a few people...
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow, shallow, shallow...
Review: This book is a shallow amalgamation of poor theology, a fourth grade understanding of Aristotelian metaphysics, Buddhism for fun and profit, and a healthy dose of 20th century American low ball individualism. While being marginally entertaining on the most superficial of levels, this little book's argument utterly falls apart under any serious consideration. Save yourself the trouble and go read Hafiz.
Rating:
Summary: Word of mouth
Review: This is the kind of book that you will hear about eventually if you are exploring your self-awareness and the nature of your being. Illusions introduces some very complex ideas and presents them in a competely digestable format. Whenever I meet someone who is interested in delving past the surface and exploring their awareness this is usually the first book I recommend. Persons reading it will be entertained while also being challenged to think in a way that is so subtle it is almost unconscious. Illusions is similar in that regard to a movie like The Matrix or Vanilla Sky. I give it a rare (for me) 5 star rating.
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Summary: The book that keeps on giving
Review: I have read this book no less than 7 times.. the first five were back to back to back... I actually had to GIVE IT AWAY in order to stop reading the thing again. Everytime I read it I get something new and something REnewed.. The story is engaging and imaginative! The lessons in life are priceless.. I eventually bought the book again, because it is my FAVORITE book, without question, and of course I have read it again (make that 2 times).. Every spring, I look forward to revisiting Don and Richard the story never gets old.. It is a great new way to look at life.
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Summary: Thought-provoking and potentially life-changing
Review: A friend recommended this book to me about a year ago, and once I started reading I couldn't put it down. What DO we really have power over? What IS real? Do our beliefs respond to the world, or does the world respond to our beliefs? Early on, and throughout life, we develop a set of unbreakable "rules" by which we consider the world to operate - laws of physics, laws of governments, laws of religions, laws created within us by beliefs we hadn't dared question. Bach (through Donald Shimoda, his reluctant messiah) raises the question - what if it's ALL what we believe it to be - if the world and those around us fulfill our expectations? What if a "Messiah" comes to show people THAT this is the case, that they can free themselves if they just choose to... but they choose instead to remain locked in their limitations and worship him as the Messiah who will himself save them all? With all the abstract ideas being presented, Bach wisely chooses to start out in the very concrete, logical world of machines... two men flying their old biplanes cross-country, barnstorming. The Reluctant Messiah himself worked oil rigs and wrenched bulldozers off and on. As a bit of a gearhead myself, broadening my horizons to other things, this formed an excellent bridge to lead from the world I know to the reality-construct Bach presents. A mere three or four years ago I probably would have rolled my eyes after the first few chapters, but when I DID read it, it was one of the best and most inspiring books I'd read in a LONG time. If you're ready to try looking at the world in a very different way, I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: Reluctant Messiahs Unite
Review: I don't know what it was that drove me to this book as a high school junior. Most of the trash that I was reading at that time was a waste of time AND brain cells. Perhaps it was the flashy cover. Maybe it was me reaching for answers to the meaning of a meager existence. Mallarkey. It really looked interesting from the notebook handwritten first pages and I believe that my agnostic darkside approved of the subject matter. This book turned into my all time favorite. Though it didn't TURN ME ON to God it was able to give me a new perspective on the fragile lives that we live. There is a part of me that wishes that Hollywood could find this particular classic(Rob Reiner, Are you listening? I've always thought you would be the best one to handle an adaptation of this book.) A certain part of me has been unable to read any of the sequels that Mr. Bach has written, A BRIDGE ACROSS FOREVER and ONE. I do not wish to shine a bad light on these works they may well be very good, they just never spoke to me in the way that ILLUSIONS did. I think it is probably about time to read it again. THANK YOU VERY MUCH MR. BACH. Your book has been a staple to my library since 1976.
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Summary: Book to Make You Think
Review: The book "Illusions" by Richard Bach is a great, easy-to-read book that involves a very interesting journey and a thought-provoking end. This book follows the life through a simple barnstormer named Richard. Richard's life is normal until he meets a man named Donald Shimoda-a mechanic and messiah that turns Richard's life around with different tests of reality. I enjoyed reading this book because it makes you think about reality, but lets you learn more and more throughout the entire book. The short read makes it less of a challenge, but still worth the time to read. Richard Bach does a great job of writing this book; it reads easy and never lets you put it down! I recommend this book to everyone, it's always important to have knowledge in this field, afterlife.
Rating:
Summary: Illusions
Review: This book was a true inspiration to me. Richard Bach has a way of taking incredibly difficult philosophical theories and putting them into words that anyone can understand. Illusions has given me a new outlook on life.
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