Rating: 
Summary: Just what I needed . .
Review: I bought this book this weekend on a whim. Even though I normally research my purchases ahead of time I occasionally like to go on instinct. I have never read "Tuesdays with Morrie" so I have to say I wasn't influenced at all by any preconceived ideas of what the writing would be like. I loved it. I found it hard to put down and I am still thinking about it - mulling it over - several days later. I have a list of people I've encouraged to read it, and it is such a quick read that if it's not their cup of tea then no harm is done. I think I found the idea of your life finally being fit like a puzzle piece into the grander sceme of LIFE so comforting. If you believe in God, or a higher spirit of some kind, you inevitably have to let go of past pain - times when you prayed for an intervention or guidance and felt that your prayers went unheeded. In this version of Heaven you are invited to see how the pieces fit - how things do balance out. I approached my mundane Mommy chores with a renewed sense of purpose this week - so I didn't become a Professor or an Engineer - the older I become the more I think I'm right where I'm supposed to be. I suggest you read the book with an open mind and see what you think! Anyway I'll be mulling over my Five People for some time to come . . .
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Excellent ... a must read.Also recommend Corporation YOU: A Business Plan for the Soul."
Rating:
Summary: Morrie Schwartz would have a hard time doing better!
Review: Tuesdays with Morrie would be a hard book to follow. Mr. Albom has met the challenge. Remembering Morrie's words, "Death ends a life, not a relationship." has brought a a poignant suggestion, via Mr. Albom, about the connection between heaven and earth. I loved the book, yet, had to pace myself in reading it. Much to think about, including who would my five people be? An emotional, thought-provoking, literate, and novel. Keep talkin', Mitch. I'll listen.
Rating: 
Summary: are you kidding?
Review: Yes, this book brought me to tears....tears of pain. It is simply among the worst, most cliched, most sophomoric pieces of writing I've ever read. Albom is terrific on The Sports Reporters but he should leave fiction to the professionals. I suffered through the entire thing, hoping, waiting in vain, for some spark, some sign that this book deserves a spot on the bestseller list. Instead, it simply proved the theory that one bestseller is all you need to insure a spot on that list forever, regardless of the crap you publish. It's so bad, it will make you angry.
Rating:
Summary: Short, sweet novel that just missed being great
Review: TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom is one of
my all-time favorite books . . . so when I heard that he had
a new book out, THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN,
I rushed to reserve it at the library. It took me several months to get a copy of this short, sweet
novel that just missed being great . . . however, it was most
definitely readable . . . the premise, to quote from the book jacket,
intrigued me: "All endings are beginnings. We just don't know
it at the time." I grew to care for the main character, Eddie--a grizzled war
veteran . . . he seems to be trapped into a meaningless life
of fixing rides at a seaside amusement park; i.e., until his
83rd birthday . . . it was on that day that he died in a tragic
accident, trying to save the life of a little girl from a falling cart. He awakens in the afterlife, surprised to find that it is a place
where your earthly life is explained to you by five people who
were in it . . . these people may have been loved ones or distant
strangers, yet each of them changed your path forever. To quote the author, that is the secret of heaven: that each
affects the other and the other affects the next, and the world
is full of stories, but the stories are all one. There were several other memorable passages; among them:
He learned a few words in a few foreign languages. He learned to spit
a great distance. He learned the nervous cheer of a soldier's first
survived combat, when the men slap each other and smile as if it's
over--We can go home now!--and he learned the sinking depression
of a soldier's second combat, when he realizes the fighting does not
stop at one battle, there is more and more after that. Ruby stepped toward him. "Edward," she said softly. It was the first
time she had called him by name. "Learn this from me. Holding anger
is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon
that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade.
And the harm we do, we do to ourselves. . . . That's because no one is
born with anger. And when we die, the soul is freed of it. But now, here,
in order you move in, you must understand why you felt what you did,
and why you no longer need to feel it." People say they "find" love, as if it were an object hidden by a rock.
But love takes many forms, and it is never the some for any man
and woman. What people find then is a certain love. And Eddie found
a certain love with Marguerite, a grateful love, a deep but quiet love,
one that he knew, above all else, was irreplaceable. Once she'd gone,
he'd let the days go stale. He put his heart to sleep.
Rating:
Summary: Five People You Meet In Heaven
Review: The book is good but the interview with the author at the end really takes away from the story. If you read or listen to the book, stop when you get to the interview.
Rating:
Summary: What a great little book
Review: A very short read that I couldn't put down. I think it's a nice "break" and it gives you the warm fuzzies. It wasn't overly hokey or sugary. And you really like Eddie - you just can't help it. It's nice sometimes just to read something light, easy, and uplifting. If you want to smile - read the book. If you enjoy being cynical and mired in misery, this book is not for you.
Rating:
Summary: Another life-defining book from Mitch Albom
Review: To tell the truth, after reading Tuesdays with Morrie from Mitch Albom, I did have high expectations for this follow-up.
And I must say that my expectations were more than surpassed by another winner from him.
The interweaving of Eddie "Maintenance"'s various aspects of life from his childhood, teenage years, courtship, military service, marriage, middle age to old age and finally the beginning of his journey through heaven was beautifully and intricately spun in this short tale.
The poetic descriptions of the various "steps" in heaven that Eddie traversed through in search for inner peace before his final resting destination and the 5 lessons he had to learnt brought to mind the eternal existentialistic questions of why we are here and what our life purpose is, in a quiet and non-intrusive manner. So much so that we can be prompted to examine our own lives more sympathetically.
The message I got from Mitch Albom at the end was that Eddie could have been anyone of us and that we do not need to wait for our turn to meet our five people in heaven to recognise that whatever we are doing now has meaning and has purpose in wonderful and beautiful ways and that we should never allow ourselves to belittle our lives.
Not quite the tearjerker as Tuesdays but Five People has certainly touched my heart and a few others in more ways than one. I hope that you will allow this beautiful book to touch yours too.
Kudos to Mitch Albom and a big thank you to his uncle Eddie for being the source of inspiration for this would-be classic.
God bless
Rating:
Summary: Go Along For The RIde
Review: This is a lovely little book. Take it seriously or don't, but just enjoy the original and thought provoking story. Readable in a few hours, the author doesn't ask you to invest a lot in his tale of Eddie, the ride maintenance man at an amusement park called Ruby Pier, and the five people and ensuing five lessons he learns upon his accidental and heroic death. With "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," Mitch Albom attempts to tackle the oft-mused subject of what happens to us after we die. I, for one, appreciate it when creative people-writers-spin their yarns and offer their own, unique versions of heaven. Who, after all, hasn't thought about "life" after death? There are probably as many versions as there are people who attempt to create them. And Albom's presentation is an exercise in simple language and has a very pleasant voice. Not at all morbid, or even overly emotional, this tale made me feel good about my life and my loved ones. My recommendation is to read it, enjoy it, and pass it on. From the author of "I'm Living Your Dream Life," McKenna Publishing Group.
Rating:
Summary: A Big Disappointment
Review: Save your money! I can't believe the same person that wrote the wonderful book "Tuesdays With Morrie" wrote this book. It's boring, unimaginative, uninspiring, and for such a short book, seemed to take forever to read. So disappointing! Tuesdays With Morrie was exactly the opposite, a terrific read. I think Mr. Album pumped this book out hurriedly and it's selling on his name. He can do so much better.
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