Rating: 
Summary: Heartwarming
Review: Good book. Mitch is very innovative in his writing skills. Catchy, could not put the book down. Best part was meeting the fourth person, Eddie's wife... his love for her, his longing to stay with her, the comfort he felt in her presence. At last finding the truth about, and the reason for his nightmares (meeting the fifth person) all those years, his regret for staying behind at Ruby Pier. While other books out there try to explain 'the reason' for our existence, none I've found to be more engaging than this. Good work. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Good book -- should get better after re-reads
Review: Having never read any of Mitch Albom's other work, I was very anxious to read this book because the premise sounded very promising.I like to think of this book as a journey into the unknown. Nobody here really knows what heaven is like, and its very existence is even questioned by many. Albom gives us a glimpse of what his heaven is like by allowing us to follow Eddie, the main character, on his journey through heaven. Before Eddie's death, he was an old man who felt he had done nothing with his life. He was plagued with the questions that a lot of us inquire of ourselves. What have I done in my life? Has my life been worth living? What have I got to show for it? Sadly, when Eddie died, he felt that his life was a miserable existence with no meaning. Enter Mitch Albom's heaven. It's an experience. It's not really like what television, movies, or your own mind have portrayed it to be. There aren't people lounging around in togas sipping fine wine and having a jolly old time however they please. Albom envisions heaven as an experience at looking back at one's own life and how one has unknowingly affected and been affected by others--sometimes strangers. In heaven, Eddie meets 5 different people who have affected his life in some important manner, though he doesn't necessarily realize it until the story unfolds. To be quite frank, I was slightly disappointed in this book. Given the premise, I was really hoping for an uplifting, somewhat spiritual book that would give me a warm fuzzy after I had finished reading it. It didn't. However, I honestly believe that if I let the theme of the book play around in my head for awhile, I'll appreciate the book more. Moreoever, I look forward to reading the book again in the future (maybe in a year or so) because I think it will get better in future re-reads. I recommend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A poor effort with little truth esposed by Mr. Albom
Review: Mr. Albom's first work, Tuesdays with Morrie, was a substantially much better book. Why?
Because it was honest, straight from the gut writing, albiet not from Mr. Albom, but from Morrie.
This book it is clearly evident that Albom is "faking" his way trying to espose meaning and purpose to those who never really had any and never will.
Utterly Pedantic.
Rating: 
Summary: I'd love heaven to be like this........
Review: This book was a wonderful surprise to a dreary day. It has lessons to give and heartfelt endearments that remind us how we are all on a journey, a path of some kind, together. Even if you don't believe in heaven, who can deny that fact!
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Effort
Review: To ask people to pay upwards of 20 dollars for a book that tries to mask its lack of depth in the all too common and vague vein of spirituality is outrageous!
A shot of Jack Daniels is more inspirational...
Rating:
Summary: (4 1/2) Mitch Albom As The Modern Day John Donne
Review: The reviews to date validate my reaction to this book - that you will probably love it or hate it. Forty-five people have written a review, almost exactly divided between high praise and complete scorn. Twenty-two five star ratings, a single four star rating, a single three star rating, six did not indicate complete disdain with a two star rating, and the remaining fifteen rated it one star. I rated it five stars for three reasons, first I really enjoyed it - both the content and the style. Second, I thought that the author's technique and its implementation were interesting. Third, I concluded that the author accomplished his apparent goals exceptionally well. The goal of this review is to provide enough information for potential readers of Albom's allegory to decide whether it is the sort of book that they might enjoy and from which they might derive insight; THIS DEFINITELY IS NOT A BOOK FOR EVERYONE. This is literally and nominally the story of Eddie, an 83 year old maintenance man who we meet on the birthday on which he dies in a tragic accident at Ruby Pier, the amusement park where he spent most of his life and where his father had worked before him. But it is also an allegory about what it means to be a human being and our search for meaning in our lives. The story literally starts at "The End", with the first section being a description of the moments before Eddie's death , which occurs as he tries to save a little girl who is about to be crushed by a falling cart that has come lose from one of the rides. The remainder of the book consists of flashbacks to various birthdays as mileposts in Eddie's life and a few brief intrusions of the present as life proceeds for Eddie's coworker Dominguez, but it primarily involves the journey which Eddie begins as he enters heaven. This journey involves THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN, each of whom has played a meaningful role in his life (perhaps unbeknownst to him), and each of whom has chosen to wait for him to join them in heaven in order to help him understand his earthly path. The experience of each person contains a lesson for Eddie, and the cumulative impact is to help him put his life in a context that is far different from that which he perceived during his day to day existence. As one of them tells him, heaven is so you can finally understand the past, "to make sense of your yesterdays". The story is well told, logically consistent, and arrives at a very powerful and unexpected conclusion. It contains moments of humor but is primarily bittersweet, since Eddie views himself as having lived a life of missed opportunities, lost love, and little consequence. One point of the story is that what appear to be simple situations often mask profound truths and unexpected complexity. The author manages to combine the same elements of seeming simplicity and complexity within this story. The simple language employed is yet perfectly evocative of the possibilities of heaven juxtaposed against the often mundane realities of life. Indeed, many of the diverse aspects of life are touched upon including the effect of war not only on the participants but on the noncombatants as well, parental love and expectations for their children and the meaning of friendship and the role of duty in our lives. Thus if you are interested in an allegorical tale utilizing Eddie Maintenance (the name on his work shirt and adopted by the kids who enjoyed the rides at Ruby Pier) as the means to think about life's meaning, our relationship to God, and ourrole here on Earth, I highly recommend this book. My advice would be to savor it, rather than rush through it. It is only 196 small pages of relatively large type and can be read at a single sitting, but that would not do it justice. I found that I actually enjoyed it more because I had to occasionally put it away for a while to get other tasks accomplished; then I could come back and get reacquainted with Eddie as he proceeded on his journey. Of course, one advantage of the book being so short is that if you do not enjoy it as much as I did you haven't wasted much time. Tucker Andersen
Rating: 
Summary: The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Review: If you're looking for an inspirational, uplifting story,
don't read this book!
Most characters live a sad existence.
The story includes topics such as:
violence toward children, loneliness, neglect, alcoholism,
mean spiritedness, physical abuse, pyschological abuse,
and lots and lots of personal unaccountability.
Rating:
Summary: Short Story Masquarading as a Book
Review: I found this book very disappointing. It was simplistic and uninspiring. Certainly not worth buying. If you must read it, borrow it from the library. I can't imagine anyone wanting it to take up space on their home bookshelves to read again later.
Rating:
Summary: beauty
Review: this is NOT a sequel to Tuesdays With Morrie as some people seem to think. its not a book with fast pace action. if you cant read a book that deals with emotions, love, happiness, sadness and all that is part of a human life, dont read this book. this book describes a view of heaven, not your typical view of it but an idea of what it could be like. the author captures the emotions and feelings in a beautiful way. in a way that makes your jaw drop, in a way that makes your stare in amazement, makes you smile, and in way that brings tears to your eyes.
Rating:
Summary: Mitch is my homeboy!
Review: This was a sweet little book--a nice read for a lazy afternoon.
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