Rating: 
Summary: Who's Values Are These?
Review: What there is of value in this book was hacked at best fromEric Fromm's "The Art of Loving." Otherwise, this book appears to come from some sort of skewed value system where people feel it is appropriate to force their religion on others through school prayer (their style only) over loudspeakers at school and in other public places.
Rating: 
Summary: A great insightful book!!!!!
Review: I truly enjoyed this book very much because Dr. Peck really tells the truth about life. LIFE IS TOUGH! There's no doubt about it. No other authors, I know of, have the courage to tell it like it is about life and death. After reading this book I felt much better and more intuitive to life itself. We are all going to die someday but many will deny or even come close to have thoughts of their own inevitable mortality. Dr. Peck emphasize that we need to look beyone life and accept death as part of life otherwise we are nothing but walking zombies. I truly recommend this book to anyone who are having trouble with their lives. This book also covers Christianity. Some may find it appalling about how Dr. Peck talks about his religious beliefs however, I look at it as he is basically telling readers that there are higher beings than ourselves. We didn't get here by accident that is all he is conveying and therefore life has meaning and purpose. To other readers, it is their choice to accept that or not. Nevertheless, it is a nice way to ameliorate those who are in pain and desperately in need of psychological help.
Rating:
Summary: If you're a Gen-Xer, this book is an important read.
Review: If you're looking for "more" in your family life, work, friendships - this book provides the definition of principles and values for living a full life, concepts of the sort that weren't emphasized much for many in our generation. For example, the concept of delayed gratification. Why wait when I can have it now? If "quick fix" doesn't do it for you anymore, read this book (it in itself is not a quick fix, so more than once to ponder the theories and relate them to your own life and actions) to map out a strategy for self-discovery, personal growth, and true love (the definition of which will make you think hard about how you think you "love" others). And for a person who has lived a life without a formal religious background or any other "spiritual training," it's an interesting introduction to the definition and concept of spirituality. It's an uncomfortable read at times, but also very exciting. I highly recommend this fascinating book.
Rating:
Summary: Too Spiritual
Review: This book turned me away because of its "spiritual" content, which seems to be based on the author's view on religion. Religion and spirituality are a personal matter that cannot be easily generalized to help everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: It has good points, but the overall purpose is too religious
Review: The points Peck makes in this book are both good and bad. I agreed with many of his assertions about discipline and love, though his definition of love is too narrow. For someone that went through medical school, he ignores many scientific principles that contracdict his assertions about science and religion. The last section of this book is evangelism, rather than persuasive writing. Overall, the overtly religious intent of this book made its argument far less effective than it could have been. If you leave off the section on grace, you have a good book.-Michael D. Herrington from Sarasota, Fl. 8/4/99 check my website, aktung.homepage.com, for my full length review of this book
Rating:
Summary: An answer for the problems of today.
Review: Ever wonder why, when you think you are in the greatest relationship of your life, it suddenly ends? Or how about the reason you can't seem to get your work done and your falling behind in all aspects of your life. "The Road Less Traveled; A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth" by M. Scott Peck, M.D. could be the answer for you. M. Scott Peck wrote a book using the experiences of his patients and some of his own and tried to relate them to the problems of everyday people in the real world. In the first section of his book he talks about discipline, self-gratification, character disorders, responsibility, and depression. He explains that all of these are healthy and the only way to get beyond them so they do not become a problem is to admit that you have a problem. Because if we ignore them they will only cause more pain and suffering. In section number two, Peck talks about love, falling in love, and falling out of love. He teaches us how to recognize true compatibility, how to distinguish dependency from love, and how to become one's own person while in a relationship. This book is one that should be read by anyone who has questions about their life. It can show you how to take control of your life so that you can experience it to the fullest. No more sitting and wondering why things are happening to you. It is like having your own psychaitrist in the palm of your hand, just a whole lot cheaper!!
Rating:
Summary: A reminder of how to take the first step
Review: A reminder of how to take the first step towards a wonderful life, this book is insparational and full of love. It is the perfect book to accompny good therapy and a good guide to how and why to find one. It teaches truths that are enlighting and empowering and that will help you in setting the first stone in the road to real wellbeing.
Rating:
Summary: Starts with a bang, ends making a mockery of psychiatry
Review: It's as if this book were written by two people. One person direct, pulling no punches about how to live a fulfilling life, and the other a narrow person trying to promote his chosen profession over all others. I started reading the book and was fixated. Life is difficult, and If you want to live, then quit whining. You get a world view in life, and you get stuck there maybe for your entire life, never changing or growing. You have to accept death in order to live. The man writing the book had reached through it, grabbed me by the collar and forced me to open my eyes and see. Truthfully, I came to a point when I put the book down for a day, to scared to read on. But I did, and I was disappointed. I expected deep analysis on all of the things we as people must come to grips with, giving up youth, accepting death and infirmity. Instead, I read a tortuous justification of why it's an honorable occupation to be a psychiatrist. Because they help people (this is what the whole love thing is about: it could just as well have been why loving God is important, why (socialism/communism) is the ultimate good, or why a loving family is good). The remaining chapters sum up why psychiatrists are better than scientists. Apparently, scientists are rather limited in scope, only believing in reproducible things and measured things. This as opposed to those things that can't be measured or reproduced (or understood), like E.S.P., or why people just don't die instantly. Because he doesn't understand something, it must be some form of magic.
Rating:
Summary: A Bible of love and the strength to attain it.
Review: If there was only one book that I could read, it would be this one. This book taught me to love with more power and has showed me the strength to use it. Because of this book, I am able to be happier and stronger and influence those I love to be happier and stronger. On a scale of one to five stars, this book gets six. It goes way beyond the functions of other books. It is not intended to entertain the reader or infrom the reader about superficial facts. This book has the ability to make a person's life better and in turn it gives them the ability to make other peoples lives better. The world is a better place because of this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting but seemingly speculative
Review: Dr. Peck's book, The Road Less Traveled, has been a cornerstone in self-help for years. Many of the insights in the book (the disciplines, etc.) offer practical instruments of life change to readers everywhere. Furthermore, he reserves his extensive vocabulary for academia, and offers this book in a easy-to-read style. The examples that he uses also drive many of his points home. The major limitation of this treatise is the fact that Peck extrapolates too much from his experiences. He looks at what has happened in his life, and he creates dogmatic claims from the instances. In many of these cases, other explanations are either more appropriate or as valid as the hypotheses that he posits. Some empirical research to support his claims would satisfy someone like me more. At any rate, however, the claims in the book do offer many people techniques that are helpful even if the explanations offered by Peck seem inadequate. This book should be read by everyone, and then each person can glean from it what they will.
|
