James

This book is extremely well written. Archer tells an interviewer at the end of the recording that she is holding the 17th draft. Meticulous and intelligent. You love the heros and hate the villains. Every turn and twist in the plot is clever. I took an extra walk to listen to the last hour a second time.

His speeches during the campaign could be compared to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s. And he is the answer to King's dream - he was judged by the content of his character and not the color of his skin. And I voted for him and have high hopes for his presidency. I bought the book Looking for a greater understanding of the man who was described as "the brightest law student I ever had" by the head of Harvard Law School's Constitutional Law Department. It was read by Obama and the narration and content put me to sleep. Oh well, maybe a boring, steady guy is what we need right now as president. He could have used help by his speech writers in creating this book.

I read the original and was hoping for an update and good explanation of the theories of the original. It turned out to be a synopsis of the original. Get the original and skip this one.

I read it 40+ years ago. Now I grok it. Smith, raised on Mars in a selfless culture, is an individual who didn't have to shed the baggage of our ego burdened society. He is used by Heinlein, in Socratic- style dialog with Jubal, a wise earthling, to illustrate the insanity of our current society. When this Buddha/Christ figure engages our world, the result is both humorous and hopeful.

This book consists of a collection of rants some of which are very informative and entertaining and some are just funny. The author's use of silly voices gets a little old toward the end. The politics are unabashedly conservative but his opinions are well supported and seem reasonable - particularly regarding global warming.

Wayne Dyer has absorbed and distilled most of the motivational, inspirational and spiritual writings that I've heard of. He has tried to live these ideas as well as teach them. I am particularly impressed that he focuses on service and stresses that when you feel you are unconnected to the "source" you are living out of your ego. His writing shows how he has evolved over the years. Good stuff.