Customer Reviews

Beyond The Secret: The Definitive Unauthorized Guide to The Secret (Disinformation Movie & Book Guides)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let's face it, "The Secret" is an interesting movie and book, but Rhonda Byrne, the director/author, is a newbie when it comes to the new thought movement. Alexandra Bruce provides the historical context for 'The Secret' and explains the philosophy of the key people whose work Rhonda used in making her film.

After you read this book, watch "The Secret" again and you'll be amazed how much more you get from it. Highly recommended!

This is an extremely well written and fascinating study of the many teachers and gurus that went into the making of the secret.
what is even more inspirational is the actual story of how the secret got made from it's grass roots beginning to the tipping point superseller it became.
I definatley will explore some of these teachers and workshops on my own after reading this book. How can you go wrong?
Great work Ms. Bruce.An Excellent read; I will highly recommend it.

T. Shafer

Alexandra Bruce wrote a really great companion book here! I think anyone who has read The Secret must buy this book!

Alexandra Bruce has done a masterful job exploring "The Secret" and related phenomena. She interviewed many of the people interviewed in the film, and she provides a lot of background information that helps you understand the film better.

She avoids being polemical, and she isn't over-the-top either, like those who seem to worship "The Law of Attraction". She strikes a balance that is rare and refreshing in this kind of book. Also, her writing style is pleasant and easy to read. It flows naturally.

My favorite parts were the chapters where she interviewed Bill Harris, and where she quoted Ken Wilber. Those two chapters, along with the conclusion, are worth the price of the book.

She gets five stars out of five from me. Way to go, Ms. Bruce!

Who here has not read the book or seen the movie "The Secret?" (Raise your hands.) This book attempts to bring some perspective to "The Secret," so as to better understand what seems to be its message of materialism gone wild.

The philosophy behind "The Secret" is nothing new. The New Thought movement was popular in America from the 1850s to the 1950s. It was an offshoot of the Age of Enlightenment, which swept through Europe in the 1700s, and led to advances in law and science. New Thought asserts a monistic theory of the universe; One is All, and All is One. It is still as heretical to established religion as it was 300 years ago. The book that started it all and is a New Thought classic is called "The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles (a complete copy is included in this book). The ideas in "The Secret" are generally those of the Unity Church, which today has about 2 million members.

There are short profiles of many of the teachers featured in "The Secret." Some of them are more oriented toward science and technology, others are more corporate-oriented, and one embraces the occult.

A big controversy involved the appearance in the film of Esther Hicks, channeler for a group consciousness named Abraham. She was to appear in the film, but ended up on the cutting room floor, due to a dispute with Rhonda Byrne, the brains behind "The Secret." A person might wonder what the reaction would be if a major inspiration for "The Secret" came from a disembodied consciousness.

This book is well worth reading for skeptics and true believers. It doesn't attempt to prove or disprove The Law of Attraction, but it will give the reader a lot to think about.

This little book by Alexandra Bruce is excellent. I wish I would've read it before I bought The Secret. Alexandra really opens your mind and eyes to think and see what is and is not realistic in terms of "getting what you want" related to "The Laws of Attraction". She is candidly honest and I liked that a lot. I would recommend to read this "unauthorized guide" before you embark in "The Secret" by Rhoda Byrne. Thank you Alexandra Bruce!

Alexandra ( Chica) Bruce goes to great lengths to get the "back story" on the teachers of The Secret, as well as to provide in depth well detailed and well written information. The details she provides in this book (a companion piece for certain) will give you a better understanding of The Secret. ©Bobskatie Enterprises for Amazon.com

Beyond The Secret contains the real story behind the making of the Secret. Why the Hick's were cut out of the Secret and why other people were included.
You will get the real low down on one of the most popular movies/books of all time.

The section on religion and the secret is particularly interesting.

Ms Bruce trying to explain the success of the Secret while making it sound oversimplified and unjustified. But the real Secret is she's just trying to get her piece of the pie, giving you background info you could look most of up on the internet in 5 minutes. Then she writes with this attitude like she has such a deep understanding of the book's success, when if she has such an understanding, maybe she would write a book that is not belittling another book for a change. She makes it sound like the Secret was so money motivated, but then she's making money off of it, and what's worse she's not really adding anything of real value. Don't waste your money.

I was disappointed in this book, did not have enough information, that I thought it would have.

There are better books, save your money.