The Road Less Traveled [Paperback]

Peck (Author), M. Scott Peck (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Holiday House; Intl edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068485015X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684850153
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,756,258 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

M. Scott Peck's publishing history reflects his own evolution as a serious and widely acclaimed writer, thinker, psychiatrist, and spiritual guide. Since his groundbreaking bestseller, The Road Less Traveled, was first published in 1978, his insatiable intellectual curiosity has taken him in various new directions with virtually each new book: the subject of healing human evil in People of the Lie (1982), where he first briefly discussed exorcism and possession; the creative experience of community in The Different Drum (1987); the role of civility in personal relationships and society in A World Waiting to Be Born (1993); an examination of the complexities of life and the paradoxical nature of belief in Further Along the Road Less Traveled (1993); and an exploration of the medical, ethical, and spiritual issues of euthanasia in Denial of the Soul (1999); as well as a novel, a children's book, and other works. A graduate of both Harvard University and Case Western Reserve, Dr. Peck served in the Army Medical Corps before maintaining a private practice in psychiatry. For the last twenty years, he has devoted much of his time and financial resources to the work of the Foundation for Community Encouragement, a nonprofit organization that he helped found in 1984. Dr. Peck lives in Connecticut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

390 of 392 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Book, November 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Road Less Traveled (Paperback)

I am a therapist. The two books I recommend to my clients that seem to produced lasting results are The Road Less Traveled and An Encouter With A Prophet. I also recommend both books to all of my friends and relatives.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LIVE EACH DAY TO THE FULLEST; STRIVE TO BE HAPPY!, May 3, 2001

By 

Sandra D. Peters "Seagull Books" (Prince Edward Island, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road Less Traveled (Paperback)

"The Road Less Travelled" is a unique blend of psychology and spirituality; it is food for the soul and the heart. As a counsellor, I have recommended this book to clients, especially to those with addiction problems, and received very positive feedback. One comes to terms with the realization that it is not how many years we spend on this Earth that is important, it is what we do with the little time we have here that truly matters. Dream a little, laugh a lot; cry a little, love a lot. Accept life's challenges and obstacles and CHOOSE to be happy, anyway. If you think life has dealt you a bad deal, and perhaps it has, just look around and you will find others with far greater challenges than you ever imagined.

There is nothing quite so sad as one who has lost hope, or has set no personal goals or expectations. This book gives the reader a fresh insight and courage into setting goals, accepting what we cannot change and finding the courage to change what we can. One of the best ways we can overcome our own personal difficulties is to reach out and touch the hearts of those in greater need, and the world is filled with people desperately in need of understanding, love, acceptance, food, warmth, and shelter. By doing just one good thing for someone else each and every day, you will find your own life truly enriched a thousand times over.

This book provides courage to those who are afraid, hope to those in despair and strength to those who are weak. The author gives the reader much food for thought, and is bound to leave you soul searching for the true meaning and purpose of life.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book by all means, December 16, 2000

By 

Prerak Sanghvi "Prerak Sanghvi" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Road Less Traveled (Paperback)

This is a book that could change your life, like it did for me. I have read a lot of books on philosophies of life, psychology and stuff of that kind. All the books give ways to a "successful life" or even "happy life" and sorts.. but unfortunately, in practical life, most of them are very difficult or even impossible to follow. This book is different. It will NOT advise you. It will talk about life in a way that YOU will be able to analyse your own life and know what's wrong with you. And then YOU will be able to solve your own problems.

That's like a very very good psychotherapist.

The author doesn't insist that his thoughts are right. He doesn't make any apriori assumptions about the thoughts of readers. He talks a lot about God, and yet in a way that would suit fine even to blatant atheists.

Similarly, the portions on love and discipline are just fantastic. You can't deny them as being facts even if your thoughts are different.

Rather than teaching you new things, this book will lead you to self-discovery.

I definitely recommend it to everyone who can and likes to think.