Customer Reviews

In Search of Stones: A Pilgrimage of Faith, Reason, and Discovery

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This book is well worth reading, but only to broaden a perspective on past books this Author has written. Although, wrapped in a 3 week trip to Scotland, this is really an auto-biography. The Author's life both fascinating and full of sadness. I have read The Road Less Traveled, People of the Lie and several other books Dr. Peck has written. Piercing books of the human condition.

In my view there is a contrast and ambiguity to his personel life and the main tenets and themes of The Road Less Traveled. It makes one want to re-visit those themes, from a broadened perspective of the Author's own paradigm.

Without question the man is brilliant with pen in hand. Provocative and probing in life's more serious problems.

One difficult observation, is the anger beneath the surface directed towards the man's closest relationships. The relationships seem loving on the surface, but the actions portray a darker side. The serial infidelities, his wife has had to endure. The resentment of his parents. The estrangement of his children. In addition to his own physical self destructive habits of alcohol, and tobacco. Unfortunately, one could take the totality, and conclude, the man really doesn't care for himself or others close to him.

I will continue to buy Peck's books and presently have "Golf and the Spirit" purchased and ready to begin reading.

I think Dr. Peck is quite a smart man with many interesting, relevant things to say. That said, I also think that if I met him in person I might not like him very much. Just a hunch. Does this have anything to do with the book? Yeah, of course. Because this is his PERSONAL book. It's not like "The Road Less Traveled," where he is mainly focusing in on case histories and using them as a starting point to Illustrate Great Truths About the World, this is the book where he launches his Understanding About the Universe from his personal life. Since they came non-stop, I found his egotism and uncaring attitude to those around him a bit aggravating. As I struggled through the book--I struggled through because in spite of his faults still Dr. Peck had some true gems to offer--I felt like I was encaged in a closet with my least-favorite uncle, being preached at all the time by a man who can't manage his personal life.

The main fault I find with him is that he offers his personal observations as Fact. And if anyone doesn't agree with what he says, well, let God protect them, because he has some mean things to say. He may even call them Evil or Possessed.

And he has a way of rationalizing everything he does himself while being extremely harsh on other people. I especially found his diatribe on his wife's depression very, very annoying. He makes it sound as though this woman intentionally chose to be depressed and ruin his life thereby. (Oh, did I mention that Dr. Peck is very big on Choice? Not that I'm one for lazy, irresponsible people, but Dr. Peck is just over the edge. In his book on exorcism, he says that a girl was possessed because she was sexually abused and then chose to repress that memory--because she chose not to see the truth, that she'd been raped horribly, she was possessed by Ultimate Evil.) I can cite a few possible reasons for her depression; one, Dr. Peck continually having extra-marital affairs, and not owning up to the wrong he did, and even using the book to justify his actions; two, Ms. Peck having grown up in another country, Singapore, and being of non-white descent, suffering cultural shock and living in a sometimes racist country; three, the fact her husband didn't have much to do with their children... I mean, those things seem possible, don't they? I'm not saying I KNOW the Why's, even if those things are true there are bound to be many other factors--I'm just saying, I don't understand how he can be so glib and judgmental. He has, as he states himself, led a pretty sheltered, easy life as a WASP born into a very rich family. Now people with such backgrounds have their pains and vicissitudes too, I know, but if I were him I would pause a moment before judging people not like him so quickly and with such an uncaring attitude, people who haven't had all the advantages he has had.

Ah, Peck has a reason for everything. Why does he smoke? Well, this Prophet of Integration will tell you that it's because of a myriad of reasons; his biological makeup, his childhood, his job, blah blah blah. Why did he become an adulterer for so many years? Well, his biological makeup, together with his childhood, and blah blah blah... This is a psychiatrist who has many interesting insights to offer about other people, often quick to criticize; truly, we all have planks in our eyes when it comes to looking at ourself.

He becomes angry at his children at one point, at how distant and angry they are. I felt sorry for him, but he just kept on justifying himself, how he hadn't exactly been the best of parents but that was because blah blah blah... Maybe, Peck, that has something to do with why they're angry. If you never say Sorry, people are bound to be angry sometimes. Sometimes the best thing to do is shut up about how right you are and just say 'forgive me.'

And his views on racism? Quite glib. Barely mentions it, in fact. Interesting, since his wife is Asian and his children are half non-white. In one of his books, he brings up the case of an African-American woman who feels weighed down with responsibility for representing her race. He tells us that a man in her community-group thing wrote her a note saying "Don't worry so much about it, that's my job. --God." And then he and Dr. Peck hugged the woman. He then joyfully about how they did the right thing and how glad he is that the woman will now have a more balanced view of things. I'm sure the woman was over-joyed. It's true that now and then we need to take a lighter view on things, and smile now and then, but racism IS a real problem. That glib approach to such a huge, damaging issue was just not thoughtful and irresponsible. Like many of his other opinions, it was too pat and self-centered. Racism is, for many of us, an on-going, never ending issue that we have to confront all our lives. It is a BIG issue. You don't just learn to deal with discrimination by tossing your head and smiling a big smile.

I just don't feel like reading anything more by Peck. If I need Insight and Relevations, I'll go to another writer. I just can't swallow any more hypocritical preaching by a man who sees the world from such a self-centered, smugly assured view. I don't need any more of this pontification. Despite all his assurances that he has "overcome" mainstream and that he's quite "above" culture, he isn't. Maybe he ain't standard American-white-male-fare, not quite, but he has his cultural prejudices and biases. His continual hyping of himself as a guru above the culture he was born into is simply not true and it's just so arrogant. It's also damaging, because by that image, he's selling his personal opinions and observations as Fact and Spiritual Truth, irreproachable by anyone.

And oh, I know that Peck ain't gonna read this review or anything, but I'm sure that if he'd have lots of rebuttals ready about how much my dislike of his work or him has to do with my original sin, my lazyness, my genetic makeup, my childhood hurts, my smoking or non-smoking habits, my intellectual deficits and political beliefs. He'll probably say that I've recognized the inherent truthfulness in his words and my unconscious is reacting to hide myself from this damaging truth (wake up, Peck, Freud and penis-envy are out, dead, irrelevant.) Maybe he'll even say that I'm Evil because of it.

Yeah, whatever.

"In Search of Stones" is a book to be enjoyed and savored on many levels. First the book is educational. We accompany Dr. Peck and his wife Lily on a three-week trip through the countryside of Wales, England and Scotland in search of the ancient megalith stones erected by prehistoric people between 4,000 and 1,500 BC. But their obsession with stones also acts as a catalyst for Dr. Pecks exploration of topics such as religion, romance, despair, addiction and peace. We learn about George Fox the 17thC Englishman who founded "The Religious Society of Friends" known today as the Quakers. Fox not only inspired thousands to "see the light of Christ" in each other but also to match his bravery in the face of imprisonment, beatings, illness and hardship. Their silent group meetings could only be broken by anyone who was "moved" to speak by their Inner Light. Secondly the book is autobiographical. We learn about Dr. Peck's fears and shortcomings. Although I was saddened to learn about his sexual infidelities, regular recreational use of marijuana, nicotine addiction and about a "strong habituation to alcohol" I also appreciated his honesty. It took courage to shatter his public image of saintly self-control. In revealing the pain and shame of his own inner space Dr. Peck gives us permission to explore our own unconscious mind. Thirdly, the book is thought provoking and inspirational. Dr. Peck discusses the three prevailing beliefs about good and evil: the denial of evil, the denial of goodness, and the acceptance of good and evil. He endorses the latter and believes that evil was defeated when Jesus died on the cross. Redemption is the simple mop-up operation of what remains. Although I believe evil is another mask of God to teach us unconditional love I appreciate his sharing his thoughts, thereby giving us an opportunity to discover where we stand. Dr. Peck believes integrity is more important than inner peace; apathy, not hate, is the opposite of love; life is full of paradox and that salvation is an ongoing process.

I was disappointed with this book. The concept of using an actual journey to illuminate the journey of life itself is a good one, except that in this case the author's considerable ego gets in the way of the provocative ideas he presents. I found his thoughts on aging, peace, and despair particularly perceptive, but by the time I got to them, I was so irritated with him that I had to force myself to read on. There is just way too much Soctt Peck in here. He goes beyond using himself as an example to illustrate points he is making. I don't need to know about his teeth flossing habits, for instance, and I wonder how many others are interested? I was interested in the stones he visited and the lessons he learned from them, as well as in his thoughts on the reason for their existence. I was also interested in the influences that shaped his life, but I thought much of the book was simply self-indulgent. And in the case of his adultery, smoking, and drinking, almost arrogant. He explains at length why he indulges (or indulged) in these behaviors and seems to expect the reader to understand and accept, but I was offended by the fact that he focuses only on himself and seems oblivious to the effect of his behavior on others. I expected more compassion and understanding from the author of "The Road Less Traveled." In short, I think Scott Peck writes movingly about the search for meaning that is universal, but he interferes with his message by giving in to his ego too often.

I read this book because I have an interest in prehistoric sites and wondered what a famous self help guru might have to say about them. I looked forward to a spiritual discussion of these ancient, enigmatic monuments. Unfortunately the book turned out to be more about Mr Peck and less about megaliths. If your idea of fun is reading a long list of complaints about food, hotels and the lack of refuse bins in train stations etc then this is the book for you. His views on Britain are a continual whine about how it is "not like home". When not complaining about breakfasts, the author indulges in long, self indulgent monologues about his family, beliefs, infidelities and smoking. Honest maybe but I ended up feeling very little sympathy for him. When we do get round to talking about prehistoric sites his "insights" are questionable to say the least. I can understand how someone can wax lyrical about a little known dolmen in a field, after all beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However his dismissal of the dramatic and beautiful Pentre Ifan left me speechless. If you want to visit prehistoric sites in Britain please don't use this book as a guide or you will end up missing some truly beautiful places. Just to set the record straight the reason that there weren't any bins in the station is because at the time of his visit, terrorists were planting bombs in them. If the author had stopped complaining for a few minutes he may have found this out for himself.

As advertised on the cover of this book, anachronistic me-generation guru Peck and his wife Lily set off on a tour of Britain's legendary stone circles, right? Wrong. Peck and Lily do visit some circle sites but this book is about 1% stone circles and 99% Peck going on and on and on and on and on and on about himself, his life, his beliefs, his personal health, and why faithful Lily forgave him for all the pain his freewheeling, skirtchasing lifestyle as one of the "it" crowd of the '60's and '70's self-discovery movement caused her. This is not about Britain's heritage sites, or even about self-help, it's about Peck patting Peck on the back for being such a smart fella. A bad book without any redeeming qualities. A waste of money and time. Oh, and Dr. Peck, Scotland is not, as you claim, "larger than all the rest of the United Kingdom combined." Jeesh.

I first read this book some five years ago. It was my first Scott Peck book. I have since read the entire Road Less Traveled series, and others, and I found In Search of Stones to be his best. Frankly, I am quite surprised at some of the negative reviews appearing on this page. A reviewer suggested that Dr. Peck should feel shamed at his infidelity. It takes a great deal of courage to openly admit our mistakes, as Dr. Peck has done. He made willing changes in his behavior, and therefore deserves forgiveness. Perhaps other couples experiencing similar difficulties could take a lesson from him. His honesty makes the work all the more endearing. The book could easily be considered an authoritative work on the megalithic sites of Great Britain--a facinating subject. The journey through Great Britain and Dr. Peck's observations parallel beautifully with the journey of life. I recommended this book to a friend as she wanted something to read during a two week trip to Turkey--she loved it! The first 20 or so pages sing of ego--but right after he admits his infidelity, the book glides along beautifully.

Never having read "A Road Less Traveled", I, unfortunately, purchased Peck's cassette "In Search Of Stones", with his voice on the tape. The tape was very disappointing to say the least. From the wonderful things I have heard about his other books, he is obviously a man who does not walk the walk, with his infidelity when he was touring and lecturing his book. I felt no remorse from him whatsoever. His voice became grating after a while and I could not finish the tape. It's easy to have a philosophy about life, however, living that philosophy is not so easy. I don't believe I will read any of his books as there are so many good writers now, who I beleive do live their truths.

If you're a Scott Peck fan just buy this and read it - it's
great. Here Scott Peck blends the story of his and Lily Peck's
three week journey through Wales, England and Scotland looking
for ancient megalithic stones, with profound insights on life
and living and enough stories from his life to make it semi-
autobiographical. Each chapter covers a day of their journey
(the outward search for meaning and mystery) interwoven with a
discussion on various aspects of life (the inward search) after
which each chapter is named. These include Reason, Romance, Ageing,
Death, Parenthood, Money, and Peace to name but a few (20 in all).

For those familiar with Sott Peck, this intimate sharing of his
life should prove most rewarding. In fact, with startling honesty
and humility Scotty unequivocally removes himself from any pedestal
on which many may have placed him. Still he emerges as a gifted
man of great insight, his sharing of which, really is a gift to us.

I found these triple aspects masterfully blended - a tribute to
Scott Peck's considerable talent as a writer. Thoroughly enjoyable
and highly educational. Congratulations M. Scott Peck - an excellent
book.

This is the eighth Scott Peck book I have read... and he has yet to bore or disappoint me! In Chapter 13, he calls himself an "evangelist of integration" referring to his interest in bringing together the fields of general science, psychology, and theology in his writings. With this book we may add history, archaeology, and philosophy to the mix. By his own admission, he is a man "driven to integrate everything that is properly interrelated." As the subtitle of In Search Of Stones would suggest, this is exactly what he is attempting to do here in this 21-day journal-like account of a trip through Wales, Scotland and England with his wife Lily in June of 1992. To me, it is truly fascinating how their trip turns into an obsession of locating and studying the megalithic standing-stones that are everywhere scattered along their experience. Each day is a new chapter, respectively focusing on the following topics: Reason, Romance, Addiction, Holiness, Changing, Religion, Aging, Parenthood, Money, Death, Pilgrimage, Gratitude, Peace, Adventure, Consideration, Space, Time, Art, Integration, Despair.

One does not have to always agree on every Peck-point (ie., in ch.10, he rejects the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the body) to yet find him challenging, and yes... inspirational. He shares his thoughts in a way that never comes across ex cathedra, and the reader is never judged, but is rather, allowed to judge. I love his knack for summary statements... for instance, mental health is "an ongoing process of dedication to reality at all costs." Contemplation is "a lifestyle dedicated to maximum awareness." Salvation is "an ongoing process of becoming increasingly conscious." Of money, he says that "enough of it is not enough, at least not when we are chasing after the illusion of total security." He says that "death is probably the most important fact of life," and that "a grateful heart is one of the prerequisites for being a genuine Christian." He suggests that "laziness" might be the essence of what we call original sin. (Laziness not as physical lethargy, but mental, emotional and spiritual inertia). Peck says that "courage is not the absence of fear but the capacity to go ahead in the very direction of which you are afraid."

I read this book while at a spiritual retreat and found it very inspirational, thought-provoking, and as metaphysically challenging as anything he's written, including his "In Heaven As On Earth." This is as close as he's come so far to an actual autobiography... here we are not on the couch in his office, but we are rattling along with him down bumpy backroads, being disappointed at yet another less-than-3-star accommodation... and peering into every farmer's field for perhaps another serendipitous adventure with the stones. Do whatever you have to do to get your hands on a copy of In Search Of Stones. I cannot possibly believe that it is currently out-of-print.