The Secrets of Life [Paperback]

Stuart Wilde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1995

A collection of excerpts and quotes taken from Stuart's current books and his as-yet unpublished writings. They form the basis of his "alternative philosophy", which has attracted such a large readership over the year.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stuart Wilde has written 16 books and it’s his perceptive and quirky way of writing that has won him a loyal readership over the years. He has also had a lasting effect on the New Age movement. Over a period of 20 years, he has come to be known as “the teacher's teacher” because of the influence he’s had on other writers and lecturers in the field.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hay House Inc (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561701645
• ISBN-13: 978-1561701643
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,362,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Random observations, August 14, 2004

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Secrets of Life (Paperback)

This book is a compilation of short observations based on the core of Wilde's philosophy. The thoughts and ideas are drawn from his books, articles, unpublished writings, newspaper interviews and excerpts from TV/radio shows.

Wilde believes that life was mean to be enjoyed and his writings are dedicated to the rapid and complete liberation of the individual from negative thoughts and emotions and the daily grind. The main themes revolve around how to remain balanced and detached, how to increase one's perception, act powerfully, concentrate on what is real and believe in oneself.

In the short entries of mostly one page each that are not arranged alphabetically, Wilde holds forth on subjects like dedication, perseverance, opportunity, dimensions, concentration, relationships, time, energy, opposites, sacrifice, confidence, serenity, service, creativity, and, with a refreshing libertarian approach, on stuff like government and politics.

His humorous and engaging style inspires optimism. In isolation, however, not all of these thoughts always make sense: some appear as truisms and some may be wide open to interpretation without a context. But even when one disagrees with him, his ideas often raise a smile. The Secrets Of Life is enhanced by beautiful black and white illustrations by Stephen Smith. It is a handy inspirational guide to his thoughts that I recommend to those who are already fans of Wilde.

His popular books like Affirmations, The Force and The Quickening provide a wider understanding and proper context of the insights that he manages to convey with so much wit and elegance and would be more suitable for those readers wishing to investigate his work for the first time.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Advice but I Don't Like "Snippets"..., March 17, 2007

By 

Monica Main "Monica Main" (Valencia, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Secrets of Life: (Revised and Updated!) (Paperback)

I love Stuart Wilde and, perhaps, I expected more from this book...Or at least an ORGANIZED book.

Each bit of wisdom is...well, wise. However, I don't like snippets of information. That's my personal preference so it should reflect on the value of Stuart's work.

By snippets, I mean having a page heading such as "On Abundance" and going into a short paragraph (sometimes just one sentence) on the topic. Then, onto the next page with a different "snippet" not having anything to do with the prior one.

Maybe the book would have been better if it were organized in sections such as "Abundance," "Health," "World Affairs," etc.

Anyway, I don't regret getting the book and found it to be a wise purchase. I just wish it was more in-depth with each "snippet" and better organized by topic rather than randomly thrown together.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The Secrets of Life, May 5, 2009

By 

J. Chapman (South Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Secrets of Life: (Revised and Updated!) (Paperback)

This is not one of Stuart Wilde's better books, in my view. Whilst I can strongly recommend many of his other works, this one seemed more like a synopsis of the more 'folksie' aspects of his work. I almost felt as if he was under some pressure to churn out another book, and so pulled this together just to satisfy his publisher. I haven't donated it to the local library - it's not quite that bad. But it just isn't up to his usual standard.