Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsThe Forever Living Inc. Book
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2010
Okay, so I used to work for ForeverLiving.com, an MLM company (like Avon) in Scottsdale, AZ. Anyhow, when I came onboard, the company was still transitioning out their old company icon and stamping in their new one of an eagle. The old one used to be the exact image of a seagull as shown on this book's cover. The company's owner (a family owned business), Rex Maughan, told his customers he decided to change the icon image because he saw an eagle spiraling upward in the sky. But the truth was that he was sued by this author's family for using the book's signature image without written approval. Supposedly, Rex had a gentleman's agreement with the author; not something to keep attack lawyers at bay. After the author died, the man's family was running dry on the residual proceeds inherited by this book which is still in print and for sale. Whether they knew Rex Maughan is the 138th richest man in the world or they just knew he was rich, I don't know, but they took advantage of the situation, sueing Forever Living Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Though the settlement amount is a secret, it must have been a lot, even for a man so rich because this book that he used to help mass distribute to all his customers as a philosophical cornerstone of his business suddenly became banned. Not one copy is to be found anywhere on the premises and no one is allowed to speak of it, less they lose their job. I think, after having helped to sell so many more copies of this book when the buzz of it died in the literary community, he now resents the notion of helping even more copy to sell and benefit the greedy family that sued him.
Because of all this drama, I finally got around to getting a copy and reading it. And well, it's okay; I guess. I wrote to both Rex and his son, Gregg, and told them I don't understand why it got so much buzz back in the 70s (so I heard). I agree with a quote I read from one critic that it's banal. Look up that word's definition; that was the right word to use. I believe some people enjoyed it because of the fantasy we may have that there's more to this world and our experience of it than we're aware of. Basically, this book will help you daydream of being able to move through time and space instantly, simply by willing it with your mind. It doesn't really give you a technique to try, in case you're wondering. Just practice, practice, practice, and you may eventually be able to experience something like being a god. Oh yeah; that reminds me - this book tries to tell you (in between the lines) that there is no God. Just you and your thoughts but that's enough for you to be your own god. That's why the Catholic Church shunned this book too when it 1st came out.
This book is a short read. I forget how long it was but I read it in one evening's sitting.
