The Secret

Audio seems like the natural medium for Rhonda Byrne's blockbuster motivational book on positive thought for positive results. The Australian TV producer leads listeners through her exposition on the secret of life. Quoting from an array of New Age gurus and interpreting more traditional teachers as well, the program integrates sound bites from the various authors, with actors taking many of the roles. Neale Donald Walsh, Denis Waitley, Jack Canfield, and dozens of others make cameo comments throughout the program. Byrne's slightly whispery, intimate voice calling the listener to believe alternates with hyped "you-can-do-it" encouragement from speakers like Bob Proctor. Kudos goes to the production team that integrated the dozens of speakers--some just introducing who will speak next. The resulting audio keeps a rapid pace hop-skipping along to support Byrne's premise of the essential "Law of Attraction." R.F.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

April 30, 2007
Supporters will hail this New Age self-help book on “the law of attraction” as a groundbreaking and life-changing work, finding validation in its thesis that one’s positive thoughts are powerful magnets that attract wealth, health, happiness... and did we mention wealth? Detractors will be appalled by this as well as when the book argues that fleeting negative thoughts are powerful enough to create terminal illness, poverty and even widespread disasters. The audio version of this controversial book, read by Byrne and contributing authors such as John Gray and Neale Donald Walsch, is uneven at best. The cheesy, obvious sound effects will not do much to add intellectual respectability to a work that has been widely denounced as pseudoscience. Mostly, this audio is hampered by its confusing and disjointed organization—techniques that worked reasonably well in the print version and the movie, such as cutting every few seconds from one enthusiastic “expert” to another, make for a choppy and somewhat bewildering listening experience. The gentle cadences of Rhonda Byrne’s breathy, Aussie-infused voice are certainly the best part of the audio, but her material is scarce and provides mostly connective tissue between the testimonials. Simultaneous release with the Beyond Words hardcover.