The Secret (book)
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| The Secret | |
|---|---|
 Hardbook edition cover |
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| Author | Rhonda Byrne |
| Country | Australia, USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Self Help Spiritual |
| Publisher | Atria Books Beyond Words Publishing |
| Publication date | November 2006 |
| Published in English |
November 26, 2006 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover, paperback), audio cassette and CD, ebook ([Kindle]) |
| Pages | 198 pp (first edition, hardcover) |
| ISBN | ISBN 978-1582701707 (first edition, hardcover) |
| OCLC Number | 76240921 |
| Dewey Decimal | 131 22 |
| LC Classification | BF639 .B97 2006 |
The Secret is a best-selling 2006 self-help and spirituality book written by Rhonda Byrne. A film based on the book was released before the book in DVD format. The tenet of the book is that an individual's focused positive thinking can result in life-changing results such as increased wealth, health, happiness and more. The book achieved high sales after being featured in two episodes of Oprah, whereafter the book reached the top of the New York Times bestseller list and the film based on the book reached #1 on the sales charts on Amazon.com.
The book has also reached a high level of notoriety and criticism from those who claim that the book misleads readers with its claims of positive thinking being able to influence a reader's life and real-world outcomes.
The film is largely influenced by Wallace D. Wattles' 1910 book The Science of Getting Rich.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The Secret is a book[1] that presents what is claimed to be a centuries-old idea, the pseudo-scientific Law of Attraction, which in essence is the power of an individual's positive thinking to change and influence outcomes in their lives. The book claims that by using the "Laws of Attraction", an individual can become wealthier, healthier, and happier. The "Laws of Attraction" are the "secret" that the title of the book suggests to the reader. The book claims that the secrets outlined in the book have been known by famous and influential people for centuries, but that they have conspired to keep these secrets hidden from the general public for their own benefit.
The Secret is described as a New Age spiritual self-help book, with the basis of the claims of the "Laws of Attraction" originate through understanding the cosmos and how an individual can influence it for their own personal gain and benefit.
[edit] Marketing
The book was marketed with an online viral video campaign focusing on wealth enhancement. The short video clips showed testimonials from readers of the book and practitioners of "the secret" claiming that the technique brought them wealth, cured sickness, and brought about a general life-change. The video clips do not disclose what "the secret" is, where it originated from or how it can be practiced, but rather pointed viewers to the website for both the book and film.
The general theme of both the book packaging and promotional material is how "the secret" originates from the cosmos. The background used in the material is often a field of stars, and various shots of the universe, adding mystique to the claims and the practice.
The book first reached widespread popularity in Australia after the claims were featured on a number of prime time current affairs shows. The book gained a high profile in the United States after being featured in two episodes of the Oprah Winfrey show. Paris Hilton mentioned the book on her Twitter account, stating "The Secret [is] such an amazing book. This is my third time reading it. I really do believe in it". Other celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Larry King also reviewed and/or covered the book, and in each case expressed their belief in the system or skepticism of its claims
[edit] Criticism
The claims made by both the book and film have been highly controversial, and have been criticized by reviewers and readers in both traditional and web-based media. The book has also been heavily criticized by former believers and practitioners, with some going as far as claiming that "the secret" was conceived by the author and that the only people generating wealth and happiness from it are the author and the publishers.[who?]
Others assert "the secret" offers false hope to those in true need of more conventional assistance in their lives. In 2007 Barbara Ehrenreich, an author and social critic, ridiculed the book's weight control advice to "not observe" overweight people.[2] According to the online magazine Religion Dispatches, Byrne argued that natural disasters strike those "on the same frequency as the event" and implied the 2006 tsunami victims could have spared themselves.[3] In businesses using the DVD for employee training or morale-building, some reacted to it as "a gimmick" and "disturbing" like "being indoctrinated into a cult".[2]
In 2009 Ehrenreich published Bright-Sided: How The Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America as a response to "positive thinking" books, like The Secret, that teach "if I just change my thoughts, I could have at all".[4] She worried this was delusional or even dangerous[3] because it avoided dealing with the real sources behind problems.[5] It encouraged "victim-blaming, political complacency, and a culture-wide flight from realism" by suggesting failure is the result of not trying "hard enough" or believing "firmly enough in the inevitability of your success". Those who were "disappointed, resentful, or downcast" were 'victims' or 'whiners'.[3] Ehrenreich advocated "not negative thinking or despair" but "realism, checking out what’s really there and figuring out how to change it".[4]
[edit] Film
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://thesecret.tv/
- ^ a b Ehrenreich, Barbara (February 27, 2007). "The Secret of Mass Delusion". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-ehrenreich/the-secret-of-mass-delusi_b_42212.html. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ a b c Goldberg, Michelle (October 11, 2009). "Barbara Ehrenreich’s Bright-Sided Explores the Dark Side of Positive Thinking". Religion Dispatches. http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/rdbook/1849/barbara_ehrenreich%E2%80%99s_bright-sided_explores_the_dark_side_of_positive_thinking/. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ a b "Author Barbara Ehrenreich on 'Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America'" (Transcript). Democracy Now!. October 13, 2009. http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/13/author_barbara_ehrenreich_on_bright_sided. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ Robb, Amanda (October 2009). "Barbara Ehrenreich on the Downside of Optimism". More.com. http://www.more.com/2053/8805-barbara-ehrenreich-bright-sided-optimism-the-secret. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
