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The Secret, which is described as a self-help film, uses a documentary format to present the “Law of Attraction.” This law is the “secret” that, according to the tagline, “has traveled through centuries to reach you.” The film features short dramatized experiences and interviews of a team of personal transformation specialists, spiritual messengers, feng shui masters, and moneymaking experts. As put forth in the film, the “Law of Attraction” principle posits that people’s feelings and thoughts attract real events in the world into their lives; from the workings of the cosmos to interactions among individuals in their physical, emotional, and professional affairs. The film also suggests that there has been a strong tendency by those in positions of power to keep this central principle hidden from the public. The previews or “clues” to the film, show men who “uncovered the Secret…”.

Editorial Reviews
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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. –This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From AudioFile
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. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine– Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

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