So I was amazed, as I read it, to find that this book is exceedingly well written. Although Jarow is a new-ager, he has discriminating taste, considerable insight, and he's just a great writer. Just about every paragraph in the book is enjoyable to read, and presents useful information, if not a rare challenge. A previous reviewer said that this book is not that substantial. He or she certainly has a point--the book largely presents challenges and guidance for inner work. It doesn't make decisions for you, recommend practical plans of action, or tell you how to find a job. But it's written for people who relate to spiritual, immaterial, idealistic things, and it provides a demanding series of suggestions, questions, and meditations to galvanize such people into joining their inner and outer worlds. If you already relate to the world primarily in practical ways, this book would probably be worthless to you. The author does suggest, however, reading "What Color Is Your Parachute" (rather than plagurizing from it) and it might be a great idea to use them together.
Personally, I was thrilled to find that the author seems to be talking about me nearly all the time. This paragraph phrased the dilemma well: "People would tell me about their remarkable past lives as pharaohs and queens, but these same people were still working behind the counter at Macy's. What was wrong? Why was it that spiritual people seemed to be chronically nonfunctional? Why was it that not long after having some ecstatic vision or transcendant experience, I would find the same person bogged down in the same morass that they had been in before their revelation? Clearly, there was a problem" (p 3). He also puts his work in a political context reministcent of the Situationists and others: "From Karl Marx to Hazel Henderson, persuasive voices argue that the transformation of the workplace is a necssary prerequisite for human freedom" (p 5). I would particularly recommend this book to people who would like to return to their lives as pharaohs and queens, but also to those who struggle with apathy, confusion, or disatisfaction, and can handle some new-ageisms.
I have used an anti-career counselor in Seattle and it too helped change my life. A must read.
Although the book is organized around the chakras, Rick introduces many creative and insightful ideas. For example, no other career counselor talks about family history as a career influence.
I own the tapes as well as the book and periodically listen during drives. They're as current as the day I bought them, several years ago.