SELECTED REVIEWS FOR
God and the Evolving Universe

Amazon.com Review
In God and the Evolving Universe three spiritual visionaries--authors James Redfield and Michael Murphy, and filmmaker Sylvia Timbers--join together to offer a hopeful prophecy. Their basic premise is that we have reached an exciting point in history where human evolution and planetary evolution are about to collide, creating an entirely new and spiritually enlightened world. On the human track, the authors claim we have been working toward this era of enlightenment for some time. They point to the emergence of extraordinary human capabilities, such as clairvoyants and even amazing athletic feats that incorporate an altered state of consciousness. (They site baseball slugger Mark McGwire's mind-altering visualization techniques before a game.) The authors also offer stories and events that suggest an increase in love and spiritual growth around the world. Redfield gave us The Celestine Prophecy, a bestseller that was faulted for being too simplistic. While the writing in God and the Evolving Universe is not simplistic, it sometimes falters into metaphysical black holes and psycho-spiritual labyrinths. Yet the message is inspirational: We're on the right path and good things are ahead. And God knows, the world could use more of these positive visions.
--Gail Hudson

Publishers Weekly
When is perennial wisdom more perennial than wise? Perhaps when it follows this commonplace opener: "Today we stand poised at a threshold in human history." Popular and prolific author Redfield (The Celestine Prophecy) is teamed here with Esalen Institute cofounder Murphy and documentary filmmaker Timbers. This trio of writers presents the history of human consciousness as an unfolding map of human potential, extrapolating from empirically documented peak human experiences a future norm of sensation and sensibility. An emphasis on empiricism and an 80-plus page annotated bibliography (almost one-quarter of the book) anchor the text; a chapter of exercises provides application. Perhaps the historic framework dwarfs the picture of what is new: it's difficult to discern progress in the argument for forthcoming human advancement in this latest work from writers who have already persuasively or profitably ploughed the ground. It's also difficult to find the God of the title, except as the Divine One who primed the evolutionary pump at its outset and inspired many of the visionaries the authors cite. The text is accessible but dry; Redfield's visionary fiction and Murphy's genre-bending books (e.g., Golf in the Kingdom) offer more fun. The book may be most valuable to those not familiar with the work of Redfield or Murphy; as a synergistic addition to their work, there's not much new. (Jan.) Forecast: The Celestine Prophecy spent more than three years on the New York Times bestseller list, making it one of the hottest spiritual books of the late 20th century. A 13-city author tour should help Redfield (who has an outstanding history in promoting his books directly to readers) and his colleagues sell through their 75,000-copy initial print run.
-- Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The universe, of which the earth and humans are a part, is still evolving. People, however, are so busy living that they are often unaware of that process. Redfield (The Celestine Prophecy) and coauthors Michael Murphy, cofounder of the Esalen Institute, and writer/producer Silvia Timbers aim to make readers more aware of their world and themselves. For those whose knowledge of evolutionary theory is scant, this book provides a good introduction in three parts: "Awakening," which summarizes both Western and Eastern visionary thinkers; "The Emerging Human Being," which explains the new spiritual potential; and "Participating," which looks at the possible outcome of people operating on a superhuman level. The authors point out that evolution is not an even process but one of spurts and jumps, and they present exercises to help readers participate in it more fully, develop psychic abilities, deepen education, work on social transformation, and the like. Now, they argue, regardless of the events of September 11, we are experiencing a spurt that could change the face of humanity. Informative, thought-provoking, and challenging, this is a worthwhile acquisition for public libraries.
-- John Moryl, Yeshiva Univ. Lib., New York
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Booklist
Redfield, author of The Celestine Prophecy, and Michael Murphy, one of the founders of the Esalen Institute and author of Golf in the Kingdom, team up with coauthor Sylvia Timbers for this surprisingly staid guide to "the next step in personal evolution." What the book lacks in excitement, it makes up for with solid coverage of religious and other meditative practices as well as an overview, spanning both time and geography, of the human-awakening phenomenon. The book is divided into three sections. In the first, the authors trace the emergence of human consciousness on the planet and then point out the moments in our history in which human potential took profound and sometimes unexpected leaps. The second section discusses the emergence of human capabilities and discusses further developments. The third and final section focuses on ways of transforming the culture and offers individual meditative techniques. This last section is the most disappointing. The authors provide little new for those who are already experienced visualizers and meditators--probably the primary audience for the book. The extensive annotated bibliography, on the other hand, is a definite plus. Expect the Redfield name to create demand, but don't expect Celestine-like success.
-- Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

SELECTED REVIEWS FOR
The Kingdom of Shivas Irons

Amazon.com Recommended Book
The long-awaited sequel to Golf in the Kingdom takes Murphy back to Scotland in search of another encounter with the mystically enchanting Shivas Irons, a man--if that's indeed what he is--who's part golf professional, part shaman, completely wise, and thoroughly fascinating. Filled with myth, mysticism, metaphysics, advanced string theory (courtesy of fellow searcher and friend, physicist Buck Hannigan), and at times other-worldly golf sequences from Scotland, to Russia, to a climactic round at Pebble Beach, Kingdom resolves its quest in the most unlikely and hard-to-find place of all. "Keep coming," Irons implores his seeker. "Imagine. Practice. Start again. I'm not so far away." Indeed, more than fairways that glow in the dark and drives that can fly 450 yards, it's Irons's ultimate whereabouts that infuses Kingdom with its magic and its mystery.

The New York Times Book Review, Mark Lindquist
Michael Murphy's Golf in the Kingdom is the best-selling golf novel ever published, maybe because it's as much about metaphysics as it is about golf -- about golf as spiritual knight errantry.... Even the most earthbound N.F.L. lineman knows there are moments when we're in "the zone," operating well beyond our everyday performance levels. Though The Kingdom of Shivas Irons is ostensibly about Murphy's search for the elusive Shivas Irons, its true concern is our quest for these moments of transcendence, and the book succeeds as a handbook for spiritual adventure.

From Publisher's Weekly
One of the pioneers of the human potential movement, Murphy co-founded the Esalen Institute in 1962 and, 10 years later, expressed his beliefs in the bestseller Golf in the Kingdom, which told readers about golf pro and mystic Shivas Irons, with whom Murphy had played a transformative round of golf in 1956. Here, Murphy details his recent (beginning in 1987) search for Irons. The golf pro had introduced Murphy to supernatural practices resulting in amazing golf shots, but Murphy seems to have forgotten most of what he learnedor perhaps he never really understood it. Now he haunts golf courses in Scotland and travels to Moscow to spend a little time with a Sufi shaman, all in hopes of finding Irons. Eventually, he realizes that he must turn his attention inward to learn that the truth, the answer, the possibilities are all there, within him and everyone else. Murphy spins a good yarn and has the ability to inspire readers to want to change their lives, inner and outer. But his brand of self-transformation here, as in his major nonfiction work, The Future of the Body, relies heavily on the potentialities of the body and on whether humans can transcend their ordinary limitations in order to enjoy such powers as traveling instantaneously, appearing and disappearing at will, or becoming a "luminous embodiment" with only the vaguest cloud-like form. His emphasis on superhuman physical powers undermines his talk of heart, soul and spirit; after all, there's no substantial reason to assume that Moses, Jesus, Muhammad or Buddha could have shot par.

Michael Murphy has achieved a rare feat; he has penned a sequel that not only amplifies and extends his earlier masterpiece but creates a new vision of future possibility. The Kingdom of Shivas Irons describes a new place of mystical golf and unfolding spiritual adventure, and it could be our own kingdom…if we have the courage to enter it.
-- James Redfield, author of The Celestine Prophecy

The Kingdom of Shivas Irons a big hit? Doubt it not. Murphy [is] golf’s greatest mystic humorist.
–- Kirkus Reviews

Shivas Irons and Seamus MacDuff formed the paradigm for the inner game of golf. The Kingdom of Shivas Irons takes you on a quest of altered states ... it will catch your imagination and proffer the questions of golf and soul. It is a beauty
-- Gary McCord, CBS golf commentator and author of Golf for Dummies

A brilliant and beautiful narrative of human possibilities. Murphy has written a spellbinding tale-provocative, compelling, immensely enjoyable-of the search for a deeper order, a more profound meaning, lying just within, and just beyond our grasp. It's about golf, yes, but it's really about the possible human being, struggling to grow into its own frightening greatness.
-- Ken Wilber, author of Grace and Grit, The Eye of the Spirit, and A Brief History of Everything

The Kingdom of Shivas Irons is a superbly written story, mixing fact, imagination, and wisdom, that carries the reader persuasively into the reaches of the mind. It is also a compelling story about the wonderful connections of friendship.
-- Richard Baker-roshi, former head of the San Francisco Zen Center

Murphy is the father of the New Age movement ... the Zen master of golf ... the man who turned the game into a mystical experience.
-- San Jose Mercury News

Entering The Kingdom of Shivas Irons I was immediately charmed, gradually enchanted, and eventually led to the edge of divine madness. I left with an expanded metaphysical vision, but firm in my resolve not to further risk my sanity by taking up the game of golf.
-- Sam Keen, author of Fire in the Belly and To Love and Be Loved

With audacious wit and wild good humor, Michael Murphy takes us on a magical mystery tour in search of a mythic golf pro who may or may not have entered a realm beyond both life and death as we now know them. If you liked Golf in the Kingdom you'll love this high-spirited metaphysical adventure story. And if you look past the mystery, the merriment, and the golf, you just might get a glimpse of the next step in human evolution.
-- George Leonard, author of Mastery and the Ultimate Athlete

Murphy has a gift for delving into esoteric matters with genuine wit and a merry heart.... Does Murphy find Irons? Suffice it to say we're grateful he went a-looking, and that the spirit of Shivas Irons lives on.
-- Golf Digest