A THEORY OF EVERYTHING An Integral Vision for Business, Politics, Science, and Spirituality by KEN WILBER Shambhala $21.95 (hardcover) reviewed by Steve McCardell It’s rare enough that I put a book upon my shelf of must-reads. It’s far more rare for me to name an author as a must-read, ranking many of his or her titles among the elite on my shelves. Ken Wilber, however, is one of these authors. Having gained the attention of scholars and critics all over, and receiving accolades from such well-known authors as Deepak Chopra, Wilber achieves in his work what few minds would dare to attempt. Drawing on a formidable list of philosophers and scientists, he pulls a taut band around them with his own powerful theories about how things work. A Theory of Everything comes across in many ways as a digest of his more important works. Summarizing his work, Integral Psychology, Wilber opens Theory by discussing the collective knowledge of over one hundred researchers to describe what he calls "The Waves of Existence" — the stages we pass through both as individuals and as a world community. This is absolutely essential, of course, for understanding where we are today as a culture and how we fit in with the rest of the world. Accomplishing that, he is able to point to the stages we have settled into (at this point in our evolution), and he focuses particularly on the stage he calls the "green meme," where much of the baby boomer generation crouches. I say crouches, because he suggests this meme is ready for a quantum leap into "second-tier thinking," perhaps what many people have intuitively described as a New Age. But Wilber is not a New Age writer, per se. If he were, he could hardly describe the New Age movement as he does. No, he does not criticize it; rather, he points to the strengths and weaknesses as he summarizes his book Boomeritis. Because of this, I would argue that the first two chapters of the book are some of the most important reading for the New Age community today. If wisdom is begotten of knowing oneself, this reflective material cannot be missed! He shows exactly what must be overcome if we are to make our quantum leap. As a gift to every reader who wishes for the basics of Wilber’s brilliant classification system — which really lets one see the relationships among all things — he spends a good deal of time describing his "All-Quadrant, All-Level" approach to fitting the world together. He argues that we must see the individual side of things as well as the community side; the inner side as well as the outer; and finally, the various levels of development within these. He then takes this approach and applies it to the real world — and this is the gem of this book, where it really develops what he has written before. He discusses his philosophies in the practical matters of politics, medicine, business, education, and more. He even discusses a developing "Integral Institute" that is bringing together an astounding group of minds. Wilber wraps up the book by talking about how the reader can begin integrating this approach into daily life, which after all is what must give the book its greatest value. You may be surprised, but if anyone can produce a theory of everything today, Wilber has my vote. Providing a way to look at all things, then offering a way to practically use this information, he has done what many will try but few will achieve. For more information about Ken Wilber and his philosophies, visit <http://www.worldofkenwilber.com/>.