Reviews

Reviewed by Charity R. Bartley Howard

“The Secret Doorway: Beyond Imagination” by Paul Hutchins is a thought-provoking book. This Creation/Inspiration journey of words is full of colorful pictures featuring outer space in theatrical display. The book jacket reads that this book “may change the way you believe.” It is a vessel allowing readers to explore their imagination between Creation and the Universe.

Hutchins gets the reader thinking about such things as who created the stars, people’s origins, how people came to be, are people alone and what is the purpose of humans. He takes readers along on a journey of imagination through pictures and his words. It is a book perfect for the individual interested in Astronomy and religion, along with the connections between the two. The beautiful artwork of Space images based on Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes alone is another way drawing people to this book, but inspiration keeps them.

The author invites readers to “sit back and enjoy an awe-inspiring view as you explore the incredible universe, expand your imagination and ponder the limitless possibilities for our future as you respond to that ancient invitation to: ‘Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars?’”.

Often some may ignore such books with religious overtones or possible subject matter because they don’t want to be preached to death. “The Secret Doorway: Beyond Imagination” is not such a book even though it deals with the Creation of the Universe. Individuals wanting a religious topic as well as those who would not will find this book interesting through the words as well as pictures. This book is amazing and a wonderful read because it is true, “For millennia, curiosity has driven man to explore the world around him. This is how humans grow and progress as a society.”

Hutchins explains that even though the study of the Universe is a deep study the more it is investigated knowledge beyond comprehension is found. He writes, “Once hidden secrets about the Universe are slowly being revealed as man, through his imagination, advances space-telescope technology to the edge. Man has long harbored a burning desire to know where he came from, and if he is alone. This is driving the human imagination to do what – mere years ago – seemed completely unheard of, even impossible. This tells us that the impossible is, after all, possible.”

This book is the perfect marriage of Science and Religion that really lets the readers to follow their own imaginative path beyond the horizon. The author reveals, “We know the Universe is controlled by precise laws of physics, and our space exploration has revealed a superior design, driven by supreme imaginations, are beyond anything man could ever imagine.”

Published by Imagination Publishing, “The Secret Doorway: Beyond Imagination” by Paul Hutchins, has about 200 pages and features five self-contained acts or chapters. It even has a vibrantly colorful graphics gallery with galaxies and other space images, such as Hubble Ultra Deep Field, Nebula M2-9, Spiral Galaxy M74 and Sunspot Loops. This book is filled with detailed information with photo examples including a clear Solar System diagram, which is useful.

MidWest Book Review
I give this book Five out of Five Stars

I have to say before I even read one word of this book I was immediately drawn to the majestic photos within the pages. I looked at each and every photo before me , amazed at the beauty and majesty of each one; I was in awe. As I settled back and started the book over I was taken deep into the world of our universe and beyond. Each page of this work gives you a dramatic picture of something out in space, be it a star, galaxy, or the formation of a planet, to name a few, your eyes will feast upon unimaginable sights. Accompanying each picture is an explanation of what you are viewing, and added information, often leaving you with a question to ponder about what you are seeing before you, stirring your imagination and your senses to a new height It was truly exhilarating!

I sat with my granddaughter after reading this book and shared it with her; she is ten-years old. We looked at each photo and shared the majesty of them as we did, our imagination ran wild just thinking of all that is still out there that man has yet to discover. It was a great experience for both of us to share.

This work is brilliant in so many ways. It is the first book that I have seen to truly take you on a journey of the space around us. It is an eye-opener that penetrates your very being in knowing that we are not here by accident and it reaffirms the knowledge that there is a lot more going on than we could ever imagine and none of it is happening by accident. I am a firm believer that there is a God and that He has and does create everything, this book only confirmed my deepest knowledge of this fact, outstanding.

You will want to have time to truly savor what is inside of this book and you will go back to it time and time again to refresh the awesome vision it produces in your heart and mind of the universe you live in. I recommend this book for everyone, young and old. It will change and enlarge the way you think of your world, your universe and beyond. Excellent job, Mr. Hutchins, thank you for giving this work to us. Very highly recommended.

Shirley Johnson/Senior Reviewer
MidWest Book Review

Curled Up With a Good Book

Imagine seeing a gorgeous and breathtaking IMAX movie about the universe and the stars and planets and galaxies, in full, awe-inspiring color images that leap out and grab the eye - in a book.

Paul Hutchins has put together a simply stunning and visually jaw-dropping journey through the inner realm of the imagination and the outer realm of the cosmos, combining pure scientific information with photos and images that take hold of the spirit. This amazing book is a journey through the farthest reaches of mind and space, all done without ever leaving the confines of the glossy cover of a book.

Hutchins, a successful entrepreneur with a tragic past, gives the reader a look into space that unfolds as a story even as it educates and inspires. It tells the story of the Universe, and our place in it, with gloriously detailed photos from the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, yet also corresponds the glory of the cosmos with that of our own imaginative ability, and the genius that ability has led to.

This is a book that will be looked at over and over again (and displayed proudly on a coffee table) with the type of reverence often associated with a holy text. Yet, upon reading, it becomes understandable. This is our history here, in full and bold and beautiful color, as we learn that we are all star-stuff, and that the future promises an even greater force of imaginative discovery and creation.

The doorway to the Universe is now open. Hutchins invites you to come on in and take the ride of your life. A highly recommended ride indeed.

Debbie's World of Books

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

This book is out of my normal range of interest but it was a great book that sucks you into the wonders of the universe. The book is broken down into five “Acts” and then the Gallery. While the acts were interesting it was the Gallery that really captured my attention. It contains images of various galaxies, nebulae and other space phenomena. As I read through each page and looked at the image I found myself constantly going “This is my favorite. No, actually this one is my favorite.” I never realized that in all the images I’ve seen there are a just a few galaxies or nebulae that appeared in school or on tv shows I’ve watched over and over.

This book showed the plethora of other images out there that capture the imagination. Looking at the images was sort of like looking for shapes in clouds. There is the Eskimo Nebula that looks just like an Eskimo in a fur coat, Pleiades Star Cluster, or also known as the Seven Sisters, which reminded me of a cross hanging in the sky and the Reflection Nebula that looked just like a rose bud. This is an amazing pictorial work!

Coffee Time Romance

Rating: 4 cups

Author Paul Hutchins is inviting the reader to open their mind and let their imagination run free. He shows the reader how some of the great minds of this world have used their imaginations to create the impossible.

He separates each section into acts, taking the reader deeper and deeper into the depths of space with each act. Through pictures, he allows the reader to take a look at how miniscule we really are in the universe.

Mr. Hutchins asks the reader to step through the Secret Doorway and see what imagination has brought us. From Galileo and his discovery of the four largest moons of Jupiter to Edwin Hubble and his discovery of galaxies beyond the Milky Way, the reader is encouraged to see whatever it is they want to see: a universe created by a higher power or a universe which came into being a different way.

The pictures in this book are magnificent. The way in which the author shows the similarities between Monet and Edwin Hubble shows the extent of research and thought put into the writing of this particular journey. This is truly an adventure into space showing how people have used their imaginations to discover the greatest of things.

Mr. Hutchins gave me something to stop and think about. The one thing I think I take with me as I set this book aside is that “the universe we see with the naked eye is only a tiny fraction of the universe which exists.” Well-written with some very thought provoking passages, I found inspiration within the covers of The Secret Doorway.

Kimberly
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/Thesecretdoorway.html

Reviewed by My Bookshelf

I remember when I was a very young girl and sat on the roof of our home in Modesto, CA and watched the Sputnik go around the earth in the sky. How that little object opened my imagination and mind. This book is a wonderful compilation— breathtaking pictures of our solar system and Space far beyond our view, plus who took the pictures and how and what we are to make of them. Pictures taken by Hubble and Spitzer telescopes and cameras aboard spacecraft which fly high in our imaginations and beyond. What breathtaking images, the colors, the thoughts that come into a mind are such awe-inspiring joyous visions. Imagine what the future can hold, having seen what it has in front of us now.

The Secret Doorway: Beyond Imagination opens with several sections labeled Acts, which one must use to open the mind and look beyond the normal, everyday experience to be able to see the beauty contained in the pictures. A picture appears on every facing page, along with the history of that picture, how it was taken and when. I worked in Space and Com at Hughes Aircraft and was at the Intelsat headquarters when the Satellites were first being built. We all had vivid imaginations about what the abilities would be in the future, but I didn't get to stay (I was transferred to another division) there long enough to actually see the all pictures that would come about because of those launches. However, I did get to see some of the pictures which came back and they were just as beautiful, even in black and white (at that beginning time period) as these pictures are, and these are in full color, for everyone to soak up all of the splendor that is way beyond our ability to see with our own eyes.

Paul Hutchins, the author of this book is a marvel in his own right, a wild child who turned his life around from some very rocky beginnings and became someone to admire.

Check this book out and take it home. Put it in your science and reference shelf and refer to it often for the beauty which surrounds us, much as you do all of the beautiful poems, stories, movies, and everything you consider to be worthwhile in your life. It shows you the possibilities are endless and wide open without barriers. The Secret Doorway: Beyond Imagination... Absolutely wonderful pictures, absolutely wonderful book.