Prophecy Continues Unto ‘Tenth Insight’

Somehow, we just knew this would happen. Three years ago, an Alabama therapist for emotionally challenged adolescents named James Redfield self-published his first novel, “The Celestine Prophecy.” The book was a New Age high-adventure tale in which an unnamed narrator risks his life to defy an international conspiracy to suppress an ancient Peruvian manuscript containing nine necessary “Insights” into life. It struck such a resounding chord with readers and booksellers that Redfield had sold 100,000 copies by the time Warner Books picked up the story and reissued it in hardcover in 1994.

On Sunday, “Prophecy” marked its 114th week on The New York Times Best Seller List, and there is no sign it will drop off soon. More than 5.38 million copies have been sold worldwide. In 1995, Warner published a companion work, “The Celestine Prophecy: An Experiential Guide.”

How to keep the momentum going? Easy. Just hitting bookstores is Redfield’s “The Tenth Insight: Holding the Vision,” a 254-page sequel. It will debut next week at No. 3 on The New York Times Best Seller List.

Warner has printed a 1 million-copy first edition of the $19.95 book. Redfield, who calls the two novels “a ‘consensus picture’ of the new perceptions, feelings and phenomena that are coming to define life as we enter the third millennium,” has said he plans at least 12 insights. We say, go for 20.