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Hoax or not, Love & Gratitude are a good idea. "If we fill our lives with love and gratitude for all, this consciousness will become a wonderful power that will spread throughout the world. And *this* is what the water crystals are trying to tell us." p. 146 I began this review with the above quote, because in the speculation of whether Emoto's work is legitimate or a hoax, this message often gets lost. Masaru Emoto is a science hobbyist in Japan, who photographs ice crystals under a microscope using a technique described in the book's prologue. (His doctorate degree is from a 2-year alternative medicine correspondence course in India.) He says that when he exposes the pre-frozen water to positive energy such as classical music or the words "love and gratitude," the crystals are beautiful and well-formed. On the other hand, crystals exposed to negative energy such as heavy metal music or the words "you fool" are ugly and malformed. Forty percent of the book is devoted to photography of crystals exposed to various music (including Elvis' Heartbreak Hotel and Austrian yodeling), energies (including the words "You make me sick!") and crystals from various polluted and non-polluted bodies of water around the world. The one-star reviews claim this is not science, end of story. Having read every word of this book, I conclude this: Emoto's claims, whether legitimate or false are too important to be ignored. If they are true, then here is tangible evidence that our thoughts and the words of others can change our body chemistry, given that our bodies are approximately 70% water. This would make sense in light of other research on the effects of prayer and on the mind/body connection. If his claims are false, than hundreds of thousands of people have bought books showing beautiful crystal photography and have held the vibration of "love and gratitude" in their hearts. Emoto has a degree in international relations, so it's possible he's embarked on a creative way to reach world peace one reader at a time. The way to judge whether this is a hoax is to attempt to replicate Emoto's research. In this book, Emoto himself invites people to replicate his work. This invitation, as well as the rest of Emoto's book strike me as sincere. While it's premature to say whether this is a hoax, faulty science, or legitimate, I think it is a good idea to hold the vibration of love and gratitude and listen to soothing music. This book also discusses related experiments, such as British scientist Rupert Sheldrake's work on morphic fields and telepathy, experiments of hundreds of individuals standing around lakes attempting to improve the water quality through chanting and prayer, and experiments where dozens of Japanese families exposed grains of rice to positive or negative energy or simply ignored the rice. Whether a water crystal, an entire lake or a grain of rice, positive energy was found to have a positive impact. It makes sense, after all, positive energy positively impacts other humans and family pets. Yet it's thought-provoking that positive energy can positively impact plants and seemingly inanimate substances. I'm giving this book 5 stars. The experiments are original, the text thought-provoking, and the photographs (most of them) beautiful. And whether the scientific claims are true, false, or something in between, holding the vibration of love and gratitude in one's mind and heart is an excellent idea. P.S. #1 Although the crystal exposed to the Austrian yodeling is much prettier than the fractured crystal that had the misfortune of listening to Heartbreak Hotel, this reviewer would rather risk listening to Elvis. :-) P.S. #2 Check out the crystal on p. 34 that was shown a photo of a crop circle--it's really cool. :-)