A commentator summarized that in this and other books, "Krishnamurti emphasized the importance of release from entrapment in the 'network of thought' through a perceptual process of attention, observation or 'choiceless awareness' which would release the true perception of reality without mediation of any authority, or guru. Another observed that it was instrumental in making Krishnamurti and his ideas known to a wider audience, as the "first substantial statement of his philosophy to be issued by major publishing houses in Britain and the United States"; noting the work's popularity among the college-age young, others added that the book "anticipated the preoccupations of an up-and-coming youth culture, and... perhaps helped to form it".