Although Cayce died more than sixty years ago, the timeliness of the material in the readings is evidenced by approximately one dozen biographies and more than 300 titles that discuss various aspects of this man's life and work. These books contain a corpus of information so valuable that even Edgar Cayce himself might have hesitated to predict their impact on the contemporary world. Sixty years ago who could have known that terms such as "meditation," "Akashic records," "spiritual growth," "auras," "soul mates," and "holism" would have become household words to millions? Further details of Cayce's life and work are explored in the classic book There is a River (1942) by Thomas Sugrue.

The majority of Edgar Cayce's readings deal with health maintenance and the treatment of illness. Even to this day individuals have found physical help from information given as long as 100 years ago! Yet, although best known for this material, the sleeping Cayce did not seem to be limited to concerns about the physical body. In fact, in their entirety the readings discuss an astonishing number of 10,000 different subjects. Even this vast array of subject matter, however, can be narrowed down into a much smaller range of topics. When compiled together, the majority contain and deal with the following five categories: (1) Health-Related Information; (2) Philosophy and Reincarnation; (3) Dreams and Dream Interpretation; (4) ESP and Psychic Phenomena; and (5) Spiritual Growth, Meditation, and Prayer.