Review by Booklist Review
The secret to Castaneda's enduring popularity is his great gift for storytelling. Although the distinction between the factual and the imagined, or between the usual sense of reality and the realm of the spirit, has never been clearly demarcated in his books about the teachings of the sorcerer Don Juan, the exchanges between student and teacher are irresistibly dramatic and mind-expanding. In his previous book, Magical Passes [BKL F 1 98], Castaneda disclosed that he was the last in a shamanistic line and that he was free, indeed, compelled, to share as much of his knowledge as possible. With this mission in mind, he returns to some of his earliest sessions with the wily Don Juan and describes the difficulties he had in following instructions to select the most "memorable events" of his life. Shamans, don Juan explained, had discovered that the identifying of key incidents (and they didn't mean such prosaic passages as graduating from high school) made possible "the emotional and energetic adjustment necessary for venturing, in terms of perception, into the unknown." Such painful delving into the subconscious is, of course, also the foundation of psychoanalysis, and whether Castaneda's readers fully grasp the intricacies of Don Juan's teachings, or stick to more familiar psychological terrain, they will be fascinated by these revelations of Castaneda's personal life, especially those of his childhood and youth. It is touching and no doubt significant that Castaneda revealed so much of himself in this posthumously published volume, and one can't help but wonder about the life-after-death realm he was so assiduously preparing to enter, a region Don Juan called the "active side of infinity." --Donna Seaman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Although he died last April, Castaneda, dubbed "the Godfather of the New Age" by some, speaks, as seems only fitting for a man who called himself a sorcerer, from beyond the beyond. Castaneda undertook this somewhat autobiographical record of memories and experiences during his famous apprenticeship to don Juan, the Yaqui Indian who tutored him in the ways of shamanism. According to Castaneda, don Juan asked him to remember the most significant events of his life and to describe them in great detail as a means to recoup psychic energy and to understand the forces of "infinity" that had led him to the path of the "warrior-traveler." Castaneda uses those personal events to illustrate aspects of Yaqui mysticism, restating the fundamental themes of his work in a more accessible manner than some of his other writings. Gone are the tales, typical of his earlier books (A Journey to Ixtlan; The Teachings of Don Juan; etc.), of humans who transformed themselves into eagles and wolves, hallucinogenic adventures on peyote and superhuman physical challenges. Instead, readers get accounts of the visionary's lonely but privileged childhood on a hacienda in an unnamed Latin American country, as well as endearing memories of his life as a bumbling and rather neurotic anthropology graduate student at UCLA. "The active side of infinity" is an intelligent energy that intentionally guides the warrior-traveler. Reading Castaneda's account of don Juan's preparation for the "definitive journey" of death will likely be a poignant experience for Castaneda's fans, who may see the writing of the book as the author's preparation for his own departure. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Castaneda, who died in April, here sums up important events in his life that prepared him for the final journey. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Dense, narcissistic musings on death and the shaman's life. Onetime anthropologist Castaneda has built a three-decade career out of relaying the teachings of his Yaqui Indian mentor, Juan Matus, in works ranging from The Teachings of Don Juan (1968) to 1993's The Art of Dreaming. Apparently, Castaneda feels that he has yet more wisdom to impart. Still, this vague assortment of personal vignettes offers little in the way of spiritual guidance. Paradoxically, although Don Juan often tells Castaneda that a sorcerer must be emptied of self to accept infinity (annoyingly, this latter word is always italicized in the text), the book seems self-absorbed from the start. In preparation for accepting infinity, true, Castaneda must revisit some of the most pivotal events in his life. A few of the stories are hopelessly sad (and one relentlessly misogynist). One of the most touching occurs when Don Juan urges Castaneda to track down the two women who helped him when he was a very young man. Castaneda is instructed to reward them--while rendering himself penniless--with an extravagant gift. And one of the women, now a homemaker with three kids, is indeed overjoyed to receive a top-of-the-line station wagon. Yet it's hard to find a larger meaning in the stories. We wind up learning something more of Castaneda but not much at all about the active side of infinity, which is mystically translated as "intent." It appears that we ought to live with intent, never forgetting that we will die, regardless. Death (and the knowledge of it) should thus inform all of our actions and relationships, providing a perspective and enforcing our humility. This is hardly an original idea, and it can--t justify wading through Castaneda's welter of self-indulgence, which might translate better to a bumper-sticker adage. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
