Customer Reviews

Castaneda for Beginners (Writers and Readers : Documentary Comic Books)

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This is an incredibly bad book, really! It provides some insight into the background of Castaneda, the man, and as such might prove interesting to read for those who already are familiar with his books, but it gets the philosophy all wrong. It manages to kill all the magic of Castaneda. My advice: If you have already read his books, borrow this one. You are not likely to want to own it anyway. Beginners, avoid it at all cost. It can only mislead you. The background of Castaneda himself is not what his philosophy is all about.

Although this book does contain some interesting insights into Carlos Castaneda's background, it seems to have not even been proofread. Besides all the typos and unlegible type fonts, I was distrurbed to find that most of the material described in Castaneda's books had been misquoted, shortened, or completely fabricated.

This book ties together everything that CC said in print (and even has some accounts of what he did in tangible life, out of the public eye) in a remarkably cogent way. It makes a good reference text to consult instead of having to thumb through the non-indexed Castaneda books, and combined with Victor Sanchez' _Teachings of don Carlos_ would be a powerful approach to living a deliberate life. Don't let the title fool you, as even long-time CC afficionados can see new things here. He also brings up some concepts I've never seen in the books. It's definitely worth a read.

This book is a quick summery of Castaneda's life and written work in a comic book form. If you knew nothing about the man, it would be a good idea to pick it up, not worth buying new unless you keep a Castaneda collection.