Fire from Within [Paperback]

Carlos Castaneda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1991

Each of Carlos Castaneda's books is a brilliant and tantalizing burst of illumination into the depths of our deepest mysteries, like a sudden flash of light, like a burst of lightning over the desert at night, which shows us a world that is both alien and totally familiar -- the landscape of our dreams.

Fire from Within is the author's most brilliant thought-provoking and unusual book, one in which Castaneda, under the tutelage of don Juan and his "disciples," at last constructs, from the teachings of don Juan and his own experiences, a stunning portrait of the "sorcerer's world" that is crystal-clear and dizzying in its implications.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in 1925 in Peru, anthropologist Carlos Castaneda wrote a total of 15 books, which sold 8 million copies worldwide and were published in 17 different languages. In his writing, Castaneda describes the teaching of Don Juan, a Yaqui sorcerer and shaman. His works helped define the 1960's and usher in the New Age movement. Even after his mysterious death in California in1998, his books continue to inspire and influence his many devoted fans.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Washington Square Press (January 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671732501
• ISBN-13: 978-0671732509
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Native American
  • #24 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Shamanism

More About the Author

Born in 1925 in Peru, anthropologist Carlos Castaneda wrote a total of 15 books, which sold 8 million copies worldwide and were published in 17 different languages. In his writing, Castaneda describes the teaching of Don Juan, a Yaqui sorcerer and shaman. His works helped define the 1960's and usher in the New Age movement. Even after his mysterious death in California in1998, his books continue to inspire and influence his many devoted fans.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fire Rekindled: "unquenching curiosity and guts galore", January 22, 2000

By 

Nancy Wisser "proponent of golden, timeless m... (Nazareth, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire from Within (Paperback)

"One of the great maneuvers of stalkers is to pit the mystery against the stupidity in all of us."--Don Juan . . . The best book of a masterful author. In the fiction/nonfiction controversy, I lean toward fiction, but with the caution that these fictional stories are being used to demonstrate great truths. If anything, seeing the books as fiction makes Castaneda seem greater. Who else has written this many books, without plots of murder, war, or romance, that grip the reader the way these do? Not only are we gripped, but our minds are being changed. We can almost feel the chemical soup in our braincases being altered as we experience these tales. The device of the bone-headed Carlos is ingenious, putting us on the side of the seemingly rational, but actually post-rational Juan. The most amazing thing to me has been the way the lessons in this book have become my companions, helping me to live my life more fully and with greater awareness. It provides a new way to look at the feelings and impressions we all struggle with, reminding us that we and our lives are unique and powerful, that sobriety and self-containment are paradoxically the path to the mystery and the magic. This book is full of laughs, creepy stories, new concepts, and terms that you may not grasp until one day months or years later when something happens, and you realize "This is what he meant!" Everytime I reread part of it, I feel that fire within me rise and flicker.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Halographic Universe, April 25, 2003

By 

K. Briggs "yeshe-lhamo" (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fire from Within (Paperback)

This is my favorite Castanenda book, and I have read almost all of them. Please skip my following justification for these books if you are already a fan: Regardless of how one feels about the New Age movement, it is clear that, as Einstein observed, "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods." Reading Castaneda gave me an appreciation for people who take seriously the complexities of the mind, the universe and their infinite dance. Castaneda, in this book, seems ready to acknowledge that the fact of other ways of perceiving the world seems to mean that there are rational and non-rational ways which intertwine with eachother.
Having said that, Castaneda lovers will enjoy the many characters, stories and esoteric teachings that really coalesce in this book unlike in any other. We finally understand who La Catalina really is; we go deeper into the teachings on the Eagle; we get to here more about the interplay between Don Juan and Don Genaro, and we see Carlos opening up a bit too. It was not until I read this book that I realized how hard it was for Carlos to lose his "self-importance," and what a difficult task this is. Enjoy.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Going even deeper inside the secret, February 21, 2000

By 

[e-mail] - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fire from Within (Paperback)

This book is the 1st that is regarding Castaneda`s experiences beyond ordinary life in a clear and powerful way. It gave me a lot of material to think about and mainly to achieve. I am sure Don Juan and Genaro were deadly right when saying it tooks all of one`s life to become a true warrior and seer but it pays off. Here we are confronted with abstract explanations in a very concise and complete way but they can be verified only if the person has followed the premises and achieved real results - the most difficult thing of all. Everyone can think, judge, blame, gush, etc. But all that matters is action. The one who makes it will see it truely - otherwise it will be just another interpretation to consolidate our self-assurance but it will lead us nowhere. So act, don`t think! - understanding will come years later and thinking won`t have anything to do with it.