Meetings with Remarkable Men (All and Everything) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "EXACTLY A MONTH HAS ELAPSED since I finished the first series of my writings-just that period of the flow of time which I intended to..." (more)
Key Phrases: military cathedral, artificial breathing, former civilizations, Ekim Bey, Prince Lubovedsky, Amu Darya (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Right around the turn of the 20th century, G.I. Gurdjieff initiated a group of spiritual adventurers called the "Seekers of Truth." These intrepid intellectuals of every stripe crisscrossed Africa and Asia in search of the hidden mysteries of antiquity. In Meetings with Remarkable Men, Gurdjieff narrates their exploits while drawing portraits of these extraordinary figures (including one woman and a dog). Half travel journal, half autobiography, Meetings with Remarkable Men begins with Gurdieff's childhood, when he finds his book learning at odds with paranormal events that were self-evident but inexplicable through modern science. Later he discovers a map of "pre-sands Egypt" and evidence of the Sarmound Brotherhood, alleged keepers of ancient wisdom dating back four and a half millennia. He climbs the Himalayas, follows the Nile, and is led blindfolded to a mysterious monastery. In his encounters with dervishes, monks, and fakirs, Gurdjieff recovers the wisdom he seeks; by comparison, European understanding, he says, is backwards and barbaric. A controversial figure in his time, Gurdjieff inspired deep love and loyalty in his pupils and ridicule from skeptics. At the bookends of Meetings with Remarkable Men, Gurdjieff suggests the value of blurring the line between allegory and straight reporting. But then what exactly is Meetings with Remarkable Men? You be the judge. --Brian Bruya

Product Description

The Armenian-Greek spiritual teacher, G.I. Gurdjieff's autobiographical account of his youth and early travels has become something of a legend since it was first published in 1963. A compulsive read in the tradition of adventure narratives, but suffused with Gurdjieff's unique perspective on life, it is organized around portraits of remarkable men and women who aided Gurdjieff's search for hidden knowledge or accompanied him on his journeys in remote parts of the Near East and Central Asia. A classic work, suffused with a haunting sense of what it means to live fully - with conscience, with purpose and with heart.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (September 27, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140190376
• ISBN-13: 978-0140190373
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #142,614 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #29 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > New Age
  #58 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Philosophers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any serious student, July 29, 2001

By	Jeff Sutherland "Certified Scrum Trainer" (Somerville, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the most accessible of Gurdjieff's works and should be read by any student of the "essence of reality" or "timeless wisdom," concepts that can't be articulated without sounding like cliches. For this reason I give it five stars.

As mentioned by other reviewers, Gurdjieff is a master of "coyote wisdom." In the American Indian tradition, the coyote, as totem guide of a Shaman, is a trickster and there was none better than Gurdjieff. My most vivid recollection is a story about his teaching center in France where he was adulated by an obsequious woman. He picked up an iron bowl from the fire and told the woman, "Here, hold this." Her shock and pain may or may not have awakened her consciousness, but the technique is vintage Gurdjieff. I have met a number of serious students of Gurdjieff in my 60 short years and they stand out as having significantly more depth than most students of non-traditional paths. Recommended.

41 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gurdjieff's First and Last Good Book, October 30, 2005

By	Gregory Lewis "psychedelic shaman" (Marathon, Florida Keys) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I was in college in the late 70's, my small circle of friends were philosophers, shaman, and spiritualists... which really means, we liked to discuss amongst ourselves the deep meaning of it all, around bong hits and Budweiser. WARNING: Budweiser is BAD for you, and I no longer drink alcohol!!! One of these friends loaned "Meetings With Remarkable Men" to me, and it made a lasting impression, just as David Carradine did in the TV series "Kung Fu", which kicked off the kung fu - Buddhist - Shaolin - Taoist journey for Americans, more than Bruce Lee was able to accomplish (Bruce Lee was all about martial arts, and didn't have a whole lot to offer the spiritually thirsty. His lack of dimension was his failing). Anyway, we sat around, smoking and drinking, discussing, and watching "Circle of Iron", and formulating the shape of civilization to come.

The other interesting aspect of "Meetings" is that it is an introduction to the trans-Caucasus, a geographic area with a diversity of cultures, religions, and ethnicity as colorful as the plumage of the peacock, which happens to be the embodiment of the Yzidi Lord of the World, Shaitan. One lasting impression was the scene from Gurdjieff's youth, when he witnessed the Yzidi boy being entrapped within a circle that bullying school children had inscribed around him. This event triggered Gurdjieff's quest for answers to life's eternal mysteries.

The book is a story of that quest for answers. It almost doesn't matter if the events actually happened or not. Read this book in the spirit of the late Gary Jennings's adventure fiction (The Journeyer, Spangle, Aztec) and you will have a better appreciation for this book as adventure fiction, if not spiritual revelation. "Meetings" is introductory, and prerequisite, to the Gurdjieff story. I would have to seriously disagree with another reviewer here, who claims that a beginner should first read "Beelzebub's Tales To His Grandson". I see no such obligation, and Beelzebub is something to read when, and if, the desire strikes you. In fact, my opinion of Mr. Gurdjieff was high until I DID read his other works. I also read biographies by J.G. Bennet, and of course, P. Ouspenski. I am sad whenever anyone wastes their own life enthralled by the ego of spiritual salesmen, maybe that is the lone wolf in me, who cannot paddle the length of the River in a single canoe.

Like others here, I am now persuaded that Gurdjieff was a con-man and egotist, and his teachings were probably often harmful and abusive, without consideration for the welfare and ego of those whom he pretended to impart deep wisdom. Compare with Aleister Crowley, who, though regarded as having an abrasive bedside manner and hopelessly self-absorbed, was still a mighty pillar of spiritual intelligence and wisdom (and produced a classic tarot card deck). That not withstanding, this one book is the only one of Gurdjieff's books I truly enjoy. "Beelzebub's Tales" may be a good story, and has some profound concepts, like the "three-brained beings", and what those three brains are within the human animal. Even now, researchers are beginning to query the role of the heart, which is a massive nexus of nerves, as having a role in our decision making processes. Gurdjieff recommended reading "Beelzebub" three times, but I could barely finish it the first time. On the other hand, "Meetings With Remarkable Men" is worth reading three times (although I have only read it twice), because it is as unpretentious as Beelzebub was pretentious.

Gurdjieff had a tough life, and his abilities, ways, cunning, these are what poor folk like myself admire about this book. And, as another reviewer discussed, the end chapter, "The Material Question" is a good case study of how to liberate funds from the wealthy for, well, art! Gurdjieff was an artist, and though enshrouded in esoteric spiritualism, his dance troupe is STILL a dance troupe, and any such artists are at the mercy of the beneficence of art afficionados with means.

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting way of thinking, January 31, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Nehalem, Oregon) - See all my reviews

Overall, this book is fascinating reading for anyone. In particular, the chapter (60 plus pages) on "The Material Question" struck a note in me in the early 1960's and has resonated throughout my life and mind ever since. Taking it exactly as he presented it, I applied myself to this way of thinking, fully focusing on everything surrounding me. I opened my first small business and went at it with a perseverance and determination learned from Gurdjieff. I never looked back, and consider that one short novel of a chapter to have been the greatest influence on my material success.

olafaye