Like Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Grady? Don't miss this much under-appreciated masterpiece by the man who started the Charleston Renaissance. Stories culled from the oral tradition of the Low Country's important Gullah culture, this book is an exhilarating alternative to the infinitely heavy and guilt-ridden tomes of Toni Morrison (Bennett was also from Ohio) for any serious student of Afro-American and Southern history. It includes original sketches of landscapes and portraits of black corroborators which firmly ground the stories in local history and folk culture. But this is not just a book for regionalists! One can't help but be impressed with Bennett's phenomenal interest, dedication, and erudition even if he was a bit self absorbed. The new edition, published by the University of South Carolina, is introduced with a lucid piece by Professor and Librarian Thomas L. Johnson.

This book is a Must for underestanding certain process in the conscience development. It clarified a wide rank of phenomena that is real hard to attach by oneself without propper gidance and goes further in the topics explained in "Deeper Man" by Mr. Bennet. Mr. Bennet is not merely a follower of Mr. Gurdjieff teaching, but he develops it in order to be of real help for the cientific and logical mind. This book is a clear and concise descriptions of the energy levels in wich everything is inmersed. Of course there is no way to prove "objectivelly" some of the points exposed here, but, as a person who has been for over 10 years working with the ideas of the 4th way, I have found very clarifying ideas over certain topics of the WORK; it sets crucial reference points to underestanding the Work Ideas and procedures.

This is not by any means a "beginners book", I would reccomend to read before "Psichology of man's possible evolution", "The Fourth Way" by P. Ouspensky and "Theory of celestial influence" by Rodney Collin.

This is one of the 5 best books i've ever read. It is an attempt (based on a complex metaphysics developed in the first three volums of The Dramatic Universe - which for me were nearly unreadable) to recapitulate the history of humanity from about 2,000,000 years ago to the present, according to a theory that human history and evolution is guided by non-omnicient intelligences bonded to this planet. Bennett has a wide grasp of scientific research and a very synthetic style of telling this story. He works on a heuristic theory that it is better to guess at developments during some long periods for which evidence is slim, always based on what evidence there is (or was, in the 1960's), rather than just pass over developments of human culture during these periods in silence. His work is consistent with the Gaia hypothesis, and the work of writers like Arne Wyller (The Creating Consciousness). For those who believe that life has evolved, shows the influence of some intention or purpose (not merely blind chance), and that this purpose is somehow related to a destiny involving spirituality as well as physical and mental development, this is a great read!

The author has written a very good history book which is the basis of many college history classes throughout nation. The use of maps, pictures, and charts is very good and reenforces the material quite well.

This rather large book is great for those taking the Advanced placement European history exam. It is clear and concise. Its content is rather wordy but it includes many topics in each subject. For example, in the Chapter of the Rennaissance, it shows what the men were doing and the women's role in that time period. It also adds details about major battles, important writers and artist of that time period. The Ap European Exam includes a lot of this imformation that will surely be found in this book. I liked the book because of its complete source of information pertaining to the AP european exam. If you want a great score on the exam this book is for you. The study guide made for this book is also a great outline and preview to each chapter and is very helpful in taking the test.

For anyone interested in wildlife conservation and habitat destruction - this book is a must read! The crisis in bushmeat in Africa is mounting - and among other things this book gives the reader a view from the inside, on the ground in Africa.

This one tells us much about Gurdjieff, and by the way, much about the kind of student he attracted, people like Bennett--who might be one of the most gullible men who ever lived (he was later duped out of his estate by some other even more phony guru, as documented in Madam Blavatsky's Baboon). For all his brilliance, even in old age G. was very crafty, manipulative and superstitious, as revealed here (he thought the caves at Lascaux were painted by Atlanteans!). Also, the quality of the Bennetts' writing really sets this apart from some other books in the genre; it is compulsively readable.

This is one powerful book -- one of John Bennett's best, I think, having read several of them carefully. Bennett is much better known for his sudies in Sufism, Subud, and the philosophies of Gurdjieff & Ouspensky. But this one is written with perhaps more humility than any of his others. I don't see how one could read even a few pages, without wanting to make some changes in one's life -- the book makes the ancient Hindu scriptures come alive for the modern Western reader, without necessitating belief in anything traditional -- it establishes practices that can be integrated into modern life without pre-supposing group work or work with a teacher -- it explains clearly where & why you might need a teacher, a group, or a religion for that matter. Many books that "tell you what to do" don't simultaneously leave you room to direct your own path according to your own intelligence and discrimination. This book is amazingly different and thus singularly profound.

One can wish that we knew more about Govinda's meetings with people all over the world during and after his pilgrimage, but as he himself is quoted, roughly: "I am not important; this teaching is important."

Anyone interested in comparative mysticism from a practical standpoint (i.e. with the hope of applying a book as a teaching, to one's own life)can only be very thankful that Dawn Horse took it upon itself to republish this story and methodology almost 10 years after Bennett had died -- and 20 years after the original edition. However, if you are the type who judges a book by its preface, the Dawn Horse preface can be disregarded. Written by Georg Feuerstein, apparently a devotee of Master Da Free John, the preface is an almost hilarious non sequitor to the book itself. Mr. Feuerstein presumes to be able to pigeonhole both the level of soul-evolution of the Shivapuri Baba and the method he taught, according to a system of levels defined by an ad hoc terminology atributed to Da Free John.

Such an attempt at categorization is indeed ludicrous in the face of a story like this: After reaching the age of 18, the Baba spent 25 years alone in the forest as an adult, came out sane enough to spend another 50 or so years travelling the world, mostly on foot, meeting Queen Victoria and many other world leaders. Bennett, who was no dilletante at comparative religion himself, was amazed at how at home the Shivapuri Baba was in several religious traditions -- as if he belonged to each, completely. And Bennett did not travel to meet the Baba at his home in Nepal until the man was over 135 years old! I have heard a couple of tapes of their conversations, and it is remarkable to hear the Baba answer any question put by Bennett, instantly, with no hesitation, and with complete relevance. Introduce me to someone like that -- and over 100 years old! Bennett, in his introduction, gives some sense of what it must have been like to meet so rare a person. But again, it was the teaching of "Right Life" or Swadharma that the Baba emphasized, over and above any interest in his person, in spite of the awesome authority with which he spoke.

This is perhaps the clearest of Bennett's expositions of the Gurdjieff teaching in book form, though it is not a mere tidy systematization of material already presented in Ouspensky or the more standard Gurdjieff literary canon. In particular, Bennett's interpretation of the parables of Chapter 25 of St. Matthew's Gospel in light of Gurdjieff's teaching about the soul and higher bodies of man is revelatory, and quite beyond anything I've encountered in any of the other secondary literature of the Fourth Way tradition. This is insightful material in the most accurate sense of the term!

Books on small items, especially small wooden boxes are extremely rare in South Africa, and I was delighted to find one. My suprise was even bigger when I saw how carefully the book was laid out; the absolute detailed plan on the construction, and the clear photographs and cutting lists. As we are very fortunate to have a wealth of beautiful types of indigenous woods available, I can't wait for my order to be delivered.