Tales Of Wonder LP: Adventures Chasing The Divine, An Autobiography (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
A very personal, end of life summing up of the events and principles that most influenced his work, marriage and community. A bit slow at times, but the end chapters were so powerful that it brought tears to my eyes. I provide a spoiler here, but four stars really are for those last chapters. I did enjoy the meandering of the autobiographical, learned a lot from precises of the important parts of his scholarship. Probably not for everyone, but a good read for Huston Smith fans or folks interested in a journey in religions. I adored Huston Smith before I finished the first chapter of "The World's Religions," which I read for my Comparative Religion class. Smith is a sort of hierophant, revealing the invisible beauties embraced by each of the world's religions. His focus is on the positive, essentially showing why the adherents of a religion adhere to it, the experiences provided by it. I knew I wanted to know more about Smith's life just from "The World's Religions." He grew up as a missionary's child in China, spent a decade as a Hindu, a decade as a Buddhist, and a decade as a Sufi. He befriended Thomas Merton and explored entheogens with Aldous Huxley and Timothy Leary. Upon turning 90, he decided that he should create some record of his experiences.At first, I found myself disliking the fact that I was allowing myself to read the recollections of someone so unceasingly cheery, but a few tragedies midway through the book, and the general aging process, allowed me to see him as human, and his experiences truly were quite interesting. I found the book enthralling, though I admit that it's not much of a narrative, and you would have to find his exploits intrinsically interesting to find it worthwhile. Still, I'm sure you'd find Huston Smith utterly adorable.
What do You think about Tales Of Wonder LP: Adventures Chasing The Divine, An Autobiography (2009)?
Interesting survey of the world's religions. I enjoyed the read.
—casey087
Good book full of optimism, especially for us cynics.
—IL92
