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domskeac's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this book at a used book store years ago and now I’m heading on a (decolonizing) yoga retreat so I thought I’d read this beforehand.
What a wild ride. She is like The Doctor in the ways she shows up in historical events. I had to search so much history as I was following along. Learned lots about European Theosophy and WWII-era European interaction with eastern religion.
I liked the titular character in so many parts, but I lost her on her non-political stance when it came to the history of (this) yoga teaching being riddled with so much sexual assault.
Also, she was super interesting but saying she brought yoga to the west wasn’t really the way the story played out. Her story was more complicated than that and I think and there wasn’t a sufficient enough analysis of the role of colonialism in the American version of yoga (her time in the U.S. wasn’t even the most interesting part of her journey.)
An interesting read, but if it’s gonna be a white lady, I think I prefer “Yoga with Adriene” to “Yoga with Eugenia.”
What a wild ride. She is like The Doctor in the ways she shows up in historical events. I had to search so much history as I was following along. Learned lots about European Theosophy and WWII-era European interaction with eastern religion.
I liked the titular character in so many parts, but I lost her on her non-political stance when it came to the history of (this) yoga teaching being riddled with so much sexual assault.
Also, she was super interesting but saying she brought yoga to the west wasn’t really the way the story played out. Her story was more complicated than that and I think and there wasn’t a sufficient enough analysis of the role of colonialism in the American version of yoga (her time in the U.S. wasn’t even the most interesting part of her journey.)
An interesting read, but if it’s gonna be a white lady, I think I prefer “Yoga with Adriene” to “Yoga with Eugenia.”
kwbat12's review against another edition
4.0
This lady is wild.
The book moved around a lot and did lots of side bars, but I enjoyed the context that that provided for her life.
The book moved around a lot and did lots of side bars, but I enjoyed the context that that provided for her life.
beccahazure's review against another edition
1.0
Beyond tedious to get through. The author went on so many tangents I couldn't keep track of what was going on. Gave up 1/3 through the book because I could not stay engaged.
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
Much more about everyone but Devi than Devi herself. I'd have done better reading Devi's own work. That said, I did listen to the whole thing? But I didn't quite think the book really fulfilled the claim that it would show how Devi brought yoga to the west.
This was an audio listen, and I found the pronunciation of Sanskrit grating, and I found the lack of knowing how to pronounce Patanjali to be grating, too.
Not a favorite.
This was an audio listen, and I found the pronunciation of Sanskrit grating, and I found the lack of knowing how to pronounce Patanjali to be grating, too.
Not a favorite.
valeriebrett's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars, rounding up to 4 because the author deserves credit for all the work—and for deciding what contextual information to include or omit. It’s maybe not the best-written book, but the generosity and skepticism regarding unsubstantiated spiritual claims (miracles, etc.) is fair and the story is so interesting! It should’ve been called “the history of modern yoga through the life of Indira Devi.”
pamcnm's review against another edition
3.0
I found this book well researched and well written, albeit a bit dry. The historical context from which Indra Devi emerged and brought yoga to the West was carefully constructed for readers, so that they would have a richer understanding of not only Devi's ideas, but how this history and cross cultural pollination evolved into the yoga practiced by most westerner today. At the end of the book, I found that I did not especially like Indra Devi. Despite her charm and passion for yoga, she seemed lacking in compassion for others, most notably her last husband and the likely victims of Sai Baba's sexual advances. There was much talk of her need for independence and her practice of "detachment," but I think Devi's spiritual evolution would have been better served if she'd directed her practice of detachment towards the things she seemed most attached to- being recognized as someone somehow "special."
beththebookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
Incredible sweep of a fascinating woman's life. Especially appealing to yoga fans and 20th century history fans. Appropriate level of skepticism about miracles and people's motives without being disrespectful.
sohnesorge's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting biography about a fascinating, well-travelled person of broad and eclectic experience (Devi seems to have been a witness to or participant in about half of the 20th century's most important historic events); and also, a history of the creation and rise of yoga practice in North America. I would have given it four stars, but photos of all the author's subjects are described rather than included in the book. I'm a simple person - I love seeing photos of the people I'm reading about, and it irritated me that such interesting scenes were being described, when they might have been shown. Perhaps the estate wouldn't release them?
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
Eugenia Peterson was born into minor aristocracy in Russia. Forced to flee the country, she traveled the world searching for something. She found that something in India when she began to study yoga. First, she introduced it to the diplomats in China while stationed there with her husband. Then she moved to America and helped to birth the yoga revolution here in the United States.
While this book seems fairly admiring of Indra Devi (the name Eugenia eventually started using), she sounds to me like a fairly selfish person. Yes, spiritual detachment exists in yoga but she started using as an excuse to be utterly selfish.
Goldberg seems to have been very fond of using the thesaurus for this book. Too bad she sometimes chose words that were just a little off the mark of what the context clues point to what she was trying to say. Every once in awhile, she'll take a great sentence or word and repeat it twice on the same page. In a book that is otherwise very interesting and readable, these grammar issues tended to stop my flow of reading and send me to the dictionary to see if my understanding of a word was missing one of the possible definitions (it happens) but usually it did not.
While this book seems fairly admiring of Indra Devi (the name Eugenia eventually started using), she sounds to me like a fairly selfish person. Yes, spiritual detachment exists in yoga but she started using as an excuse to be utterly selfish.
Goldberg seems to have been very fond of using the thesaurus for this book. Too bad she sometimes chose words that were just a little off the mark of what the context clues point to what she was trying to say. Every once in awhile, she'll take a great sentence or word and repeat it twice on the same page. In a book that is otherwise very interesting and readable, these grammar issues tended to stop my flow of reading and send me to the dictionary to see if my understanding of a word was missing one of the possible definitions (it happens) but usually it did not.
katiegrrrl's review against another edition
2.0
I started reading this and 50 page in stopped, it moved to slow for a book for me. Several months later I started it up as an audiobook. I am pretty sure I finished it...I thought about quitting it so many times but I am bad at quitting books. So I am pretty sure I went to the end of the last disc, but it just isn't something I can recall.
There were way to many tangents into other people's lives that sometimes I got really confused who we was been written about. I think I get why this happened, Indra Devi did a great job of not leaving behind much of a r cord of her life and maybe that is because it was such a self involved unenlightened life. She had some interesting adventures but not enough for a book.
I picked this up because I heard an interview with the author on NPR and it sound really interesting, delving into this independent, woman who was on the forefront of big things, but I was really let down, the hour long interview about the book was so much more interesting than the book,
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2016 - Read a book about religion
There were way to many tangents into other people's lives that sometimes I got really confused who we was been written about. I think I get why this happened, Indra Devi did a great job of not leaving behind much of a r cord of her life and maybe that is because it was such a self involved unenlightened life. She had some interesting adventures but not enough for a book.
I picked this up because I heard an interview with the author on NPR and it sound really interesting, delving into this independent, woman who was on the forefront of big things, but I was really let down, the hour long interview about the book was so much more interesting than the book,
Book Riot Read Harder Challenge 2016 - Read a book about religion