Scan barcode
willjohnson98's review against another edition
1.0
I couldn’t finish it. Watts repeatedly makes up his own definitions of very common, vernacular words in order to make his viewpoints appear attractive to “western” audiences (“western” here meaning white, heterosexual, picket fence lovers). Ugh. He also makes frequent, unapologetic assumptions about what the values of modern “society” without ever bringing substantial logic or evidence to the table. I smell a woo peddler!!!
rsr143's review against another edition
3.0
Alan Watts is among my favorite authors and spiritual / philosophical thinkers. This book, however, was not as engaging or clear as his other works such as The Book and Out of Your Mind. Several of the chapters were a bit of a slog to get through. The language was tough to parse and it took me a while "get the joke." That said, there is a strong enough message in the book to make it a worthy read, and if you enjoy Watt's work, I highly recommend adding this book to your library.
lizfran's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
snailhotel's review against another edition
4.0
didn’t understand a lot of this but what i did understand was pwetty fweakin good
benjaminj1996's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
I'm frustrated by this book. Alan Watts is a great thinker and is, essentially, right and very profound about what he says. When I've listened to recordings of his talks I've been really captivated - but for me it just didn't really work in written form. Instead of being able to hear the flow of speech and feel like you're part of a conversation, the repetitive nature of his writing feels unnecessarily complex and drawn-out, losing its point along the way. There are also some outdated bits of language and imagery.
That said, the nature of what is being written about here is fundamentally fascinating - if it had been put better, I might be saying everyone should read this. As it is, I'd recommend listening to Watts speak rather than read his books.