In Search of P. D. Ouspensky: The Genius in the Shadow of Gurdjieff Gary Lachman 320 pages 6 x 9 $24.95 cloth 978-0-8356-0840-4 $18.95 paper 978-0-8356-0848-0

P. D. Ouspensky's classic work In Search of the Miraculous was the first to disseminate the ideas of G. I. Gurdjieff, the mysterious master of esoteric thought in the early twentieth century who still commands a following today. Gurdjieff's mystique has long eclipsed Ouspensky, once described by Gurdjieff as "nice to drink vodka with, but a weak man." Yet Ouspensky was a brilliant, accomplished philosopher in his own right, and some consider his meeting with the charismatic "Mr. G." the catastrophe of his life. Indeed, in subsequent years Ouspensky tried hard, with limited success, to break away.

This book moves Ouspensky's own story center stage, against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution, the dervishes of Constantinople, and a cosmopolitan Europe entre deux guerres. The archetypal encounter it describes echoes that of Don Juan and Castaneda, or perhaps Mephistopheles and Faust. One of the great mystical adventures of our time, it will fascinate everyone interested in the farthest reaches of what it means to be human. The paperback edition includes a new chapter on Gary Lachman's own former work in Gurdjieff's psychology.

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Gurdjieff and Ouspensky are two of the last century’s great esoteric thinkers. Gary Lachman does a masterful job of telling the fascinating tale of the entangling of each of their lives. Written in an erudite and compelling style, Lachman brings to life the ideas of an entire era.
—Leonard Shlain, author of The Alphabet Vs the Goddess and Art and Physics

This is the classic book on Ouspensky we have all been waiting for.
—Colin Wilson, author of The Outsider, The Occult and most recently, The Atlantis Blueprint.

In this excellent book, biographer Gary Lachman leaves few stones unturned in his remorseless quest for the real Ouspensky. In doing so he creates what I believe to be the most vivid portrait yet of this contradictory man. It is a salutary lesson for all those who would put their faith in a guru. In Ouspensky's case, high intelligence proved to be no protection against the guiles of a 'Sly' man.

—Adrian Gilbert, author of Magi, co-author of The Orion Mystery

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Author of several books on the counterculture, Gary Lachman became known to Theosophical readers through his contributions to The Quest magazine.


Other titles by the author:

• Politics and the Occult:
  The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen

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