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Summary: An old friend
Review: At the tender age of eight years, I held this book in my hands for the first time, a gift from my father. Somehow he (who then and always has known too much) felt that by allowing me to find such insight while still so young he could show me intellectual avenues that happened upon him too late. Of course at eight years old I had not lived or thought enough to understand much of the more self-centered implications of what Watts has to say, but the intellectual gyrations got me started. I've never stopped since. Since then, now nearly twenty years ago, I have revisited this book whenever I feel myself growing unclear and uneasy about the universe and my "place" within it. The only problem is that I find myself buying it over and over again because I keep giving it away, to those that, at the time, seem to need clarity more than do I. But I always come back.Oh, and if anyone becomes desperate for the answer to the anagram, I know it (after ten years of crossing my eyes at it). But it's much more satisfying to see it for yourself.
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Summary: One of my favorite books -- gave me peace of mind...
Review: Don't take this the wrong way -- this book helps me go to sleep at night. That is, after reading this book, I no longer pause before sleep, fearfully sorting through my feelings about mortality. Watts is so smart AND so clear, I found myself nodding and giggling as I read him. He HAS to be right, I thought to myself. And I think he is. It will very likely change the way you think about your life.
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Summary: Timely...and timeless.
Review: Each time I pick up my latest copy of this book I find a new, seemingly self-evident truth. My first copy, which I received in 1972 from my girlfriend, opened my eyes to the futility of chasing headlong after so-called "security." Watts blends eastern and western thought and cultural habits, and shows ever-so-clearly that this chase is futile, indeed an oxymoron: the chase is doomed to be eternal, only in giving up the chase can we reach the prize (or, more precisely, can it reach us). I've given copies to so many friends over the years, but as I write these words it still graces the bookshelf beside me. I treasure it highly, and read passages from it often, 26 years later.
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Summary: A Timeless Classic
Review: For my dollar this book, above all similar books of this ilk, explains in the most simple language, awareness to the fact of the fallacy of security. Now, this statement should not be just shrugged off as just another descriptive sentence. Think of it. Do you know how pervasive 'seeking security' is in your everyday life. Be aware of that. The brain as a matter of function is seeking security constantly. Can you be more aware than your own brain. It sounds funny but, I think you can. You can be above the brain. You can be 'mind', for lack of a better word. And, by the way, do not get caught in words or the security of them. After all the description is not the thing described...ever. Read this book and put your anxieties in the dust bin where they belong. Live life. Enjoy it as much as is possible. Know thyself. Read this book 'The Wisdom of Insecurity". Watts can explain it in much simple words than I can.
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Summary: The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts
Review: Greetings! Would some kind human being out there please give me the answer to the anagram?! It would be much appreciated. By the way, an interesting read. Enjoy.
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Summary: Amazing gobbledegook.
Review: How did this book make it to the philosophy (!) section? It should have been either in the Eastern Religion/New Age, or self-imp sections. This mercifully small book is pompous, at times - ponderous, frequently pretentious, and almost always vacuous. If you read the text carefully, you'll notice many places where it is simply nonsensical; what makes it appear superficially coherent is an endless abuse of the language, such as: something, used (very obviously!) as a figure of speech in one place, in the next phrase is used to construct a line of logic, requiring the literal meaning of the same words! Semantical legerdemain like that is easy to overlook unless you're carefully analyzing what you reading, instead of being simply hypnotized by an even flow of suggestive prattle.
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Summary: A Therapeutic Bible
Review: I am a therapist that recommends this incredibly insightful book to most of my clients, especially those suffering from anxiety disorders and control issues. Alan Watts is a century ahead of his time. "For the animal to be happy it is enough that this moment be enjoyable." For man, we often miss this moment by trying to assure the next moment will be as enjoyable. Alan's book is required reading, in my opinion, for all therapists practicing therapy in this security obsessed world. Great book! One of my psychotherapy bibles!
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Summary: Another Charmer from Alan Watts
Review: I am enamored of Alan Watts' writing. I find his books easy to access and yet profoundly interesting. This particular book encourages the reader to get comfortable with the instability of the modern world. It's a comforting, stimulating, intriguing read.
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Summary: The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts.
Review: I first read this book back in 1972 while hitching through the Canadian Maritines and living in the woods. "Life is but a flicker of light between one eternal darkness and another"is the quote, if I rememeber it correctly, that begins the read. This book was like a life Bible during my months on the road and in the wilderness. By the end of my adventure the book was tatered and torn. Over the years I recommended this particular title of Alan Watts to friends and aquaintances that I felt are open to the realization that we are all alone and should embrace our insecurity as a badge of humanity. I think it is time to read it once again.
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Summary: An amazingly deep little book
Review: I picked this book up in the Taoist section and flipped through, liked what I saw and bought it. After reading a few pages I checked the publish date and was shocked to see this book was published in 1952! It sounds like Mr Watts wrote it last week (which is a sad commentary on our society)! After half a chapter I was 'wowed' enough to wonder who this author was and was shocked again when I saw his credentials (MA in Theology/PHd in Divinity). This is by no means a Judeo-Christian book. While Mr Watts doesn't specifically mention Taoism, his writing has the flavor of it. He spends a long time discussing the problems associated with living in the past, then jumping straight to the future without stopping to look around *now*. He explores the use of language and its shortcomings, but those arguments have become commonplace in undergrad courses everywhere. The real power of this book for me was the focus on letting go, for example, "...the desire for security and the feeling of insecurity are the same thing." He expands on this quite clearly. Reading this book was a strange and fun experience in that I realized that I was thinking of a lot of the same issues that Mr Watts discusses, but was of course 5-20 years behind him on almost all of them. I also got the feeling that, even though I understood him on some level all the time, I will have to read this book at least twice more to actually *get it*.
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