Rating: 
Summary: Man Must Overcome Sleep: The Fourth Way Presented.
Review: This book basically consists of the conversations Ouspensky had with Gurdjieff (referred to only as "G." throughout the book) and G.'s presentation of his system, the Fourth Way.First. I don't want to make to much of this as there is an enormous amount of material presented in this book, but I must confess that honestly this book left me more confused than I was before I read it. I don't understand what happened between Ouspensky and G., why there is so much obfuscation of this on the part of Ouspensky, and whether or not this undermines the credibility of the whole system presented. Ouspensky simply refuses to discuss his break with his teacher and I find this troublesome because throughout the book he has chosen to include personal details of his relationship with G. but at the end he simply refuses to do so. Also, I don't understand what happened to Ouspensky during the period of time when he allegedly "woke up" and was given telepathic communications from G. Ouspensky has muddied the waters here again, making it difficult to assess his claims. Furthermore, I don't know what he means by the "transfiguration of G.", how G.'s appearance changed. Finally, I don't know if Ouspensky is being objective when he presents G. as a somewhat authoritarian individual. How much of this "authoritarianism" is simply necessary to maintain the proper discipline in working on oneself. These questions troubled me when I read the book. Now that that's over with, I can get to the content of the book proper. The Fourth Way presented by G. is a method for man to liberate himself from his "mechanicalness". This way is distinct from other ways of liberation: the way of the fakir, the way of the monk, and the way of the yogi. G. has some very interesting ideas about the nature of man, his perpetual slumber in mechanicalness, and how he must strive to overcome this slumber. He also provides explanations for the order in the universe, life on Earth, the causes of wars, the nature of esotericism, the nature and degrees of consciousness, and much else besides. He presents a kind of alchemy and a mathematical procedure making use of the law of octaves to understand these phenomena. Ouspensky goes into a lot of detail about this; however, it is difficult to get at what is really going on in a cursory reading. Also, Ouspensky leaves much out (since these are reconstructions of conversations and lectures given by G.). G. presents this system and then attempts to construct his school - a group of individuals united with a common purpose of working on themselves. It is very interesting to see how he does this, and it gives a good picture of G.'s resourcefulness. Much of what took place in this book took place during the turbulent period of the Russian revolution and there is much discussion of the meaning of what were then current events. That said, I do not really know how to evaluate this system presented by G. because for me the book leaves open too many questions (which I have alluded to above). The book is interesting and thought provoking though and certainly merits the attention of any person who seeks spiritual liberation and freedom from mechanicalness.
Rating:
Summary: Expect the unexpected...
Review: This is that once-in-a-lifetime book, the kind you'd like to find in that ancient, out-of-the-way used bookstore that you wish existed. Every chapter in this book, every page, unfolds a new enigma, and Ouspensky writes so well, like a master suspense novelist, that you find yourself drawn to read on no matter how unusual some of the teachings get. Indeed, some of the material in the book seems nonsensical--but if you're patient, the nonsense is immediately followed by a watershed of wisdom, wisdom of a kind I've never read before. Highly rewarding, rich with unique insight, I eagerly recommend this to any seeker of Truth who keeps an open mind.
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