Rating: 
Summary: Labour of Love
Review: At times, authors would have the highest regards of their subjects that by the time the books are completed, the biographies of the subjects would differ completly from the real thing. Despite that David Chatwick was a student of Shunryu Suzuki, and despite that the reverence is there, David interviewed hundreds of people, researched through piles of materials in order to convey to us the person that Shunryu Suzuki was. Here, he was portrayed as a human being with his own flaws. As we traced Shunryu's life from his childhood in Japan and subsequently, to America, we would learn of his deep sufferings that moulded him to become the person that he would become later on. In Japan, he never gotten the recognition that he deserved & right from day one, he was called Crooked Cucumber by his own teacher for his absent-mindedness. Yet, we are talking about the same Crooked Cucumber that brought Zen into the mainstream, setting up Zen centres in the West, initiated the exchange program between America & Japan, and along the way, captivating people's hearts & souls. Shunryu always believed in the middle-road & in all people. He left people to their own discretion to find meanings in their lives & he's only there to guide them when his assistance was needed. The later part of the book was very heart-moving to read as he was struggling with his own terminal illness & yet, he projected a quiet dignity & strength that a teacher possessed & guided his students till the change-over phase. In his dead bed, he was still thinking about his students instead about himself. One can't help but feeling emotional about this book. A times, it's funny, it's sad, it's scary (especially when he had his short temper burst), it's wonderful but isn't that what life is all about? By reading this book, perhaps, we get a bit of insight about this great teacher but along the way, we get to learn more about ourselves. A captivating read and highly recommended
Rating:
Summary: Labour of Love
Review: At times, authors would have the highest regards of their subjects that by the time the books are completed, the biographies of the subjects would differ completly from the real thing. Despite that David Chatwick was a student of Shunryu Suzuki, and despite that the reverence is there, David interviewed hundreds of people, researched through piles of materials in order to convey to us the person that Shunryu Suzuki was. Here, he was portrayed as a human being with his own flaws. As we traced Shunryu's life from his childhood in Japan and subsequently, to America, we would learn of his deep sufferings that moulded him to become the person that he would become later on. In Japan, he never gotten the recognition that he deserved & right from day one, he was called Crooked Cucumber by his own teacher for his absent-mindedness. Yet, we are talking about the same Crooked Cucumber that brought Zen into the mainstream, setting up Zen centres in the West, initiated the exchange program between America & Japan, and along the way, captivating people's hearts & souls. Shunryu always believed in the middle-road & in all people. He left people to their own discretion to find meanings in their lives & he's only there to guide them when his assistance was needed. The later part of the book was very heart-moving to read as he was struggling with his own terminal illness & yet, he projected a quiet dignity & strength that a teacher possessed & guided his students till the change-over phase. In his dead bed, he was still thinking about his students instead about himself. One can't help but feeling emotional about this book. A times, it's funny, it's sad, it's scary (especially when he had his short temper burst), it's wonderful but isn't that what life is all about? By reading this book, perhaps, we get a bit of insight about this great teacher but along the way, we get to learn more about ourselves. A captivating read and highly recommended
Rating: 
Summary: honest account of Suzuki-roshi life told by his students
Review: David Chadwick was able to interview a lot of the original students of Suzuki, letting each of them speak in their own voice. The book is not a sweet and reverential tale of the life of prominent Zen teacher, but the honest exposition of successes and failures of the man Suzuki-roshi was. Particularly interesting to me were accounts of Suzuki's complex position on the issues of Japanese militarism during the WWII; and account of his first year in America, and how the Zen center just naturally happened. Chadwick's style is clear, concise and compact; occasional quotations from Suzuki are well positioned and illustrated by real-life examples. Well Done!!!
Rating:
Summary: Deserves a Pulitzer Prize!
Review: David Chadwick's biography is a balanced, sensitive, well-researched and altogether inspired account of a spiritual master who was every bit as human as he was enlightened. This is the kind of biography that puts the spiritual path in proper perspective. Suzuki Roshi's life exemplifies the oft-neglected principle that the most profound way to be is just to be yourself.One fascinating aspect of Suzuki Roshi's personality is that it conforms very strongly to the profile of adult ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). This is not to suggest that there was anything "wrong" with him -- but it might help explain what was undeniably "different" and "special" about him. Suzuki Roshi was a remarkably creative, dynamic and talented person in many ways. All the same he could be aggravatingly, even tragically, blind to himself; he was a major-league space cadet; he was restless and inattentive at some times and in some contexts, and amazingly focused in others; he was outstanding in many ways, but a chronic underachiever and late-bloomer in others. This does not prove anything but I'm sure that anyone who is ADD (as I am) or is familiar with the diagnostic critera for ADD will understand what I'm talking about, if and when they have the impulse to become engrossed in this superlative book. For myself I find it very inspiring that someone so similar to myself, in both good and bad ways, managed to accomplish such great things towards the end of his life. In any case, do read this book if you want to know the story of a great modern Bodhisattva! Gassho!
Rating:
Summary: Deserves a Pulitzer Prize!
Review: I just read this book this week and can't say enough great things about it. It blends the story of a person and a spiritual path so deftly that you will be draw in on sheer readability and enlightened about this wonderful teacher's sometimes hilarious life story (and many times lightheartedly profound) without even noticing. I hated the author's former book and couldn't stand to read it after the first 20 pages, so it took an act of courage to pick this one up. But I am happy to say either he has learned a lot or he's had a great editor or both, because with this book, he seems like he was born to write it. There is a wonderful sense of humor that comes from Suzuki-Roshi's life and attitude - that belies the seriousness of the topic and book. So few Zen books are really approachable for mere humans (which is not the way it should be). This book demystifies all that needs demystifying about Zen - and you will have a LOT of FUN reading it, too.
Rating:
Summary: Funny, absorbing biography of a visionary
Review: I'm not a Zen practitioner; I read this book because I'm interested in Japanese culture and in contemplative forms of spirituality. Having already read the author's account of his own adventures in Japanese Zen temples, "Thank You and OK!", I was prepared for a bit of a romp. But this account of the life of S. Suzuki, founder of the San Francisco Zen Center and spiritual father to two generations of American meditators, is more than a series of amusing incidents as Japanese culture confronted America in the 1960s. It contains a very convincing portrayal of Japanese culture during the first 60 years of this century as well as an exhaustively researched, nuanced portrait of the father of American Zen. The book manages to keep a light tone without seeming silly, and it doesn't shy away from the pain and the stumbling blocks in Suzuki's life. The most pleasant surprise was the depiction of 1960s San Francisco as alternative culture made the transition from the Beats to the hippies. This is one of the most engaging books I've read in a long time. I found myself itching to get back to it, and I was sorry to see it end.
Rating:
Summary: Another "failure" by David Chadwick
Review: In stereotypical Zen fashion, I don't wish to say too much about this book. I'd hate to spoil any portion of it for anyone. But please read this book. If you have already read the author's previous book, Thank You and OK, you already know what an excellent writer David Chadwick can be when he is poking fun at himself. (If you haven't read Thank You and OK, then please go get that book, too.) I was frankly surprised at what an excellent historian Mr. Chadwick was, when it came time to write entirely seriously, about someone else. Especially Suzuki, Roshi. I was a little nervous that this book might contain the type of gushing praise that has tended to be heaped upon deceased Buddhist teachers in America. But Crooked Cucumber offers a very balanced view of Suzuki Roshi, including not only stories that inspire one's admiration for the man, but also anecdotes that cause one to scratch one's head and wonder why he could be so infuriatingly fallible at times. As a result, I felt I could trust Chadwick's scholarship, and I wound up with a much more mature appreciation for this Zen "legend." I have already said way too much. But I predict that Crooked Cucumber will wind up being regarded as one of the best Buddhist books ever written.
Rating:
Summary: Crooked Reviewers
Review: It seems that most of the other reviewers knew what they thought about Suzuki before they read this book, and found their self-confirmations therein. So I will confine myself to the book itself, rather than the subject. The standard of research is as careful (and caring) as you will ever find among biographers. However, Chadwick's writing style is very light and breezy, without being flippant. Suzuki's life is portrayed in a way that skillfully demonstates both what has been RIGHT and what has been WRONG with Zen in America, althought the author never stoops to lecture the reader on these points.
Rating:
Summary: Crooked Reviewers
Review: It seems that most of the other reviewers knew what they thought about Suzuki before they read this book, and found their self-confirmations therein. So I will confine myself to the book itself, rather than the subject. The standard of research is as careful (and caring) as you will ever find among biographers. However, Chadwick's writing style is very light and breezy, without being flippant. Suzuki's life is portrayed in a way that skillfully demonstates both what has been RIGHT and what has been WRONG with Zen in America, althought the author never stoops to lecture the reader on these points.
Rating:
Summary: Worts and All--The Biography of a Man of Zen
Review: Shunryu Suzuki in not a saint in this book, or at least he does not become one until late in his life after a lot of effort. He was, by his own admission, a so-so father and husband. He had a terrible temper and it is astonishing that someone could combine such mindfulness with such absentmindedness. The latter trait caused Suzuki's wife such a "dark night of the soul" that it brought her to enlightenment. (And no, he wasn't planning it that way--he just forgot a funeral.) This book is a labor of love by David Chadwick, but love never gets in the way of truth. One will also learn much of Suzuki's zen from Suzuki's own comments on things as they happen around him. Anyone interested in zen, Japanese culture, or fine biography should appreciate this book.
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