In this new edition of his acclaimed autobiography — long out of print and rare until now — Alan Watts tracks his spiritual and philosophical evolution from a child of religious conservatives in rural England to a freewheeling spiritual teacher who challenged Westerners to defy convention and think for themselves. From early in this intellectual life, Watts shows himself to be a philosophical renegade and wide-ranging autodidact who came to Buddhism through the teachings of Christmas Humphreys and D. T. Suzuki. Told in a nonlinear style, In My Own Way wonderfully combines Watts’ own brand of unconventional philosophy and often hilarious accounts of gurus, celebrities, psychedelic drug experiences, and wry observations of Western culture. A charming foreword written by Watts’ father sets the tone of this warm, funny, and beautifully written story of a compelling figure who encouraged readers to “follow your own weird” — something he always did himself, as his remarkable account of his life shows.

Alan Watts is one of those writers I want to like more than I actually do. On the one hand, I cannot ignore his influence on the rise of understanding of Eastern Thought in America. And I have greatly enjoyed his books on Zen and Taoism. But recently started reading his more philosophical books, and...well they just did not do it for me.

But this book did. I picked it up at a bookstore, and started thumbing through it, which quickly led to me to sitting down to read it more deeply. Watts takes us on a fascinating tour of his childhood and adult life--his interest in Zen and other eastern influences, his ordination and his renounciation of his ordination, and his basic life, thought and influences. He says in the preface, that he is writing this book because he finds his life interesting. That is reason enough.

Reading this is a bit like seeing the face of the person you have always heard on the radio. There is little he says here that will make you think differently about his other work, but you will see it differently after reading this.

If you are a fan of Watts, I highly recommend this book. ( )