Books : Shadows of Heaven: Gurdjieff and Toomer
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by: Paul Beekman Taylor
Amazon.com's Price: $18.95 Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 197
EAN: 9781578630349
ISBN: 1578630347
Label: Red Wheel / Weiser
Manufacturer: Red Wheel / Weiser
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: May 01, 1998
Publisher: Red Wheel / Weiser
Release Date: May 01, 1998
Sales Rank: 1600695
Studio: Red Wheel / Weiser
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
A great deal of mystery surrounds G.I. Gurdjieff and \'The Work.\' Today, many on the path of self-exploration find themselves drawn to the symbolism of the enneagram, and to Gurdjieff\\\'s other teachings. Gurdjieff was undeniably charismatic many famous and influential people lived in his \'shadow,\' accepting his guidance while changing and transforming their lives. Shadows of Heaven focuses on the relationship between Gurdjieff and the poet-novelist Nathan Jean Toomer, from 1924 until Gurdjieff\\\'s death in 1949, as well as each man\\\'s relationship with Edith Annesley Taylor and her son Paul, the author of this book. Caught in the middle of this tense triad of interests was the English critic-publisher A.R. Orage, who was close to all three parties, and whose wife, Jessie, was Edith\\\'s best friend. Paul Taylor\\\'s unique life experience has made it possible for him to combine his mother\\\'s memoir\\\'s conversations between Toomer and Gurdjieff, and entries from Jessie Orage\\\'s diary into this fascinating book. It is probably the first to reveal something of Gurdjieff\\\'s \'love life\' with the mothers of his children. Several new descriptions of Gurdjieff\\\'s voyages with his pupils reveal aspects of Gurdjieff\\\'s character not documented elsewhere. Excerpts from Jessie Orage\\\'s diaries testify to the magnetic attraction Gurdjieff exercised over those he felt were viral to the dissemination of his ideas. With 16 pages of never-before published photographs, this book presents a fresh new picture of Gurdjieff and his teaching, adding to his legend a tangible humanity to which we can all relate.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - To Each His Own Gurdjieff
History, according to Sir George Clark, is a "hard core of fact" with a "surrounding pulp of disputable interpretation." So is biography. And this restless dialectic of fact and exegesis, obstinately irresoluble in a satisfying final chord, is full of interest for the curious student of human nature. Only look for example at the burgeoning literature touching the holistic philosopher, George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff.
In Peter Brook's memoir Threads of Time and Paul Taylor's study Shadows ... Read More
Rating: - Merciless Destruction of Gurdjieff's Not-Too-Good-Image
I suppose the motivation for writing this book in the words of Gurdjieff in Beelzebub's Tales would be: 'to destroy, mercilessly, without any compromises whatsoever, in the mentation and feelings of the reader, the beliefs and views, rooted in him, about Gurdjieff himself".
I always thought that Gurdjieff took care that his own image was not without tarnish; this has been explained as his way of getting his followers not to identify the man with the teaching. Paul Beekman Taylor completes ... Read More
Rating:  - The Big Man & His Shadow
Account of how the fearless leader hoodwinks yet another pidgeon. Too bad Toomer & the rest of them couldn't honor & respect those who truly deserved it...their wives & mothers.
Rating:  - Taylor's book an interesting account from two perspectives
Paul Taylor's book has two perspectives. One is that of an insider who grew up within the Gurdjieff movement. His mother was Gurdjieff and Jean Toomer's lover. His own father remains an unsolved mystery. He tells many stories of the rather Bohemian love affairs the various members of the entourage "enjoyed" -- although they mostly sound miserable and crazy.
Taylor, an English professor at the University of Geneva, also manages to put Jean Toomer and Gurdjieff into a larger ... Read More
Rating:  - Portrait of a Con Artist
Anyone interested in the psychology of religious fanaticism will find this book instructive, both through the author's nondeserved reverential attitude toward Gurdjieff, as well as the disgusting truths he reveals about this "great teacher." Taylor thus displays his own hypnosis by not even recognizing much of Gurdjieff's behavior (e.g. impregnating women & leaving them in the lurch) as atrocious.
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