90th out of 96 books
—
122 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “In My Own Way: An Autobiography” as Want to Read:
In My Own Way: An Autobiography
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 t
...more
Paperback
,
384 pages
Published
May 2nd 2007
by New World Library
(first published 1972)
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
In My Own Way
,
please sign up
.
Be the first to ask a question about In My Own Way
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
1,037)
It's shocking that I couldnt find a single copy of this book for lending in the Sacramento CA library system [in Dec. 2011]. Why shocking? Because the author is so much associated with northern California, and prominent to boot.
I read and loved this book when I discovered it 25 years ago in the county library of the small western Colorado city of Grand Junction. A unique and delightful recount. Southern Baptists may not like it.
I read and loved this book when I discovered it 25 years ago in the county library of the small western Colorado city of Grand Junction. A unique and delightful recount. Southern Baptists may not like it.
view 2 comments
Liz, you are on page 192 or even further but this book looks like a must read to me. Anyone who tells others to "follow your weird," is someone I am interested in knowing better. He wrote many books during my formative adolescent years and I had all but forgotten him.
I seem to be on a real Watts kick...what more can I say
I really enjoyed this book. Alan Watts paints quite the colorful portrait of his life. The reading flows very nicely and it is absolutely amazing he retains so much of what he has experienced, especially the people in his life that had significance to him. It was a bit like reading a great fiction where you fall in love with all the different characters and their depths, except that these were real people. I found myself often in envy of what seemed like a life so much more exciting and exceptio
...more
Kind of challenging to get through in some parts. This is the only Alan Watts I've read. I hear I need to cover more turf before making any judgement calls. This book has a lot of highlighted and bookmarked paragraphs.
Alan is a hero. You should definitely read this and other books of his, such as The Book, Tao: The Watercourse Way, and The Way of Zen.
Slogging through the tedious early chapters about his childhood in England yields powerful, entertaining, and possibly life-changing insights
A fascinating character. Looking forward to reading more of his books...
An ever-green book, almost a friend, to return to. I've read it a number of times before, and will read it again. It strongly brings a elegiac feeling to me - the sense of a life past and passing and a slight sadness underneath the exuberant surface. Watts had a beautiful way of seeing (he would'be liked me to say hearing-smelling-tasting-dancing!) the world, and his early death was a real loss to the world. A precious picture-book from his tour through life ... deeply moving.
As an autobiography it is acceptable. Alan had such a great effect on his times that you'd think he was deeper or more self realized. Yet he throws off all weight in an effort to be weightless. There are moment of insight and these are far between. He is a man who appears superficial because of this. Much swirling and little center.
BRILLIANT man, but a down-to-earth person you can relate to. He is (was) a foremost Western authority on Zen Buddhism, which permeates his auto-bio, and though I'm not into Zen, I found this book highly entertaining and educational. He passed away in 1973 at the young age (IMO) of 57 and I wonder how he had the prescience to write his autobiography the year before. I highly recommend this book for anyone.
O.K. He wasn't the intellectual heavyweight that some would portay him as, but he appears to have been a true 'seeker' and one of the earlier voices raised for the then-esoteric subject of Zen. His biography is comforting in respect to the message that if you follow your muse, you can't go wrong. A good book to pick up when you begin to doubt yourself.
May 10, 2012
Erik Graff
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Watts fans
Recommended to Erik by:
no one
Shelves:
biography
I came to Watts by many routes during high school, he being one of the more popular writers in my circle, and read this partial autobiography during college. I found the portions about psychedelics and C.G. Jung and the Jungians to be most interesting. However, Watts himself seemed often too full of himself.
This is the autobiography of the English philosopher Alan Watts, seemingly written shortly before his death - the book covers his childhood in Kent, continuing on to his emigration to the U.S.A., and contains many philosophical asides so that it reads as more than simply a memoir.
Watts' autobiography. Very straightforward and easy to read, even if it does slip into tangents and inside references occasionally. Especially interesting is how he was awarded advanced degrees without ever having been an undergraduate.
If Alan Watts seems a little full of himself, well... it's because he is. But at least he admits it. This is an excellent summary of his books, and you can follow how his philosophy has changed throughout his lifetime.
'we would understand the sense of life more if we would sing more and say less'. my copy got soaked at a pool in gatlinburg tenn, bible belt. alan teaches me to dance and be curious. both of which i already practice.
Reading the fascinating autobiography of my favorite author/lecturer. Using this book to help write/produce a documentary on Alan Watts with AW's son, Mark
I really dig Alan Watts as a philosopher, perhaps his life might inspire a few revelation of my own.
excellent writing of a forgotten leader in exploration of asian religion and psychadeelic
Alan Watts autobiography is amazing and he reminded me of the person who recommended the book.
An excellent and pompous autobiography for the serious Watts Professionals.
Awesome! This book was finally re-released after being out-of-print for years. One of three books that got me hooked on philosophy, originally.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
Alan Wilson Watts was a British philosopher, writer and speaker, who held both a Master's in Theology and a Doctorate of Divinity. Famous for his research on comparative religion, he was best known as an interpreter and popularizer of Asian philosophies for a Western audience. He wrote over 25 books and numerous articles on subjects such as personal identity, the true nature of reality, higher con
...more
More about Alan W. Watts...
