Rating: 
Summary: I'm sorry, but I do need to lower the overall rating score
Review: Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
by Carlos Castaneda is a complete hoax. I feel that I need to make my score--that of one star--count twice because 'Dr.' (if I may correctly call him that) Castaneda has made this and other books out of pure fabrications. Please DO NOT buy this book. Just check out all the other 'one star' scores to read what has been said by other people who know this.
Rating: 
Summary: Read this book first
Review: It is the first of the famous Castaneda series of books (fiction, non-fiction, or something in-between) that have sold millions and started a following. For me, "Teachings of don Juan" was executed well - it was believable. But what makes this book entertaining and highly addictive is the excitement of hidden, untapped knowledge. Everyone wants to believe, no matter how logical or sensable that person may be, that there are magnificent forces lurking about. Though most are not convinced by Castaneda's recorded experience, that fascination makes the pages fly-by. It is fantasy that shows itself as truth; it's a clever game of guessing what is true, what is possible, and what is real.Although I enjoyed "A Separate Reality" more, read this one first. If you like it, please check out the others in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Fiction
Review: Please remember that these books are fiction and are not based on a real Yaqui.
Rating:
Summary: Good but just the beginning
Review: You cannot just read this book and not finish the series. It is very good and someone who is interested in everything related to the series from magic to mysticism to just plain out there. However, it all ties in and really you can see ideas from other old world religions tied into what Don Juan is trying to teach. Weather it is true or not, he keeps you interested and definately will blow your mind. You must finish the series though or this book will not serve it's true purpose.
Rating:
Summary: I never put the book down- until it was finished.
Review: This is a book of transformation. The hardest part is beleiving it; I always maintained some doubt. I realize that the journey has meaning whether it was 'real' or not- it was certainly real enough. If you are reading this review than you most likely have the interest to appreciate and possibly gain from this book.
Rating: 
Summary: What is the teaching?
Review: I read the whole Don Juan series and concluded that it has to be a pretty poor system of teaching/learning that results in needing 5 people to make one integrated person.
Rating: 
Summary: Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge
Review: I have read a lot of metephysical books, and by far are this series is the best. It based on things you can notice in your own life. Teaches a new perception of our world and our lives. Through the experiences of the author you can relate to common question and answer senerio's. The books can open new doors and ways of seening, If you can let go of thoughts and perceptions of our world. This series only gets better the more you work on yourself to apply these teachings.
Rating:
Summary: Better than "the dog ate my homework"
Review: Here's what I imagine Mr. Casteneda said to his academic advisor after, say, a week and a half of school: "Hey, man, I couldn't do my homework this weekend [because I was stoned out of my gourd the entire time] but would you believe I met a real sorcerer? You would? Cool!" Now don't get me wrong--I happen to believe wholeheartedly in shamans. Just not this one. Yeah, right, getting [wet] on by a dog is most surely a sign from above that you are chosen. By the dog, at any rate. I also noticed that while Mr. C had many problems with the concept that he should stay on Don Juan's porch until he found "his spot" (he got tired, he got scared, it wasn't easy, he was physically uncomfortable, it made no sense to him), he had no problem whatsoever ingeting any and all concoctions, whether they made him retch for hours, gave him tunnel vision, or simply knocked him unconscious for days. Actually, now that I think about it, except for the coma, I had pretty much the same reactions the last time I visited Mexico. Although I think mine was from a quesadilla I got from a street vendor.
Rating:
Summary: First on my list of recommended reading
Review: I cannot recommend this book and those that follow too highly. While this "introduction" may be less engaging than the books that follow, that means only that it is merely very engaging, rather than obsessively engaging. I see from previous reviews that the "fact or fiction" debate still rages. To those who have not yet read any of the books, I would say only this on that matter: If you "get" these books, the "fact or fiction" debate is less than irrelevant. To those about to begin, I wish you well on the journey.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent and Entertaining Book
Review: I enjoy Carlos Castaneda's books because they always offer an escape from reality -- in this case, I mean that quite literally. Castaneda's books involve an age-old technique of storytelling, the teaching of a body of knowledge from a master to a pupil. In this case, the master, a Yaqui Indian known as Don Juan, teaches the ancient Toltec art of sorcery to a young, first-person narrator, Carlos Castaneda. This narrator is dubious and incredulous as Don Juan shows him things about the nature of reality and our perceptions of it, but increasingly he has to conclude that the world of Don Juan is an accurate description of the may facets of reality, and our modern world is merely one narrow view. There is controversy over whether Castaneda's books are "real" --Castaneda was granted a PhD for his "field" work; but other scholars have found a lot of Castaneda's research to have no anthropological authenticity. Supporters of Castaneda dispute this. That there is even an argument over whether the books are "real" or not indicates how good the stories are -- like the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, people really, desperately want to visit Castaneda's world. His books are riveting, fascinating, beautiful, and also very scary. Although later books in the series (Tales of Power, for instance) are better than this introductory work; I think it is important to read the books in their order of writing, in order to get the "lessons" that Castaneda learns in the correct order. I am a great fan of the books, even if they are 100% fiction. But one is really just never sure if they are. . .
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