Rating: 
Summary: thoughts from one of Dr. Wesselman's students
Review: I'm no expert in shamanism, but I can tell from reading this book that this man isn't writing about shamanism. First, it amazes me how his writings start about the time in his life when he's an unemployed, struggling anthropologist with time to kill. Second, he has a "following" of believers and starts his own teachings in HAWAII...the place he longs to live. How convenient. Just another New Age push for cash? I wish more authors who write this kind of stuff ("this really happened to me!") would be honest with their readers about how they struggled with these types of experiences and show their real human side. Instead they make it look like they were "chosen" and all flows with perfect coincidence. Don't we all wish! They infatuate their readers with unrealistic information. Enough of criticism, on to content. His story is farfetched. He contacts his decendant 5000 years into the future (read Mass Dreams of the Future, by Dr. Chet Snow...documented and honest...and even he couldn't get beyond the 21st century). This is not to say that isn't possible, just a bit shakey given the info he comes up with. One where they understand eachother's language, know about the other, and the why's and wherefore's of this sort of contact when having no prior knowledge of this kind of experience - and he's okay with it from the onset, but he was "chosen" so that explains everything. His decendant is living in what he concludes to be North America which has changed dramatically to a tropical climate. Using this idea, he implies a pole shift or global warming. He may be an anthropologist but knows very little about environmental subjects. He integrates his light knowledge of Hawaiian spirital culture and anthropology background (gotta do something with all the money he spent on college) enough to write a fictional book, just for fun, and maybe we can open a center for teaching in the future if I get enough gulible, bored housewives, honey. If you want a good read on anthropology and beginning of humans, some good sex, and a Laura Ingalls type description of how to make a dress from sack cloth kind of info, read Jean Auel's series. She's done her homework - and claims it's fiction...not channeled from her distant past. Who knows, maybe his 4th book will be the one his future decendant writes and somehow Hank manages to find it by his magic stone. If you want a guide book on HUNA, search elsewhere. Another disappointment was the fact that everytime he had an uncontrollable encounter with his future descendant, was only after having sex with his wife. Spare me. So is sex the answer to our greater spiritual experiences? Or is it shamanism? Either way, there's not enough information for anyone to glean from it. He totally misses the point of enlightenment in this book. Smile Hank, someone loves you. He just may be a nice person, and to him this may all be true, but I'm not convinced of this being anything but fiction. Fortunately I borrowed it from the library, but have enjoyed reading it as a let's-escape-reality type book. Buy it at your own risk. Don't expect it to guide you to your greater truth or get in touch with yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Having trouble believing this one!
Review: I'm no expert in shamanism, but I can tell from reading this book that this man isn't writing about shamanism. First, it amazes me how his writings start about the time in his life when he's an unemployed, struggling anthropologist with time to kill. Second, he has a "following" of believers and starts his own teachings in HAWAII...the place he longs to live. How convenient. Just another New Age push for cash? I wish more authors who write this kind of stuff ("this really happened to me!") would be honest with their readers about how they struggled with these types of experiences and show their real human side. Instead they make it look like they were "chosen" and all flows with perfect coincidence. Don't we all wish! They infatuate their readers with unrealistic information. Enough of criticism, on to content. His story is farfetched. He contacts his decendant 5000 years into the future (read Mass Dreams of the Future, by Dr. Chet Snow...documented and honest...and even he couldn't get beyond the 21st century). This is not to say that isn't possible, just a bit shakey given the info he comes up with. One where they understand eachother's language, know about the other, and the why's and wherefore's of this sort of contact when having no prior knowledge of this kind of experience - and he's okay with it from the onset, but he was "chosen" so that explains everything. His decendant is living in what he concludes to be North America which has changed dramatically to a tropical climate. Using this idea, he implies a pole shift or global warming. He may be an anthropologist but knows very little about environmental subjects. He integrates his light knowledge of Hawaiian spirital culture and anthropology background (gotta do something with all the money he spent on college) enough to write a fictional book, just for fun, and maybe we can open a center for teaching in the future if I get enough gulible, bored housewives, honey. If you want a good read on anthropology and beginning of humans, some good sex, and a Laura Ingalls type description of how to make a dress from sack cloth kind of info, read Jean Auel's series. She's done her homework - and claims it's fiction...not channeled from her distant past. Who knows, maybe his 4th book will be the one his future decendant writes and somehow Hank manages to find it by his magic stone. If you want a guide book on HUNA, search elsewhere. Another disappointment was the fact that everytime he had an uncontrollable encounter with his future descendant, was only after having sex with his wife. Spare me. So is sex the answer to our greater spiritual experiences? Or is it shamanism? Either way, there's not enough information for anyone to glean from it. He totally misses the point of enlightenment in this book. Smile Hank, someone loves you. He just may be a nice person, and to him this may all be true, but I'm not convinced of this being anything but fiction. Fortunately I borrowed it from the library, but have enjoyed reading it as a let's-escape-reality type book. Buy it at your own risk. Don't expect it to guide you to your greater truth or get in touch with yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: Get ready, folks, for the new hunter-gatherer age!
Review: One reviewer states, in essence, that she finds works by this author easier to digest than those of Carlos Castaneda. Well, I am the opposite. I avidly read all the books by the Castaneda group - some of them, more than once - but found this particular walk rather a long and boring trek, largely due to the fact that the characters, whether they hail from present-day reality or 5,000 years hence, are a one-dimensionally earnest lot, prone to express themselves in the phraseology of the most shallow form of paperback fiction; e.g., says Kenojelak, the splendid hunter-gatherer woman of the future, to Nainoa, her 7-ft. superstud male counterpart: "Nainoavangioaluk, you seem to have a way with horses." ... "And women." The author's describes his relationship with Nainoa as an ancestral one, but remains uncertain as to whether the ancestry is biological, or whether Nainoa is in fact a future reincarnation of himself. What it amounts to, for practical purposes, is that each has somehow acquired the capability of insinuating himself inside the other's head and accessing all the memories stored there while, at the same time, experiencing every activity the other is currently engaged in. Separately and together, they are on a quest to discover what brought/will bring about the end of Western Civilization. In a nutshell, Wesselman's sees it as coming about through overpopulation, with the greenhouse effect escalating until one day the world finds itself totally bereft of fuel and electricity, with communications at a standstill. In the chaotic aftermath, automobiles, computers and other machinery are quickly rendered inoperable; hoards of luckless office workers, and others who depend on electrical equipment for their livelihood and usefulness to society, are doomed to painful extinction. Clearly, it is going to take a very different kind of homo sapiens to survive and procreate in the new order ... The America of circa 2600 AD turns out to be something of a jungle with all manner of lush vegetation and wildlife, including tigers and elephants (the descendants of zoo and circus escapees?) No sign of lingering damage from nuclear fall-out, genetic engineering or biological warfare, is to be seen. Courtesy of "the spirits", the two protagonists are treated to a kind of big-screen movie, showing the process of evolution from the primordial till far into the future. It all fits in neatly with basic Darwinism. There is no mention of ancient civilizations where, reportedly, a higher level of collective consciousness prevailed, and the people enjoyed a quality of life and longevity far more impressive than those in effect today. Wesselman,in fact, sees our present Industrial Age as a golden one, a "brief but glorious burst" never to be repeated throughout the millennia of mostly spear-throwing, survivalist living. The anthropologist author describes childhood incidents of the shamanistic variety, yet periodically comes through with the all-this-stuff-is-anathema-to-my-scientific-mind declaration, which seems to be mandatory in this kind of work. To sum up: Minus the randy passages, this book has definite potential as a Walt Disney production. As a purportedly true account of non-ordinary reality experience, I find it less than convincing.
Rating:
Summary: Spiritwalker: an Introduction to Shamanism
Review: Spiritwalker caught me by pleasant surprise. I purchased it because the back cover sounded like it would involve shamanism and life mysteries. Wesselman provides an entertaining account of the uncharted personal awakening of his spirit to levels of reality and cross-dimensional connections that even he did not believe at first. The story comes across as autobiographical and it provides a map by which others could understand their personal insights and bizarre connections in life. If taken as truth, the story is amazing and mind-opening. I rank the book 4/5 stars because it is, at points, long-winded and boring. Wesselman seems to be making meaning of the story as he writes it, which takes the reader through the process (good), but sometimes makes you wish he'd packaged it better (bad). Over-all, glad I read it, would recommend to anyone interested in ancestor-spirit connections and hawaiian shamanism. I couldn't wait for the sequel to be published.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: This book is one of the rare, few "new age" novels that lends both personal credibility to the story and detailed insight into shamanic journeying as experienced firsthand by Dr. Wesselman. He travels well into the future unexpectedly and returns with a wealth of knowledge pertinent to our planetary survival and to our higher capabilities as humans. Along with the rest of the trilogy, this is a must-read. Fantastic!
Rating:
Summary: A mystical story by a visionary scientist.
Review: This book opened up a new window in my mind, yet, I felt familiar with some of the phenomena as the magic was gradually revealed. It opened a window in my mind into the future of humanity, because, as a visionary, humanist and scientist, Mr. Wesselman is warning us about the wrong decisions and practices we have been making or tolerating in both physical and non-physical planes. On the other hand, It felt as if I knew some of the truths when the experiences relating to the spirit world of living and non-living entities were revealed: For example, having been in Hawaii only once, I was spellbound... When asked, I could only say it was a beautiful and spiritual place. People understood the beautiful part but did not relate to spiritual part. Mr. Wesselman articulated the fact that the ocean, the air and the earth as well as every stone, tree, mountain,... have a spirit and if you are willing to listen, they whisper. Coming from a mystic, this book is a gift to cherish and learn from.
Rating:
Summary: Truly astounding!
Review: This book was impossible for me to put down, and when it was over I was hungry for still more. Fortunately, I then discovered and quickly devoured the sequel. Am I sated yet? I don't think so, I just noticed the third book by Mr. Wesselman. (I will be purchasing it soon.) The man, as author, seems very genuine, thoughtful, honest about his experiences. Writes a darn good narrative too! What a rich retelling of a provocative series of dreams. Is it possible to dream through someone else's eyes (or the eyes of our future self)? If what he recounts is true, then yes. You may feel a reverberation within your own soul and dreaming life. Even if you don't buy the premise (I found it compelling), you cannot help but be enticed by the adventures he shares. Wesselman possesses the rare gifts of a great storyteller. You will be transported to a North America of the possible distant future, on the West coast, where life has changed dramatically. I don't want to give it all away, but you will walk vicariously in the same moccassins as the character of Wesselman/Nainoa. You'll participate in a remarkable journey through lush forests, dangerous mountain passes and herd-covered plains. You will explore the unknown in more than one sense: meeting helpful guides and mysterious beings. Humans are in the minority now and they have had to re-adapt to a more nature-based way of life. You will be drawn to a beautiful partner. You will bring back gifts of knowledge for your community. You will face danger. You will feel an exhileration you never felt was possible from a book. You will be there. You will almost not want to return.
Some of his encounters took my breath away. So vivid and so compelling. Oh... You will like it, if you have any sense. (grin) Honestly.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just Another Shamanic Journey
Review: This is a book not just about altered states, nor is the focus on how he does what he does. It is a story about a very possible future, one that although frightening, plants seeds in our consciousness about our future, and more importantly, about our present. How thru our lifestyles (consumerism, greed, apathy,etc.) we have disrespected our planet and may be losing something that is not only sacred, but necessary to life.
Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: This is the first book written by a truely amazing man. Not only is he a wonderful teacher, but an amazing story teller as well. If you want to learn more about shaminism, or Hawaiian Kahunas, then this is a perfect book for you. You wil be enthralled by Hank's writting and ability to paint such a vivid story. This is one book you will not be able to put down until you are finished, and then you will be going after the sequil with equal enthusiasm.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: What an adventure! The images in this book make the greatest pictures in the mind. And I've thought about them many times since reading the book. I bought several copies of this book as gifts for friends so that they could share the adventure. Did it really happen, or was it all a dream? Or should I say, will it really happen? The part that takes place in the future is intriguing. I simply couldn't put the book down. I highly recommend it.
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