I was just to the bookstore yesterday, and I may have seen that book. I can't recall for sure. There was one with "Shamanism" in the title that I thumbed through, but upon seeing a chapter regarding hallucinogens, I promptly put the book down because I don't believe in using such things.
I did get In the Shadow of the Shaman by Amber Wolfe. I haven't begun reading it yet, but it seemed acceptable and interesting when I paged through it. I'm reading something else right now, so it may be a little while before I can get to it.
1. If you don't read any books that talk about entheogens, you're going to miss out on a lot of good material on shamanism. I don't mean books that are all about entheogen use, such as Plant Spirit Shamanism, but also anthropological texts that explore traditional/indigenous shamanisms, or something like Michael Harner's The Way of the Shaman, where while he doesn't have practical information on entheogens, he does talk about his own experience with the Jivaro in the Amazon when he uses an entheogen to journey. You don't have to use entheogens yourself, but if you won't even buy a book that mentions them, you're going to miss out on a lot. At the very least I think it's important to understand their traditional and modern shamanic use, why people use(d) them, and what their effects are. Otherwise you may as well ignore learning about Siberian shamans (who use Amanita muscaria), the Jivaro and other Amazonian tribes (who use ayahuasca), certain southwest Native American practitioners (who use peyote) and so forth. Otherwise, you may miss out on some really important things in the parts of those books that don't talk about entheogens.
Just IMO, though, YMMV.
2. In the Shadow of the Shaman isn't really shamanism. It's neoshamanism-flavored Wicca. I wasn't impressed, and got rid of my copy years ago. I'm going to assume that you're still at the 101 stage of shamanism (forgive me if I'm wrong); here are a few books I'd recommend (http://therioshamanism.com/2008/02/20/recommended-reading/). Other than the works by Harner, Vitebsky, and possibly the anthology by Graham, I don't believe they mention entheogens, and of the three I mentioned it's not a key part of the works. And they'll give you a much better grounding than Wolfe's drek.
2. I wish I had the heart to get rid of mine. But it cost me almost $40 over here. And if it weren't for the cost, and me not knowing who or where to sell it to locally, I'd never have spent more than a minute after finishing the whole book keeping it.
Shamanism is kind of #2 for me. I still haven't read the book yet. I often take a chance on books, and sometimes they turn out not as good as they appeared at quick glance.
I actually ran across Shamanism when I tried to find something which fit into how I normally meditate, commune with nature, etc. Shamanism fit the bill. I'm interested in studying it to find ways to do what I've been doing all along a little bit better (get more out of it, etc.) It's also helped me understand and respect nature better. I have a few books on Druidry as well for such things, but it doesn't resonate as much with me.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-03-01 01:31 am (UTC)I did get In the Shadow of the Shaman by Amber Wolfe. I haven't begun reading it yet, but it seemed acceptable and interesting when I paged through it. I'm reading something else right now, so it may be a little while before I can get to it.
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Date: 2008-03-01 02:23 am (UTC)Just a heads up. But you might find the book useful for you.
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Date: 2008-03-01 05:23 pm (UTC)Just IMO, though, YMMV.
2. In the Shadow of the Shaman isn't really shamanism. It's neoshamanism-flavored Wicca. I wasn't impressed, and got rid of my copy years ago. I'm going to assume that you're still at the 101 stage of shamanism (forgive me if I'm wrong); here are a few books I'd recommend (http://therioshamanism.com/2008/02/20/recommended-reading/). Other than the works by Harner, Vitebsky, and possibly the anthology by Graham, I don't believe they mention entheogens, and of the three I mentioned it's not a key part of the works. And they'll give you a much better grounding than Wolfe's drek.
Hope that helps!
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Date: 2008-03-02 04:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-02 10:21 pm (UTC)I actually ran across Shamanism when I tried to find something which fit into how I normally meditate, commune with nature, etc. Shamanism fit the bill. I'm interested in studying it to find ways to do what I've been doing all along a little bit better (get more out of it, etc.) It's also helped me understand and respect nature better. I have a few books on Druidry as well for such things, but it doesn't resonate as much with me.