Product Description

This introductory sampler of Ken Wilber's thought, wisdom, and wit--excerpted from his most popular books--ranges over a variety of topics, including meditation, mystical experience, the new age, science, and spirituality.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #324653 in Books
• Published on: 1998-09-14
• Released on: 1998-09-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 199 pages

Review
"Ken Wilber's work in the psychology of human consciousness is unparalleled."— Choice

About the Author
Ken Wilber is the author of over twenty books. He is the founder of Integral Institute, a think-tank for studying integral theory and practice, with outreach through local and online communities such as Integral Naked, Integral Education Network, Integral Training, and Integral Spiritual Center.

Customer Reviews

A Taste of Wilber's Work
This book is misleadingly titled, in that it does not, in my opinion, contain the essential core of Ken Wilber's thought. It's not even a greatest hits collection. What this book is most useful for is to dip one's toe into Wilber's vast and brilliant work in order to see if it's worth one's time to more thoroughly investigate his work. If you want to take the word of many of the most profound thinkers of this time that Ken Wilber is doing some of the most comprehensive and important thinking and writing of anyone alive today, then skip this book and proceed directly to "A Brief History of Everything." That book is more like the essential Ken Wilber in that it is a succinct and accessible, but fairly comprehensive summary of his system of integral theory. "A Theory of Everything," a more recent book, is KW's own choice for the "best" introduction to his work. Both those books, although not as technical and dense as much of his lengthier work (and aimed at a more popular readership), are still reasonably demanding and linear in exposition.

"The Essential Ken Wilber" is a collection of excerpts from his other books. It is organized in bite-sized parcels that can be read and thought about, picking the book up and putting it back down, without your feeling like you have to plow through the whole thing or you'll lose the thread. It will give you a tantalizing taste of his thinking and his writing style without having to work too hard to get it. If you have read any of KW's other work, you don't need this one. Instead, buy and read any of his other books you haven't gotten to yet.

If you have not yet read Ken Wilber, what's all the fuss about? This book will give you some clues. Suffice it to say here (see my reviews of ABHE and ATOE for a more detailed overview) is that if you are interested in philosophy, mysticism, or a scientific, social or political approach to understanding human nature and the deep truths of existence, and wonder how any or all of these (and many other) approaches to those subjects might fit together, KW is the person who is contributing the most of anyone today to anwering that question. Although the title of this book may not accurately describe its contents, it does accurately describe its author.

An impossible task, done as well as possible
I have read many of Wilber's books through the years, starting in philosphy of religon classes at the U of Mich. back in the 70's. "The Atman Project" and "Up from Eden" remain my favorites. It has been the toughest and most rewarding reading I have ever done. Wilber is more than a genius, he is an enlightened writer. I agree with the accolade "Wilber is the Einstein of developmental psychology". Even though consciousness is really just awareness, it's still a subtle and slippery topic. If you're impatient or biased, it will escape you. Also some direct experience in mysticism is useful. Religious dogmas and philosophical/artistic expressions used to look like a fractured mirror to me, but after years of reading Wilber I now see how seemingly contradictory and even primative beliefs actually fit together into an elegant, logical system designed to further conscious evolution. There is almost no better reading in the world for cosmopolitan people, unless you are going to read the enlightened mystics directly. That's not easy either....

thought provoking
this was the first book i read by ken wilber. i have seen some comments by readers of other titles saying that they found him egotistical, but i thoroughly enjoyed & savored this book...no one owns the truth and when you see/hear it, you know it, regardless of who presents it, and i don't think that really matters. anyways, it was just right for starters...not too technical but definitely not trivial...enlightening & thought provoking.