Uncommon Wisdom - Softcover

In attempting to show how encounters with various people fueled the writing of his bestsellers The Tao of Physics and The Turning Point, Capra's new book is alternately superficial and meaty. That he once sat next to Alan Watts at a dinner party, heard Krishnamurti lecture and exchanged observations with Indira Gandhi is revealing of nothing; neither is the detailed synopsis of the author's reading habits. More interesting are conversations recorded here with physicists Werner Heisenberg and Geoffrey Chew, psychotherapists Stanislav Grof and R. D. Laing, economists Hazel Henderson and E. F. Schumacher, and with figures such as systems theorist Gregory Bateson, holistic cancer therapist Carl Simonton and feminist Charlene Spretnak. How Capra came to perceive parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism, then went beyond this to a systems viewpoint embracing ecology and spiritual awareness, is the heady theme of this self-preoccupied but often stimulating set of talks. (January
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Capra, author of The Tao of Physics , is famous for his unique blend of physics and mysticism. Here he traces the development of his thought by presenting a series of conversations with many influential thinkers, including Werner Heisenberg, R. D. Laing, Alan Watts, and Margaret Lock. These conversations took place between 1969 and the "Big Sur Dialogues" symposium in 1979 and range in subject from science to politics, anthropology to holistic medicine. Capra feels that his contribution has been merely to establish links between the ideas of these highly original thinkers, all of whom figured largely in his evolution from a conventional physicist to the spokesman for a new vision of reality. C. Robert Nixon, M.L.S., Lafayette, Ind.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.