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Castaneda received  a B.A. in anthropology  in 1962 from the
University of California at Los Angeles. In 1968, five years
before  Castaneda received  his Ph.D.  in anthropology,  the
University  of California  Press published  The Teachings of
Don Juan: A Yaqui Way  of Knowledge, which became a national
best  seller  following  an  enthusiastic  notice  by  Roger
Jellinek in the New York Times Book Review:

"One can't exaggerate the significance of what Castaneda has
done.   He  is   describing  a   shamanistic  tradition,   a
pre-logical cultural  form that is no-one-knows  how old. It
has been described  often. . . . But it  seems that no other
outsider,  and   certainly  not  a   'Westerner,'  has  ever
participated in  its mysteries from  within; nor has  anyone
described them so well."

The  fuse was  lit. The  Teachings sold  300,000 copies in a
1969 Ballantine mass edition. A Separate Reality and Journey
to Ixtlan followed  from Simon & Schuster in  1971 and 1972.
The saga continued in Tales of Power (1974), The Second Ring
of  Power (1977),  The Eagle's  Gift (1981),  The Fire  from
Within (1984), The  Power of Silence (1987), and  The Art of
Dreaming  (1993). (Bibliophiles  may be  interested to learn
that Castaneda says he actually  wrote a book about don Juan
before The  Teachings, titled The Crack  Between Worlds, but
lost the manuscript in a movie theater.)

In assessing  the impact of  his work, Castaneda's  admirers
credit him with introducing to  popular culture the rich and
varied  traditions  of  shamanism,  with  their  emphasis on
entering  nonordinary  realms  and  confronting  strange and
sometimes hostile spirit-powers, in order to restore balance
and  harmony to  body, soul,  and society.  Inspired by  don
Juan's use of peyote, jimsonweed,  and other power plants to

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