Wheel of Time: The Shamans of Mexico Their Thoughts About Life Death & the Universe by Carlos Castaneda

 This is the 11th book of Castaneda's opus, but I left it for last to read as it mostly contains quotes from the first eight books he wrote.  The quotations are chosen as to be universal, i.e. they are not connected to the plot and characters of each book.  After each chapter of quotations, there is a commentary by Carlos about what it all meant to him.  It is a very short book, the shortest of all 12 volumes, and it was published in 2000, 2 years after Castaneda died.  Some would say it is just an attempt by the publisher to rack in more money on Castaneda's account, but it seems that Carlos pretty much finished the book before he died, so it is legit. 

Many people online give low reviews to this book because they "don't understand it" and it "wasn't what they expected"?  Well, cholos, in order to understand this book and for it to be what you expected, you need to read the previous 8-11 books.  Otherwise you are starting at the end of a narrative that started back in 1968.

Other bunch online claim they loved Castaneda's work but the got disappointed when they read the Salon article about him.  Some even compare his organization/group to Scientology, which couldn't be farther from the truth, especially in the money aspect.  Castaneda was a complicated man who couldn't give the tiniest rat's ass about what other people thought about him.  He was definitely not some all-smiling, all-singing Indian guru, and he didn't care to be. Have that in mind when you read his books.

The finishing of this book concludes the promise I gave to my uncle 30 years ago, when he gave me "The Teachings of Don Juan" to read, but only if I promise to read all the other Castaneda's books.  Promise fulfilled, uncle, a bit late, but still done.  Rest in Peace.

Active Side of Infinity by Carlos Castaneda

 This is the last, 12th, book by Castaneda, and published posthumously in 1999, Castaneda having died of liver cancer in 1998, aged 72.  I left the 11th book "The Wheel of Time" for last, as it consists of quotations from the first 8th books, with new intro and commentary by Castaneda after each chapter.  This, 11th volume, displays some of the work Castaneda did for his "recapitulation", remembering and analyzing every significant event from his life, started by making a list of all people one has met and then remembering all events considering that person.  It is interesting that recapitulation doesn't include the time one spends by oneself. 

Don Juan nudges Carlos to remember events from his life that really had a strong influence on him and are related to other people, not something that is celebrating his own ego.  Carlos remembers events from his childhood in Peru, his grandfather, his grandfathers nemesis, the raft trip through an underground river, and many more.  Since Castaneda tried very hard to hide his early life (he was Peruvian born), these events throw light on the unknown aspects of his history.

Overall a very interesting book to read, less of the high-brow conceptual stuff from some of the earlier books, and chock-full of interesting events from Castaneda's life, it almost reads like a proper novel.