Tales of Wonder

“In this delightful autobiography, Smith tells us how he became the dean of world religion experts. Along the way we meet the people who shaped him and shared his journey—a Who’s Who of 20th century spiritual America: the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama, Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary, T.S. Eliot, Thomas Merton and Pete Seeger.... A valuable master class on faith and life.” — San Francisco Chronicle Book Review As Stephen Hawking is to science; as Peter Drucker is to economics; and as Joseph Campbell is to mythology; so Huston Smith is to religion. Tales of Wonder is the personal story of the author of the classic The World’s Religions, the man who taught a nation about the great faiths of the world, and his fascinating encounters with the people who helped shape the 20th century. What does it mean to chase the divine across a century of seismic change? World Religions, Lived: From practicing yoga with Hindu yogis to meditating with Zen masters and whirling with Sufi dervishes, Smith immerses himself in the great faiths to understand them from the inside out. 20th Century Spiritual Figures: Sit in on conversations with legends like the Dalai Lama, Aldous Huxley, and Thomas Merton, and witness history-making encounters that shaped modern spirituality. A Missionary Childhood: Journey back to a walled town in pre-revolutionary China, where a boy’s worldview was forged among ancient traditions long before he would teach them to the West. Science and Spirituality: From the halls of MIT to experiments with consciousness, discover Smith’s lifelong work to bridge the gap between empirical knowledge and the reality of the sacred.