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Arrow Books Ltd

Illusions : The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

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Arrives Thursday, Nov 28
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Publisher : Gardners Books; Reprint edition (April 30, 2001)


Language : English


Paperback : 144 pages


ISBN-10 : 5


ISBN-13 : 65


Item Weight : 3.14 ounces


Dimensions : 4.96 x 0.31 x 6.69 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #14,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #33 in Consciousness & Thought Philosophy #48 in Metaphysical & Visionary Fiction (Books) #1,649 in Literary Fiction (Books)


#33 in Consciousness & Thought Philosophy:


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Great book--ridiculously small print makes it UNREADABLE! (2001 Mass Market Paperback version)
This is one of my favorite books EVER--I've read it dozens of times (it's short enough to read at a single sitting. However, the latest version of the Mass Market Paperback has INCREDIBLY small print. I purchased this as a high school graduation gift for my nephew, and imagine my surprise when I opened it to inscribe the book. The typeface must be 8 points (if that!) I would not inflict this small of type on anyone -- not even my 18 year old nephew who has perfect vision! I'm returning it for another version, because even a great book, which this is, needs to be able to be READ WITHOUT A MAGNIFYING GLASS! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2017 by Raul C Freitas
    • Forever a favorite of mine
First read it when it was published. Few books stay with me. This one did, and still does. We learn, we keep learning. We play, we create, we look at our creations, our life, our lives. And we can realize that it's all quite beautiful, and we can laugh and delight in all of it. And create anew, and be a witness to it all with wonder and awe. Read this book, and again if it stays with you. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on June 29, 2018 by Michael Buley
    • Lessons for everyone
Loved this book when I was 17- still love it at age 50+. The lessons still hold up and the quotes are still amazing. If you never read this in the 70s, do yourself a favor and read it now.
Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2017 by Namaste
    • I remember when the main character was named Don Juan and the author was Castaneda
Here Richard Bach took advantage of the popularity of the mystical approach of Carlos Castaneda. Now, to his credit, Bach doesn't claim his main character, Don Shimoda, was real, let alone that his exploits actually occurred, which was the unpardonable sin of the Castaneda stories of Don Juan (Castaneda claimed he was engaged in scientific, ethnographic research and the events were true). But my issue with Illusions is that it appears to me like a watered down version of the main theme of Castaneda's first four books, and it is, simply, nowhere near as interesting. I'm being generous giving Illusions 3 stars. Or, maybe, that's part of the illusion. ... ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2018 by ♫NewHorizons♫
    • a sort of "locked room mystery"
I have mixed feeling about this book, and was tempted to give it 3 stars, but decided that was unfair. In some ways this strikes a serious Buddhist practitioner as "fluff," yet in a real way, this book presents some of the concepts of Buddhism in an easy to read, startling way. It has a story, a bit of mystery, and a lot of discussions about the nature of reality as a projection of our mind. Illusions puts forth in an entertaining style, the ancient Greek philosophy of solipsism, the idea that only mind exists, and what we consider the real world is merely a projection of our own thoughts, desires, concepts and intentions. Ultimately, this idea is hard to distinguish from Buddhist epistemology, or even from Neoplatonic thought. It is virtually impossible to disprove, and almost equally difficult to believe. Anyone who has been in a car accident, suffered a major health crisis, been a victim of serious crime, or fought in a war, will have a hard time accepting the premise of this book. I certainly did. It is a fun read, a fun idea, but ultimately, it does not allow one to levitate a socket-wrench (one of the incidents described) or become a Messiah, reluctant or otherwise. Mostly, the idea is a sort of "locked room mystery," in that there is no way to really penetrate the illusion to reach the truth. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2017 by James Kenney
    • Illusion, a great story full of wisdom and fun
"Argue for your limitations, and they're yours."-RB Just one jewel of truth from Illusions. Not preachy/teachy, just a great story full of wisdom and fun. I have reread this book more than any other book in my 50 years of reading. My favorite gift to give those starting out in life. (-:
Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2018 by Stephanie Rolfe
    • It's 'Snoisulli' spelled backwards...
IMHO... a classic. I continue to pick this book up for a re-read every year or two, and it always inspires deep down. This purchase is to replace yet again my previous copy that I gave to someone that had not read the book, but could obviously benefit from it. I appreciate how 'simple' a read this story is, yet how big a message it carries. Up there with the likes of the Desiderata, the Prophet, or Jacob the Baker. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2018 by Monkeybrew
    • Beautiful and simple, a fable that proves we would all quit if the world was on our shoulders
I have always been familiar with Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and I only picked this up during a Kindle sale wanting to check out some of the pilot-writer's other work. Without much surprise, Illusions is another philosophical deep dive into the transitory difficulty navigation of a world we make much too complicated. The germ for this story is in the title. Donald Shimoda is a messiah who has given up on the messiah lifestyle to become an anonymous pilot that gives rides to people in small farming communities for a few bucks. When he meets up with a writer-pilot named... Well, Richard Bach. The book becomes a simple fairy tale of a mentor-mentee relationship that transpires in the skies above, the water upon, and the earth below Illinois. As with Seagull, Bach’s breezy and optimistic prose carries us through their developing relationship, the curious nature of the enigmatic Shimoda, and the Siddarthan journey upon which we come to many conclusions about the true nature of the illusion of life itself. I enjoyed this book for the sheer joy and easygoing pace of a story told well and simply – something Bach and other writers of the nineteen-seventies were well known for. I certainly didn’t feel like I wasted my time on it, and while some aspects of the novel (much like Seagull) can be perhaps distilled down into core maxims and slogans that can be considered a bit too cheesy for some tastes, the many lessons that can be taken from his simple, impactful, deliberate prose can be quite striking if you’re able to scrape the saccharine glaze from... well... the cynicism that we all carry that his work effortlessly attempts to unburden us from. In this case, as is the case of Seagull, I think he is quite successful. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2021 by Garrett Zecker

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