During his junior year at the University of California, Dan Millman first stumbled upon his mentor (nicknamed Socrates) at an all-night gas station. At the time, Millman hoped to become a world-champion gymnast. "To survive the lessons ahead, you're going to need far more energy than ever before," Socrates warned him that night. "You must cleanse your body of tension, free your mind of stagnant knowledge, and open your heart to the energy of true emotion." From there, the unpredictable Socrates proceeded to teach Millman the "way of the peaceful warrior." At first Socrates shattered every preconceived notion that Millman had about academics, athletics, and achievement. But eventually Millman stopped resisting the lessons, and began to try on a whole new ideology--one that valued being conscious over being smart, and strength in spirit over strength in body. Although the character of the cigarette-smoking Socrates seems like a fictional, modern-day Merlin, Millman asserts that he is based on an actual person. Certain male readers especially appreciate the coming-of-age theme, the haunting love story with the elusive woman Joy, and the challenging of Western beliefs about masculine power and success. --Gail Hudson


From AudioFile
When he was a young man, Olympic athlete, gymnastic coach, and author Dan Millman met Socrates, an eccentric mentor who delivered him from a young man's hubris and heartless pursuit of victory. This moving, largely true, story, with details admittedly drawn from emotional rather than factual memory, is told here with loving respect for the old man and his timeless ideas. "The warrior's life is not about imagined perfection or victory; it's about love," the athlete is told by his mentor. Living in alignment with the heart in the moment, free of striving and performance pressure, is the valuable lesson that channels through this somewhat long but well-told story. T.W. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine


Association for Humanistic Psychology Newsletter, July, 1984
"This book is so appealing," commented Virginia Satir, "because it provides an easy access for people to naturally identify, connect and be in touch with the spiritual part of themselves." Indeed, Way of the Peaceful Warrior does just that with its piercing truths, lively narrative and humorous wisdom. Like Castaneda, it enables the reader to reflect on the deepest questions of life. Yet unlike Don Juan, it spotlights the path to a happy, uncomplicated life without dependency on drugs. Told with drama and insight, the novel revolves around Dan, a world champion gymnast and student at the University of California at Berkeley. The story begins when Dan meets his powerful 96-year-old mentor Socrates, an all-night gas station attendant. Guided by this wise old mentor and tempted by an elusive and playful woman named Joy, Dan journeys through everyday reality and metaphysical realms. He travels the paths of flesh and spirit, romance and terror, light and darkness, laughter and magic, learning new ways to see the world and live life fully. Thematically, this tale of the eternal human quest for the meaning of life is the path of transformation and enlightenment. It uncovers concepts known deep inside but really allowed to wake up and be content with this knowledge. There is no need to search, so just be happy now! Love is the only reality of the world, because it is all One - and the only laws are paradox, humor and change. After reading Way of the Peaceful Warrior don't tuck it away on a bookshelf to gather dust. Keep it close at hand, and recapture guidance from many of the metaphors sprinkled throughout the story. The secret of happiness, Socrates so aptly points out, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.


Dr. Stanley Krippner
Remarkably wise, provocatively humorous, and hauntingly beautiful. It may even change the lives of many who peruse its pages.


Book Description
During his junior year at the University of California, while training to become a world-champion gymnast, Dan Millman stumbled on a 94-year-old mentor nicknamed Socrates, a powerful, unpredictable, and elusive character. He taught a way to maximize performance using a unique blend of Eastern philosophy and Western fitness to cultivate the true essence of a champion - the "way of the peaceful warrior." Millman's first-person account of his odyssey into realms of light, darkness, mind, body, and spirit has since become an international bestseller about the universal quest for happiness.


From the Publisher
To our readers: The books we publish are our contribution to an emerging world based on cooperation rather than on competition, on affirmation of the human spirit rather than on self-doubt, and on the certainty that all humanity is connected. Our goal is to touch as many lives as possible with a message of hope for a better world. - Hal and Linda Kramer, Publishers

ANNOTATION

This bestseller is based on the story of a champoin gymnist who, guided by a powerful old warrior, journeys into realms of romance and magic.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

During his junior year at the University of California, while training to become a world-champion gymnast, Dan Millman stumbled on a 94-year-old mentor nicknamed Socrates, a powerful, unpredictable, and elusive character. He taught a way to maximize performance using a unique blend of Eastern philosophy and Western fitness to cultivate the true essence of a champion - the "way of the peaceful warrior." Millman's first-person account of his odyssey into realms of light, darkness, mind, body, and spirit has since become an international bestseller about the universal quest for happiness.

FROM THE CRITICS

AudioFile - Yuri Rasovsky