Memoirs of a Dervish : Sufis, Mystics and the Sixties (Paperback)

from jrcovey

Let's concede at the outset that Robert Irwin's account of his own life is nowhere near as compelling as is his slam-bang historical tour of Orientalist scholarship, For Lust of Knowing. Still, though this is by far the lesser book, it brings its own insights into the attraction of such studies f...

from reverend_allaby

As the memoirs are collected the tone becomes darker, materialising into a reflection that seems painful for Mister Irwin to behold. Nuggets of interest are scattered through out but ultimately this work, besides the brilliantly embossed cover, pales in the shadow of Robert's fiction and academic...

from shikari

Robert Irwin's autobiography of the Sixties between Oxford, SOAS and a Sufi taqiyya in Algeria is interesting rather than compelling book. Rather disjointed and at times confusing (who is the mysterious Ayesha who appears at the end? His ex-girlfriend Juliet?). I must admit to having developed a ...