Last of the Medicine Men Book

Benedict Allen takes the title of his latest book from the disparaging term which used to describe workers of African magic. As he writes in Last of the Medicine Men, people in the West have never come to terms with the spiritual dimension of peoples around the world--so, in this new adventure, Allen travels to remote corners of Indonesia, Siberia, Haiti and Mexico, in search of a natural unity. His book is filled with references to the spiritual malaise which he senses in the West, and comparisons between the dogmas of monotheism and the perspectival approach of societies more in touch with the natural world. As he says in his conclusion, in the West we can no longer understand nature, only see "beauty" in the world around us. This is a shallow response to the complex face of environment, as understood by those who live in its harshness and lyricism. Allen's journey is more an exploration of spiritual--sometimes hallucinogenic--journeys than an encounter with what we call witchcraft. Only in Haiti does a dark sense of spirituality come through, in the macabre rituals of vodoo. In his other encounters with spiritual healers, Allen successfully portrays a sense of their natural goodness and the unity with the world which they help to create for their societies. This is a difficult subject to write about with empathy, but, although Allen brought a healthy dose of cynicism to his travels, he has succeeded in writing a book that is a tribute to the vanishing practices of wise people around the globe. Engaging and moving, Last of the Medicine Men is a welcome journey into the spirit world at a time when materialism seems in danger of spiralling out of control. --Toby GreenRead More