Idries Shah is simply a voice (among countless other voices), and of a tradition (among so many other authentic traditions) that have tried to make one cognizant of one's commanding self -- in it's unparalleled complexity, machiavelli, dominating dynamic -- and how to co-exist with it objectively.

Reviewers should also be aware that much can be said about the commanding (egoic) self of those of us making estimations (whether positive or negative) about Shah (and his work), and that they should take this into context.

This book really opened my eyes to where Mr. Shah was coming from. I had tried, in good faith, to read some of his other books, and had felt there was something going on that I couldn't understand. After reading this book it became clear to me. Mr. Shah is an academic opportunist. He found an overlooked tradition of mystical teaching and he was fluent in the language it was written in, so he began promting himself as an expert on it and also as an enlightened mystic.

This book here was written later in his life, I believe, and consists of one embittered rant after another about people not taking him, and Sufism, seriously enough. Apparently Mr. Shah hadn't sufficient self awareness to realize how he was coming across, or perhaps he had some oh so suble rationalization for why he was allowed, nay, even required, to be so thoroughly and continually foul tempered. He does show somewhat of a flair for rationalization in this book.

To me, Idries Shah was just a phenomenally pig headed man who noone around him ever had the guts to stand up to.

In that sense, `The Commanding Self' provides both an introduction to and a summary of Idries Shah's more than 30 titles in print in English (with dozens of editions in other languages). Its publication comes virtually on the 30th anniversary of the publication of Shah's "The Sufis" which, in 1964, set in motion major reevaluations of assumptions in areas as disparate as psychology, theology, history and literature.
For one of the most fascinating incidental aspects of Idries Shah's work has been the way his books have been, for well over a quarter of a century, not only widely read but also hardly known. From the superficial perspective of mere literary phenomena, Shah is undoubtedly one of the most widely circulated, prolific and broadly appreciated but as yet "unknown" and "undiscovered" authors in the English language.

Despite that his books are assiduously read, appreciated and even quoted by diplomats, scholars, poets, psychologists, musicians, painters, ministers, rabbis and even rock stars, Shah nevertheless has somehow simultaneously managed to remain all but obscure to the general public. Despite that his books have been awarded numerous literary prizes of the most prestigious sort and have long been available in public libraries throughout the United States, relatively few readers have ever heard of him, let alone know something of what he writes.

My hunch is that `The Commanding Self' will very likely mark the transition of Shah's material into much wider recognition and greater popularity with the general reader. By its very nature, it is not likely to become a major bestseller (although even stranger things can and do happen with astonishing regularity). It does, however, provide a very accessible way into Shah's material for the new reader. I cannot think, offhand, of another of Shah's books that would be a better starting point for someone interested to learn about the real possibilities of human development yet who is not already familiar with Shah's work.

On the other hand, for the hundreds of thousands of people who already are familiar with Shah's books, `The Commanding Self' provides an indispensable "summa" that both incorporates and expands upon the essential material already available in titles such as "The Sufis," "Caravan of Dreams," "Learning How to Learn," "The Perfumed Scorpion," "Seeker After Truth," "The Magic Monastery," "Sufi Thought and Action" and Shah's numerous other books.

Shah once pointed out that the oft-repeated supposedly Chinese saying, "the journey of a thousand leagues begins with a single step" fails to note directly that if one does not know in which direction to step (or, for that matter, why to undertake a journey in the first place) one can readily go badly astray. For those who are truly interested in their real possibilities and in the possibilities of their real self, however, to read "The Commanding Self' by Idries Shah is almost certain to be a useful step in the right direction.