The most recommended shamanism books

Who picked these books? Meet our 49 experts.

49 authors created a book list connected to shamanism, and here are their favorite shamanism books.
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Book cover of Shivitti: A Vision

Ran Barkai Author Of They Were Here Before Us: Stories from Our First Million Years

From my list on altered states of consciousness and shamanism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an archaeologist dealing with prehistoric societies for the last 30 years. For many hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors worldwide practiced shamanism and altered states of consciousness. I think this is what makes us human and what allows the persistence and success of our genus. The more I learn about these two subjects, the more I understand their importance and relevance to us today. There is a lesson sent to us by past societies: Pay respect to the world. Respectful behavior is assisted by shamanism and altered states of consciousness. We can be better, feel better, and do better, and the books I recommended are the beginning of this wonderful way. 

Ran's book list on altered states of consciousness and shamanism

Ran Barkai Why did Ran love this book?

I am crazy about this book, as this book almost made me crazy (in a good sense).

It tells the story of one of the most famous holocaust survivors and writers and how the nightmares from the concentration camp, known as Auschwitz, haunted this survivor. He suffered for years until he was treated with LSD. His mind was changed for the better. He stopped dreaming about the suffering he had experienced, and this was done by changing his consciousness.

It shows how much our mind is open to improvements and what is the real power and benefit of practicing shamanism and altered states of consciousness. And how it worked for many years for our ancestors, and how we can benefit from it nowadays. Such a powerful and hope-making book!

By Ka-Tzetnik,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Shivitti as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Though the author survived two years in Auschwitz, the memories of the horrors he experienced gripped him mercilessly for years until he found relief through psychotherapy. This book is the author's unforgettable memoir of that experience.


Book cover of Into The Hidden Valley: A Novel

Anjum Hasan Author Of The Cosmopolitans

From my list on contemporary Indian novels you have never heard of.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started writing fiction and writing about fiction at about the same time. My novels and stories tend to be about solitary characters pulled into the maelstrom that is contemporary Indian urban life and trying to make sense of it. I’ve always believed that to be an effective observer of your society you need to stay in tune with what your peers are doing and the last two decades in which I’ve been writing and publishing have been some of the most exciting for Indian fiction in general.  

Anjum's book list on contemporary Indian novels you have never heard of

Anjum Hasan Why did Anjum love this book?

A most affecting historical novel set in 19th century Assam as the British colonialists sought to push deeper into the country. I’ve read so many accounts of the early encounters between native and foreigner but what makes this one rare is Blackburn’s careful and tender individualising of his characters so that they can both be ranged against each other and yet in some human and mysterious and ultimately tragic way also be friends. 

By Stuart Blackburn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Into The Hidden Valley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As the British Raj begins its expansion towards Tibet, the remote Apatani valley on the Indo-Tibetan border becomes a flashpoint. George Taylor, an up-and-coming officer in the Indian Civil Service, leads the first expedition into the valley and recommends setting

up a base nearby, as the Apatanis are a ‘friendly tribe’. During the expedition, a tenuous bond is established between him and Gyati,

the Apatani shaman who has long been anxious about the halyang outsiders creeping closer and closer to the ordered world of the valley. But this bond cannot survive. The increased British presence and



their arrogance towards the…


Book cover of A Thief In Farshore

Jonathon Mast Author Of Stones and Swords

From Jonathon's 3 favorite reads in 2023.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Dragon rider Father Teacher Reader Comic reader

Jonathon's 3 favorite reads in 2023

Jonathon Mast Why did Jonathon love this book?

Charity finally got caught. As punishment, she’s shipped off to the literal other side of the world from the great empire.

Rumor has it there are mythical creatures like elves and dwarves across the ocean. But when Charity arrives, she finds not only those creatures but so many more. At first, she’s purchased to fight in the arena, and then she’s sent on a mad quest to find some crown with a bunch of mythics… and it gets even crazier from there. She needs to forge new friendships if she’s going to survive the far side of the world!

I loved the interplay between the humans and the other races and the explanation as to why the races even put up with the humans colonizing their territories. The entire series is available in two omnibi now, so if it sounds like your thing, it’s worth your time.

By Justin Fike,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Thief In Farshore as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A New World.
A Fight To The Death.
Her Adventure Has Only Just Begun...

"Charity is my kind of badass! She's mouthy and stubborn and gets herself into and out of a whole lotta trouble." - Amazon ★★★★★

I'm Charity, and before I saved the world I was just a common thief.

Also a drunk, rabble-rouser, harlot, and blasphemer according to the magistrate who sentenced me to ten years of forced labor in Farshore, the emperor's new colony across the great sea. You'd think that stepping off of a prison ship on the ass-end of the world was bad enough,…


Book cover of True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author's Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil's Paradise

Guido Mina di Sospiro Author Of Forbidden Fruits: An Occult Novel

From my list on extra-canonical voyages that will challenge you.

Why am I passionate about this?

I learned the Western Canon at school and from various teachers during my youth; all along, I was yearning for something other, different, and, possibly, truer. Since my early twenties I've been exploring another canon, which exists in opposition to the Aristotelian-Euclidean-Cartesian-Newtonian-Darwinian/Spencerian one. While the western world in the 21st century is free from alacritous canon-enforcing enterprises such as the Holy Inquisition, it nevertheless operates by a canon that remains very much the mentioned Aristotelian-Euclidean-Cartesian-Newtonian-Darwinian/Spencerian one, inculcated into us all from kindergarten to the grave, echoed not only by schools of all levels, but by governments, the media, official institutions and nonofficial entities, and, last but not least, by the entertainment industry. 

Guido's book list on extra-canonical voyages that will challenge you

Guido Mina di Sospiro Why did Guido love this book?

More on the wacky side, and far more entertaining, is Terence McKenna’s True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author’s Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil’s Paradise. For those who will never try “heroic doses” of psilocybin mushrooms deep in the Colombian jungle, this is a wild, vicarious ride, an amalgam of science, literature, myth, and exotica from an adventurer whose genuine inquisitiveness in things psychedelic goes hand in hand with mythomania—what an exuberant explosion of literary and philosophical high kitsch! If not persuaded, there follows the endorsement from The New York Times: “The polysyllabic sentences he lards with intellectual references are an attempt to lend credibility to the otherwise debunked subject of drugs.” Yes, a hatchet job from The New York Times could not make for a more valuable endorsement.

By Terence McKenna,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked True Hallucinations as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Describes the search for a mushroom that could reveal the secrets of consciousness.


Book cover of Witch Hunt

Alesha Escobar Author Of The Wayward Wizard

From my list on heroes when secret agencies mess things up.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an avid fantasy reader and enjoy stories filled with magic, danger, and a mix of humor and romance thrown in. When I’m not writing my own fantasy novels, you might catch me tucked away in a corner, reading a book, and fueling my imagination. Since my own book, The Wayward Wizard, features a secret organization trying to intercept the supernatural, I knew similar stories would make a perfect list to share with fellow fantasy readers.

Alesha's book list on heroes when secret agencies mess things up

Alesha Escobar Why did Alesha love this book?

Who’s ever been blamed at work for something they didn’t do?  Well, the Office of Preternatural Affairs takes it to a whole new level when they suspect one of their agents, Cèsar Hawke, of murdering a woman. I mean, she was found dead in his home…but he claims he’s innocent. And he’s going to hunt down a shaman who can speak to the dead to prove it.

This wickedly fun story takes the urban fantasy detective trope and infuses it with humor, danger, and twists & turns.

By SM Reine,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Witch Hunt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There are scratches on Cèsar Hawke’s arms, a discharged Glock on his coffee table, and a dead woman in his bathtub. Yeah, maybe he brought the waitress home for some fun—he was too drunk to remember it—but he knows for a fact that he didn’t kill her. He’s an agent with the Office of Preternatural Affairs. He doesn’t hurt people. He saves them. The cops disagree. Now Cèsar is running. Isobel Stonecrow speaks with the dead. She brings closure to the bereaved and heals broken hearts. But when she talks to the wrong spirit, the OPA puts a bounty on…


Book cover of The Man with the Golden Torc

Mark Huntley-James Author Of Hell Of A Deal: Demon Trader - Book One

From my list on that give a poke in the tropes with a sharp wit.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a fantasy and science-fiction author with a soft spot for books cut with a sharp sense of humour, impaled on the absurd, or littered with the brutal slaughter of conventions and tropes. I love crisp one-liners and surreal worlds, awkward anti-heroes, and kick-ass heroines who bring their own ruthless horde to the fight. If I were to pick out one feature of a book, film, or television show that really catches my attention it would be “Wow. Didn’t see that one coming.”

Mark's book list on that give a poke in the tropes with a sharp wit

Mark Huntley-James Why did Mark love this book?

How could I not love a book that sets its tone with “My name is Bond, Shaman Bond”? 

Bond, aka Eddie Drood, has all the latest magical gadgets to help suppress the forces of magical mayhem on behalf of the ancient and powerful Drood family (and yes there’s a pun there on Druid). This is what James Bond would have been if Ian Fleming had gone easy on the Martinis and tried a few magic mushrooms instead. 

The book, and in fact the whole series, is inventive, witty, and in places outright insane, with every book title a parody of a Bond book or film. 

(Also, Mr Green is a very nice man – we met him once over pizza at EasterCon several decades ago.)

By Simon R. Green,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Man with the Golden Torc as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

New York Times bestselling author Simon Green introduces a new kind of hero, one who fights the good fight against some very old foes in the first novel in the Secret Histories series.
 
The name’s Bond. Shaman Bond. Actually, that's just his cover. His real name is Eddie Drood, but when your job includes a license to kick supernatural arse on a regular basis, you find your laughs where you can.

For centuries, his family has been the secret guardian of Humanity, all that stands between all of you and all of the really nasty things that go bump in…


Book cover of Intellectual Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos

Nathan Elberg Author Of Quantum Cannibals

From my list on speculative fiction to explain the meaning of life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up believing that all men are brothers and that in our hearts we all hold the same values. It’s not true. It presumes that western cultural values are the best mankind can aspire to. In fact, it’s an act of aggression to project my values onto others. I love to explore other cultures by living amongst them or reading a good book about them. As a religious, trained anthropologist, I try to discern their big questions about life, the universe, and everything. Do they have any bearing on my questions?  After all, the quest is for better questions, rather than comfortable answers (like ‘42’ - see Hitchhiker’s Guide…).

Nathan's book list on speculative fiction to explain the meaning of life

Nathan Elberg Why did Nathan love this book?

The word ‘fantasy' comes from the Greek ϕαντασία, meaning ‘making visible.’ There are many peoples who are invisible to western civilization. I was trained as an anthropologist; seeing the mysteries of different cultures holds a special attraction for me. The book Intellectual Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos is anthropology, not fiction, which makes visible a way of life unimaginable to modern man. The people it describes are real, which makes their stories all the more compelling. In one instance, Rasmussen (who was half-Eskimo) grilled a shaman named Aua about the meaning of all their beliefs and rituals. The shaman turned the questions back on Rasmussen and said, “All our customs come from life and turn towards life; we explain nothing, we believe nothing, but in what I have just shown you lies our answer to all you ask.” Aua didn’t answer all that I ask about life; he helped…

By Knud Rasmussen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Intellectual Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Excerpt from Intellectual Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books.

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.…


Book cover of The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge

Ran Barkai Author Of They Were Here Before Us: Stories from Our First Million Years

From my list on altered states of consciousness and shamanism.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an archaeologist dealing with prehistoric societies for the last 30 years. For many hundreds of thousands of years, our ancestors worldwide practiced shamanism and altered states of consciousness. I think this is what makes us human and what allows the persistence and success of our genus. The more I learn about these two subjects, the more I understand their importance and relevance to us today. There is a lesson sent to us by past societies: Pay respect to the world. Respectful behavior is assisted by shamanism and altered states of consciousness. We can be better, feel better, and do better, and the books I recommended are the beginning of this wonderful way. 

Ran's book list on altered states of consciousness and shamanism

Ran Barkai Why did Ran love this book?

I read this wonderful book when I was a teenager, and it had a lot of influence on me. I still read it again and again and gain a lot from it.

This is one of the earliest descriptions available of a meeting with a Mexican shaman, and the teachings of that shaman. It vividly describes the way the shaman acts, thinks and operates, and this is so remote and alien from modern Western thinking that it made me realize that alternative ways of perceiving realities do exist. 

Regardless of what some say, I am confident it really happened and that the descriptions are coherent and true. What a book! This is really a book for departure. 

By Carlos Castaneda,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Teachings of Don Juan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An anthropologist records his corversations with the Yaqui Indian sorcerer and offers a structural analysis of Don Juan's teachings.


Book cover of Dead in the West

Edward M. Erdelac Author Of High Planes Drifter

From my list on for those who like their westerns weird.

Why am I passionate about this?

I became fascinated by westerns when my parents took me on vacation to Deadwood, South Dakota and I came home with a brace of toy six-shooters and a book called The Gunfighters by Lea F McCarty, which featured bios of various notorious westerners, from Billy The Kid to Calamity Jane. I eventually left Clayton Moore and The Cisco Kid behind for Sergio Leone. I had a strong interest in ghost stories, and it was Robert E. Howard that gave me the bug for the weird western genre. I wrote two straight-up western novels, Buff Tea and Coyote’s Trail, but I didn’t find an audience until I started injecting my stories with ghoulies. 

Edward's book list on for those who like their westerns weird

Edward M. Erdelac Why did Edward love this book?

If Howard is the father of the weird western, Joe Lansdale is the godfather. The trope of the wronged Native American shaman afflicting a frontier town with an undead plague has surely been used time and time again in the genre, but this is the original and best iteration. Joe’s Texas dialogue pops like a bullwhip cracking on a skeletal mule’s vertebrae and you can smell the iron and gunsmoke in his prose. He establishes his reputation with this book and in my opinion, cements it with the Jonah Hex weird western comics Two-Gun Mojo and Riders of The Worm and Such.

By Joe R. Lansdale,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dead in the West as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dead in the West is the story of Mud Creek, Texas, a town overshadowed by a terrible evil. An Indian medicine man, unjustly lynched by the people of Mud Creek, has put a curse on the town. As the sun sets, he will have his revenge. For when darkness falls, the dead will walk in Mud Creek and they will be hungry for human flesh. The only one that can save the town is Reverend Jebediah Mercer, a gun toting preacher man who came to Mud Creek to escape his past. He has lost his faith in the Lord and…


Book cover of Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey

Christopher Penczak Author Of The Mighty Dead

From my list on the mystical witch.

Why am I passionate about this?

Witchcraft as a mystical tradition is the purpose of my life. All of the craft, rituals, and spells revolve around the core concept of connecting to the divine and exploring consciousness, and that has been the purpose of my writing, teaching, and community work. While there are lots of things focused upon the “how” of Witchcraft, I like to reflect on the why and I am always seeking the philosophy, art, and poetry that can take me deeper into the mystical experience of life. 

Christopher's book list on the mystical witch

Christopher Penczak Why did Christopher love this book?

This was probably one of the first books to specifically connect Witchcraft and Shamanism in a practical way for me. Witchcraft Today Book Three edited by Chas S. Clifton opened the door, but Johnson told you how to deftly step through it. Previously called The North Star Road, he linked stellar knowledge of European Paganism with its spirit worker roots and gave you very practical and meaningful ways to commune with the powers and understand more deeply the Witch’s sabbat, the wild hunt and the journey of life after death. Huge influence on my work. 

By Kenneth Johnson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An inspiring guide for those who seek to reclaim the ways and the lore of their ancestors, this text uncovers the spiritual experience at the core of shamanism.


Book cover of Shivitti: A Vision
Book cover of Into The Hidden Valley: A Novel
Book cover of A Thief In Farshore

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