Originally published as Castaneda's master's thesis in anthropology, this documents Castaneda's supposed apprenticeship with a Yaqui Indian sorcerer, don Juan Matus. Dividing the work into two sections, Castaneda begins by describing don Juan's philosophies, then continues with his own reflections.

Carolos Castaneda presents a collection of the memorable events of his life, gathered on recommendation of don Juan Matus, a Yaqui Indian shaman from Mexico who attempted over the course of thirteen years to introduce Castaneda to the cognitive world of the shamans of ancient times.

After spending five years with don Juan in the early sixties, Castaneda returned to Mexico in 1968 to continue his exploration of non-ordinary reality and draw ever closer to his ultimate goal of becoming a man of knowledge. Far from Western civilization, don Juana and his world of hallucinogenic drugs offer insight and inducements toward true awakening--wisdom that Castaneda passes on in this work.