Many of the great spiritual truths are conveyed in stories, and it is in this time-honored form that Drury (Exploring the Labyrinth; The Shaman and the Magician) weaves a convincing portrait of shamanism. Four tales told in uncomplicated style represent the North, East, South and West, relating how three males and one female undertook the ultimate calling from within to serve their community spiritually. The unnamed indigenous cultures sample the globe, roughly engaging Canada's arctic region, Japan's mountains, Australia's deserts and South America's forests. The stories have an odd and powerful blend of document and myth of which Joseph Campbell would no doubt approve, and students of Campbell will find many examples here of the hero's quest. At the end of the book, hearing "the Song of the Great Spirit," the exemplary characters converge in a fifth chapter ("Center"). Here they witness the rebirth of the world, made necessary by the broken promises of the people who failed to honor the Earth and the ways of the Ancient Ones. Drury's work could be relegated to the realm of simple stories with a vague ecological overtone, but this is rightly seen as an outsider's map to the world of the mystic in service to humankind and the Divine. Cowan's introduction speaks ably to the principles of "core shamanism," those dimensions that are universal to a practice that is 40,000 years old and still thriving. This poetic, useful and worthwhile work could become a classic. (Dec.)
