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Witness: The Story of a Search
This is the story of a life of adventure and search, an account of meetings with great teachers, a love story, an inspirational tale of one of the greatest minds of the 20th Century.
John Bennett (1897–1974) had not one career but several. Starting his professional life as a junior officer in the trenches of the First World War, he became an intelligence controller in the clandestine services in the early years of the Middle East conflicts. A financial venture which could have brought him great wealth resulted in little more than his incarceration and disgrace. After 1930 he reinvented himself as a technologist and became a world-leader in the field of coal research. Throughout his life, Bennett’s external life was on a parallel and sometimes divergent course to his inner spiritual search under the guidance of P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff. A phenomenally successful and illustrious career in the coal industry came to an abrupt and ignominious end in his sixth decade, and thereafter he devoted himself single-mindedly to his spiritual search. For fifteen years, he traveled the world, seeking knowledge and sharing knowledge. Although he began a written account of his ideas in 1940, it was only in the last four years of his life that he declared his readiness to teach on his own authority, and from that time on, worked intensively with large international groups and students at his International Academy for Continuous Education. Subsequent history has revealed over and over again that Bennett was far ahead of his time, and that he developed and presented a pioneering vision of the next stage of the evolution of humanity in the Synergic Epoch.
This 2023 edition includes a preface written by the author for the last edition to be published before his death in 1974
John Bennett (1897–1974) had not one career but several. Starting his professional life as a junior officer in the trenches of the First World War, he became an intelligence controller in the clandestine services in the early years of the Middle East conflicts. A financial venture which could have brought him great wealth resulted in little more than his incarceration and disgrace. After 1930 he reinvented himself as a technologist and became a world-leader in the field of coal research. Throughout his life, Bennett’s external life was on a parallel and sometimes divergent course to his inner spiritual search under the guidance of P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff. A phenomenally successful and illustrious career in the coal industry came to an abrupt and ignominious end in his sixth decade, and thereafter he devoted himself single-mindedly to his spiritual search. For fifteen years, he traveled the world, seeking knowledge and sharing knowledge. Although he began a written account of his ideas in 1940, it was only in the last four years of his life that he declared his readiness to teach on his own authority, and from that time on, worked intensively with large international groups and students at his International Academy for Continuous Education. Subsequent history has revealed over and over again that Bennett was far ahead of his time, and that he developed and presented a pioneering vision of the next stage of the evolution of humanity in the Synergic Epoch.
This 2023 edition includes a preface written by the author for the last edition to be published before his death in 1974
454 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
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133 people want to read
About the author
J.G. Bennett
130 books67 followersJohn Godolphin Bennett (8 June 1897 – 13 December 1974) was a British mathematician, scientist, technologist, industrial research director and author. He is perhaps best known for his many books on psychology and spirituality, particularly on the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. Bennett met Gurdjieff in Istanbul in October 1920 and later helped to co-ordinate the work of Gurdjieff in England after Gurdjieff's arrival in Paris. He also was active in starting the British section of the Subud movement, and co-founded its British headquarters.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
June 12, 2008
How does a young man who began with a career in military intelligence, and who went on to become a research scientist in the fuel industry end up with Gurdjieff in Paris, and go on to become a teacher himself? By taking the long and winding road of a seeker, John Godolphin Bennett traversed this spiritual terrain. Some people have a talent for making things happen, and for being in the right place in the right time. Mr. Bennett was one of those people. To me, one of the most fascinating aspects of his life is that whatever challenge presented itself, J.G.B. met it head on, or as Gurdjieff would say, "going the whole hog, including the postage."
Bennett was an unabashed proponent of the Gurdjieff Work, but he was also drawn to a number of spiritual leaders from around the globe. Eventually, Bennett took everything he learned and put it to the test at the International Academy for Continuous Education, which he founded at Sherborne House in Gloucestershire, England. A sister school, The American Society for Continuous Education, was founded in the United States at Claymont, West Virginia. Altogether, over a thousand people attended the nine month basic course, going on to lead positive and useful lives.
J.G. Bennett's story is a fascinating one, and not to be missed.
Bennett was an unabashed proponent of the Gurdjieff Work, but he was also drawn to a number of spiritual leaders from around the globe. Eventually, Bennett took everything he learned and put it to the test at the International Academy for Continuous Education, which he founded at Sherborne House in Gloucestershire, England. A sister school, The American Society for Continuous Education, was founded in the United States at Claymont, West Virginia. Altogether, over a thousand people attended the nine month basic course, going on to lead positive and useful lives.
J.G. Bennett's story is a fascinating one, and not to be missed.
January 3, 2021
A beautiful, spiritual autobiography by a man I only knew as a student of Gurdjieff. Colin Wilson wrote of Bennett's transcendent experience when he was studying under Gurdjieff, I was curious to read more about this guy, hoping on reading more of such experiences and wondering what kind of person they happened to.
As it turned out, Bennett had more teachers than just G., even though he was to have a determining and lasting effect on his being and thinking. This book paints a well-written picture of Bennetts stuggles to attain higher states of consciousness and the struggles with his own ego, appearing as a generally succesful businessman and a proud and somewhat stubborn man who was basically pretty full of himself. In his biography, Bennetts is not easy on himself and shows himself a sincere witness to his own faults.
Bennett has had quite a few very interesting teachers and learned a lot of exercises, but you won't find them in this book. The author thought those exercises should only be done with the right guidance. Personally I would have liked to read about them, they would have made very interesting reading.
This ranks as one of the most interesting biographies I have read. As a sincere, spiritual autobiography, this book is a gem.
As it turned out, Bennett had more teachers than just G., even though he was to have a determining and lasting effect on his being and thinking. This book paints a well-written picture of Bennetts stuggles to attain higher states of consciousness and the struggles with his own ego, appearing as a generally succesful businessman and a proud and somewhat stubborn man who was basically pretty full of himself. In his biography, Bennetts is not easy on himself and shows himself a sincere witness to his own faults.
Bennett has had quite a few very interesting teachers and learned a lot of exercises, but you won't find them in this book. The author thought those exercises should only be done with the right guidance. Personally I would have liked to read about them, they would have made very interesting reading.
This ranks as one of the most interesting biographies I have read. As a sincere, spiritual autobiography, this book is a gem.
January 2, 2013
Essential reading for anyone interested in Mr Gurdjieff.
It seems to me that Bennett's emotional approach to the Work contrasts with Ouspensky's intellectual approach and Mme de Salzmann's moving centre-based approach.
It seems to me that Bennett's emotional approach to the Work contrasts with Ouspensky's intellectual approach and Mme de Salzmann's moving centre-based approach.
Read
January 13, 2021Here is the new blurb for the book
This is the story of a life of adventure and search, an account of meetings with great teachers, a love story, an inspirational tale of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.
John Bennett (1897-1974) had not one career but several; starting his life as a soldier and spymaster in the early years of the Middle East conflicts, Bennett moved into - and failed - in the world of finance as an adventurer and entrepreneur.
He reinvented himself as a world-leading technologist and director of research. All through his adult life, his outer life was on a parallel and sometimes divergent course to his inner spiritual search under the guidance of P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff.
After his career in the coal industry came to an abrupt end in his sixth decade, he entered the path of a single-minded seeker.
For fifteen years, he travelled widely, seeking knowledge and sharing knowledge. Although he began a written account of his ideas in 1940, it was only in the last four years of his life that he declared his willingness to teach and worked intensively with large groups of students at his International Academy for Continuous Education.
Subsequent history has revealed over and over that Bennett was ahead of his time, and that he developed and presented a vision of the next stage of evolution of humanity in the Synergic Epoch.
---
Abebooks summary of Witness
John Godolphin Bennett (1897-1974) was a British mathematician, scientist, technologist, industrial research director, and author. He is best known for his books on psychology and spirituality, particularly on the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. Bennett met Gurdjieff in Istanbul in October 1920 and later helped to co-ordinate the work of Gurdjieff in England after the guru had moved to Paris. He also was active in starting the British section of the Subud movement, and co-founded its British headquarters.
Early on Bennett displayed an extraordinary talent for languages; his studies included Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Christian sacred texts in their original languages. Towards the end of the First World War, Bennett studied Turkish language and was posted to Constantinople. Eventually, General Allenby recruited Bennett to head the Military Intelligence "B" Division for the entire Middle Eastern region.
The First World War and the Russian Revolution sent many displaced people through Constantinople en route to the West, among them Bennett encountered G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky. A motorcycle accident had left Bennett in a coma for six days, during which he experienced a spiritual awakening. He became an avid follower of Gurdjieff and spent much of his life spreading the philosophy in Britain
---
As for General Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, GCB, GCMG, GCVO (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was an English soldier and British Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the conquest of Palestine.
The British succeeded in capturing Beersheba, Jaffa, and Jerusalem from October to December 1917. His forces occupied the Jordan Valley during the summer of 1918, then went on to capture northern Palestine and defeat the Ottoman Yildirim Army Group's Eighth Army at the Battle of Megiddo, forcing the Fourth and Seventh Army to retreat towards Damascus. Subsequently, the EEF Pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps captured Damascus and advanced into northern Syria.
During this pursuit, he commanded T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), whose campaign with Faisal's Arab Sherifial Forces assisted the EEF's capture of Ottoman Empire territory and fought the Battle of Aleppo, five days before the Armistice of Mudros ended the campaign on 30 October 1918. He continued to serve in the region as High Commissioner for Egypt and Sudan from 1919 until 1925.
Publicity surrounding Allenby's exploits in the Middle East was at its highest in Britain in the immediate aftermath of the First World War. Allenby enjoyed a period of celebrity in the United States, as well. He and his wife went on an American tour in 1928, receiving a standing ovation when he addressed Carnegie Hall in New York City. Biographer Raymond Savage claimed that, for a time, Allenby was better known in America than Lawrence.
---
In the closing months of the First World War, Bennett undertook an intensive course in the Turkish language at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and was posted to Constantinople. He was assigned to a sensitive position in Anglo-Turkish relations, at the time of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and rise in Turkish nationalism. His fluency made him the confidant of many high-ranking Turkish political figures; it also helped him to develop his knowledge of Turkey and to gain insights into non-European ways of thinking. A notable piece of initiative drew the attention of General Edmund Allenby, and a mention in C-in-C's dispatches. Bennett was recruited to be the head of Military Intelligence "B" Division, with responsibility for the entire Middle Eastern region.
"All day long I was dealing with different races: English, French, Italian, Greek, Armenian, Turkish, Kurdish, Russian, Arab, Jews and people so mixed up as to be no race at all. Each and every one was convinced of the superiority of his own people. How could everyone be right and all the rest wrong? It was nonsense."
Bennett's eighteen months' tenure in this position were so eventful, that he is still regarded as a major figure in the political life of Turkey in that period. Bennett's success resulted in some animosities among his superiors and he was recalled to London in January 1921. He resigned his commission with the rank of Captain and a pension for life. He kept an abiding love for Turkey for the rest of his life.
---
This is the story of a life of adventure and search, an account of meetings with great teachers, a love story, an inspirational tale of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.
John Bennett (1897-1974) had not one career but several; starting his life as a soldier and spymaster in the early years of the Middle East conflicts, Bennett moved into - and failed - in the world of finance as an adventurer and entrepreneur.
He reinvented himself as a world-leading technologist and director of research. All through his adult life, his outer life was on a parallel and sometimes divergent course to his inner spiritual search under the guidance of P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff.
After his career in the coal industry came to an abrupt end in his sixth decade, he entered the path of a single-minded seeker.
For fifteen years, he travelled widely, seeking knowledge and sharing knowledge. Although he began a written account of his ideas in 1940, it was only in the last four years of his life that he declared his willingness to teach and worked intensively with large groups of students at his International Academy for Continuous Education.
Subsequent history has revealed over and over that Bennett was ahead of his time, and that he developed and presented a vision of the next stage of evolution of humanity in the Synergic Epoch.
---
Abebooks summary of Witness
John Godolphin Bennett (1897-1974) was a British mathematician, scientist, technologist, industrial research director, and author. He is best known for his books on psychology and spirituality, particularly on the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. Bennett met Gurdjieff in Istanbul in October 1920 and later helped to co-ordinate the work of Gurdjieff in England after the guru had moved to Paris. He also was active in starting the British section of the Subud movement, and co-founded its British headquarters.
Early on Bennett displayed an extraordinary talent for languages; his studies included Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Christian sacred texts in their original languages. Towards the end of the First World War, Bennett studied Turkish language and was posted to Constantinople. Eventually, General Allenby recruited Bennett to head the Military Intelligence "B" Division for the entire Middle Eastern region.
The First World War and the Russian Revolution sent many displaced people through Constantinople en route to the West, among them Bennett encountered G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky. A motorcycle accident had left Bennett in a coma for six days, during which he experienced a spiritual awakening. He became an avid follower of Gurdjieff and spent much of his life spreading the philosophy in Britain
---
As for General Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, GCB, GCMG, GCVO (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was an English soldier and British Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the conquest of Palestine.
The British succeeded in capturing Beersheba, Jaffa, and Jerusalem from October to December 1917. His forces occupied the Jordan Valley during the summer of 1918, then went on to capture northern Palestine and defeat the Ottoman Yildirim Army Group's Eighth Army at the Battle of Megiddo, forcing the Fourth and Seventh Army to retreat towards Damascus. Subsequently, the EEF Pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps captured Damascus and advanced into northern Syria.
During this pursuit, he commanded T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), whose campaign with Faisal's Arab Sherifial Forces assisted the EEF's capture of Ottoman Empire territory and fought the Battle of Aleppo, five days before the Armistice of Mudros ended the campaign on 30 October 1918. He continued to serve in the region as High Commissioner for Egypt and Sudan from 1919 until 1925.
Publicity surrounding Allenby's exploits in the Middle East was at its highest in Britain in the immediate aftermath of the First World War. Allenby enjoyed a period of celebrity in the United States, as well. He and his wife went on an American tour in 1928, receiving a standing ovation when he addressed Carnegie Hall in New York City. Biographer Raymond Savage claimed that, for a time, Allenby was better known in America than Lawrence.
---
In the closing months of the First World War, Bennett undertook an intensive course in the Turkish language at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and was posted to Constantinople. He was assigned to a sensitive position in Anglo-Turkish relations, at the time of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and rise in Turkish nationalism. His fluency made him the confidant of many high-ranking Turkish political figures; it also helped him to develop his knowledge of Turkey and to gain insights into non-European ways of thinking. A notable piece of initiative drew the attention of General Edmund Allenby, and a mention in C-in-C's dispatches. Bennett was recruited to be the head of Military Intelligence "B" Division, with responsibility for the entire Middle Eastern region.
"All day long I was dealing with different races: English, French, Italian, Greek, Armenian, Turkish, Kurdish, Russian, Arab, Jews and people so mixed up as to be no race at all. Each and every one was convinced of the superiority of his own people. How could everyone be right and all the rest wrong? It was nonsense."
Bennett's eighteen months' tenure in this position were so eventful, that he is still regarded as a major figure in the political life of Turkey in that period. Bennett's success resulted in some animosities among his superiors and he was recalled to London in January 1921. He resigned his commission with the rank of Captain and a pension for life. He kept an abiding love for Turkey for the rest of his life.
---
Read
January 13, 2021Here is the new blurb for the book
This is the story of a life of adventure and search, an account of meetings with great teachers, a love story, an inspirational tale of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.
John Bennett (1897-1974) had not one career but several; starting his life as a soldier and spymaster in the early years of the Middle East conflicts, Bennett moved into - and failed - in the world of finance as an adventurer and entrepreneur.
He reinvented himself as a world-leading technologist and director of research. All through his adult life, his outer life was on a parallel and sometimes divergent course to his inner spiritual search under the guidance of P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff.
After his career in the coal industry came to an abrupt end in his sixth decade, he entered the path of a single-minded seeker.
For fifteen years, he travelled widely, seeking knowledge and sharing knowledge. Although he began a written account of his ideas in 1940, it was only in the last four years of his life that he declared his willingness to teach and worked intensively with large groups of students at his International Academy for Continuous Education.
Subsequent history has revealed over and over that Bennett was ahead of his time, and that he developed and presented a vision of the next stage of evolution of humanity in the Synergic Epoch
---
Abebooks summary of Witness
John Godolphin Bennett (1897-1974) was a British mathematician, scientist, technologist, industrial research director, and author. He is best known for his books on psychology and spirituality, particularly on the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. Bennett met Gurdjieff in Istanbul in October 1920 and later helped to co-ordinate the work of Gurdjieff in England after the guru had moved to Paris. He also was active in starting the British section of the Subud movement, and co-founded its British headquarters.
Early on Bennett displayed an extraordinary talent for languages; his studies included Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Christian sacred texts in their original languages. Towards the end of the First World War, Bennett studied Turkish language and was posted to Constantinople. Eventually, General Allenby recruited Bennett to head the Military Intelligence "B" Division for the entire Middle Eastern region.
The First World War and the Russian Revolution sent many displaced people through Constantinople en route to the West, among them Bennett encountered G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky. A motorcycle accident had left Bennett in a coma for six days, during which he experienced a spiritual awakening. He became an avid follower of Gurdjieff and spent much of his life spreading the philosophy in Britain
---
As for General Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, GCB, GCMG, GCVO (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was an English soldier and British Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the conquest of Palestine.
The British succeeded in capturing Beersheba, Jaffa, and Jerusalem from October to December 1917. His forces occupied the Jordan Valley during the summer of 1918, then went on to capture northern Palestine and defeat the Ottoman Yildirim Army Group's Eighth Army at the Battle of Megiddo, forcing the Fourth and Seventh Army to retreat towards Damascus. Subsequently, the EEF Pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps captured Damascus and advanced into northern Syria.
During this pursuit, he commanded T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), whose campaign with Faisal's Arab Sherifial Forces assisted the EEF's capture of Ottoman Empire territory and fought the Battle of Aleppo, five days before the Armistice of Mudros ended the campaign on 30 October 1918. He continued to serve in the region as High Commissioner for Egypt and Sudan from 1919 until 1925.
Publicity surrounding Allenby's exploits in the Middle East was at its highest in Britain in the immediate aftermath of the First World War. Allenby enjoyed a period of celebrity in the United States, as well. He and his wife went on an American tour in 1928, receiving a standing ovation when he addressed Carnegie Hall in New York City. Biographer Raymond Savage claimed that, for a time, Allenby was better known in America than Lawrence.
---
In the closing months of the First World War, Bennett undertook an intensive course in the Turkish language at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and was posted to Constantinople. He was assigned to a sensitive position in Anglo-Turkish relations, at the time of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and rise in Turkish nationalism. His fluency made him the confidant of many high-ranking Turkish political figures; it also helped him to develop his knowledge of Turkey and to gain insights into non-European ways of thinking. A notable piece of initiative drew the attention of General Edmund Allenby, and a mention in C-in-C's dispatches. Bennett was recruited to be the head of Military Intelligence "B" Division, with responsibility for the entire Middle Eastern region.
"All day long I was dealing with different races: English, French, Italian, Greek, Armenian, Turkish, Kurdish, Russian, Arab, Jews and people so mixed up as to be no race at all. Each and every one was convinced of the superiority of his own people. How could everyone be right and all the rest wrong? It was nonsense."
Bennett's eighteen months' tenure in this position were so eventful, that he is still regarded as a major figure in the political life of Turkey in that period. Bennett's success resulted in some animosities among his superiors and he was recalled to London in January 1921. He resigned his commission with the rank of Captain and a pension for life. He kept an abiding love for Turkey for the rest of his life.
---
This is the story of a life of adventure and search, an account of meetings with great teachers, a love story, an inspirational tale of one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.
John Bennett (1897-1974) had not one career but several; starting his life as a soldier and spymaster in the early years of the Middle East conflicts, Bennett moved into - and failed - in the world of finance as an adventurer and entrepreneur.
He reinvented himself as a world-leading technologist and director of research. All through his adult life, his outer life was on a parallel and sometimes divergent course to his inner spiritual search under the guidance of P.D. Ouspensky and G.I. Gurdjieff.
After his career in the coal industry came to an abrupt end in his sixth decade, he entered the path of a single-minded seeker.
For fifteen years, he travelled widely, seeking knowledge and sharing knowledge. Although he began a written account of his ideas in 1940, it was only in the last four years of his life that he declared his willingness to teach and worked intensively with large groups of students at his International Academy for Continuous Education.
Subsequent history has revealed over and over that Bennett was ahead of his time, and that he developed and presented a vision of the next stage of evolution of humanity in the Synergic Epoch
---
Abebooks summary of Witness
John Godolphin Bennett (1897-1974) was a British mathematician, scientist, technologist, industrial research director, and author. He is best known for his books on psychology and spirituality, particularly on the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. Bennett met Gurdjieff in Istanbul in October 1920 and later helped to co-ordinate the work of Gurdjieff in England after the guru had moved to Paris. He also was active in starting the British section of the Subud movement, and co-founded its British headquarters.
Early on Bennett displayed an extraordinary talent for languages; his studies included Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic and Christian sacred texts in their original languages. Towards the end of the First World War, Bennett studied Turkish language and was posted to Constantinople. Eventually, General Allenby recruited Bennett to head the Military Intelligence "B" Division for the entire Middle Eastern region.
The First World War and the Russian Revolution sent many displaced people through Constantinople en route to the West, among them Bennett encountered G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky. A motorcycle accident had left Bennett in a coma for six days, during which he experienced a spiritual awakening. He became an avid follower of Gurdjieff and spent much of his life spreading the philosophy in Britain
---
As for General Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, GCB, GCMG, GCVO (23 April 1861 – 14 May 1936) was an English soldier and British Imperial Governor. He fought in the Second Boer War and also in the First World War, in which he led the British Empire's Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) during the Sinai and Palestine Campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the conquest of Palestine.
The British succeeded in capturing Beersheba, Jaffa, and Jerusalem from October to December 1917. His forces occupied the Jordan Valley during the summer of 1918, then went on to capture northern Palestine and defeat the Ottoman Yildirim Army Group's Eighth Army at the Battle of Megiddo, forcing the Fourth and Seventh Army to retreat towards Damascus. Subsequently, the EEF Pursuit by Desert Mounted Corps captured Damascus and advanced into northern Syria.
During this pursuit, he commanded T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia"), whose campaign with Faisal's Arab Sherifial Forces assisted the EEF's capture of Ottoman Empire territory and fought the Battle of Aleppo, five days before the Armistice of Mudros ended the campaign on 30 October 1918. He continued to serve in the region as High Commissioner for Egypt and Sudan from 1919 until 1925.
Publicity surrounding Allenby's exploits in the Middle East was at its highest in Britain in the immediate aftermath of the First World War. Allenby enjoyed a period of celebrity in the United States, as well. He and his wife went on an American tour in 1928, receiving a standing ovation when he addressed Carnegie Hall in New York City. Biographer Raymond Savage claimed that, for a time, Allenby was better known in America than Lawrence.
---
In the closing months of the First World War, Bennett undertook an intensive course in the Turkish language at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and was posted to Constantinople. He was assigned to a sensitive position in Anglo-Turkish relations, at the time of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire and rise in Turkish nationalism. His fluency made him the confidant of many high-ranking Turkish political figures; it also helped him to develop his knowledge of Turkey and to gain insights into non-European ways of thinking. A notable piece of initiative drew the attention of General Edmund Allenby, and a mention in C-in-C's dispatches. Bennett was recruited to be the head of Military Intelligence "B" Division, with responsibility for the entire Middle Eastern region.
"All day long I was dealing with different races: English, French, Italian, Greek, Armenian, Turkish, Kurdish, Russian, Arab, Jews and people so mixed up as to be no race at all. Each and every one was convinced of the superiority of his own people. How could everyone be right and all the rest wrong? It was nonsense."
Bennett's eighteen months' tenure in this position were so eventful, that he is still regarded as a major figure in the political life of Turkey in that period. Bennett's success resulted in some animosities among his superiors and he was recalled to London in January 1921. He resigned his commission with the rank of Captain and a pension for life. He kept an abiding love for Turkey for the rest of his life.
---
December 7, 2019
My second read of this book and probably my favourite autobiography. My favourite of Gurdjieff’s students and father of Systematics which in time I am sure will become to be recognised for the hugely significant contribution it is to the underlying architecture of the universe.
April 23, 2020
A superb chronicle of of a spiritual seeker.
February 18, 2022
This is one of my favorite autobiographies, which I haven't picked up for a few years. Bennett begins with his experiences in the First World War and continues to a few years before his death in 1977. After recovering from near death during the war, he learns Turkish and becomes a British intelligence officer in postwar Constantinople. There Bennett visits Sufi tekkes and also meets Ouspensky and Gurdjieff. Later he gives accounts of his studies with Ouspensky in London and Gurdjieff at Prieuré. Bennett provides a number of insights into both. His narrative of travels in Syria, Iraq, and Iran in the 1950s (later expanded in his Journeys in Islamic Countries) is also a highlight.
Note that first edition only covers to 1960, while the second extends to 1972. The Bennett Books edition includes some extra material by Bennett's sons and photographs not in the earlier editions.
Note that first edition only covers to 1960, while the second extends to 1972. The Bennett Books edition includes some extra material by Bennett's sons and photographs not in the earlier editions.
January 19, 2021
The author made many mistakes, struggled. And Learned what he could.I can appreciate that, and will read it for a third time. Soon.
March 19, 2015
It's a 'different' book about the life story of JGB and his lifelong 'search' that gets him to various countries and exposes him to interesting experiences. I think some fundamental questions he tried to answer all his life are quite common to human beings and some of his discussions and observations are interesting, though the story gets at times a bit monotone in my opinion.
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October 14, 2017very important
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews