To Fathom the Gist: Volume 1 - Approaches to the Writings of G. I. Gurdjieff - Softcover

Bloor, Robin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0978979141 ISBN 13: 9780978979140

Publisher: Karnak Press, 2013

Synopsis

This book was written to explain, as clearly and concisely as possible, how to discover meaning in Gurdjieff's masterpiece. 

The majority of readers of Beelzebub's Tales find it very difficult to read and many abandon the book as a consequence - perhaps not having appreciated that Gurdjieff spent more time writing this book than he did doing anything else. (The record indicates that the book took 7 years to write and involved a team of many people in addition to Gurdjieff himself to get to a "first draft" in 1931. After than Gurdjieff spent a further 18 years refining the book, which was eventually published following  his death in 1949.) Clearly, if he did want the book to be read, he would not have devoted many years to writing it. 

Nevertheless he wrote it in such a way that very significant effort would be required to read it. The reader's problem is that this book cannot be read in the normal way. To Fathom The Gist was written to help the sincere reader of The Tales to improve their ability to read the book.

About this title

About the Author

In 1988, after drifting through several work groups, Robin Bloor met and became a pupil of Rina Hands. Rina was a one-time associate of J. G. Bennett, a student of Peter Ouspensky's, and later, a pupil of George Gurdjieff. Following Gurdjieff's death, she remained part of J. G. Bennett's group for a while. Subsequently, she formed groups both in London, where she lived, and in Bradford in the North of England - initially in conjunction with Rosemary Nott. She was both an accomplished movements teacher and an inspirational group leader. She died in 1994 and is buried next to Jane Heap in a cemetery in North London.
Bloor was born in 1951 in Liverpool, UK. He obtained a BSc in Mathematics at Nottingham University and took up a career in the computer industry, initially writing software. From 1989 onwards, he became a technology analyst and consultant. He has been an author of a kind ever since. In 2002, he was awarded an honorary Ph.D. in Computer Science by Wolverhampton University in the UK. He currently resides in and works from Austin, Texas in the USA.

From the Back Cover

This book is intended for those who have not yet read Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson "for the third time" to their own satisfaction. It describes approaches and techniques that may assist serious readers of Gurdjieff's Tales in their efforts to "fathom the gist."

Edition details

• Publisher: Karnak Press
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0978979141
• ISBN 13: 9780978979140
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 294