Shamanism: The Timeless Religion
by Manvir Singh
An instant classic (9/25/2025)
This book should be at the top of everyone's reading list on the subject. Manvir Singh's work is one of the very first to account for all shamanic practices globally, without fantasies or exotic clichés. It is also exceptionally well written: witty, specific without being too technical, never boring.
Most books on shamanism focus on a specific local practice (missing its global significance) or fantasize it as a global but exotic phenomenon. Western accounts struggle to avoid neocolonial biases and pseudo-scientific claims, if not outright cultural exploitation.
Mr. Singh's work, based on ten years of research and a PhD from Harvard, explains the reasons for shamanism's resilience as a global religion and practice, while also acknowledging its many evolutions and the immense variety of its forms. This is an exceptionally hard thing to do, yet the book is a very easy read.
In short, this book should serve as a perfect introduction to the subject, while also exploring many of its most complicated aspects. For instance:
- What shamanism is and how it actually works
- How it impacts even the most surprising aspects of Western culture (from Wall Street traders to biblical prophets)
- Why the claim of a "primordial" wisdom is most probably wrong... and why you shouldn't care
- Why the experience of healing matters, even if the healing itself is make-believe
- A few of the funnier stuff happening at Burning Man
