I am new at Yoga and this is my first read in Yoga. I wished that this book would give me insight into how this ancient tradition evolved over thousands of years, It didn’t. The organization of the book is terrible, unnecessary details that deviates from the main topics are all around. In every chapter extracts from Hindu sacred books spans many pages which I didn’t enjoy.

This is more of a text book that is might be useful for research purposes than a book to read. I have tried numerous times to read the book but failed; I also tried to use it to write a paper on the History of yoga but got totally confused and find resources elsewhere more helpful.

In my opinion, Fuerstein’s writing style is ponderous yet is lacking in academic rigor. Nor do I find him to be ispiring or substantial in any practical sense. The question I ask myself is if he is not a good academic writer nor a good practical writer, why should I read him? I can’t think of any reason!

One of his most irritating qualities to to present his marginal theories as if they are well accepted in authentic academic circles. Also, he cites some really insignificant writers as if they are renowned scholars, simply because they support his views. One author whom Fuerstein frequently cites has a dubious degree and is self-published. Fuerstein also cites as authoritative a book which he co-authored (a fact that is only mentioned in a foot note)that is academic junk and is published by a theosophical publisher!

On the plus side, this book is handsome and is well designed, with nice graphical images and photos throughout.

Yes, there is some interesting and valuable material contained in The Yoga Tradition. However, in my opinion getting to it is not worth the effort. There is far too much winnowing of chaff required. Still, if you want to impress your friends with the depth of your “knowledge”, leave this book lying around. It just may impress them.

On the other hand, it is very informative if you’re skimming for information. It can give you a very good over-all understanding of Yoga’s history if you read just a few key paragraphs from each section.