The book from Idries Shah "The Sufies" is the first book I read on the subject in 1973 and that pointed me on that road. From that day, I looked for a teacher and found one in the spiritual path of sufism. May he be blessed.

I have been seeing for a while that a lot of the "Shahdilliya" are told to avoid Idries Shah. I wonder what that is the case, when his teachings are so completely straightforward and profound. Could it be because Idries Shah confirmed once and for all the there was only one order that did not take lineage from Ali KAW, and that was the Naqshabandi Tariqah. Any others that claimed alternate routes were, well, innovators (in the words of a man who was _not_ a fundamentalist.)

For Idries Shah, I recommend the thinner books he's written. Avoid the heavier works (Knowing how to Know, The Commanding Self, etc..) until you've absorbed the thinner ones (Veiled Gazzelle, Caravan of Dreams, etc..)

Even if you read just one of 'em.. (yesssssh! There's two.. ;-)

Don't read Blaketashi.com, the Khidhr interview is a priceless jewel (in terms of being a gifted piece of writing) nonetheless.