The Spirit of Zen by WATTS, Alan - (1948)

London: John Murray. (1948). Second printing of this early book by one of the first writers to popularize Zen in the West, and who helped draw the connections between Zen and other mystical traditions of both East and West. Watts was particularly taken by Zen's integration of the spiritual and the practical: the subtitle of the book is "A Way of Life, Work and Art in the Far East." The first printing of the book was done in 1936, and the second was not done until after the Second World War. Watts moved to California in 1951 and later experimented with, and wrote about, psychedelic drugs, comparing their effects to the mystical experiences described in Zen and other religious literature, thus helping give an entire generation justification for their own use of recreational drugs. He became a counterculture celebrity, albeit perhaps a slightly reluctant one. Inscribed by the author in the year of publication "to my good friend ___ ___ with very best wishes from the author - Alan W. Watts." Modest foxing to text; heavy offsetting to flyleaf, behind the inscription; handling to cloth; very good, without dust jacket. Books signed by Watts are fairly uncommon, especially from the early years of his career. Hardcover.