GURDJIEFF was a man who played many different roles, so that he seemed ruthless to some and compassionate to others, just as he hid the sources of his teaching and methods. As someone who worked with Gurdjieff and subsequently became one of the major teachers of his work, Bennett pieces together the jigsaw of his life and attempts to explain why Gurdjieff appeared as he did. The book begins with a fascinating account of his life in Kars and the influences which must have surrounded him in boyhood and youth. It reconstructs his early search for truth, discusses the sources of his ideas, and explains the reasons for his teaching and enigmatic methods.