Dear Great Book Guru, My friends Diane, Sadie and I have recently begun yoga classes and we are very interested in the history of this ancient discipline. Do you have any books we might read to deepen our knowledge? Aspiring Yogi

Dear Aspiring, What an interesting topic! My husband who practices and teaches yoga to a select group of friends and family just received a gift from one of his students: THE GREAT OOM-THE IMPROBABLE BIRTH OF YOGA IN AMERICA by Robert Love. This is a fascinating biography of a young Iowan Perry Baker, who recreates himself as the exotic mystic/entrepreneur Dr. Pierre Bernard. Born in the 1870's, Bernard as a teenager stumbles upon the writings of Eastern spiritualists and becomes obsessed with their yogic message. In a truly American- Great Gatsby fashion, he seduces the wealthy, the socially connected, the local police, and the politicians of the day, allowing him to create a multi-million dollar empire. With this support, he is able to build a huge compound in Nyack, New York that housed multiple mansions, theaters, a circus menagerie, a baseball field and a race track. Author Love moved to Nyack a few years ago and found himself living in a cottage that had been part of this amazing estate. While many of us think yoga might have come to the United States with the Beatles in the "60's, author Love traces its American roots back to the Great Oom as Bernard was called. The book gives us a glimpse into that period immediately following World War I with its material excesses and its forays into spiritual and physical enlightenment. That the Great Oom could have convinced so many of the rich and powerful- the Vandebilts, the Goodrichs, the DeVries, and so many, many more (including the legendary folk singer Pete Seeger's parents) to follow his strict prescriptions concerning health, exercise, and morality is the most fascinating aspect of this work. In the end, we are left wondering - was the Great Oom, a well meaning philanthropist, a con artist, an astute businessman, a true mystic, a brash seducer of women, a control freak, the ultimate guru, or perhaps… all these things?