American Trickster

Ru Marshall's American Trickster is a comprehensive biography of Carlos Castaneda that synthesizes nearly two decades of research to reconstruct his life and influence.

The book examines Castaneda's transformation from a UCLA PhD student to a bestselling author who fabricated apprenticeship to a Yaqui sorcerer, and how he manipulated academics and followers.

Marshall traces Castaneda's reinventions, his avoidance of Peruvian family history, and the development of his inner circle into a cult that promised immortality.

The biography culminates in investigation of the 1998 deaths and disappearances connected to Castaneda's final years and the Death Valley discovery.

Marshall combines archival research, interviews, and cultural analysis to situate Castaneda within broader American countercultural and academic contexts.