I don’t normally put a book in twice but a discussion with a Buddhist friend on Facebook prompted me to ask him to read the book and give me his take on it. Thank you, Andrew.

Having read many texts and been a student of the Buddhist philosophy, I was intrigued to take up an opportunity to read a different perspective. It’s what I enjoy about the meditations of Buddhism: You take what you want out of it and accept anything outside as someone else’s philosophy.
When I started, I went in with an enlightened mindset then read this from start to end in a few hours. I wasn’t even past the first chapter that I came to this conclusion: Whilst this is an enlightened view of the Buddhist philosophy, most people who are Buddhists would find this book familiar. He talks about the basic philosophies most Buddhists strive for every day: Compassion, Selflessness, Non-Possessiveness, open mindedness and many other Buddhist traits.
It is, as he infers in his introduction, more a book for Non-Buddhists who wish to understand Buddhism. It’s also a good starting point to understand the many complexities that is perceived by people external to the faith.
Having said that, this is not the best text I have read; merely a starting point or guide to those wishing to understand a Buddhist or Buddha. I read through it mainly to confirm my own perspective rather than take anything out if it. There was no need. To anyone who is a Buddhist, most of what he spoke about is what they would be practicing anyway.
I feel like I should say more about the book, or give a better review. Frankly, this book speaks for itself. It’s Timber Hawkeye’s perspective of “How to train the mind” and is more his philosophies backed up by other people’s quotes. It’s more: “What I think” than it is “How to train your mind”.
If you see this on a train, and are curious, it’s a good book to pick up and read (or at least flick through). It’s an interesting insight, and it may give you inspiration. But the title “Bootcamp” for me was more a selling point, rather than it being an actual way to train your minds.
Not really a “Take me home” book. Read what you can, and put it down for someone else. It is a better book to pass on than to keep. My score: 5/10
Andrew Saunders
“Donec eris felix, multos numerabis amicos”