Carlos Castaneda Books in Order
13 books are credited to Carlos Castaneda, published between 1968 and 1999; 1 of them appeared after Carlos Castaneda's death in 1998. The first book is The Teachings of Don Juan (1968) and the newest is The Active Side of Infinity (1999). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 13
- Published
- 1968–1999
- Pages on record
- 5,700 in 12 of 13 books
- Reading time
- 95–143 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,700 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 12 of 13 titles with a page count on record.
Carlos Castaneda (25 December 1925 - 27 April 1998) was a Peruvian-American writer trained as an anthropologist. From The Teachings of Don Juan (1968) onward, Castaneda set out an apprenticeship in shamanism under a Yaqui man of knowledge called Don Juan Matus; that figure and that training are now generally considered fabricated, with little connection to actual Yaqui cultural practice. The catalogue lists 13 books ending with The Active Side of Infinity (1999), tagged for religion, shamanism, hallucinogenic drugs and religious experience, and Yaqui mythology. The run is listed as likely complete.
How many Carlos Castaneda books are there?
Carlos Castaneda has 13 books, released between 1968 and 1999. 1 of them were published after Carlos Castaneda's death in 1998. 12 of them belong to the Teachings of Don Juan series.
Carlos Castaneda Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 13 Carlos Castaneda books in the order they were released, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119681962/4
- 2197126432/4
- 31972–2/4
- 419743042/4
- 519773282/4
- 619813202/4
- 719843042/4
- 819872652/4
- 919922522/4
- 1019932722/4
- 1119972402/4
- 1219983042/4
- 1319992722/4
Carlos Castaneda books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Teachings of Don Juan in order
12 booksArkana S. in order
1 bookCarlos Castaneda Books in Chronological Order
By publication date, the Carlos Castaneda books run from The Teachings of Don Juan (1968) to The Active Side of Infinity (1999), the sequence in the table above. No separate story order is recorded for Carlos Castaneda in the book listings this catalogue merges, so publication order is the only order on record.
Do you have to read Carlos Castaneda books in order?
You only need to read Carlos Castaneda books in order within the Teachings of Don Juan series, which holds 12 of the 13 Carlos Castaneda books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Carlos Castaneda
Start with The Teachings of Don Juan (1968), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Carlos Castaneda book?
The Active Side of Infinity (1999) is the newest Carlos Castaneda book released so far.
Is there a new Carlos Castaneda book coming?
No next Carlos Castaneda book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Carlos Castaneda at a glance
- Died
- Carlos Castaneda died in 1998, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Carlos Castaneda are still being published after Carlos Castaneda's death in 1998; the newest appeared in 1999.
- Release pace
- Carlos Castaneda books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 5,700 pages across the 12 of 13 books with a recorded length, a median of 288 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Carlos Castaneda books, 5 of 13, were published in the 1990s.
What the Carlos Castaneda books are about
All 13 Carlos Castaneda books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: religion is tagged on 11 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Religion 11 of 13 books
- Religion and mythology 6 of 13 books
- Religión 5 of 13 books
- Indians of Mexico 4 of 13 books
- Hallucinogènes et expérience religieuse 3 of 13 books
- Shamanism 3 of 13 books
- Yaqui Indians 3 of 13 books
- Anthropologists 2 of 13 books
- Biography 2 of 13 books
- Dreams 2 of 13 books
- Hallucinogenic drugs 2 of 13 books
- Indian mythology 2 of 13 books