Alan Watts

Born in rural England, Alan Watts moved to America in the late 1930s. He studied theology in Chicago, and in 1950 wrote the widely celebrated book The Wisdom of Insecurity. Moving to California in 1951, he taught Buddhism at the American Academy of Asian Studies. After accepting an opportunity to give regular public radio talks, he became very popular throughout the area for his series “Way Beyond the West.” His message was especially well-received by the young people involved in the “counterculture” movement of the 1960s. The radio show expanded nationwide, and Watts toured the country lecturing and growing his audience. He would eventually write over twenty-five books. Watts died in 1973, in his library on the slopes of Mount Tamalpais, in Marin County, California.