Carl Olson is a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Allegheny College. Besides numerous essays in journals, books, and encyclopedias, he has published seventeen books on subjects such as Hinduism, Buddhism, comparative philosophy, and method and theory in the study of religion. His most recent books include Celibacy in Religious Traditions and The Allure of Decadent Thinking: Religious Studies and the Challenge of Postmodernism both published by Oxford University Press.

"Indian Asceticism has much to offer scholars and students of Indian religions in that it brings together a wide array of literary sources and provides a synoptic view of asceticism, a core phenomenon of Indian spirituality."--Douglas Osto, Religion

"lson presents a wide-ranging and sometimes provocative study that works because it combines theoretical explorations with a firm grounding in primary textual sources, and thus stays aloft on the tightrope of applying contemporary theory to culturally specific and mostly premodern material."--Reading Religion

"This is an ambitious, thought-provoking...book. It is a significant addition to the few attempts recently to understand asceticism from a comparative and theoretical perspective. It is well written...He introduces a number of interesting and new perspectives...I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the practice and theory of asceticism, whether in India or elsewhere."--The Journal of Religion

"In this interesting book Professor Olson discusses how asceticism is at the heart of Indian religions, offering forms of practice for the attainment of supernatural powers and spiritual liberation. Not only is this a fascinating account of asceticism in Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, it relates these practices to contemporary debate in the human sciences such as about the role of cognition in cultural practice. This clearly written book will be invaluable to students of Indian religions and asceticism." --Gavin Flood, Professor of Hindu Studies and Comparative Religion, Oxford University