Idries Shah's writings greatly extended the western knowledge of the Sufi teachings. He profoundly influenced several intellectuals, notably Doris Lessing and Robert Ornstein. His definition of Sufism was liberal in that he was of the opinion that it predated Islam and did not depend on the Qur'an, but was universal in source, scope and relevance He maintained that spiritual teachings should be presented in forms and terms that are familiar in the community where they are to take root. He believed that students should be given work based on their individual capacities, and rejected systems that apply the same exercises to all. In his own work he used teaching stories and humour to great effect.
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His book is a fairly interesting book of New-Age philosophy but has little, if any, relationship with the Sufi tradition. One seeking a "practical" book on this tradition will find a superb primer in Robert Frager's "Heart, Self, and Soul". This is not to say that Shah's work is lacking in all respects; it is entertaining and will have appeal to many. My reservation is that the title, "A practical philosophy in the Sufi Tradition", is misleading. There is a harvest of quality books on traditional Sufism on Amazon.com, so keep looking.
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Shebli has said, "One who dies for the love of the material world, dies a hypocrite. One who dies for the love of the hereafter, dies an ascetic. But one who dies for the love of the Truth, dies a sufi."
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Someone saw Nasrudin searching for something on the ground.
"What have you lost, Mulla?" he asked.
"My key," said the Mulla. So they both went down on their knees and looked for it.
After a time the other man asked: "Where exactly did you drop it?"
"In my own house."
"Then why are you looking here?"
"There is more light here than inside my own house." ( )