Written during 1961–62, it is best known for its first hand accounts of persistent, unusual physical experiences and states of consciousness, but also for poetic and penetrating descriptions of nature.

Others noticed it.Krishnamurti's first entry in this handwritten journal, quoted above in its entirety, is dated 18 June 1961 with the location given as New York City.

[8] As is the case with other Krishnamurti prose, the entries often include his impressions of nature, individuals and society, the descriptions of which have a "poetic quality" according to some.

[9][10] The journal begins (and ends) without preamble; shortly before he started writing it, Krishnamurti reputedly experienced a recurrence of the process during May and June 1961 in London, witnessed by associates.

This physical condition – which Krishnamurti and those around him did not consider as medical in nature – and experiences similar to the otherness, had reputedly originally appeared in 1922.

The existence and history of these experiences had remained unknown outside of the Theosophical Society leadership and Krishnamurti's circle of close associates and friends.

[14] Roland Vernon, another of his biographers, states that previous attempts (by others) at revealing details from his past, including these reputed experiences, were suppressed by Krishnamurti.

According to Vernon, Krishnamurti "believed, with good reason, that the sensationalism of his early story would cloud the public's perception of his [then] current work".

[25] The Library Journal stated in review, "[Krishnamurti's] insights are, as always, written in plain, nonsectarian language, and give perhaps the best picture we have today of the life of the spirit outside a strictly religious context.

"[27] Publishers Weekly called the work a "luminous diary" and characterized Krishnamurti's teaching as "austere, in a sense annihilating.

[30] The Guardian (London) carried a sympathetic report about the book in June 1976; the article was not exclusively focused on the Notebook, also describing Krishnamurti's life and philosophy.