The author's search finally leads him to the Sarmoun monastery in Northern Afghanistan where Gurdjieff had been previously taught.

[1] The authors of the Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements, Muhammad Afzal Upal and Carole M. Cusack consider the book to be a product of the Sufi school associated with Idries Shah and his brother Omar Ali-Shah, and cast doubt on its authenticity.

[2] While Upal and Cusack speculate that the "polemic" writing style could be that of Omar Ali-Shah,[2] British historian Mark Sedgwick believes that Rafael Lefort is "almost certainly a pseudonym for Idries Shah.

A second edition was published in 1998 by Malor Books under the editorial directorship of Robert Ornstein, a prominent American associate of Idries Shah.

A French version ("Les maîtres de Gurdjieff") has been published by Le Courrier du Livre in 1977.