Books on Crowley

Aeon418 said:

I'm a little confused. You want a book on Aleister Crowley (Alexander ?) but want to know what it is about. Huh ?!

If your looking for a biography of Crowley I suggest you take a look at one of these:

PURDURABO: The Life of Aleister Crowley ~ Richard Kaczynski
Do What Thou Wilt ~ Lawrence Sutin
A Magick Life ~ Martin Booth

All of them are pretty good.

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How about his autohagiography? Or his diaries?

ok this is what ive orderd from amazon..................................hold on got to do some cut and paste


1 of: The Book of Lies
1 of: Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley
1 of: Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley
1 of: Diary of a Drug Fiend
1 of: 777

MUHAHAHaha - pretty miffed on how expensive it all is though! Damn basts cashing in

So are these good to read then??

Xander said:

ok this is what ive orderd from amazon..................................hold on got to do some cut and paste


1 of: The Book of Lies
1 of: Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley
1 of: Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley
1 of: Diary of a Drug Fiend
1 of: 777

MUHAHAHaha - pretty miffed on how expensive it all is though! Damn basts cashing in

So are these good to read then??

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Huh ? You've just ordered them but don't know what they are or if they're any good.

777 is very good. It's not exactly a book to be read though. It's a reference work containg tables of qabalistic correspondences. Crowley's explanations of the tables are quite informative.

Diary of a Drug Fiend is a novel about drug addiction and a cure with some Thelemic elements thrown in. It's quite interesting even though you can tell it was composed in a hurry. (Crowley wrote it in 30 days because he needed money fast. The book was later banned.)

The Book of Lies is a collection of mystical paradoxes and riddles spiced with typical Crowley humour. There's more than meets the eye with this book.

Aeon418 said:

Huh ? You've just ordered them but don't know what they are or if they're any good.

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yea dude

thanks for you little descriptions aswell Aeon - much appriciated

Aeon418 said:

Unbiased ? Hardly. The article sets out to paint Crowley in a bad light right from the start and then finishes by saying that Crowley was psychologically wrecked after his 1909 experiences. The well researched published biographies beg to differ.

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I think it's alright. By unbiased I mean "even-handed", as much as someone can be who is not steeped in Crowley's biography. It's not a full biography, but merely a chapter in the larger theme of his book. Owen is clearly not a specialist in Crowley's life and philosophy, but he has done good research on Victor Neuburg, perhaps more than just reading Fuller's "Magical Dilemma of Victor Neuburg".

His use of terms like "black arts" - to which he added "so-called" - seems to me to be just reflecting his sources in a mechanical way, not a personal judgement based on reflection. Crowley was in fact considered a "black" magician by most of his contemporaries, would certainly have been so considered by Blavatsky, and only in the last 20 years or so has that begun to change.

To what extent Owen understands Crowley's magical system is very much beside the point, which was merely to narrate an episode in turn of the century British occultism. He is trying to understand Crowley from the outside, not the inside. Overall, I think he has done a fine job, and given new insights.

Of course "psychologically wrecked" is completely wrong. Crowley doesn't seem to have suffered trauma from it. Perhaps I could call the article "relatively unbiased" instead.

Anyway, I found it a nice new take on the tale. I don't need my Crowley served warm, or by people either friendly or unfriendly to him.

Xander said:

1 of: Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley

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I haven't read the other books you listed, but the one above is a great read. It is very enjoyable, recounting Crowley's life in a very readable fashion. Post back to let us know your opinions.

Xander said:

ok this is what ive orderd from amazon..................................hold on got to do some cut and paste


1 of: The Book of Lies
1 of: Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley
1 of: Perdurabo: The Life of Aleister Crowley
1 of: Diary of a Drug Fiend
1 of: 777

MUHAHAHaha - pretty miffed on how expensive it all is though! Damn basts cashing in

So are these good to read then??

Click to expand...

Do what thou wilt is a decent account of his life. Fairly unbiased. Not written from a mystical perspective though so it doesn't really deal with his magick so much as his lifestyle.

The Great Beast by Symmonds is a good read.
I liked it.

Lillie said:

The Great Beast by Symmonds is a good read.
I liked it.

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Generally regarded as the worst and most hostile biography.

Aeon418 said:

Generally regarded as the worst and most hostile biography.

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With the possible exception of Daniel P. Mannix "The Beast" (1959).