A Magick Life by Martin Booth... need inputs

Okay, I've always wanted to read about Crowley's life, and last weekend, I stumbled across this title in a bookshop. Needless to say, I picked it up in a heartbeat (was a not so good quality paperback and it was on discount for about $8.50).

Now I haven't begun reading it, as I'm in the middle of 3 other books, but I would really appreciate everyone's inputs regarding it. Is it a good biography of Crowley? Does it present the facts in an honest and non-judgmental manner? What all does it cover regarding his life? As well as, anything else that you all can tell me about it.

Thanks

Love and Blessings

It's well worth a read and one of the better bios, actually.

The best one by far is Perdurabo, which I think may be out of print now. But the Booth is readable, and basically unbiased, and pretty well-organized. You'll at least get a sense of the man without all of the tabloid sensationalism that spoil so many of the portraits of him. Let's just say you'll get the sweet and the sour. Booth makes some goofy mistakes at a few points, but nothing catastrophic, and anything is better than the Symonds.

I liked the Symonds one.

It's a good read.

Well that's because you read it in the right spirit: it's a trashy, exploitative character assassination of someone who spent his life trying to have his character assassinated. LOL And you aren't one to get flustered or freaked by extremist portrayals. And you have a love of your Uncle Al that allows you to see the humor in the Symonds dirt. Not everyone can do that, Miss Lil.

Well, I lost my copy of it years ago, so if anyone is really, really offended by theirs...

Chuck it this way...

I have it and started reading it but have only gotten through 2 or 3 chapters so far. It seems okay. I read the one by Symonds and so far Booth's just seems like a rehashing of it. I would just read it, but I wouldn't take it as gospel. With Crowley it's hard to say for sure. I suspect even his own autobiography is laced with healthy doses of BS.

The 'auto-hagiography'?

God god!

I read that...
I think I even finished it.



I wouldn't trust anyone to tell me the honest story of their life.
No one is that objective.
Whether Crowley adjusted the truth more or less than anyone else might, is anyone's guess, but it's bloody hard work reading the thing.

Well, he did admit to shooting a dog in a dark alley in India.

Yeah, that's what he said.

The dog said he was lying.

How the hell would anyone know?