The Beast is back!

Grigori

Curious minds are wondering, why this is worth spending our pennies on. How does it compare to other biographies out there? Please tell us more :)
 

Aeon418

In my opinion Kaczynski's book is the most complete Crowley biography to date. No other biographer since John Symonds has had access to as much archival material and other unpublished documents in private collections.

One big difference between this biographer and the others you've probably read (Sutin? Booth? etc.) is that Kaczynski is a Thelemite, OTO member, and practicing magical student. All the other Crowley biographers, with two exceptions, have been on the outside looking in. They had no detailed practical understanding of the main preocupation of Crowley's life. So is it any wonder that, even when they are sympathetic, there still seems to be something missing?
 

Grigori

Thanks Aeon :) *gets out his credit card*
 

Alta

Thanks Aeon418 , I appreciate your expressing your thoughts on it. I have also pre-ordered now.

Alta
 

Scion

Hands down the best biography. For my money, it makes the others look like doodles in the dirt with a stick. It's such a fantastic book I can't imagine how he couldk possibly IMPROVE upon it.

Wow. Wow. Wonderful! Very exiting news Aeon; I've been recommending this to so many frustrated people.
 

Aeon418

Another point in Kaczynski's favour is his high level of factual accuracy. On top of this there are copious footnotes and references to source material. I like that. :)

In stark contrast is the semi-recent biography, The Beast Demystified, by Roger Hutchinson. He provides no references of any kind. That's probably because it's hard to credit a source when you've simply made it up yourself. ;) I have no problem with Hutchinson's hostile angle and frequently mocking tone. But he could have at least tried to do some research. When you begin seeing silly errors again and again you really have to question the authors other assertions.

My personal favourite was finding out that Dion Fortune was fighting along side W.B.Yeats against the evil "mad man" Crowley at the Battle of Blythe Road in 1900. This is despite the fact that Fortune wasn't born until 1890, and would have been a mere 10 years old at the time. :laugh:

It's ironic that publishers seem to fall over themselves to print stuff like Hutchinson's book. And yet, since the limited print run by New Falcon in 2002, Kaczynski has had problems getting a big publisher to take notice. Perhaps the facts just aren't popular enough for a general public that thrives on a steady diet of sensationalism and gossip.
 

Aeon418

Scion said:
It's such a fantastic book I can't imagine how he couldk possibly IMPROVE upon it.
Click to expand...
For various reasons some material was edited out of the first edition. These ommisions were later published as, Panic in Detroit, in an OTO journal. I've never seen a copy, so I'm hoping this stuff has now been added to the new edition.
Panic in Detroit: The Magician and the Motor City.

"Is Detroit heaven?" Aleister Crowley asked his field organizer, Charles Stansfeld Jones. It certainly seemed so at the time: Bookman Albert W. Ryerson was selling Crowley's books and publishing the latest installment of The Equinox. Several prominent Masons were interested in establishing the Lakes Region of Ordo Templi Orientis. Jones was in high demand teaching classes on magick and Thelema. But things turned suddenly sour. When slow sales dragged the Universal Book Stores into bankruptcy, the activities of the O.T.O. were luridly thrust onto the front pages of the daily news. The Equinox was declared obscene and all copies impounded. The O.T.O. "love cult" was blamed for everything from broken homes and Hollywood's wild parties to the mysterious murder of film director William Desmond Taylor.
Click to expand...
 

chriske

Also ordered

Thanks Aeon. Incidentally, I notice that there is a copy of "Perdurabo Outtakes" on E-Bay at present. Have you read that one too?
 
Origin of current Thoth backs Invictus 1 -0- 1