Aleister Crowley
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Product Description
Product Description
This definitive biography of Aleister Crowley (1875-1947), the most notorious and controversial spiritual figure of the 20th century, brings together a life of world-shaking 'magick', sexual and psychological experimentation at the outer limits, world-record-beating mountaineering and startling prophetic power - as well as poetry, adventure, espionage, wisdom, excess, and intellectual brilliance. The book reveals the man behind the appalling reputation, demolishing a century of scandalmongering that persuaded the world that Crowley was a black magician, a traitor and a sexual wastrel, addicted to drugs and antisocial posing, rather than the mind-blowing truth that Crowley was a genius as significant as Jung, Freud or Einstein. Churton has enjoyed the full co-operation of the world's Crowley scholars to ensure the accuracy and plausibility of his riveting narrative. The author has also been in contact with Crowley's grandson, who has vouchsafed rare, previously untold accounts of family relationships. The result is an intimate portrait that has never before been shown, and one that has great emotional impact. The book contains the first ever complete investigation of Crowley's astonishing family background - including facts he concealed in his lifetime for fear of social prejudice. Tobias Churton also gives us a detailed account of Crowley's work as a British spy during World War I in Berlin during the early 1930s and during World War II. This information has not been available to any previous biographer.
About the Author
Tobias Churton is a world authority on Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Hermeticism and Gnosticism. Holding a Master's degree in Theology from Brasenose College, Oxford, he is an Honorary Fellow of Exeter University and Faculty Lecturer in Western Esotericism. An accomplished filmmaker and composer and the writer of the award-winning drama documentary series The Gnostics, for Channel 4, Dr Churton has also written a now standard biography on Elias Ashmole (1617-92). Please consult www.tobiaschurton.com for more information.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What an amazing book! Tobias Churton has certainly excelled here with a balanced and non-judgmental book.
His research is second to none and his style is highly engaging.
This must be his best book, I could hardly put it down much to the consternation of those about me.
Crowley is obviously one of the great spiritual lights of the age and we would all do well from finding the true man.
Elatedly yours
His research is second to none and his style is highly engaging.
This must be his best book, I could hardly put it down much to the consternation of those about me.
Crowley is obviously one of the great spiritual lights of the age and we would all do well from finding the true man.
Elatedly yours
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
From the outset, Churton does a first rate job of guiding the reader in and out of 'the legend' into a rewarding appreciation of this extraordinary individual. The updated research revealed is remarkable but Churton's greatest strength is in giving context and translating the ideas, mindset and zeitgeist of a man who precisely tested the limits of his own radically changing times. In addition to conveying the extremes and paradoxes of his subject's thoughts and practices, the author surrounds his own arguments with an objectifying showcase of insights from contemporaries and inheritors of his legacy. An absolutely rewarding work, highly recommended.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Aleister Crowley is certainly in need of an objective biography, and this book almost delivers.
The author's strong points are his knowledge of esoteric societies and ideologies, and thanks to his access to Crowley's papers, he has been able to tell the tale as Crowley experienced it. I like the way Churton doesn't try to tell the reader what 'really' took place in the frequent supernatural incidents. He describes what happened, how Crowley experienced it and what was the context, and lets the reader decide.
But the book has its flaws, some merely irritating, others really serious. Churton doesn't quite worship Crowley, but comes close. Therefore he often attributes to him prophetic abilities that are very much overblown. You didn't have to be a prophet in the early years of the 20th century to see that a great war was coming or that Russia was on verge of revolution. But Churton, in awe of his subject, sees these as examples of Crowley's powers. Also I'm not at all certain that Crowley's intelligence role during the WWI was as important as the author makes out. For example, Crowley could not have influenced the supposed German decision to sink Lusitania for the very simple reason that such decision was never made by German leadership -- the decision was made by the U-boat captain on the spot.
For reasons already mentioned it's obvious that the author's grasp of political history is weak. But the book's most spectacular blunder comes on page 293. There Churton describes a military crisis that allegedly took place between the UK and France in 1926 over Egypt's western border. I found that very remarkable, because (for example) France didn't have any colonies bordering Egypt (its western neighbor was Libya, an Italian colony). I made a Google search, and what did I find? Only one website describes such a crisis: [...] -- an alternate history website! If only Mr Churton had bothered to check the front page, he could have seen that for himself.
As far as Crowley's life and the doings of a small coterie of occultists go, this is a worthy book, and makes sense of why Aleister Crowley became such a counter-culture icon. Churton expertly dispels the old calumnies about Crowley as a Satanic corruptor of maidens and youth. But whenever the author tries to make a point about the world surrounding them, remain very skeptical.
The author's strong points are his knowledge of esoteric societies and ideologies, and thanks to his access to Crowley's papers, he has been able to tell the tale as Crowley experienced it. I like the way Churton doesn't try to tell the reader what 'really' took place in the frequent supernatural incidents. He describes what happened, how Crowley experienced it and what was the context, and lets the reader decide.
But the book has its flaws, some merely irritating, others really serious. Churton doesn't quite worship Crowley, but comes close. Therefore he often attributes to him prophetic abilities that are very much overblown. You didn't have to be a prophet in the early years of the 20th century to see that a great war was coming or that Russia was on verge of revolution. But Churton, in awe of his subject, sees these as examples of Crowley's powers. Also I'm not at all certain that Crowley's intelligence role during the WWI was as important as the author makes out. For example, Crowley could not have influenced the supposed German decision to sink Lusitania for the very simple reason that such decision was never made by German leadership -- the decision was made by the U-boat captain on the spot.
For reasons already mentioned it's obvious that the author's grasp of political history is weak. But the book's most spectacular blunder comes on page 293. There Churton describes a military crisis that allegedly took place between the UK and France in 1926 over Egypt's western border. I found that very remarkable, because (for example) France didn't have any colonies bordering Egypt (its western neighbor was Libya, an Italian colony). I made a Google search, and what did I find? Only one website describes such a crisis: [...] -- an alternate history website! If only Mr Churton had bothered to check the front page, he could have seen that for himself.
As far as Crowley's life and the doings of a small coterie of occultists go, this is a worthy book, and makes sense of why Aleister Crowley became such a counter-culture icon. Churton expertly dispels the old calumnies about Crowley as a Satanic corruptor of maidens and youth. But whenever the author tries to make a point about the world surrounding them, remain very skeptical.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A new light on the old Beast
Aleister Crowley was a man who experienced great wealth and poverty, traveled widely, sometimes during political upheaval, and wrote over 50 works on subjects as diverse as magick,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Vodkabite
Somewhat subjective
The author's contention is that Crowley's life has not so much been written as 'written over'. He sets out to redress the balance but I am not entirely convinced that he succeeds. Read more
Published 5 months ago by lsur
Konx Om Pax
At last The Great Beast gets the biography he deserves, well researched, well thought out and well written. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Zenbones
Do as thou wilt...
In many ways Crowley was his own worst enemy. A highly intelligent man, he suffered from the delusion that others would understand and share his occasionally perverse spirituality. Read more
Published 8 months ago by M. Priesterreading
Well researched
Clearly this book has been thoroughly researched and presents a fascinating insight into 'The Beast'. What a man. His achievements certainly outweigh the negative things he did. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Thomasina
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