Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
St. Martin's Griffin (2002), Paperback, 496 pages
Description
An exploration into the life and works of the modern mystic, occultist, poet, mountaineer, bisexual adventurer and drug fiend who was known to his contemporaries as The Beast'.'
User reviews
LibraryThing member gbsallery
Well researched, with copious source notes, and well written. As with any biography, the success or failure as a book depends very much on the subject material, and in this respect it is Crowley himself who fails to satisfy (a surprise, for a sexual magician). Whilst Sutin tries hard to be
Useful as a warning tale for overly melodramatic children - stop showing off or you'll end up like the Great Beast.
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even-handed in his assessments, nothing can dispel the ultimate sense that whilst Crowley the personality may have been interesting, as a poet, artist and/or "mage" he was really rather dull. There is a sense that even he did not believe his own charades at times, even at the same time as revelling in the credulity of others.Useful as a warning tale for overly melodramatic children - stop showing off or you'll end up like the Great Beast.
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LibraryThing member kukulaj
I've read a bit around occult topics but didn't know much at all about Crowley. This was a great book to get a reasonably complete high level survey of Crowley's life and work. It's quite chronological. It touches on Crowley's thinking but never goes very deep. We don't learn much about where
Sutin's book is very much an introduction to Crowley. It's a great place to start. He points to folks like Israel Regardie and Kenneth Grant for further reading.
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Crowley might have gotten his ideas - well, of course, he'd joined the Golden Dawn, but how and why did he change those practices? We get brief appearance from e.g. Dion Fortune, but we don't see how her ideas developed in parallel to Crowley's. Sutin's book is very much an introduction to Crowley. It's a great place to start. He points to folks like Israel Regardie and Kenneth Grant for further reading.
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LibraryThing member poetontheone
The definitive biography of one of the most misunderstood men of the 20th century. Sutin portrays Crowley, dubbed by the sensationalist press as "the Wickedest Man in the World", in the most objective light possible. A well written and exhaustingly researched work that is readable and captivating.
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will use this review not as a platform to judge Crowley himself. However it should be said that Crowley, who had his share of flaws no doubt, made significant contributions to both literature and spirituality, which are criminally underappreciated. Show Less
LibraryThing member knightlight777
An interesting read for the time periods. Not much to like in this fellow. As he would have liked it.
LibraryThing member aadyer
A long, rather academic study which although only just readable, is not accessible to the lay reader. This isn't a volume that will allow the starter in this subject area to feel as though they can understand Crowley or his motivations or even the Magic that he purports to perform. Good on detail
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and good on placement, this does not however describe or explain much of the magic or the motivations of the man. Difficult and at times, plodding. Make this the second or third volume you read about Crowley when you already have some insight and know what the esoteric socitiies mean. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original publication date
2000
Physical description
496 p.; 6 inches
ISBN
0312288972 / 9780312288976
Local notes
RW-Gift of Rachael Watcher
Detailed, even-handed study treating Crowley as a cultural phenomenon. Includes Crowley's relationships with Gardner, Dion Fortune, Gurdjieff, Yeats.
Detailed, even-handed study treating Crowley as a cultural phenomenon. Includes Crowley's relationships with Gardner, Dion Fortune, Gurdjieff, Yeats.
Other editions
Do what thou wilt : a life of Aleister Crowley by Lawrence Sutin (Paper Book)
DO WHAT THOU WILT: A Life of Aleister Crowley by Lawrence Sutin (Paperback)
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