Rating: 
Summary: The Pinnacle of Crowley Biography
Review: The problem of Aleister Crowley: (now) widely regarded as a precursor to most modern tendencies toward sexual experiementation, women's equality (the paradox is examined in the book), artistic tendencies, gay poetry, the western interest in Buddhism and eastern philosophies etc. He was also at least somewhat a misogynist, racist, all-round scoundrel, drug addict, alcoholic, destitute and a sado-masochist. To top it all off, he was the twentieth century's version of Christ. Or so he would have you believe.
The distinguishing characteristic of Sutin's biography is his willingness to frankly admit the negative, and sometimes quite despicable, aspects of Crowley's personality despite his evident admiration for the man. There are more myths and legends surrounding this figure of the twentieth century than make it safe to attempt to pinpoint just who the mysterious Crowley really was and what he really wanted.Sutin does a masterful job dealing with the press-Beast contentions...he shows Crowley's willingness (and capability) to use the yellow journalism of his time for his own benefit by labeling him the Wickedest Man in the World. Crowley succeeded in turning around all the ridiculous claims of John Bull, The Looking Glass and their ilk to insure his legacy...there are few better ways of garnering the attention of potential students than screaming headlines about ritual murder of 150 children, bestial sex rites, and claims of being nothing less than the Antichrist. This persona is the usual introduction for Crowley readers...it is also the best bait imaginable, and Crowley knew it. Sutin places Crowley's biases squarely at the foot of the frailties of the times he lived in. After all, the editors of the papers above certainly did not have any more scruples than Crowley himself. He appropriately leaves open such sensitive questions as the reality of the Cairo Working, the nature of Aiwass and the source of Liber AL. He does an excellent job at tracing Crowley influences outside of Thelema, particularly the contentious question as to the degree of involvement Crowley had in developing Wicca (I am firmly of the opinion that Gardner stole shamelessly--not that that's a bad thing or uncommon: after all, Crowley did it too--from Crowley, the Golden Dawn, the OTO etc., whereas I am skeptical as to Crowley's authorship of "The Book of Shadows", though it is clear "Shadows"--and "High Magic's Aid"--were both influenced by Crowley). Sutin does a masterful job placing Crowley in his appropriate place of twentieth century--and future--spirituality (though he was not the first--if you take a look at the posthumous chronology in the back, in 1970 it was I beleive Time Magazine that placed Crowley as one of the 1000 people that shaped the twentieth century). Crowley's place? Teacher, devil, Prophet, eminent spiritual thinker. Artist, philosopher, brilliant visionary. The Logos of the Aeon. An excellent biography. Love is the law, love under will.
Rating: 
Summary: Faix ce que veult
Review: There is a mystery to the end of the nineteenth century in the sudden appearance of figures such as Nietzsche, Gurdjieff, and Crowley, out of the blue, trying to rewrite the rules of various games, and in each case with a vicious sadistic streak. We fail to see the connection, or suspect one, but with Crowley we have a clue, albeit a misleading one, almost like a decoy. And then we see the Hitler phenomenon. With Crowley we see the explicit connection between autonomy pursued and autonomy occulted, as Nietzsche suddenly becomes transparent, thrasing around, he never knew what hit him. Your move, beware of reaching in the cookie jar here. Do you have potential Faustian propensities? If you have gotten this far, I'd be worried. Click on Paton's The Categorical Imperative for the Kantian take on will. Much better, first rate, when Crowley is second rate, though interesting, and pitiable. He would be of no importance were it not for his 'book of the law' and 'new aeon' swindle, which nonetheless expresses, and distorts, an important thematic that needs to be salvaged from the occult altogether, to be seen in its true form.
This is a useful biography of Crowley whom the author understandably wishes to defend, at least to the degree of a biography, given the rote excoriations, which are inevitable, and in the end deserved. Crowley's 'magic' is a waste of time, but one meets enough idiots in this field to require some leery investigation. A man of many talents, the colorful self-realization of his 'career' is something you could never imitate so beware of trying. A good poker player folds often, very dull. A bad one reaches into the cookie jar. With Crowley, fold, I would say, just observe.
A useful account.
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling Perspective of the life of Aleister Crowley
Review: This is an Enthralling Perspective of the life of Aleister Crowley.... "the rest of the story." "Do What Thou Wilt" fills-in numerous gaps in Crowley's own writings and maintains an open perspective until the last few chapters. This is good balancing material to add to a Crowley research library. Throughout most of the book, the author seems to have an (almost) non-judgmental perspective--giving us a "here's the facts" biography. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could not put it down. It was very nice to read-about all the things Crowley sort-of Glossed-over in his own works. Also, I found it interesting that the author began the book with a list of Crowley's accomplishments that would have been well-recognized, if not for his "Beastly" reputation and eccentric (self-destructive / self-defeating) behavior. The author had access to a wealth of information, including access to individuals in the O.T.O. I felt that the author maintained his mostly non-judgmental view until the last few chapters--when it becomes evident that the author had pretty-much written Crowley off as a "Dirty Old Man"--a sad case of Self-deception and a delusory drug addict.
However, unlike most of the biographical material I have read about Crowley, this book tries very hard to show the positive achievements of "The Beast" as well as the more scandalous aspects of the man. Yet, it is very difficult to perceive Crowley in a positive light, when the Misogynistic (wife-beating) scenarios are brought to light--which, if true, obviously makes Crowley a criminal worthy of little respect. Over-all, the book is quite impressive and it seems to give a more-or-less positive outlook on Crowley's life, although it does tend to dispel illusions of Crowley's grandeur and "Prophet" status. However, this book also leaves one with the impression that Crowley did, in fact, follow the "Do What Thou Wilt" philosophy to the utmost.... The man never had to work an honest day's labor, yet always had enough money or duped enough people into taking care of him, and he *Always* had plenty of sex, women, men, etc. to keep himself "happy" in that department. I was a bit disappointed that this author doesn't really cover the Occult aspects of Crowley's life very well....he mostly seems to concentrate on Crowley's disreputable behavior, abusive relationships, and the more Tabloid aspects of his life....and seems to gloss-over the details of the writing of "The Equinox" (a 5 year project, skimmed-over in this biography) --I would have enjoyed a detailed break-down of the formation of that work and the people involved. The author sort-of skips-over Crowley's connections with Blavatsky, with minor references. Although this is an amazing, and well-written, biography of Crowley, one is left with the impression: "So....when did he do Occult stuff ?" (the Occult workings almost seem mere footnotes). This book details his "Book of The Law" workings and the related occult workings, but one gets the impression that the O.T.O. was just something Crowley wrote letters about as an afterthought, occasionally, when he needed money from the members (yet, wouldn't touch L500 of OTO $ under his bed, while lying on the same bed in extremely poor health). As a member of various organizations, I know that it takes a tremendous amount of work to keep any kind of Masonic or Occult group operational....so, it seems a bit odd that this aspect of Crowley's life seems almost like a background story, or basic framework for Crowley's Love Life. A more appropriate title for this book would be: "Do What Thou Wilt: The Life and Loves of Aleister Crowley." Don't get me wrong--I loved this book and learned a lot--but, I feel a large aspect of Crowley's life was given the back shelf to his enormous sex drive. Yet, considering the fact that Crowley and others have covered the "Occult" territory numerous times, this book makes a fine addition to a Crowley collection and fills-in many gaps that Crowley's admirers or apologists would not care to reveal--one would be hard-pressed to portray Crowley as a "Spiritual Leader" if one included the extremely Misogynistic / Abusive behavior (depicted in this book) of Crowley in a biography extolling his virtues as "Prophet of The New Aeon."
Rating:
Summary: Enthralling Perspective of the life of Aleister Crowley
Review: This is an Enthralling Perspective of the life of Aleister Crowley.... "the rest of the story." "Do What Thou Wilt" fills-in numerous gaps in Crowley's own writings and maintains an open perspective until the last few chapters. This is good balancing material to add to a Crowley research library. Throughout most of the book, the author seems to have an (almost) non-judgmental perspective--giving us a "here's the facts" biography. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could not put it down. It was very nice to read-about all the things Crowley sort-of Glossed-over in his own works. Also, I found it interesting that the author began the book with a list of Crowley's accomplishments that would have been well-recognized, if not for his "Beastly" reputation and eccentric (self-destructive / self-defeating) behavior. The author had access to a wealth of information, including access to individuals in the O.T.O. I felt that the author maintained his mostly non-judgmental view until the last few chapters--when it becomes evident that the author had pretty-much written Crowley off as a "Dirty Old Man"--a sad case of Self-deception and a delusory drug addict.
However, unlike most of the biographical material I have read about Crowley, this book tries very hard to show the positive achievements of "The Beast" as well as the more scandalous aspects of the man. Yet, it is very difficult to perceive Crowley in a positive light, when the Misogynistic (wife-beating) scenarios are brought to light--which, if true, obviously makes Crowley a criminal worthy of little respect. Over-all, the book is quite impressive and it seems to give a more-or-less positive outlook on Crowley's life, although it does tend to dispel illusions of Crowley's grandeur and "Prophet" status. However, this book also leaves one with the impression that Crowley did, in fact, follow the "Do What Thou Wilt" philosophy to the utmost.... The man never had to work an honest day's labor, yet always had enough money or duped enough people into taking care of him, and he *Always* had plenty of sex, women, men, etc. to keep himself "happy" in that department. I was a bit disappointed that this author doesn't really cover the Occult aspects of Crowley's life very well....he mostly seems to concentrate on Crowley's disreputable behavior, abusive relationships, and the more Tabloid aspects of his life....and seems to gloss-over the details of the writing of "The Equinox" (a 5 year project, skimmed-over in this biography) --I would have enjoyed a detailed break-down of the formation of that work and the people involved. The author sort-of skips-over Crowley's connections with Blavatsky, with minor references. Although this is an amazing, and well-written, biography of Crowley, one is left with the impression: "So....when did he do Occult stuff ?" (the Occult workings almost seem mere footnotes). This book details his "Book of The Law" workings and the related occult workings, but one gets the impression that the O.T.O. was just something Crowley wrote letters about as an afterthought, occasionally, when he needed money from the members (yet, wouldn't touch L500 of OTO $ under his bed, while lying on the same bed in extremely poor health). As a member of various organizations, I know that it takes a tremendous amount of work to keep any kind of Masonic or Occult group operational....so, it seems a bit odd that this aspect of Crowley's life seems almost like a background story, or basic framework for Crowley's Love Life. A more appropriate title for this book would be: "Do What Thou Wilt: The Life and Loves of Aleister Crowley." Don't get me wrong--I loved this book and learned a lot--but, I feel a large aspect of Crowley's life was given the back shelf to his enormous sex drive. Yet, considering the fact that Crowley and others have covered the "Occult" territory numerous times, this book makes a fine addition to a Crowley collection and fills-in many gaps that Crowley's admirers or apologists would not care to reveal--one would be hard-pressed to portray Crowley as a "Spiritual Leader" if one included the extremely Misogynistic / Abusive behavior (depicted in this book) of Crowley in a biography extolling his virtues as "Prophet of The New Aeon."
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