Was Aleister Crowley really as bad as depicted?

Zezina

I guess it depends who's doing the depicting, and why. Like I said in another thread, if one would concoct a story about Mother Teresa sacrificing children, it would be dismissed and laughed at,

Now there's an interesting suggestion, because I recently saw a video that said all of the millions of pounds donated to Mother Teresa went to the Vatican, while her hospice patients were treated with washed needles and lay in poverty on stretcher beds.

A case of a 15 year old boy with a perfectly curable condition was cited, but Mother Teresa allowed no option for medical tests or treatment in her hospice, and the boy died in her hospice.

*Z*
 

gregory

Wondering where he got that wardrobe? The cheap, flimsy, rubbish they sell at IKEA these days just isn't up to the job. They don't make 'em like they used too. :laugh: ;)
My mother's big one would do - so would the Victorian one my sister has.

I knew about the Onan's children on the ground thing (all those extinguished mini-Als - what a shame :)) - I'd forgotten...

Zezina - I REALLY would read Churton first.... Leffy and I are in competition to see who can get to the end of Kaczynski first. We've both been at it over a year.... and I at least am something of a speed reader.

Now there's an interesting suggestion, because I recently saw a video that said all of the millions of pounds donated to Mother Teresa went to the Vatican, while her hospice patients were treated with washed needles and lay in poverty on stretcher beds.

A case of a 15 year old boy with a perfectly curable condition was cited, but Mother Teresa allowed no option for medical tests or treatment in her hospice, and the boy died in her hospice.
Yes indeed. I have heard very disturbing things about that lady. :mad: Self-publicity does not begin...
 

Aeon418

Kaczynski and Churton are already the post to me from Amazon.
I would recommend you read Churton first then Kaczynski. Churton is more readable but lighter on detail. In my opinion his book is a great introduction to the world of Aleister Crowley. Kaczynsk's book is packed with detail, some say too much detail, but it is most probably the one you will refer back to for research purposes.
 

gregory

I would recommend you read Churton first then Kaczynski. Churton is more readable but lighter on detail. In my opinion his book is a great introduction to the world of Aleister Crowley. Kaczynsk's book is packed with detail, some say too much detail, but it is most probably the one you will refer back to for research purposes.

YES ! Finding stuff you want to LOOK UP through the index is great - though the index is - odd and takes some getting used to.

"Cefalu. See under Crowley, Aleister > places of residence..."

WHY ?

I do think a lot of the stuff about the people Crowley met and worked with - their entire life histories and lists of books published etc - would be better in footnotes. I really don't need to read all that while wanting to read about Da Boss man !
 

Zezina

I would recommend you read Churton first then Kaczynski. Churton is more readable but lighter on detail. In my opinion his book is a great introduction to the world of Aleister Crowley. Kaczynsk's book is packed with detail, some say too much detail, but it is most probably the one you will refer back to for research purposes.

Appreciate that recommendation - thanks Aeon.
 

Aeon418

I do think a lot of the stuff about the people Crowley met and worked with - their entire life histories and lists of books published etc - would be better in footnotes. I really don't need to read all that while wanting to read about Da Boss man !
I own the original first edition of Perdurabo, (New Falcon 2002, limited print run of 3000 copies) it contains a lot less detail and is far more readable. But the original edition still left Kaczynski with a lot of unpublished research material. Some of this was privately published in two rare volumes called, Perdurabo Outtakes, and, Panic in Detroit. Because of the level of interest shown in these two books Kaczynski decided to expand the original Perdurabo by including some (all?) of the material from these books. While I agree that a lot of it would have been better off in footnotes, I would rather have it as it is than not at all.

Kaczynski's books.
http://www.richard-kaczynski.com/index.php/home/books/
 

gregory

Oh - I'd rather have that info available (have you been thinking I wouldn't ??) But as part of the main TEXT, it makes reading a real SLOG. I would have finished it - happily and with more enthusiasm - by now, if it had been "out of the way", like ! But it is very hard to skip that, and I have given up trying to get around it that way ! Twice I have had to go back and check, as something in one of those bits WAS important to the main thread...

But your opinion of its "readability", then, will inevitably have been coloured by having read a lot of it already ! Those of us starting from scratch are having a hard time !
 

Le Fanu

*still stuck in the Perdurabo swamp*

Just for the record, I started last July and I'm now on page 322 out of over 600. Please tell me I'm over halfway through. (have you overtaken me yet gregory?). I read Sutin in just over a couple of weeks last year. The worst thing is the guilt at not being able to just get it finished and feel "enlightened" but that day feels a long way off.

With Perdurabo, I get the sensation that the question would not be "was Aleister Crowley really as bed as depicted?" But rather, "was Aleister Crowley really as dull as depicted?" This books feels like a rambling account of all the people he met and it's hard to isolate the gems of the man and his thinking.

I'm so tempted to just skip ahead and read the Thoth deck chapters...
 

Aeon418

It took me about 3 days to read. :)
 

gregory

It took me about 3 days to read. :)

The original or the new one ? And anyway - having read it before, you could skip.

Leffy - I am on page - just sec - 290 of 596 - so yes you have passed half way ! As shall I, later today :D

And I started after you did !