[.ca] Do What Thou Wilt: A Life Of Aleister Crowley (ISBN 0312288972)

From Amazon.co.uk:
The legendary Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) is a tantalising and bizarre subject. As an occult leader, heroin addict, sexual adventurer, misogynist, and visionary, he is the inspiration for many vile Gothic protagonists. Author W. Somerset Maugham even devoted a novel, The Magician to this chilling figure of indulgence and religious mockery. Like any good biographer, Lawrence Sutin set out to discover the man behind the myth. After considerable research, Sutin admits that Crowley was "a shameless scoffer at Christian virtue" and "a spoiled scion of a wealthy Victorian family" but he also sees him as a 20th century figure as "protean, brilliant, courageous, and flabbergasting as ever you could imagine". Consider these facts about the man who named himself "The Great Beast": he was one of the first Westerners to seriously study Buddhism and Yoga. He radically redesigned the traditional Tarot deck (thus the "Crowley deck"). Contrary to common belief, he was never known to participate in satanic ritual--to do so would acknowledge the Christian church, which he was loathe to do (although he nicknamed his son "The Christ Child"). These are but a few of the surprising morsels one can glean from this excellent biography. Don't expect to find Crowley a likeable figure. Do, however, expect to meet a flamboyant man who challenged all forms of religious, sexual, and social oppression and hence became a revered visionary and a reviled demon. --Tara West

Phenomenal biography of a very tricky subject:
If you've never read ANYTHING about Crowley (I hadn't), this is the place to start. This biography leaves out no detail, no matter how small. This book puts Crowley under a microscope with unstinting clarity that is completely balanced - the biographer gives Crowley credit where credit is due but never tries to whitewash the mess that the man made of his life (and of other's lives). Crowley's innovations are not easy ones to understand, and his impact is complex. Mr. Sutin gets it just right. If you're the type of person who wants a biography that draws the big picture by supplying all the minute details (journal entries, letters, receipts, financial records, decorating schemes, sexual partners, travel plans, etc), this is the Crowley book for you. Really, my only complaint is that there weren't more photos. However, for all I know, there are few existing photos, given the time in which Crowley lived. This book inspired me to read more by and about Crowley, which is the best praise a biography can be given.

Is Aleister Crowley boring? Is that possible?:
It's a shame that this book is so tedious, because the author knows his subject. I read Lawrence Sutin's biography of PK Dick and I was impressed, so I had high hopes for this one. But there's no structure to the story, no plot. Sutin moves from one moment of Crowley's life to the next, never making it clear if he's describing a high point, a low point, a turning point, etc. Halfway through, I promised myself I'd finish the book, sure that as Crowley's life reached the end, Sutin would bring things to a climax. But he didn't. Sutin knows the facts but didn't present them in a compelling way.

Faix ce que veult:
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.

Enthralling Perspective of the life of Aleister Crowley:
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."

A real life look at the Prophet of the new aeon.:
Sutin has written the best biography of Aleister Crowley ever written. That being said, don't expect a glowing, praise filled, "Uncle Al is a God" type biography. You won't get it and it's a good thing you won't because AC was nothing like that. Sutin approaches Crowley's life as a biographer, not a follower. That's what makes the book so good. Crowley's life was one long mess, mostly of his own making, and Sutin doesn't leave out a thing. After reading "Do What Thou Wilt" you will find yourself questioning everything you ever thought you knew about Aleister Crowley. However, you will also recognize the genius of the man, his wit, his wisdom, and penny-anti carnival shyster antics that made him both the scourge of the Victorian era, and the broken down, drug addicted, lonely old man in Post WWII England. Crowley had moments of Divine inspiration and moments of madness. Unfortunately, Crowley often couldn't tell the difference between the two.