Often referred to as the "wickedest man alive," Aleister Crowley (18751947) had a shocking reputation. Stories abound of drugs, orgies, sacrificial rites, and the tragic deaths of those who associated with him. His early life, however, was one of considerable achievement. One of the most accomplished mountaineers of his generation, he was also the friend and literary model to a host of celebrated figures. An early convert to Eastern philosophies, Crowley attempted to replace Western Christianity with his own brand of religion. Addicted to opiates, hounded by the press, and pursued through the courts, the tribulations of his later years would have ruined a lesser man. This biography presents Crowley for the first time as an accessible figure: a flawed, egotistical man who left an indelible mark on his era.

1. Those written by fawning worshippers, who somehow overlook the glaring defects in Crowley's character.

2. Those written by his enemies. These are the type who take Crowley literally when the later claims to have sacrificed 150 male children per year between 1912 and 1928.

The author of this book takes a middle ground. Crowley had done some amazing things. He held records for his mountain climbing. As well he had done some very horrible things and seemed to have little if any ability to feel for other human beings. In short, Crowley was human like the rest of us; he simply lived life larger.

It was interesting to get a fairly well rounded picture of Master Therion, as the public saw him, through the use of the mass media. However, the author is always careful to point out where the newspaper articles have gone astray from what can actually be said historically.

The failings of the book were as follows:

1. No documentation of sources. If you have no knowledge of this subject, you do not know where his quotes are coming from.

2. A lack of psychological analysis. This is a failing of almost all books on the subject.

To begin where I started, with the author of another review: don't confuse quantity with "rightness". By your argument, Christianity and Islam would be more "right" than Thelema. One hundred years after the founding of the first two religions, they had believers that numbered between the high hundreds of thousands to a million. One hundred years after the reception of the Liber Legis, the number of Thelemites is in the low thousands.


If You Want Crowely Don't Get This.   October 2, 2000
 11 out of 13 found this review helpful

And I say that for these reasons. First there is no bibliography and that is a red flag to me when I'm reading a book. Where does he get his info??

Another big problem is that its VERY obvious that he is writing this book to bash Crowely. He takes every opportunity to prove to the world that he hates Crowely and that you and I should too. Thank you but I'll just have the facts please without your personal opinion to poison my judgmental processes.

The author's ending to the bibliography is a fine case in point because out of the 4 or 5 accounts of Crowely's last minutes before dying the author picks the worst one and doesn't even bother to list the others. This is typical throughout the book.

If you want to read a biography of Crowely that will list the good AND the bad and let you have the privilage of figuring out this incredibly fascinating man for yourself try "Do What Thou Wilt". You can order that here too and it has an IN DEPTH bibliograhy and MULTIPLE accounts are listed for events in Crowley's life when they occur.

Peace, ~Marz~


Hutchinson's done us a favor, despite himself   March 24, 2000
 10 out of 13 found this review helpful

Roger Hutchinson's disdain for his subject doesn't matter, because putting down someone who's already reveled in being called "The Wickedest Man in the World" is a little like putting two stamps on a letter requiring only one. You can't really insult someone who's gone to great lengths to make and maintain his own blackened reputation. It's actually kind of quaint, because it brings back a little of the late Victorian atmosphere surrounding Crowley during his lifetime.

But Hutchinson's hyperactiveness is matched by his work ethic. Where all this extra effort pays off for the Crowley fan is where he really shines - in retrieving and reporting for us things that have not otherwise surfaced in prior Crowley biographies.

For example, an hilarious exchange between Somerset Maugham and Crowley on pages 100-101 in their game of one-upsmanship made me laugh out loud. Hutchinson doesn't like Crowley, that's clear, but it doesn't matter. His hard work in researching and reporting makes it one of the better biographies in recent years, on this most interesting literary character.


Through a glass darkly...   August 5, 2000
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

Mr. Hutchinson has made the great error most of Crowley's biographers have made, not understanding the man. Crowley was neither a saint, nor was he the "wickedest man in the world", he was an extremely engaging figure that history has yet to understand. The author does manage not to fall into the lines of the late Mr. Crowley's dejectors, and he is far from one of the sycophants who pandered to the ego and legend of "The Great Beast". I found the book hardly enlightneing, and the author fails utterly to site any sources or to add any resemblance of a bibliography to the book. All in all it seems that the author had little interest in the man as a whole, and one wonders why he wrote his biography. Hutchinson gives little sympathy to his subject, and he himself claims ignorance of the very subjects Crowley claimed expertisein (and spent his life pursuing), Hutchinson's reasons for this book seem vague as the subject matter. The author does a fiar job at clarifying a few historical figures and the relevence of their own roles in history, bur he fails to clarify or in any way "demystify" the Enigmatic Aleister Crowley. The book renders itslef as something of an abridged "Confessions" and lacks the chaotic Crowley wit and irritating ego, that make Crowley such an intersting read. The book is a mediocre biography shedding no real light, and adding nothing to the understanding of the man. For those seeking a cursory overview of the man's life, or simply seek to know a little about Aleister Crowley, this is your book. Occultists, Thelemites and otherwise truly intersted parties (dejectors and sycophants alike) this book could be avoided, and a simple re-read of "Confessions" will have the same effect as this work.


Dreadful, Horrible. Save your money on this one.   May 27, 1999
 4 out of 10 found this review helpful

This is an absolutely rehashed biography, tainted by the biographer's disdain for Crowley. He uses old magazine and newspaper articles concerning Crowley's life, but does not issue the slightest credit to Aleister Crowley. If you search Amazon for works by and about Roger Hutchinson and do the same by Aleister Crowley, you will see Crowley beating Hutchinson about 100 to 1. And this is 52 years after Uncle Al's death. Hutchinson makes Crowley out to be a complete sham, and doesn't take into account the fact that Crowley is the most often imitated and quote source on occult subjects in the 20th. century. Skip this clunker, and by a better book.