Aleister Crowley: The Beast Demystified

by Roger Hutchinson

“The wickedest man in the world,” as the contemporary press labelled him, self-proclaimed “black magician” and “great beast,” Aleister Crowley was a mystic, writer, poet, sexual revolutionary, and painter. This fascinating appraisal lifts the smokescreen of mythology to reveal a truly astonishing figure.

Genres: Biography, Occult

220 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1998

Reviews

[Matthew W · Rating 3 out of 5]

A no bullshit look at Crowley from a realist perspective. Too bad the author isn't a very interesting writer....

[Josh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This reads more like a timeline of Crowley's life, rather than a biography or even an attack on his character. The author seems to have no interest in Crowley's work, which makes me wonder what compelled him to write the book in the first place.

[Edward Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Expanding on the end of his life and much more concise than "The Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An Autohagiography" (FYI: The term hagiography may be used to refer to the biography of a saint or highly developed spiritual being in any of the world's spiritual traditions.) Hutchinson spares no one nor anything in his path of showing how "The Beast" lived his debaucherous life and the simple and sad end to his life. Crowley fashioned an empire where he was not only running the show but was a self-proclaimed god at the center of its universe but in the end, died a penniless pauper, alone and devoid of faith in his own abilities.

[Owen Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aleister Crowley was once considered (by some) to be "The Wickedest Man in the World". This book takes an objective stance toward Crowley in order to "demystify" him. The emphasis is on historical facts and published statements. Crowley's sinful behaviors and mystical ideas are frequently mentioned, but the details are largely omitted. Crowley was a fascinating person, no doubt. I was somewhat disappointed by the author's efforts to depict Crowley in a manner emphasizing his more ordinary qualities. This is an interesting book from the point of view of history, but the author's perspective tends to dull the subject matter. This book has a "no nonsense" approach to Crowley's life. If that's your preference, then you'll think this is an excellent biography. Personally, I would have preferred more details about his evil behaviors, mystical practices, and depraved philosophies.

[Selene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well researched biography. Obviously, Crowley was a man that was hard to portray in a good light but this seemed a rounded version of his life. Not sure I like him much, but then again, who does!

[Abhijit Gupta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Took up this book from the perspective of understanding a few things about Aleister and his thought process. Came out thoroughly disappointed. This is just an elucidation of facts regarding Aleister without any much depth or perspective. The writing style is boring and lacks any strong detail

Wouldn't recommend this .

[Roberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hard to understand character, a hard to visualise character but an interesting one. I like this book because it brings some data that is not in other books. I invite you to read it but open wide your mind and pay attention. Good book whatsoever!

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book so boring, I only read to the end in the hope that something would grip me. It's like a biography so it does detail where he travelled, his friends, who he married and the societies he belonged to. I was expecting more on the occult side of things but it was pretty vague.

[Tara Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written and non fantastical

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like a hit piece than a biography. Extoles on Crowley's personal failings without explaining his philosophy at all.

[Lemobsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beast stripped naked.

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A general overview of Crowley's life without any great insight into his magick. If you seek some kind of spiritual truth, look elsewhere. I enjoyed some of it in the way I would enjoy reading a period drama with eccentric characters. Where this book is most entertaining is in describing the complex relationships and quarrels between Crowley and a host of other famed friends, school chums,rivals, lovers and enemies. The description of his wife Rose Edith Kelly, a widow who borrowed a couple thousand pounds supposedly to have an abortion and instead spent in on fancy dresses gives an idea of the kind of soap opera drama this book purports to demystify. There are some great descriptions of Aleister's pranks. Here was a man who thoroughly enjoyed pulling the wool over the eyes of the gullible public. Unfortunately when the author describes Crowley's time in Portugal, he misspells the city of Sintra as Cintra and calls the famed Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa, Ferdinand. I found myself wondering with errors like this, what else did this author get wrong?

[Theo Kokonas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed this book as part of a halloween theme. When I was younger I read a few too many books around the supernatural which often brought up Mr Crowley as a powerful exponent in occult circles. Reading this book helped break down a lot of the BS that exists around the man. He was brought up in a sect, his dad died when he was fairly young. He inherited a great deal of money which enabled him to travel the world, hanging out with fellow artists, spend a lot of time navel-gazing. He was the ultimate hedonist which led to excessive self-aggrandizing and a preoccupation with magic.

The writing style was fairly good, but got a bit 'flowery' at times which tired me a bit. Still, it was a great book for the commute.

[Myke Halstead · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yawnfest.