Robert Anton Wilson, as usual, tests the reader's view of reality. I can't count the number of times I said, "Oi..." or "Please..." or "Give me a break!" while reading this book. But then, as is usual when I read RAW's books, I find myself thinking, "Jeeze, what if he has a point?" As a feminist, I was offended. As a Discordian philosopher, I was stimulated. It would appear that Mr. Wilson has somehow managed to trace every advance & atrocity committed in human history to the attitude toward the human breast current at that time. Lunacy? Perhaps not! His case is certainly clear and concise, if inane... I recommend this book highly, however, I must warn the reader to look twice, if not more times, at what he has written. There is a message here we might be well advised to look at...

After all, one should begin with a healthy appreciation of where the pleasure comes from--by design, it should be the breast. As a baby, one seeks it out as food source, as an adolescent, it signifies the change--in woman, the budding of breasts indicates ripening, in the male, noticing of breasts indicates a degree of sexual interest--breasts are, to play with Foucault's terminology, a signifier of signifiers. As a feminist, I should shudder at any thought leaning towards "Biology is destiny"--and yet, the breast argument wins me over, as I have two, and they have influenced my existence greatly. Insofar as they are responded to, and insofar as they, in fact, respond to the world around them, I must admit to their importance. Breasts are not, as some may have it, passive. Mine, in fact, are devilishly clever. At times, I let them enter a room before me, to act as a distraction. Wilson is on target in suggesting that breasts are important, and even more so in suggesting that the women who may be attached to them are important as well. In so far as we are mammals, we should offer thanks for the mammaries. Anything that provides food *and* entertainment for so many is certainly worth a book. And a look. Breasts should be a source of comfort--and yet, so many are uncomfortable with them--read this, and try to dig why. And maybe get a better picture of the maidens in Maidenforms while doing so.

Greetings.

Once again Robert Anton Wilson scores a direct hit on the idiocy prevalent in western society. As a thelemic female I am enchanted with his wit, humor and superb usage of cynical observation. If you are an easily offended feminist, more than likely you will be irate after reading this attempt to look at social customs prevalent in modern life. I found some of his *explanations* totally hilarious, so I must not be in the overly sensitive bracket.

Considering the morbid fascination with female anatomy and the ludicrous *morality* assigned to viewing what in fact all adult females posess, (up to and including the legal sanctions in many places against seeing female nipples) the breast fixation idea becomes even funnier. His discussions reguarding cinema "sex-goddesses" and the approval/disapproval demonstrated by the Public (towards the late Marilyn Monroe for example) were compelling, and sadly, all too true.

Bob Wilson is definitely one of the kewler writers around; literate, interesting and intellectually satisfying. Even if you do not agree with everything he states, you have to admit his style is impeccable. I collect his works and proudly display them right next to Crowley, Kraig, Reguardie,and the assorted OTO/Magickal/Philosophical books I own. Thank you Amazon.com for making it easy to order and obtain cherished works, Bob Wilson is hard to find these days in the local bookstores. I agree with the Denver Post review which referred to Wilson as "...the Lenny Bruce of Philosophers". Satire remains one of the most definitive methods of social commentary, and Wilson excells in this genre.

its fun, but don't try to make sense out of anything.

I laughed until I started coughing up blood. This is without question the funniest script I've ever read in my life, but if I told you why, I'd have to kill you.

This isn't just a script. It IS a movie. The best special effects I've ever seen. I'd give it 23 stars if I could.

There really is not much for me to say on this one. It's just a fun ride. The kind you come to expect with Wilson. It is book you can read without having read the Cosmic Trigger books, but it helps.

How many books can begin with their author dieing? Well, it seems that nothing is impossible to Robert Anton Wilson. Finding out about his death on the internet, Wilson takes us along another journey of self discovery and an examination of belief systems.

The story takes us to Ireland and unveils a host of new story lines to help you question the way you look at the world and help you to expand your mind. While this book comes close to the second book in the series, it falls just short of being equally as excellent. Wilson again attacks his topic through the intertwining of several story lines and does not disappoint. For anyone new to Wilson, you may wish to start with the second book in the series. If you have read the first two books, this one is definitely an excellent ending to the series.

I feel that Wilson might be a genius. He seems to me to be smart enough to realize that his opinion isn't necessarily the best one. He's careful to state that his opinions are just that, OPINIONS. This colors everything he does. {People looking for answers should run screaming the other way.)

This is a set of essays, strung together in a manner that will make you think. His style as an essayist is engaging. In fact, I enjoy his essays more than his novels. Even when I disagree with Wilson (which might very well happen if you read with an open mind), I still find something to think about and consider.

I think that his books are designed to be mind-openers, not mind closers...I actually met a RAW-Dogmatic guy once, and after I finished laughing, tried to show him that (in my opinion) he missed the message.

This seems to me to be a fantastic book. I hope you enjoy it, too.

Here's where all the charges leveled against Robert Anton Wilson turn out to be utterly true. This book is confusing, stupid, pretentious, self-indulgent and not that funny. Mostly its a book about alternative universes where the characters change their jobs, sexual orientations and outlooks depending on what world they happen to inhabit. There is no plot, merely an amalgamation of scenes that illustrate everything that Wilson believes. This works in some books, but this book isn't one of them.

The problems are numerous. You don't like any of the main characters. If they are from the original trilogy their personalities have been sucked out. The humor isn't all that humorous and most of it is just rehashing of the original.

This seems to have been written shortly after the original trilogy without Robert Shea. It seems that Shea and Wilson had an argument over the original work with Shea yelling that they needed plot and structure and Wilson arguing for disjointed scenes. If that is true then Wilson won the argument with this book and the reader loses.

Later Wilson work is really good after he's learned to control the manic energy inhabiting his writing. This book is an example of what happens when someone is allowed to run rampant with the ideas and doesn't bother putting them into any structure. Like a 3-year old with a box of crayons - all color, no substance.

Besides that ths book is kind of boring. For all the reasons cited and more. Read the original Illuminatus Trilogy and then read Masks of the Illuminatus. Even if you want the manic stream of conscious writing you'll like it better with Masks or Historical Illuminatus 3 if you can find a copy.

Well, here we go again. This exasperating, drop-dead funny trilogy will either drive you crazy or confuse you mercilessly or possibly both (see below), but in any case, you were asking for it. Many of the characters--and some of the plot--of "Schrodinger's Cat" derive from "Illuminatus!", which should probably be read and well-digested before tackling the sequel.

Wilson was a prophet, making fun of blue-nosed anti-porn feminists long before it was cool, but also remained firmly entrenched in the times of his writing--Nixon and nuclear destruction don't pack quite the same punch in the days of Clinton and Y2K. Using his now rather shabby-seeming understanding of quantum mechanics, he wrote one book "under the influence" of the multiple-worlds model, one in which nonlocality is the ticket, and one which presumes that reality is created by observation (guess which!). It's all great fun, but ultimately not as satisfying as its predecessor.

This trilogy is structured to be the literary equivalent of quantum theory. For example, each part deals with a different potential universe, all similar to each other and our own, but with slight differences. So in one universe, for example, Carl Jung, vs. James Joyce, is the author of Ullyses (both being well versed in the same symbolism). Subplots begun in one universe are taken up in the next, like the influence of quarks. The main difference is that society in each subsequent universe is slightly more enlightened, therefore only the last Earth escapes total destruction at the hands of terrorists (or, like Schrodinger's cat, the Earth is alive, dead, or in a state of potential). Along the way, there are interesting lessons in Economics (noting, e.g., how we take money for granted as a part of society, but it isn't a necessary part of society, but just a construct), Sociology, etc. And it is filled with great, laugh out loud humour, sometimes Pythonesque. Without the help of the Illuminatus Trilogy's co-author, this book is far less literary, but it is filled with as many ideas in fewer pages. This is the best introduction to Wilson's work, fictional or non-fictional. Highly recommended.

The only RAW I had read before picking up this book wasIlluminatus!. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it (even missing the firstof the trilogy/series). The book is about Sigismundo, an Italian goingto school in Paris, who happens to have...[upset] some very importantpeople. After being attacked, arrested, and going through variousother punishments, he goes through attempted brainwashing by a groupwhich believes he'll be their savior, the prophecized Widow'sSon. Worth buying for the excerpt from the Gospel According to MaryMagdeline alone, it's definitely a great book.

This is Wilson's more adventure-oriented of the three, and is a joy to read. It has the feel of a book more like the Three Musketeers or Treasure Island or something, but it also is certainly a Robert Anton Wilson book. It isn't quite as heady as the other two, but it certainly has its moments. There seems some distance from Sigismundo and the reader this time. Anyway, a great book and a great series. Read them all, if you can find them.

Robert Anton Wilson almost defines a new genre with this series. His intelligence and witt will leave you in stitches, and the conspiracies make the X-files look boring. The Chronicles series are part conspiracy, part satire, part historical fiction, part philosophical, and completely mind altering. The characters graft themselves to your skin, and you'll never look at history the same. Consider this book sex for the brain.If it were any better they'd have to make it illegal.

This is as bad as R. A. Wilson's nonfiction gets (though his fiction can get even worse). Most of these "essays" are self-indulgent and border on the literally meaningless, like the obscure and unmusical poetry he writes. Wilson, who claims he is beyond all models of reality, is in fact a True Believer in synchronicity (the theme of the book), Aleister Crowley and plenty of other occult hogwash. And as is always the case, he has not a single original idea of his own--all he does is re-state the works of others in his own superior prose. Go read Cosmic Trigger or Quantum Psychology and leave this one alone.

Many of Wilson's books have been accused of being mere fodder for his personal philosophy, incorporating the same jokes and the same sermons into a barely recognizable plot. That is not true, but much of what attracts people to his books is the way that he makes people see things in different perspectives.

This book has essays on physics, Sade, and Joyce. Both Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake are explained in ways that actually make a person want to read the books, while the Marquis de Sade is given his due as the master of disturbing literature.

What makes this book worthwhile for me is the essay on Tennessee Williams comparing him to Sade. I don't remember the play that he is discussing, nor does American Theatre for that matter, but what stands out is a praise for Williams as a true artist - "An artist must put out questions and let the audience figure it out for themselves. An artist is not there to provide the answers. Arthur Miller is not an artist because he spoonfeeds the answers to you. In every play Miller is running for elected office."

I am paraphrasing but in that one argument, I managed to crystalize and express all my doubts about political art - including agitprop, "identity art" and sermons disguised as plays. I knew that I hated these types of artistic expressions, but I always felt like I should like them especially when they agreed with my political philosophy. For that alone, this book is worth buying. You have a 90% chance of finding something in this work that states a constantly debated point so clearly that you wonder why it wasn't said this way to begin with.

Learning Shakespear in High School is all part of the government military/industrial mind control program. It is designed to train the analytical/suspicious mind to deal with intra-relational problems and analize them instead of attempting to analize societal problems as a whole. This technique is continuated into adulthood by the use of soap opera scripts. The mechanism for the brain and thought programming is extremely subtle but profused in such rampant abundance which effectively renders overwhelming impact upon the unsuspecting. It has gone as far as to dictate laws for grammar and sentence structure. It seems disconnected from the theory but you will realize that speach or sentence structure is thought. Therefore by controlling sentence structure, your thought structure is also being controlled. Long run on sentences provoke deep drawn out thought on creative concepts.

Yeah, yeah, I liked the book. What I don't get is the one review that said RAW was paranoid but then warned you not to play with a Ouija board because "you never know what you might dig up" (paraphrased). Since when did a stupid toy acquire strange, demonic powers? Now THAT sounds paranoid to me.

You've obviously never used a Ouija Board. By the way, R.A.W. has done it again - telling it like it is (from his point of view, anyway). To those who aren't sure whether or not to take him seriously, just remember - Hermes was a trickster, but he was the only way out of the underworld. Welcome to Wonderland.

R.A.W. is my new favorite Writer. This man is a Genius. He is so far ahead of his time, that he will be Immortalized with Einstein, Crowley, etc. Robert Anton Wilson is one of the very few writers I have experienced, who sees through the smokescreens and delves into the mysteries, with a SMI(2)LE on his face
R.A.W. does not take himself too seriously, nor does he take society, government, religion or Secret Societies too seriously. This is one of the most Humorous books I have read recently--however, it will only be funny to those with a fairly decent knowledge base of; Physics, Quantum Physics, The Occult, Anthropology, Psychology, Secret Societies, Conspiracy Theories (see R.A.W.'s "Everything is Under Control"), and a good understanding of the fact that we are, indeed, living on "The Planet of The Apes."
R.A.W. hit the nail on the head, with his theory that we are "Domesticated Primates" --look around, and read the news.
The Essays, articles, quotes, reading lists, poetry, Scientific/Psychological breakdowns of the situation Domesticated Primates have gotten themselves into is fascinating and makes more sense than most of the theories circulating in the media, schools, etc.
I am studying Anthropology, and I have always studied various religions and Psychology...and I find "The Illuminati Papers" to be a revealing and important book to be circulated among the Eggheads. Most folks will not like it, because Americans do not read much and this book will make them feel inadequate. However, many people will "get it" and they will treasure this Tome of Wisdom.
"The Illuminati Papers" contains wonderful articles, essays, etc.--such as "The Abolition of Stupidity," "Quantum Mechanics as a Branch of Primate Psychology," "An Incident on Cumberland Avenue," "Beyond Theology: The Science of Godmanship," "Stupidynamics" & "Hey, man, are you only using half of your brain?"
This book seems small and appears to be a "quick read." However, this is a book that will often have you thinking more than reading. I often found myself wandering back to the pages, after some paragraph or line triggered a series of thoughts that carried me away into Contemplation for a while. I was astounded that I did not finish it in one or two sittings. This is definitely a Thinking person's book. I would raise a suspicious eyebrow at anyone who reads through it, swiftly....or look for Diplomas on their walls, stating that they are a Physicist, Neurologist, or Psychologist.... or, perhaps, a "Super Anthropologist." :-)

It's funny how Robert Anton Wilson's chosen subject matter has effectively invalidated criticism of his books. One of his central themes is the mistrust of authority and "experts". Also, much of the chapters in any of his book are dedicated to intentionally misleading the reader in order to force said reader into performing the heinous task of thinking for themselves.

Since this is the case, how can we trust any of the reviews of his work? All of these are written by people who have read at least one of his books, and probably more. Are these people railing against his work actually serious in their hatred? Do the people praising it actually believe in what they're saying?

I'm going to go on record and say that this is probably the most lucid and thought out of his non-fiction books.

But to illustrate the point, why did I only rate it two stars? Why not one? Why not five? What does George Burns have to do with anything?

Only recommended if you can stomach the thought of reality laughing behind your back.

Building on the revelations that Robert Anton Wilson reveals in his first book of this series, Wilson hits a home run with the second book. The writing becomes clearer and Wilson does an excellent job of intertwining at least 5 story lines at once. One of these lines is an autobiographical tale which may help a slighty confused reader of the first book to truly understand the changes that occurred in RAW from his experimentation.

Along the way, the book dives deep into the Mafia, the CIA, the Vatican, the Masons and a host of other topics. Wilson expertly describes his voyage through uncovering a vast web of a conspiracy that unfolds right in front of him. Wilson is a master of his craft and a leading thinker in the psychological space. This book is by far the best of the series and stands alone quite well. For a reader new to Wilson, this is a good starting point. For a fan, this is definitely a must have.

Can a book rearrange the polarity of your conscious mind, stimulate dosing neurons into excitation, and spur you into understanding "reality." What about put a smile on your face every step of the way.

There has never been anyone like Robert Anton Wilson, cosmic jester/philosopher extraordinaire who has generously expanded more minds through the years than most so-called teachers of higher learning. "Higher Learning" through the RAW method produces a frightening, staggering number of people who end up thinking for themselves and - this part's really scary - actually start enjoying their lives.

How wonderful.

This book would be really good for someone who has never been exposed to the writings of Hyatt and DuQuette before. It has a lot of good info on sex magick and the psychology of sexuality. The problem I had with it is that it really doesn't contain much information that isn't available in their other books. If you're a big fan of the two authors, look it over, but it's basically a rehash of older material.

a delightfully insurgent work that reminds those of us who live in basic freedom what is so good about it.

Taboo really dabbles in the realm of exploring your inherent right to use your body as you see fit (in gentle consensuality with chosen others). This is not for the NFL/Lonestar beer set that just wants to get their groove on. This work is for those who consider sex to be a highly sacred, enlightening experience worthy of the most assiduous effort and unbridled, maximum joy.

Intelligence and ritual do play an intrinsic role in fits of ecstasy. This book deftly bridges the gap between "Masters and Johnson clinical" and "in your face indulgence" rendering a delightful and accessible (not to mention highly mystical) middle ground available to those with the proper focus and stamina.

If anything, the book provides keys to becoming more sensitive to the finer nuances of human beings' favorite pastime.

Enjoy!

The following is a review of this spicy little bombshell written by Leticia Marquez of Magical Blend Magazine:

Robert Anton Wilson says of "Taboo"...

"I assure you that what you are about to read is obscene, lewd, blasphemous, subversive, and very interesting, and that all right-thinking people will agree that it should be banned, bowdlerized, censored, suppressed, and burned by the public hangman...I think it is safe to predict that almost every organized group of idiots in this country will regard this book as extremely dangerous."

Wilson is probably right, Taboo's challenge to unite sexual and religious practices probably won't go over well with the New Right. But for the rest of us, the authors present a roller-coaster of a read complete with case histories, theories, and secret sex rituals of interest to both "adepts' of esoteric sex cult societies as well as "ordinary" people. Full of interesting quotations and anecdotes from alchemists, sex magicians, and vampires--not to mention old Yawey himself--this is a fascinating a colorful work that seems predestined to upset many people in our sex-negative society. Those who believe that taboos are made to be broken, however, should find Taboo and enjoyable and entertaining read.

Bibliophiles often experience an irresistable urge to sneak a peak at the last few pages of a book knowing full well that surrending to such temptation often diminishes the joy of reading the work in its entirety.

That being said, I wholeheartedly wish now that I inhabited one of those parallel universes to which Robert Wilson refers in "The New Inquisition" so that I might have the chance to do just that. Had I thumbed through Wilson's final chapter "Creative Agnostism" as a prerequisite to reading this book, I surely would have read the previous 221 pages with a more jaundiced eye. The voice of Wilson here is clearly not that of an avuncular psychologist-slash-metaphysician-slash-standup-comic-slash-armchair quantum physicist. It is the voice of a brooding, new age Hamlet seemingly overwhelmed by, and looking for, a quick escape from the "Real" universe that less-enlightened human beings not only construct from the gossamer tissue of consciousness, but must endure.

Looking for a feel-good ending to Wilson's exploration into ontology? You won't find it here:

"This is the self-image of humanity: ...the sad clowns of Picasso--the frenzied monsters of his middle period--the defeated heroes and heroines of Hemingway and Sartre and Faulkner--the cosmic butcher shop (Whoa!)of Bacon--the homicidal nightmare of such arch-typical films as 'Dead End' and 'Bonnie and Clyde' and 'Chinatown'--the bums and thugs and the endless succession of self-pitying and easily-defeated rebels in virtually all the novels and plays and films that claim to be naturalistic...--the apotheosis finally achieved by Beckett: man and woman in garbage cans along with the rest of the rubbish."

And a little later (reflecting on Hitler):

"...The world looked on in horror, learned nothing...and so we stumble on to a bigger Holocaust than the Nazis could imagine...the "Real" universe (which Wilson describes more or less as 'brutally impersonal') will not give us a chance."

Is there any wonder why this guy wants out?

As I suggested, reading Wilson's final chapter first (upon a second reading)provides a startling context for much of that which preceeds it. "The New Inquisition", thus approached, seems to me less like an objective defense of the freedom of expression than it does one man's fevered attempt to escape experiencing the suffering that the Buddha knew was inevitable. To this end Wilson labors tirelessly in an attempt to fashion metaphysical "parachutes" from the whole cloth of quantum mechanics, Taoism, Buddhism, and an ultimately tedious recounting of what seems like hundreds of reports of strange-but-possibly-true phenomena such as a rain of cookies, the finding of a woman's shoe on the north slope of Mount Everest, and a flying sled. Again: begin at the beginning as I did the first time around with the book's somewhat clinical first chapter and you will inevitably ask the question "What the hell is going on with me?". Plow through chapter eight as the book's preface and you'll wonder "What in God's name is going on with Robert Wilson?".

This is not to say that there are not some very useful and interesting nuggets to be mined from the author's vast accumulation of esoterica or his impressive familiarity with the basics of numerous disciplines. Wilson poses a series of questions to the reader two or three times throughout the book and it is somewhat intriguing to observe the answers to these questions change with an increased awareness of one's cognitive idiosynchrisies.

On balance, were it not for the remarkable dissonance between Robert Wilson's light, almost frivolous tone throughout the body of this book and his aforementioned melancholy in its final passages, I might have subscribed to the author's basic premise more readily. As written, however, I am left to wonder which side of the street Robert Wilson is really working. Has he, by buying into the philosophical premises he expouses in this book, discovered the ecstasy that is the fruit of embracing his "model agnosticism", or does he, in the secret chamber of his heart, like most of us who are fated to dwell in the "real world", often echo the sentiment of the anonymous poet who wrote,

"...I, a stranger and afraid, in a world I never made..."?

Like all of Wilson's books, The New Inquisition makes one think, and look at the world in a completely new way. Wilson is one of the most brilliant and open minded writers around, and he is funny to boot. Both fundamentalist theists and fundamentalist atheists ought to avail themselves of his books.

"The New Inquisition" basically sends the fundamentalist materialists (such as Richard Dawkins, et al) a big and well-deserved thump upside the head. As biologist J.B.S. Haldane remarked, "The universe is not only queerer than we imagine, it is queerer than we CAN imagine". Or Spinoza's remark that the human mind is to the mind of God as a dog is to the Dog Star. Anyone, scientist or theologian, who thinks they can explain anything away uncritically is dead wrong. We live in an era where materialistic science is accepted as uncritically as the Catholic Church was in the Middle Ages. If more people read "The New Inquisition" (and other of Wilson's books) we might start to change that and think for ourselves.

Now we know who the little boy who shouted out "The Emperor doesn't have any clothes on!" was - it was Robert Anton Wilson, and thank God (or thank Dog) he's still pointing out naked emperors for us to see.

I love the style of this man. As in his other writings, Robert Anton Wilson entertains and challenges with intelligence and wit in The New Inquisition. Wilson takes the reader on a philosophical, scientific and linguistic journey, shattering expectations and preconceptions along the way, leaving one feeling that nothing is completely real and that everything is possible. Or something like that. What is this "reality" thing anyway!?

Wilson argues for creative agnosticism in all areas of thinking and ideology. Models are regarded as "tools to be used only and always where appropriate and replaced (by other models) only and always where not appropriate". All forms of dogmatic thinking are cleverly undermined with irreverent humour and intelligence, Wilson continually pointing out the consequences of accepting limited perception.

The ideas of various 20th century "heretics" are explored to support Wilson's insights. Wilhem Reich, Velikowsky, David Bohm, Rupert Sheldrake and Jung are just some of the original thinkers touched on. Throw in some quantum physics, UFO sightings, all manner of reported strange phenomena, a bit of Zen, and you have some idea of what this book is about. Brilliant.