I hate to pan a R.A.W. book, but this is, by far, his weakest effort. Some of it reprints material from 'Trajectories', even more of it is material from his website . The original material has been bulked up by silly full-page illustrations that add very little to the book, and even more pages are spent on quotes, many of them from Ezra Pound, so that the book should almost be credited as "Edited by" R.A.W. instead of authored. Wilson doesn't put a lot of effort into maintaining his "Tsarist-Occupied Government" argument beyond the short introductory essay (which, itself, is Wilson at his conspiracy-theory best), so the title of the book is a little misleading; this is more like a sequel to _Coincidence: A Head Trip_, filled with much shorter writings on Wilson's familiar themes; Satanic Panics, religion, uncertainty, drugs, UFOs and archetypes.

The last ten pages are a preview of his next book to be published, _Tale of the Tribe_, advertised as being about the Internet (by which I assume New Falcon means the World Wide Web). Given that so much of _TSOG_ looks like an amateur website captured on paper, one can hope that a book on contributions to cyberspace models by Rennaisance thinkers will work out better.

It seems to me that the state of the U.S. gov't needs to be critiqued in the way that Robert Anton Wilson does. It's unfortunate that, as the need grows, his power to voice that critique seems to be failing.

TSOG is political satire at its most entertaining high - something far beyond your wildest dreams. Capable of evoking hysterical laughter and revelation all in the same quip, Wilson delivers punch after punch of thoughtful thrills. TSOG is rapturous, raucously humorous, and pleasurably mind-boggling. What other book takes you from the exciting works of luminaries such as Ezra Pound and Alfred Korzybski to side splitting sections on unidentified flying virgins and why Hannibal Lecter would be suitable as President!

Wilson's mind is razor sharp but as thrillingly imaginative as ever with delightful intellectual surprises around every corner. The reader marvels at Wilson's uncanny ability to interconnect the Church with the U.S. government with the Mafia and sundry other human folly.

The author openly bashes the hypocrisies of "faith-based organizations" and the many dangers of orthodoxy.

A lively account of a trip to Cannabis Cup leads to various wonderful uses of the "f" word.

Bungling idiots in office are skewered like never before in parodies that challenge the best of Hollywood's comedy writers to hyperkinetic runs for the money.

Mainly the thrill of reading Wilson is the uniquely acerbic but always light-hearted and comedic tone which reminds you what is so important about freedom. In the end you may not have created a rupture in the power structures but your mind has roamed through dimensions that are constantly considered off-limits.

Wilson shows all of us that thought processes are not heretical -that we are free to use our minds as we see fit. In this spirit exists the only real hope that while living in an increasingly more restrictive society we, the people - and not our Tsarist government - will ultimately be victorious.

Bob keeps getting better and better. Loosely following the pattern of Dante's Commedia, Bob travels from Amsterdam to the hellish inner workings of our government, with some wonderful tidbits about Faulkner and Ezra and bears, oh my!

A great Magus discussing his mentor...Israel Regardie writes authoritatively about Aleister Crowley,the man he knew better than any other.However,this is no simple biographical endeavor:the book is rich in information about the inceptive years of the Golden Dawn and the tremenduous formative influence that this magical order exerted upon Crowley.Practising magicians or the simply curious about the controversial figure of Crowley will not only find their misconceptions shattered,but they will also get an education in High Magic and its relevance for our time.Spicy and humorous at times,Regardie makes a strong case for Crowley as a great mystic,pioneer,and Adeptus of the highest order.Written with a great economy and sense of balance,this is the only work available that correctly contextualizes Aleister Crowley while avoiding the ludicrous tabloid trash that provided so much fodder for mediocre biographers of the past...A great introduction to Crowley and the Magical Path.Light in extension!

This is a good unbiased book on The mega therion. Regardie's views and interpretation of the Book of the Law are especially interesting. Regardie's background in psychology and his neutral position on crowley made it a very worthy read. Reading Crowley's auto you could tell his flaws had to have developed from his childhood. Regardie does a good job of pointing this out. For anyone curious about Crowley and his philosophy this book is great. This book helped me understand his autobiography a little better as well. If your interested in Crowley start with this book and then get your hands on his autobiography. Its really a good book

The Eye in the Triangle is subtitled, 'An Interpretation of Aleister Crowley' and Regardie explores the inner being on several levels; decomuntary, psychological and magically. he decoments Crowley's life and through his often complex writings decipher the inner meanings relating directly to psychology and magic to reveals Crowley's innner life and create a sincere portrait of a genius. regardie skilfully weaves the strands together to show how Crowley's thought emerged. Although Regardie relies to heavily on psychology to compare mystical experience to. The above review is against thelema has it descends into dogma, created through a mish mash of orientalism.

I'm a fan of wilson's and have enjoyed his Historical Illuminatus series. I've hesitated to buy the 3rd volume because of it's limited availability and steep price for a used copy. Happily it will soon be reprinted so don't waste your money. See New Falcon for info.

What a good book. I'm sad that its so rare and so become so very expensive to buy, but I am sadder to think its the last of the series. Come on lets have another.

Celine is in the woods meditating while Simon Moon is in the Revolutionary army. Meanwhile the woman that Celine left behind is back in Europe writing feminist papers that ridicule men with great determination.

Halfway through the book they all come together in one large mind-melding thing where all their lives cross if only in hallucinations. Some of the best stream-of-consciousness writing around brings to question all we know about life, war, history, and consciousness collective or otherwise.

This third book of the series is the best of the bunch because it lets its plot play out and then goes into the hallucination scene with a speed that is exhilarating. When Wilson gets going he is a better wordsmith than Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac or Djuna Barnes.

This is reportedly the last book of the series, but Wilson has probably written the fourth book by now. In keeping with the legend every book published has had something happen badly around it - either a dead publisher or a bankrupt publishing house. We might not be able to see the completed Historical Illuminatus trilogy until Wilson dies which may be a long way off, but we will probably see the whole thing.

Robert Anton Wilson wrote this film script in the late '90's while settling into a new environment (Los Angeles) and recovering from a collapsed film deal. Wilson waited nearly a decade before publishing it. This is not one of Wilson's better works. Wilson's books of philosophy and social criticism shine with brilliance, wit and a clarifying debunking. Praise of these points festoons the covers here, but it is not The Walls Came Tumbling Down that earner that lauding. In the story Michael, an academic scientist, is so barraged with hallucinations and the paranormal that his entire reality is upset for reality only to emerge as a world run by a controlling shadow government with an extraterrestrial treaty. The quick scene changes and short dialogues threaten to unseat even the reader. The Golgotha imagery, folk hallucinogens and parallel universe theorization is a grab bag of alternate reality models that may have been advanced in the late '80's. However, it now reads as predictable, unexciting and not revealing at all. Certainly a necessary addition to the library of the Wilson completists, but a better entry point into his wisdom can be found in Reality is What you can get Away With or Prometheus Rising.

a psychedelic, philosophical screenplay that proves unique and thought-provoking.

I don't so much mind that it wasn't made into a film as the direct dialogue between Wilson and your own brain frequently evokes the most satisfying images.

Robert Anton Wilson's screenplay which he attempted to have produced in a film is about the adventures of a scientist who Flashes back on LSD and experiences future memory blocks. Eventually time and space skip from one place to another to an ending I will not reveal here. Entertaining and a well written script, however, I can understand why Hollywood passed the idea. Scattered somewhat, however visually appealling it may be (even to the unconscious). More likely a better read, nonetheless, Wilson is Wilson, so if you enjoy reading Wilson, then this Wilson will be good enough for you.

Hard to find and fun to read, another addicting tale by Anton-Wilson. Intoxicating and bizarre turns of event that will tempt you to read it backwards to see how it all ends.

First off, I hate Audio books. I have a low recall rate for things I hear, so I prefer to read. However, this isn't a book per se, but a running dialogue between RAW and a questionner. Having never heard RAW's voice before, it keeps the attention much better than most radio programs, either.
The six tapes cover a host of topics, but the main topics are the Life and Times of Robert Anton Wilson, Language and Reality, Techniques for consciousness change, politics and conspiracy, the acceleration of knowledge, and the New Inquisition/Religion for the Hell of it. This is great, because you can pick and choose the topic, especially those of us used to CDs.
The conversations are subdued, mellow, coarse, and profoundly funny at times.
If you are not a RAW veteran, however, don't start with this. Much of the information has appeared in some form in his books, and the depth he dives to in print is preferrable.
It is just kind of fun to hear Bob make fun of himself, everyone else, and the possibilty that RAW is full of crap, too.

Here we go again--Leary's disciple R. A. Wilson is promoting drug use to reach "higher" states of consciousness. He's also a big fan of that old egomaniacal phony Aleister Crowley, of course. If Wilson ever got a clue what real enlightenment is he would have to repudiate many of his books, and this one in particular. Don't hold your breath waiting for it--like Leary, he'll go down waving the hippie flag all the way.

It is not suprising to me that this is so good. Robert Anton Wilson's work in general is excellent: informative and entertaining.

To the Individual that posted the "of course" attack. Don't be so dogmatic and close minded. If so many people through out history have found these techniques and substances useful, maybe there is something to it

This book takes a rather interesting point of view that will not sit well with those who do not think... To do the quality and type of work pointed out here is well beyond the capabilities of the average. Instead of believing what the media shamans tell you or the scientistic-priests ( you know, the so-called credible scientists that tell the world with a straight face that they know, a priori, that anything beyond their personal experience cannot possibly be true... ), an intelligent reviewer might find themselves practicing sex, pranyama and the ingestion of THC while keeping strict and accurate journals that may be peer reviewed.

As an aside, WHO THE ... CAN TELL ANOTHER WHAT ENLIGHTENMENT IS? Wilson points at "Higher Consciousness", if you will forgive the play on words there, but does not preach WHAT it will be for anyone. Hmmm... Seems strange that people seeking enlightenment still sound as if they KNOW what it IS. Some reviewers crack me up.

A Review from BLACK PEARL: The Journal of the College of Thelema (Vol. I, No. 71, March, 2000). Copyright 2000, College of Thelema (permission by editor granted Amazon Books to use). With its campy sci-fi cover featuring a leggy woman, a rocket ship, and the Enochian alphabet, the tone is set for this long overdue biography of Jack Parsons, the man at ground zero of what we now consider the modern "arts" of rocketry, science fiction, and magick. In this treatment by John Carter (pseudo-nym), Parsons comes across as a compulsive and restless spirit who, in his short lifetime, attempted to reconcile these seemingly strange bedfellows - with varying degrees of success. Seeming almost gossipy at times, the book reads with deceptive ease for a biography, due in large part to its lack of in-depth background information on Crowley and related occult theory. Though brief histo-ries of the O.T.O., Enochian magick, and the like are given, the reader is wisely referred to other sources, thereby avoiding what could easily become a massive and confusing tome where the import of Parsons' contributions would be lost. This makes Sex & Rockets a treat for those with a knowledge of Thelema and the esoteric. By the same token, this allows the casual reader to enjoy all the "good stuff," supplementing their knowledge as they see fit. Ultimately, I am inclined to agree with the author that, at the end of the day, Parsons' contributions to rocketry are vastly underrated and those to the occult overrated. However, I think that Parsons' approach to Thelema, and the occult in general, was highly subjective and, taking into account his own personal demons, his methods may gain merit as time goes by and may even become considered innovative. The book culminates in the chapter "Death and Beyond," a veritable avalanche of tangential relation-ships and events as diverse as UFOs and Beat Culture, leaving one with much food for thought. Knowledgeable, well researched, with great photos, and not a little scandalous, this book is seminal. - GREG FIORINI

John Parsons made some of the most important contributions to science in the 20th century, yet he had a dark fascination with the occult. This book reads very much like Hollywood Babylon -- lots of juicy and shocking details -- but essentially it skims the surface and doesn't explore Parsons' psychology. Why would a brilliant scientist involve himself with the fantasy world of the occult? I myself have read The Book of Lies by Crowley, and some of his other work, yet none of it has convinced me magick is a worthwhile pursuit. Parsons himself never really got any of these rites to work, so why did he faithfully continue on this path? In spite of this book's lack of depth (or an answer to this question), I found it to be an enjoyable read. Always fascinated by the hijinks of the church of Scientology (not yet formed when the events of this book took place), it was amusing to read the true account (as opposed to the Churh of Scientology's account) of L. Ron's affiliation with Parsons -- also bravely told in Bare-Faced Messiah, now sadly out of print but available on the net. The book contains a good selection of photographs, but could use more footnotes. Anyone interested in Parsons, Crowley or Hubbard should find this book interesting.

Sex And Rockets: The Occult World Of Jack Parsons is the engaging, highly recommended biography of John Whiteside (Jack) Parsons, a primary architect of modern rocket science and co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Parsons (who had a crater on the dark side of the moon named for him) had dark, secretive interests which overshadowed his outstanding public career for Parsons underwrote Aleister Crowley's "Book of the Law", held numerous soirees celebrating science fiction, and performed weird black magic rituals under the eyes of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. After being investigated by the FBI and become estranged with the United States government, Parsons met his death when a mysterious explosion leveled his home. Sex And Rockets is riveting reading, enhanced with Parson's never-before-printed writings and period photographs.

Working my way through the Character Above All series has been a pleasant and often enlightening experience. However that was not the case with the lecture on Ronald Reagan. Peggy Noonan, who worked with the president, made no attempt to sound objective. For most of her talk Ms. Noonan alternates between defensiveness and partisan pining for her glory days gone by. The rest of the series is quite excellent and features some of today's towering figures of presidential biography. Doris Kearns Goodwin talks about FDR. David McCollough tells stories from his award winning book on Truman. Robert Dalleck rescues LBJ from being totally obscured by Vietnam. Even George Bush gets a fair hearing from Michael Beschloss. But Ronald Reagan gets a cheerleader. Ms. Noonan's partisanship seems grossly out of place among these historians. Reagan deserved better.

Peggy Noonan is one of President Reagan's most well known & ardent admirers. Fine story telling. Like the one about the President, the old lady, the fund raiser & screwed up computers. Quite touching. True? Anyway if you believe the stuff on this tape I have bridge for you in Brooklyn .

Peggy Noonan, whose clear, articulate voice could bring life to the dullest text, here paints a picture of Ronald Reagan as vivid and colorful as any portrait ever could. Her insights into the types of people who become president (the type who wants to BE big, and the type who wants to do BIG THINGS) are indispensible to anyone seeking a leadership position, from the home, to the world stage. Here, Reagan is seen not as the "affable dunce" of the pundits and intellectuals, but rather as the determined and mysteriously detached mastermind of the fall of communism, and the restoration of American pride and economy. Using Reagan's example of integrity, Noonan shows us that what counts in a president-or any person-is truly Character Above All.

R. A. Wilson is listed as if he were a coauthor of this book, but he only contributed a preface. The book would probably have a lot more zing if he actually had been a coauthor. I found it so dull I did not get far into the book, but just put it aside.

The book is full of photo illustrations, but most of these have nothing to do with the text, and hence are just distracting space wasters.

What a shame - this is a potentially very interesting topic.

This book seems best used as a gift to closed minded individuals. It is basically a guide that tells you how to think for yourself (oxymoron?). If you already consider yourself open minded then I'd be willing to bet that you have no need for this book. Its cute, easy to read, and not at all bad. However, it will not take you "out there".