Do What Thou Wilt: A Life of Aleister Crowley

Aleister Crowley was a blustery coward an arrogant misogynistic racist with fascist leanings and a callous user as often threatened by his sexuality as he claimed to be liberated by it. But he was also a groundbreaking poet and an iconoclastic visionary whose literary and cultural legacies extend far beyond the limits of his reputation. This controversial individual a frightening mixture of egomania and self-loathing has inspired passionate--but seldom fair--assesments by historians. Sutin by treating Crowley as a cultural phenomenon and not simply a sorcerer or a charlatan convinces skeptic readers that the self-styled Beast remains a fascinating study in eccentricity.