Perdurabo, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Life of Aleister Crowley [Hardcover]

The name “Aleister Crowley” instantly conjures visions of diabolic ceremonies and orgiastic indulgences—and while the sardonic Crowley would perhaps be the last to challenge such a view, he was also much more than “the Beast,” as this authoritative biography shows.Perdurabo(the magical name Crowley chose when inducted into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn) traces Crowley’s remarkable journey from his birth as the only son of a wealthy lay preacher to his death in a boarding house as the world’s foremost authority on magick. Along the way, he rebels against his conservative religious upbringing; befriends famous artists, writers, and philosophers (and becomes a poet himself ); is attacked for his practice of “the black arts”; and teaches that science and magick can work together. While seeking to spread his infamous philosophy of “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law,” Crowley becomes one of the most notorious figures of his day. Based on Richard Kaczynski’s twenty years of research, and including previously unpublished biographical details,Perdurabopaints a memorable portrait of the man who inspired the counterculture and influenced generations of artists, punks, wiccans, and other denizens of the demimonde.“From a historical perspective, 'Perdurabo' is the finest work on Crowley to date.
–Peter J. Morris, writer and blogger

“Although there have been several authoritative (and relatively impartial) bios of the occultist Aleister Crowley published in the last decade, in my opinion there is one that is definitely a cut above the rest. This would bePerduraboby Richard Kaczynski, PhD. As The definitive biography of the founder of modern magick, Kaczynski's revised and expanded edition of his 2002 offering is tirelessly researched (20 years!), highly detailed and loaded with photos, many of which are quite rare.”
–Toollƒ˝