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 - assessments 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.

Author: Aleister Crowley
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Page Count: 483pp
Size: 6.25 x 9
Notes: softcover
Date of Publication: 2002
ISBN: 978-0312288976