This work, originally published in three separate volumes in wrappers, contains a timeline of events in the life of Aleister Crowley (and others) that are directly related to the reception, creation, publication and promulgation of The Book of the Law. The work is both controversial and enlightening. Hulse documents Crowley’s misrepresentations and contradictory statements on many of the events surrounding the receiving of the book as well as the numerous edits and changes to the text made afterwards (against the warning in the actual manuscript). This includes Crowley’s own admissions of the holograph manuscript being an example of automatic writing, as opposed to being directly dictated by a praeternatural intelligence, and other discrepancies that some hardcore Thelemites may not want to hear. That being said, this is not a hit piece on Crowley, in fact, Crowley’s genius shines through, and is celebrated in many ways. The work collects and explains numerous qabalistical advancements, mainly by Crowley and Frater Achad in relation to the book, and puts many things into perspective. Most interesting is the deciphering of many key elements of sexual magic that are symbolically hidden within the text of The Book of the Law, and other Holy Books, as well as in the Tarot trump cards painted by Frieda Harris for The Book of Thoth. Discrepancies concerning particular dates and events are also pointed out. Hulse does speculate on quite a few things throughout this work (and admits as much) but these speculations should not be considered as invalid without the reader at least doing some further research. Hulse is pointing out certain things that any true researcher (if they are worth their salt) would also find to be a bit unclear. This should be required reading for anyone remotely interested in Crowley and his work, and the Book of the Law in particular, whether one agrees with what they find here or not. There will always be plenty of time afterwards for everybody to bitch about it and insist that they know what really happened.

This copy is from the collection of Thelemic author Robert C. Stein (1931 – 2024), who wrote "The Mystery of the Letters and The Tree of Life" and other works. Stein was a Professor Emeritus of Biology in the New York State University System, whose involvement in the study and practice of Thelema spanned three decades and travels in five continents.