Bill's selections from December, 1999:

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E. Annie Proulx - Accordian Crimes
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Derek Bailey - Inprovisation: Its Nature and Practice in Music
Amazon US

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Peter Conrad - Modern Times, Modern Places:
How Life and Art Were Transformed in a Century of Revolution, Innovation, and Radical Change
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Harry Partch - Genesis of a Music:
An Account of a Creative Work, Its Roots and Its Fulfillments
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Bill also gives a plug for the following book as a companion to the Harry Partch book:
Bob Gilmore - Harry Partch: A Biography
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Cambridge Cultural History of Britain
different editions, search Amazon UK

Michael Hall - Leaving Home
Amazon UK

Bill's selections from October 1997:

John F. Szwed - Space Is The Place (The Life and Times of Sun Ra)
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Allen Ginsberg - Selected Poems, 1947 to 1995
Amazon US

Thich Nhat Hanh - Be Still And Known
Amazon US

Brother Patrick Hart (editor) - Thomas Merton, Monk
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Nicolas Bouvier - The Japanese Chronicles
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Jeff Greenwald - Shopping For Buddhas
Amazon UK

Jack Sargeant - Naked Lens, Beat Cinema
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Bill's selections from Spring 1997:

Charlotte Joko Beck, Joko Beck - Everyday Zen
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Lisa Phillips, Maurice Berger, Maria Damon, Allen Ginsberg - Beat Culture and the New America
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Steve Turner - Angelheaded Hipster, A Life of Jack Kerouac
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

J. Krishnamurti - Total Freedom
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Jack Kerouac - Lonesome Traveller
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Manuela Dunn Mascetti (editor) - A Box of Zen
Amazon US

Barry Gifford, Lawrence Lee - Jack's Book : An Oral Biography of Jack Kerouac
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Alan Watts - The Tao of Philosophy (The Edited Transcripts)
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

John Diado Loori - The Eight Gates of Zen
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

David Madsen - Memoirs of a Gnostic Dwarf
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Allen Ginsberg, Gordon Ball (editor) - Journals Mid-Fifties 1954-1958
Amazon US

Bill's selections from Summer 1996:

Robertson Davies - The Cunning Man
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Deng Ming-Dao - 365 Tao : Daily Meditations
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Carole Tonkinson (editor) - Big Sky Mind, Buddhism and the Beat Generation
Amazon US

Ann Charters (editor) - The Portable Beat Reader
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Jon Kabat-Zinn - Full Catastrophe Living
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Jack Kerouac - Mexico City Blues
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Robert M. Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Amazon US| Amazon UK

Bill Landis - Anger; The Unauthorized Biography of Kenneth Anger
Amazon US

John Cowper Powys - Wolf Solent: A Novel
Amazon US

Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Jane Stern, Michael Stern - Happy Trails Our Life Story
Amazon US

Bill's selections from December 1995:

Ann Charters - Kerouac : A Biography
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Steve Turner - Angelheaded Hipster, A Life of Jack Kerouac
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Gerald Nicosia - Memory Babe: A Critical Biography of Jack Kerouac
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Robert M. Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Amazon US| Amazon UK

Barry Gifford, Lawrence Lee - Jack's Book : An Oral Biography of Jack Kerouac
Amazon US  | Amazon UK

Marcus Aurelius, George Long (Translator) - Meditations (Great Books in Philosophy)
Amazon US

Christopher Sawyer Laucanno - An Invisible Spectator : A Biography of Paul Bowles
Amazon US | Amazon UK

From Acquitted by Mirrors, Issue 8 (1984):

text by Bill Nelson

Here is a personally recommended list of books dealing with Magic and Rosicrucianism which will be of great help to the sincere enquirer:

The Rebirth of Magic by Francis King and Isabel Sutherland
This is a cheap and easy to read overview of western occultism which serves as a general introduction to the subject.
out of print

Magic, An Occult Primer by David Conway
A do-it-yourself guide which explains some of the basic elements of ritual. Infonmative but a little superficial.

Witchcraft, Magic and Alchemy by Grillot de Givry
A general history with interesting illustrations
Amazon US | Amazon UK

A History of White Magic by Gareth Knight
Written by a contemporary magician.,..informative
Amazon US

The Magician..his training and Work by W.E. Butler
A useful; if somewhat dry, basic trainer.
Amazon US

A Rosy Cross Unveiled by Christopher McIntosh
An enthusiastic attempt to unravel the mysterious history of the order.
out of print

The Secret Doctrine of the Rosicrucians by Magnus Incognito
Written in 1949, a sound introduction to the outer principals of Rosicrucianism.
Amazon US

Orders of the Quest by Manly P Hall
An informative history of some of the worlds mystery orders.
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Secret Teachings of all Ages By Manly P Hall
A large and lavishly illustrated encyclopedia of Hermetic, Masonic, Alchemical and Rosicrucian principals.
Amazon US | Amazon UK

Art and The Occult by Paul Waldo-Schwartz
An entertaining exposition of the magical nature of art.
Amazon US

The Secret Temple by Robert Wang
How to construct a technically correct home temple for the practice of ritual magic.
Amazon US

Laws of the Fraternity of the Rosie Crosse (Themis Aurea) by Michael Maier
A facsimile of the 1656 edition. Difficult to read but an important document.
Amazon US | Amazon UK

The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz by Johann Valentin Andreae
The famous alchemical romance of 1616. Essential
Amazon US | Amazon UK

The Golden Dawn. The Inner Teachings by R.G.Torrens
A useful, practical manual
Amazon US

The Tree of Life, A Study in Magic by Israel Regardie
An initiated exposition of the workings of practical magic
Amazon US | Amazon UK

The History and Practise of Magic by Paul Christian
A classic book, written originally in French. First published 1870
Amazon US

Magic, Supernaturalism and Religion By Kurt Seligmann
 scholarly but readable book, written by the surrealist American painter.
Amazon US | Amazon UK

The Magicians of the Golden Dawn By Ellic Howe
A thoroughly researched though not entirely sympathetic history of England's greatest magical order.
Amazon US

Magick in Theory and Practice By Aleister Crowley
A famous book by an infamous magician. Not for the absolute beginner. Needs care and diligence.
Amazon US

The Magical Mason By William Wynn Westcott
The lecture and papers of one of the founders of The Golden Dawn.
out of print
 

text by Bill Nelson

Diary of a Crap Artist by Phillip K. Dick
Amazon US | Amazon UK
A remarkable story of mental abnormality that whilst not strictly science fiction, strays happily into areas of surreal black humour that could be considered a perverse form of science fantasy. It's published in paperback but I can't tell you by who as I lent my copy to someone and never got it back.

The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail by Michael Baignet, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln
Amazon US | Amazon UK
A large and sometimes difficult book which elaborates on the BBC TV documentary about the mystery of Rennes le-Chateau. Totally enthralling and impossible to describe here. Suffice to say it's a factual exploration of a particular buried treasure that leads like a detective novel to a secret which undermines the existence of the Christian Church itself. Mere speculation or dangerous heresy? Read it and judge for yourself.

Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
Amazon US | Amazon UK
A thick and lavish paperback packed with incredibly rich array of images built out of words. A tour-de-force by a twentieth century literary giant that I can't recommend highly enough. Thoroughly excellent.

Erik Satie a biography by James Harding
Amazon US
There aren't many biographies of Satie around, but this has to be one of the best. Always entertaining whilst remaining informative. Contains some photos and illustrations.

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