Gary Lachman Bücher

"Running alongside the mainstream of Western intellectual history there is another current which, in a very real sense, should take pride of place, but which for the last few centuries has occupied a shadowy, inferior position, somewhere underground. This "other" stream forms the subject of Gary Lachman's epic history and analysis, The Secret Teachers of the Western World. In this clarifying, accessible, and fascinating study, the acclaimed historian explores the Western esoteric tradition--a thought movement with ancient roots and modern expressions, which, in a broad sense, regards the cosmos as a living, spiritual, meaningful being and humankind as having a unique obligation and responsibility in it. The historical roots of our "counter tradition," as Lachman explores, have their beginning in Alexandria around the time of Christ. It was then that we find the first written accounts of the ancient tradition, which had earlier been passed on orally. Here, in this remarkable city, filled with teachers, philosophers, and mystics from Egypt, Greece, Asia, and other parts of the world, in a multi-cultural, multi-faith, and pluralistic society, a synthesis took place, a creative blending of different ideas and visions, which gave the hidden tradition the eclectic character it retains today." -- Publisher's description

"For the last four centuries, science has tried to account for everything in terms of atoms and molecules and the physical laws they adhere to. Recently, this effort was extended to include the inner world of human beings. Gary Lachman points to another approach in which consciousness is seen not as the result of neurons and molecules, but as responsible for them. Meaning is not imported from the outer world, but rather creates it; and consciousness is a living, evolving presence whose development can be traced through different historical periods."--Jacket

A spiritual adventure story tracing the profound influence of Hermes Trismegistus on the western mind.

In The Dedalus Book of the 1960s: Turn Off Your Mind, Gary Lachman uncovers the Love Generation's roots in occultism and explores the dark side of the Age of Aquarius.

Rudolf Steiner -- educator, architect, artist, philosopher and agriculturalist -- ranks amongst the most creative and prolific figures of the early twentieth century. Yet he remains a mystery to most people. This is the first truly popular biography of the man behind the ideas, written by a sympathetic but critical outsider.Steiner is widely known for what he left behind: a network of Waldorf schools, biodynamic farming, Camphill schools and villages and pioneering work in holistic health and environmental research. Although his achievements are felt all over the world, few people understand this unusual figure. Steiner’s own writings fill several bookcases, but are often dense and ‘insider’ in tone.Gary Lachman tells Steiner’s story lucidly and with great insight. He presents Steiner’s key ideas in a readable, accessible way, tracing his beginning as a young intellectual in the ferment of fin de siècle culture to the founding of his own metaphysical teaching, called anthroposophy.This book is a full-bodied portrait of one of the most original philosophical and spiritual luminaries of the last two centuries.

Emanuel Swedenborg's system of correspondences is one of the most influential theories in the history of ideas. Instrumental in the rise of Romanticism, Symbolism and Modernism, and cited as key to the work of Goethe, R.W. Emerson, Honoré de Balzac, Charles Baudelaire, Wassily Kandinsky and Arnold Schoenberg, to name but a few, it offers to poets, artists, writers and composers a blueprint for navigating the gap between the material world and non-material values. In this brief introduction, Gary Lachman gives an accessible overview of the many fascinating ways in which Swedenborg's idea has impacted upon the past 250 years.

Within the concentric circles of Trump's regime lies an unseen culture of occultists, power-seekers, and mind-magicians whose influence is on the rise. In this unparalleled account, historian Gary Lachman examines the influence of occult and esoteric philosophy on the unexpected rise of the alt-right. Did positive thinking and mental science help put Donald Trump in the White House? And are there any other hidden powers of the mind and thought at work in today's world politics? In Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump, historian and cultural critic Gary Lachman takes a close look at the various magical and esoteric ideas that are impacting political events across the globe. From New Thought and Chaos Magick to the far-right esotericism of Julius Evola and the Traditionalists, Lachman follows a trail of mystic clues that involve, among others, Norman Vincent Peale, domineering gurus and demagogues, Ayn Rand, Pepe the Frog, Rene Schwaller de Lubicz, synarchy, the Alt-Right, meme magic, and Vladimir Putin and his postmodern Rasputin. Come take a drop down the rabbit hole of occult politics in the twenty-first century and find out the post-truths and alternative facts surrounding the 45th President of the United States with one of the leading writers on esotericism and its influence on modern culture.

A history of how mystical and spiritual influences have shaped Russia's identity and politics and what it means for the future of world civilization

A thoughtful biography of one of the most polarizing pioneers of alternative spirituality, the occult-mystic Helena Petrovna Blavatsky. Pioneer. Visionary. Provocateur. Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky—mystic, occult writer, child of Russian aristocrats, spiritual seeker who traveled five continents, and founder (with Henry Steel Olcott) of the Theosophical Society—is still being hailed as an icon and scorned as a fraud more than 120 years after her death. But despite perennial interest in her life, writings, and philosophy, no single biography has examined the controversy and legacy of this influential thinker who helped define modern alternative spirituality—until now. Gary Lachman, the acclaimed spiritual biographer behind volumes such as Rudolf Steiner and Jung the Mystic, brings us an in-depth look at Blavatsky, objectively exploring her unique and singular contributions toward introducing Eastern and esoteric spiritual ideas to the West during the nineteenth century, as well as the controversies that continue to color the discussions of her life and work.

The art of building and maintaining friendships is dynamic, especially when thirty-five years, thousands of miles, wars, and acts of terrorism intervene. From their innocent university days to a surprise encounter in the midst of the Eastern Ukrainian separatist movement, Rachel and Ben have drifted apart only to collide under the most unusual of circumstances. Populated with memorable characters from Turkey, Ghana, Iran, Ukraine, and the US, Friendshipping is the story of an unusual man and the most loyal and selfless friends who convene from around the globe to save him.