Customer Reviews

Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword and Other Essays Oriflamme 1

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Its nice cOTO (Caliphate OTO) ocassionally publishes something decent and useful like this instead of suing people and behaving like a scary little sister of Scientology, Inc. (Which Parsons can legitimately be co-credited with creating, due to his formative influence on L. Ron Hubbard)...

The Book itself? Classic Parsons, though it avoids some of his sharper and more controversial material (ie his letters and his 'Autobiography of a Master of the Temple') ; Its a good introduction to the wild mixture of deep insight and bullgoose insanity that was Jack Parsons.

A 'complete works' would be much more useful.

Parson's essay Freedom is a Two-Edged Sword is a brillant work on individual liberty and how it can be realised by all. Alot of what Parson's has to say is in the tradition of John Locke, but written in a style more appealing to today's reader. Written in the 1940's his insight into moral, religious, social and sexual issues is still very relevant today. I promise you will find memorable quotes on every page of the main essay so be ready with either a good highlighter or red pencil to underline them because you will be doing alot of that.

The book starts out as an almost social studies essay about the problem of post World War 2 America, where Parsons writes to the reader as though he were a friend, a great sense of urgency in his tone conveying a message of Liberalism, Feminism, and Love. Then throughout the rest of the book-collection of essays, it goes deep into mystic and occult ideals and the framework of Parsons 'Spirituality' and Philosophy.

Definitively a must-read for anyone genuinely interested in liberation and evolution of humanity. So ahead of his time that some paragraphs could have been written during the Bush Administration, the man who invented rocket fuel and founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory delivers a series of political essays that could serve as the blueprint for a Thelemic political movement.

Those who begin investigating the history of the occult will eventually run across Jack Parsons. I've had this book on my list for some time but the several hundred dollar price tag for the out of print book was outrageous, so it is wonderfull that it is being reprinted. In this book you will find a champion for personal freedom. His writings in the 50's are pretty insightfull about the dangers facing us now. He may be called mad because he chose to live life on his terms and follow his passion even at the expense of losing everything, but I find it inspirational that someone has the guts to actually leap across the abyss instead of just give it lip service. We need more of his works in print.
The only reason I give it 4 stars is that it contains only a limited amount of material for the price, but it is still a good addition to the library.

Who knew...?! Insight into the personal life of one of the worlds 'behind the scenes' architects of technological change; Insight into his point-of-view regarding a changing world in wich he was both a benefactor as well as a victim. Occult sex magic rituals and government contracting... oh, ya! There's a marriage made behind a closed door. Interesting read if you like interesting subject matter.

-Fred

In these days of ignorant Tea-baggers and racist Libertarians who throw the word 'Freedom' around as if they invented the concept, the full context of the meaning of freedom is simply forgotten.
The title essay of this collection sings with the spirit of the ancient philosophers and modern thinkers who understood that full context.
The title essay is the first and it very clearly elucidates the full concept of freedom starting with the most important aspect: no freedom is extant without attendant responsibility. He also clearly states where our freedoms end: at our fingertips. Parsons also states that this limit is so basic, so important, that any 'thinker' today who does not state it deserves no respect nor following.
I won't repeat what he says because it is perfect in and of itself. This little essay rings with the authority and humanity of the greats of history, from the ancient Greeks to our Founding Fathers. There are few contemporary thinkers who demonstrate the clear, logical authority with which Parsons delineates our freedoms and our responsibilities to ourselves, our fellows, and our country.
That said, one must remember who edited this book. For reasons of their own they inserted as a last chapter to the title essay what is clearly a piece in no way connected to the original. The entire format of the 'final chapter' is so radically different from the first four that it is transparently obvious the editors have tampered with Parson's work. Parsons was a fascinating man with huge contradictions. His interests ranged from rocket science to the occult and he apparently easily moved through the entire range of human thought. But it is also clear from his achievements that he could focus on any one of these areas without confusing one area with any other.
That is why the contrast of the first four chapters of the title essay from the last chapter's occult-like peon to womankind is so obvious. In this 'last chapter' he even denies the very things stated in the first four chapters, showing that it was not a connected piece but rather a part, or even a stand-alone piece, of an entirely different work. It's a shame this was done, because the first four chapters are so brilliant they should be memorized by everyone who wishes to remain free.
The rest of the book is a mish-mash of whole or parts of occult works that Parsons wrote. These essays are commensurate with any other work on the occult. They are of interest to those of us who are interested in Parsons but otherwise are of no great import.
In short, the title essay alone justifies the cost of the volume and it shows that Parsons was a great thinker who could clearly state the full concept of freedom and its attendant responsibilities.

Some of the best patriotic work I have read in quite a while. Given the author, I find this somewhat suprising. It gives great insight into Jack Parsons and his personality. The latter parts of the book, are dealing with his magick works with Babalon.

Parsons was brilliant, and Parsons was stone crazy. I find his insights questionable at best, and deluded at worst.

Admittedly, I come from a "fourth way" perspective, but Parsons' philosophy strikes me as superficial and rather self-serving. His ideas are great for those building their own personality cult, but for real insight, Parsons is lacking.

_Freedom_ is useful as a study of the foundation of certain modern ideologies, but only in an academic sense.