Master of the Mysteries: The Life of Manly Palmer Hall (Paperback)

~ Louis Sahagun (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In 1919, a Canadian teenager with a sixth grade education arrived by train to the wilds of Los Angeles. Within a decade he had transformed himself into a world-renowned occult scholar.

His name was Manly Palmer Hall, author of the landmark publication The Secret Teachings of All Ages, regarded as the best introduction to Western esoteric ideas, and the founder of the Philosophical Research Society, which houses one of the biggest occult libraries in the United States.

Hall became the twentieth century's most prolific writer and speaker on ancient philosophies, mysticism, and magic, and a confidant of Hollywood celebrities and politicians. In 1990, he died-some say he was strangled-in what remains an open-ended Hollywood murder mystery worthy of Raymond Chandler.

Master of The Mysteries: The Life of Manly Palmer Hall offers an intimate portrait of this elusive luminary who set as his life's work the daunting task of reconciling scientific reason with ancient wisdom-issues that seekers and scientists still struggle with today.

Author Louis Sahagun draws from Hall's massive archives and a wealth of interviews to provide an insider's view of the birth of a metaphysical subculture that continues to have a profound influence on movies, television, music, books, art, and thought.

About the Author

Louis Sahagun is a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times. He was a reporter involved in a Times series on Latinos in Southern California that won a Pulitzer Prize. His work ranges from religion and the environment to crime and politics. He lives with his wife and daughter in California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Process (July 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 193417002X
• ISBN-13: 978-1934170021
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,876 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kalifornia Dreaming, July 1, 2008

By	Mark Newbold (Pittsburg, KS United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This is a deliciously gossipy & insightful book on one of the major figures in 20th century American esotericism. Manly P. Hall was America's answer to Madame Blavatsky and served to pioneer and document the rise of southern California as an occult Mecca. His Philosophical Research Society was a major influence through its publications in educating and influencing many to the cross cultural currents of comparative myth and religion. The cast of characters he encountered serves as a who's who of the American metaphysical underground between the 1920's through 1950's. Both noble and pathetic at times like occultism itself, this book never ceases to fascinate. A careful reading will also reveal several typos and errors that better editing should have caught.

Mr. Sahagun is a remarkable writer who I hope to read more of. His research is impeccable and many of those who played a role in Hall's life opened their hearts, minds and doors to him in documenting this larger than life figure both literally and figuratively. Knowing some of the people in this book that knew Hall and associated with him over the years this biography rings true from the stories I have heard from those that knew the "Maestro".

On another level, fans of Kenneth Anger's classic "Hollywood Babylon" will find much to keep them amused, the occult Hollywood subculture is here with such revelations as Rhonda Fleming's alternative health regime, Glenn Ford's belief in reincarnation and astrology (did you know he had a deformed spine that resulted in the need for special camera angles in the films he appeared in?), John Denver's unrequited attempt to become Hall's disciple, to Gloria Swanson's (the real Norma Desmond) finding a crashed flying saucer in the Hollywood hills? Culminating like a Greek tragedy in the mysterious and gotterdammerung death of this master of the mysteries will linger in the mind of the reader long after the last page is read.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Behind the "Mystery", August 1, 2008

By	S. Grendahl (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For those of us who were in Los Angeles during the final days of Manly Hall, this book is spot on. The incidents surrounding his death were in dispute for some time. It was refreshing to learn so much about Hall's early days,
the recorded documents and how he retold his own history. The evolution of the spiritual phenomenon in this city form Hall's arrival up to his death was great, warts and all. The new age, really, is just another cycle of a recurrent theme in the history of personal spiritual movements complete with real saints, real seekers, real con-artists. For myself who had heard him speak and who was at Hall's last lecture that evening at the Scottish Rite in Los Angeles, this book is great.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sahagun Reveals the Facts About Hall and His Life, July 16, 2008

By	G. Kaminsky "rochester92" (United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Louis Sahagun has written a book that reveals the facts about Manly Palmer Hall - his life, his work, and his legacy. The book also shows how Hall and the City of Los Angeles grew up together. "Master of the Mysteries" is the only book that I have ever encountered that contains well-researched and documented evidence used to tell Hall's story. Sahagun's book shatters many of the myths and legends that surround Hall and his work. We are left with the portrait of a man who was self-made, perhaps a genius, but ultimately a human being with all of the inherent qualities, both positive and negative. I would encourage you to obtain and read a copy of Louis Sahagun's "Master of the Mysteries". It reveals the real person behind the enigma, telling all the details of Hall's life that, apparently, not even very close friends knew. The result is a portrait of a genius who was driven to achieve great things, as well as a mortal man. By doing this, Louis Sahagun brings us much closer to Manly Hall and his works - a truly great accomplishment. This book is Sahagun's first, but his extensive experience (28 years) as a staff writer for the L.A. Times serves him well as his book is extremely accessible, even for those unfamiliar with Manly Hall.