Sun at Midnight: The Rudolf Steiner Movement and Gnosis in the West [Paperback]

Geoffrey Ahern (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A revised and updated edition of the book, first published in the Eighties, that still remains the main critical work written from outside the movement. This engaging introduction to Anthroposophy is written from the unique point of view of the English-speaking outside world. Employing Anthroposophical and external sources alike, Ahern offers an unbiased look into one of the world's most interesting mystical societies. Sun at Midnight guides the reader through Anthroposophy's beginnings as an offshoot of Theosophy, the life of its founder, Rudolph Steiner, and the movement's place in Western esoteric history while offering an accessible and incisive look into its deeper esoteric beliefs. Waldorf schools and bio-dynamics are woven together with the hardening of spirit into matter to create a fascinating image of Anthroposophy in all its facets.

About the Author

Geoffrey Ahern is Fellow of the Centre for Leadership Studies of the University of Exeter. His areas of research involve the functioning of organisations, communities and the inner city. He studied law at Oxford University and gained a PhD in sociology of religion at London School of Economics. The authorâ s publications include the previous edition of Sun at Midnight and Inner City God, co-authored with Grace Davie.

Product Details

• Paperback: 279 pages
• Publisher: Lutterworth Press; Rev Exp edition (December 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0227172930
• ISBN-13: 978-0227172933
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #208,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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  Books > Religion & Spirituality > New Age > Theosophy

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Potential Waldorf or Camphill Parents, June 10, 2009

By	Debra Snell - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sun at Midnight: The Rudolf Steiner Movement and Gnosis in the West (Paperback)

This is an unbiased, must read for any prospective Waldorf or Camphill parent. If I had read this book, just the index alone, I would have known Waldorf education was not a good fit for our family. This book is a synopsis on Anthroposophy and all it's activities. This book will help families make an informed decision for their children. Waldorf works well for some families but for others it's a disaster.

Racism, Lucifer, Ahriman? It's all explained and indexed for easy reference. About time. Bravo!

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, Indispensable, Incomplete, June 11, 2010

By	Roger Rawlings (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sun at Midnight: The Rudolf Steiner Movement and Gnosis in the West (Paperback)

Rudolf Steiner is largely unknown except within the circle of his devoted followers. One consequence is that almost everything written about Steiner and his teachings comes from within that circle. Much of it amounts to uncritical celebration. Finding balanced, reliable works about Steiner is difficult.

Geoffrey Ahern has helped fill the void with his book SUN AT MIDNIGHT (James Clark & Co., 2009). Ahern, a Fellow of the Center for Leadership Studies, Exeter University (in the U.K.), has carefully researched the Steiner movement, which centers on Anthroposophy -- the cult-like religion Steiner created -- and Waldorf schools, educational institutions that have proliferated around the world, working subtly to spread the Anthroposophical faith.

SUN AT MIDNIGHT is too short. At 279 pages, it cannot fully explore the work of a man who published many books and delivered thousands upon thousands of lectures on a stunningly wide array of subjects. Nonetheless, Ahern's book is extremely informative -- indeed, it is fascinating. Anyone who is attracted to Anthroposophy, Waldorf schools (also called Steiner schools), biodynamic agriculture, Anthroposophical medicine, or any of the other offshoots of Steiner's thinking, should read it.

The brevity of the book has one great advantage: SUN AT MIDNIGHT is inviting and accessible in ways that a massive tome would not be. The writing is clear and concise, if somewhat dry. Most readers may find that they need to pause often, struggling with the strange concepts in and around Steiner's occult belief system. But because the book is short, it is unintimidating.

Ahern makes a few minor errors, as virtually anyone will who attempts to summarize Steiner's vast, occult, murky, and sometimes self-contradictory canon. And there are a few errors I consider major. In his evident effort to be fair-minded, Ahern bends over backwards too far sometimes, minimizing such troubling matters as the racism that is deeply imbedded in Anthroposophy. He is also, in my opinion, too ready to take Steiner at his word, thus failing to adequately investigate the possibility that Steiner was a fraud who claimed powers ("exact clairvoyance") that do not and cannot exist. Startlingly, the book's extensive index contains no entry for clairvoyance, although the entire body of Steiner's occult teachings rests on his professed clairvoyant abilities. Take away clairvoyance, and Anthroposophy crashes to the ground.

Still, by and large, Ahern is an excellent guide. SUN AT MIDNIGHT has chapters that outline Steiner's life, the history of Anthroposophy, and the organizational structure of Anthroposophy. Most major tenets of the faith are examined, and they are reviewed in the context of Western religious, gnostic, and occult traditions. Helpful tables at the end of the book summarize some of Steiner's key doctrines.

There is no chapter devoted to Waldorf schools, but references to the schools appear throughout the book, and these are easily found thanks to the index. Likewise, particular subjects important to an understanding of the Waldorf curriculum -- such as eurythmy -- are detailed in the index.

In all, SUN AT MIDNIGHT is nearly indispensable reading for anyone who wants a balanced, informative, and sensible (albeit incomplete) examination of Rudolf Steiner and his brainchildren.

-- Roger Rawlings [...].

4.0 out of 5 stars Beyond the Silk Curtain: the foundation of Waldorf education, November 2, 2009

By	Tony - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sun at Midnight: The Rudolf Steiner Movement and Gnosis in the West (Paperback)

Ahern's long-awaited 2nd edition includes recent statistical data that I find useful. Unfortunately, he seems to have skipped over much of the Anthro news in the past two decades. Research and publicity - some from within the movement - tell of the racist controversy at the foundation of Anthroposophy and questionable marketing by those who promote Waldorf/Steiner education. Ahern barely touches that information and, to my eyes, minimises such things as "allegations." For example, his explanation of Anthroposophy during the Nazi regime completely misses recently published research on that topic and his exposure of the sect's clandestine First Class misses the recent court ruling in Germany removing the copyright protection from its secret texts which are now published (in German) on the web.

I was left wondering just who the book is aimed at? It seems to be written for academics - fine . . . but if a wider audience is to be reached it would need to be much less heavy. I worry that a book holding so much keenly needed information may not elicit enough response from potential Waldorf (Steiner School) parents to help them and their children avoid the confusion and disappointment that many families experience in these schools.

That said, Ahern's book is useful and worth reading, especially as very few such books are published outside the cult of Rudolf Steiner. The Sun at Midnight is not an easy read but well worth the effort.