Magic and Mysticism: An Introduction to Western Esoteric Traditions

The topic of many works of literature and the darling of pop culture, the explicated unknown has been wrestled to the ground countless times in Western intellectual life. Versluis (American studies, Michigan State U.) brings his considerable expertise of esotericism and its effect on Western culture to this undergraduate level text that should also appeal to the general readership. He follows the religious and philosophical trends that allowed or even promoted esotericism from early mystics to the seers of the medieval Church to present necromancers, and shows how magic and mysticism often crossed paths with accepted belief and practice, or at least often enough to confuse many armchair historians. Along with various heretics, cults, and scholarly magicians, Versluis examines why the literati of each age paid so much attention to the arcane. Annotation 穢2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)