Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Seen in a used bookstore in Bishop, CA

There is a really excellent used bookstore in Bishop, CA, which I visit whenever I can. One book I've seen on the shelf for years and years is...


When I see it, I invariably think two things:
  1. "Um... no."
  2. "This book will never sell."
So far, it hasn't. But it is California, after all. Someone might snap it up. Some emergent, for instance, could market the book as the very latest thing, amass a following, and see his name in lights.

I did a bit more digging for you, Dear Reader, and wasn't too surprised at the results. You can (if you like) see the whole book online, hosted at a site called The Gnostic Society Library, root URL gnosis.org.  Ah ha.

Turns out Mead was a Theosophist, and private secretary of Madam Blavatsky. Later, after writing the above-named tome, Mead left the Theosophists to form, with other defectors, the Quest society.

And now... you (and I) know that.

15 comments:

Unknown said...

"The more you know..."

dun dun dun DUUUNNNNN

Halcyon said...

Well, Jesus is God, so I suppose that he technically existed before he was born.

Am I right? 8^D

DJP said...

Nice one.

Brad Williams said...

Halcyon,

Yes, the Son of God existed before he was born, but he wasn't Jesus until he was Jesus. I mean, he wasn't incarnate until he incarnated, and that's when he became Jesus.

To All,

I'd just like to add that, even though this guy is an obvious heretic, he pretty much rocked the handle-bar moustache.

Trinian said...

Secretary to Madame Blavaksky? Boy, that makes for an interesting resume.

DJP said...

LOL

"So, I see here that you were... oh... oh, my...."

Trinian said...

Along that line, I have a book recommendation: To Say Nothing of the Dog. Absolutely hilarious and intelligent Victorian-era Science Fiction. (I mention it now because Blavatsky has a great cameo.)

Mike Westfall said...

Used books can be gotten off Amazon.com. When in Bishop, I'd rather waste my time at Schat's.

David Regier said...

I see on the bookstore's website that they're calling for fruit recipes.

I'll leave that open for comment.

candy said...

Did you last Sunday or are you going to visit this Sunday at our church, and be our guests for lunch there?

DJP said...

We were in Mammoth on Sunday, Candy.

Halcyon said...

Brad:

I laugh at your attempt to take my comment too seriously.

Here I go.

Barbara said...

Mike,

But Amazon doesn't have that nice musty used bookstore smell.

Ahh, nostalgia. Love used bookstores.

Stefan Ewing said...

Isn't all New Age tripe pretty much just recycled theosophy?

Stefan Ewing said...

And wouldn't you know it: he wrote papers on "The Synoptic Problem" and "The Fourth-Gospel Problem."

It brings back memories of too many wasted, lost years of my life.