Historian Gary Lachman delivers a fascinating, rollicking biography of literary and cultural rebel Colin Wilson, one of the most adventurous, hopeful, and least understood intellects of the past century.
Gary Lachman is the author of many books on consciousness, culture and the Western esoteric tradition. He writes for several journals in the US and UK and lectures on his work in the USand the UK. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages and he has appeared in several radio and tv documentaries. A founding member of the rock group Blondie, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
"An enthralling account of the life and work of Colin Wilson, the
often controversial writer who explored the nature of human
consciousness in dozens of books ... Lachman writes about
philosophical and mystical ideas with exceptional grace,
forcefulness and clarity."—Michael Dirda, The Washington
Post
"Colin Wilson came to a sudden and unparalleled celebrity with his
first book, The Outsider, in 1956, and after that was strenuously
ignored by every respectable critic. So much for respectability.
Gary Lachman has written an intellectual biography of a writer
who might be called the only optimistic existentialist, and done
him justice. Wilson was always far better and more interesting than
fashionable opinion claimed, and in Lachman he has found a
biographer who can respond to the whole range of his work with
sympathy and understanding, in a style which, like Wilson’s own, is
always immensely readable. I enjoyed Beyond the Robot very
much." —Philip Pullman“Without question, the definitive guide to
the life and ideas of one of the most stimulating writers of our
time. Highly recommended.” —David Fideler, author of Restoring
the Soul of the World
"Gary has become the voice for our generation that Colin Wilson was
before him." —Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult America
"Gary Lachman makes ideas thrilling." —Ptolemy Tompkins, author of
Paradise Fever
"Gary Lachman presents the Western esoteric tradition as a richly
detailed parade of characters, seething with political ambitions,
follies, even infamy. He teaches by example that to understand
their psychology and historical contexts is far more useful than
moralizing or partisan reactions." —Joscelyn Godwin, Colgate
University
"In Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson, author
Gary Lachman has done us a great service in illumining what an
original and inspired thinker Wilson was. In the process of doing
so, the question arose in my mind as reader: Is Lachman himself
stepping into becoming the modern-day Colin Wilson? This is one of
those rare books that I read cover to cover, not wanting to miss a
word. I simply loved it!"--Paul Levy, author of Dispelling Wetiko:
Breaking the Curse of Evil
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