“Lachman’s latest book 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. The result is a profound questioning of the very basis of politics—including one’s own.”
—Joscelyn Godwin, Ph.D., author of Arktos and The Golden Thread

“The invisible Rosicrucian brothers of the seventeenth century, the “Unknown Superiors” of high-grade Freemasons, French utopian occultists, and Traditionalists of the twentieth century trace a continuous tradition of esoteric idealism applied to political thinking. Gary Lachman offers a panoramic spectacle of occultists and millenarian visionaries who seek to translate an absolute gnosis into a radical programme of regeneration.” -Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, Professor of Western Esotericism, University of Exeter

“It is unusual for a book on the occult to be not only brilliant and serious but also highly readable; Lachman has done it with ease and grace.”
—Colin Wilson, author of The Occult and Mysteries