Gangleri – book reviews

I got this book as a holidays-present. Good, because I would probably have never heard of it otherwise. It is a philosophy book about modern politics and society, not really my subject. Wijnberg is a young man, seven years younger than myself, but with an impressive carreer already. This book is his third and the copy I got is 7th printing only half a year after the first publication. Wijnberg… Continue reading Nietzsche En Kant Lezen De Krant * Rob Wijnberg (2009)

I don’t often get books to review, but the publisher of this book contacted me. According to the description this books holds the middle between my ‘old interests’ (magic and Western occultism) and more recent interests (comparative religion) so I decided to have a copy sent and see what this scholarly book on magic is all about. The writer (who earlier wrote a book on Agrippa) wrote an interesting preface… Continue reading The Occult Mind * Christopher I. Lehrich (2007 cornell university press * isbn 9780801445385)

I don’t go to every quarterly ’symposion’ of the Lectorium Rosicrucianum, but when I heard that there was one about the German occultist Karl von Eckartshausen (1752-1803), I again went to one of these pleasent days. After about half a year, you always get a booklet with the texts of the lectures and some extras. Rozekruis Pers, the publishing brand of the Lectorium Rosicrucianum has published a few Dutch translations… Continue reading symposion booklet Karl von Eckartshausen: Hoe De Reden Ons God Verklaart (2006 * isbn 9067323276)

For the first time scriptures of Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) are available in Dutch. Bruno was an influential philosopher from Italy. In Italy he lived during the late Renaissance, when he started to travel Europe (Paris, London, Prague, etc.) he was involved in the early renaissance, since the renaissance started in Bruno’s own country. Bruno was fanatically anti-Aristotle and pro Copernicus. He wrote esoteric texts in Latin and more philosophical in… Continue reading Giordano Bruno - Italiaanse Dialogen * Boeke/Kronen/Lamoen (isbn 9026316372)

Letters of Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) have been available ever since he died. Ficino wrote with a lot of people all across the world and held copies of every single letter he wrote. A few years before he died he even wrote an introduction to his combined letters himself! Soon after his death the first publishing of his letters was a fact. Being such a high amount, the letters were made… Continue reading De Brieven Van Marsilio Ficino - deel 1 + Geef Vrijelijk Wat Vrijelijk Ontvangen Is - brieven deel 2

Marsilio Ficino – Een Universeel Mens * Michael Shepherd (editor) (isbn 9020285610)

The Dutch version of this book was released only a few months ago, but the original edition is already a “special order” at Amazon. A wonderfull book with articles about the philosopher who was one of the major originators of the Renaissance. Ficino was the son of the doctor of Cosimo dei Medici and after showing interest in philosophy… Continue reading Friend To Mankind: Marsilio Ficino * Michael Shepherd (editor) (isbn 0856831840)

A book only for the Dutch-speaking among you, sorry.

“Van Anima Tot Zeus” is an encyclopedia for anyone interested in the subjects that you can find in these pages and more. 885 Pages, almost countless words and symbols varying from alchemy to psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, mythology, etc., etc. Even short biographies of persons, photos, images, explanations, cross-referances, etc., etc. Paging through the book learned me that is isn’t entirely… Continue reading Van Anima Tot Zeus * Maarten Timmer (isbn 9056373528 * 2001)

“Comment Peut-On Être Païen” (1981) is the alledged masterpiece by the French philosopher, politician and pagan Alain de Benoist (1943). The title means literary “how one can be pagan”, so the English translation doesn’t have such a strange title: On Being A Pagan. I read a Dutch translation though of which the title is Heiden Zijn Vandaag De Dag which means “being a pagan today”. The book is pretty old… Continue reading On Being A Pagan * Alain de Benoist (isbn 0972029222 (1981, translation 2005))

The chapbooks have different series. There are folk stories & fairytales (series “F”), literature of the 19th century (series “19-L”) and this book by the French early scientist and philosopher Descartes (1596-1650) is part of the 17th century science & technology series. This is the discourse in which Descartes came to his famous saying “cogito ergo sum”, “I think, therefor I am”. I am not too well read in philosophy… Continue reading Discourse On The Method Of Rightly Conducting The Reason, And Seeking Truth In The Sciences (Rene Descartes) (fbn press)

The original German is called Heidegger und sein Zeit (‘Heidegger and his time’), which is a reference to his main-work Sein und Zeit (‘being and time’), in English this little joke cannot be made, but we can in Dutch.

However Heidegger (1889-1976) was the most recent of the three philosophers that Safranski wrote biographies off, Safraski wrote his second philosophical biography about him. I read it as third, to keep the… Continue reading Martin Heidegger: Between Good and Evil * Rüdiger Safranski (isbn 0674387104)

This is the third philosophers-biography from the hand of Safranski, but because Nietzsche lived between Schophauer and Heidegger, I read this book as the second of these three. The subtitle says: “a biography of his thinking” and this is absolutely what this book is. In contradiction to the Schopenhauer biography, Safranski doesn’t give a whole lot of details of the life of Nietzsche, but people who are interested will be… Continue reading Nietzsche, a philosophical biography * Rüdiger Safranski (isbn 0393323803)

I got the very luxery Dutch translation of this book which (in contradiction to the English translation) comes in one book of 750+ pages. Quintilian, a writer that lived around the year 40. This fact makes this text older than the New Testament! Still, reading the book it could have been written rather 20 than 2000 years ago. Quintilian wrote the book in only a few months, but Piet Gerbandy… Continue reading The Orator's Education * Quintilian (isbn 0674995929)

This is the first of three biographies of philosophers by the German writer Safranski. I got all three (this one, Nietzsche en Heidegger) to review, the other two I have yet to read. I hoped to learn more about the philosophy of the pessimistic German philosopher Schopenhauer (1799-1860), but this thick book (+500 pages) is mostly filled with biographical information. Schopenhauers early years, the relation with his mother, sister, the… Continue reading Schopenhauer and the wild years of philosophy - Rüdiger Safranski (isbn 0674792769)

Cioran (1911-1995) I only knew from a long anounced compilation project that is dedicated to this man and so far still not released. When I got the change to get a Dutch translation of him for review, I didn’t wait to take it, so now I have one of the five works of this Romenian philosopher that is available in my native language. This little book is released by the… Continue reading The Temptation To Exist * Emil M. Cioran (isbn 0226106756)

It has been a while since I studied Ficino. This was part of my series of articles about the Renaissance. At the time I mostly focussed on the esoteric side of the man. Later I reviewed Dutch translations of letters of Ficino and now just released is a Dutch translation of Ficino’s introduction to the Platonic theology. Ficino was writing a massive text of several books about the Platonic theology… Continue reading De wereld Als Kunstwerk * Marsilio Ficino (isbn: 9025954987 * 2005)