Gangleri – bookreviews

Even though Amazon hasn’t received new copies yet, the journal’s website isn’t updated, the Wikipedia page doesn’t say anything, I am not kidding Tyr journal 3 is available!! Our always up to date tradionalist Ensio Kataja mentioned it is a post of his, so started to search and search, tried the ’second hand’ sellors at Amazon, but they don’t ship to Europe, so in the end I decided to just send an email to the publisher. A swift reply, a Paypal payment and a few weeks of waiting and since today I am the very happy owner of a copy. No cd this time, but a massive journal of 530 pages with a lot of articles. The “editorial preface” sets the tone with a very critical text about modern society, but when I started to read the first article about “affluenza” by Thomas Naylor, there is little that can go wrong with this newest issue. Naylor puts a fist in the face of the American way of living (and it also applies to Europe). Just a random quote:

Like most Americans, are you spending more and enjoying it less? Do you kids still say, “We’re bored. What can we do?” even though their playthings include lots of sports equipment, expensive mountain bikes, a laptop computer, a cell phone, the latest video games, and a room full of high-tech musical and video toys? Not content with your new Honda, don’t you have your eye on a BMW or possibly a gas-guzzling Hummer? After skiing at Stowe, will your family accept anything less than Aspen or Whistler? And aren’t you planning a vacation in Europe next summer? And maybe a second home?

Other subjects include Perenialism, Traditionalism (and the radical form of course), paganism, music, books, etc., etc.

Send your email to elecampane at bellshouth.net to get yourself a copy or just wait until it is available more easily.

[edit 20/2/08] Ultra now has a website!

introduction générale à l’étude des doctrines hindoues (1921)

This is the first book that Guénon wrote, he was 35 years at the time, yet, it already has Guénon’s scornful writing style. The larger part of the book hardly lives up to the title. It is more an exposition of metaphysics with many references to other-than-Hindu Eastern religions including Chinese and near-Eastern. This is interesting in itself, but it takes to the short part three that you will learn something about Hindu doctrines and here Guénon actually only writes about the Darshanas. The book is closed with harsh attacks on Western scholars on oriental religions, Western mentality in general and “pseudo esotericists” dealing with Eastern doctrines such as the Theosophical Society. Introduction To The Study Of The Hindu Doctrines is even for a Guénon book not an easy read. He writes very lengthy, indirect and in the for him typical tone. This book does indeed makes much of a basis for his later “Traditionalist” writings and learns you a bit on Hinduism and how it is portrayed in the West and I always enjoy the writer’s criticism on the West, so it is not really a bad buy.
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Read quotes of Guénon here.