Product Description

In 1919, a Canadian teenager with a sixth grade education arrived by train to the wilds of Los Angeles. Within a decade he had transformed himself into a world-renowned occult scholar.

His name was Manly Palmer Hall, author of the landmark publication The Secret Teachings of All Ages, regarded as the best introduction to Western esoteric ideas, and the founder of the Philosophical Research Society, which houses one of the biggest occult libraries in the United States.

Hall became the twentieth century's most prolific writer and speaker on ancient philosophies, mysticism, and magic, and a confidant of Hollywood celebrities and politicians. In 1990, he died-some say he was strangled-in what remains an open-ended Hollywood murder mystery worthy of Raymond Chandler.

Master of The Mysteries: The Life of Manly Palmer Hall offers an intimate portrait of this elusive luminary who set as his life's work the daunting task of reconciling scientific reason with ancient wisdom-issues that seekers and scientists still struggle with today.

Author Louis Sahagun draws from Hall's massive archives and a wealth of interviews to provide an insider's view of the birth of a metaphysical subculture that continues to have a profound influence on movies, television, music, books, art, and thought.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #62371 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 300 pages

About the Author
Louis Sahagun is a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times. He was a reporter involved in a Times series on Latinos in Southern California that won a Pulitzer Prize. His work ranges from religion and the environment to crime and politics. He lives with his wife and daughter in California.

Customer Reviews

Biography of a neglected important figure in Mysticism.
Manly Palmer Hall is a figure is cut large both in the physical sense and in the Occult world. This was a young man who was made the pastor of the Church of the People in Los Angeles at the age of 18 or 19. He wrote his magnum opus at the age of 28 "THE SECRET TEACHINGS OF ALL AGES". This biography reveals Manly as the human he was however accomplished. Warts and all! It goes into his relationships with both his wives, the unfortunate sad first one Fay and the strange second one Marie. The Philosophical Research Society that Manly founded in his 30s still exists and has in the last few years has achieved one Manly's great hopes, that of being accredited for university courses of study. Will Manly Palmer Hall's legacy survive? Only time will tell. Read the book and decide for yourself.

Behind the "Mystery"
For those of us who were in Los Angeles during the final days of Manly Hall, this book is spot on. The incidents surrounding his death were in dispute for some time. It was refreshing to learn so much about Hall's early days,
the recorded documents and how he retold his own history. The evolution of the spiritual phenomenon in this city form Hall's arrival up to his death was great, warts and all. The new age, really, is just another cycle of a recurrent theme in the history of personal spiritual movements complete with real saints, real seekers, real con-artists. For myself who had heard him speak and who was at Hall's last lecture that evening at the Scottish Rite in Los Angeles, this book is great.

Sahagun Reveals the Facts About Hall and His Life
Louis Sahagun has written a book that reveals the facts about Manly Palmer Hall - his life, his work, and his legacy. The book also shows how Hall and the City of Los Angeles grew up together. "Master of the Mysteries" is the only book that I have ever encountered that contains well-researched and documented evidence used to tell Hall's story. Sahagun's book shatters many of the myths and legends that surround Hall and his work. We are left with the portrait of a man who was self-made, perhaps a genius, but ultimately a human being with all of the inherent qualities, both positive and negative. I would encourage you to obtain and read a copy of Louis Sahagun's "Master of the Mysteries". It reveals the real person behind the enigma, telling all the details of Hall's life that, apparently, not even very close friends knew. The result is a portrait of a genius who was driven to achieve great things, as well as a mortal man. By doing this, Louis Sahagun brings us much closer to Manly Hall and his works - a truly great accomplishment. This book is Sahagun's first, but his extensive experience (28 years) as a staff writer for the L.A. Times serves him well as his book is extremely accessible, even for those unfamiliar with Manly Hall.