Absolute Elsewhere

1969

Anthony, Piers (Piers A. D. Jacob), MACROSCOPE, 1, 1969, Avon, PB. Anthony is one of the young "new wave" science fiction writers who struggled through the 60's to emerge as a major force in the 70's. This is his first major novel. MACROSCOPE draws much from theSwadian school of astrology as practiced by Marc Edmond Jones and DaneRudhyar. I suspect there's a lot of Jungian influence here, too. The emphasis is on the inner transformation of the space traveler, rather than on the journey itself. It's metaphysics as science fiction. If you go back a few decades you'll find C. S. Lewis, Olaf Stapleton, David Lindsay, and Charles Williams writing metaphysics in genre form. Anthony is at his best when he follows this stream, rather that the American pulp tradition (see GOD OF TAROT, 1979 entry).

Berlitz, Charles, MYSTERY OF ATLANTIS~THE, 1, 1969, Grosset and Dunlap, HB. This is the first of a long series of titles on "fringe" subjects by Berlitz. This is an enjoyable but lightweight survey on Atlantis. This book popularized Edgar Cayce's prediction that part of Atlantis would "rise" near Bimini in the late 60's. It was Berlitz's contact and later collaborator, Dr. Mason Valentine, who claimed to have spotted the mysterious "Bimini Wall". All this seems to support Cayce's prediction (see Ferro and Grumley, 1970 entry).

Bernard, Raymond, HOLLOW EARTH, 1, 1969, University Books, HB. Also Dell/Lyle Stuart PB, in early 70's with no date. According to Martin Gardner (THE NEW AGE, 1988 entry), it is believed that "Dr. Bernard" was Walter Siegmeister, "...a German crank who one time ran a heath-food store in Brooklyn and who wrote many worthless books and pamphlets on health, sex, and occult topics." This edition is not the first publication according to Gardner, who lists Fieldcrest Publications (1963) as the first edition. My copy, the Dell/Lyle Stuart edition, lists University Books as holding the copyright. This is one of those books which seems to leave no tracks! I have no objection to Martin Gardner's characterization above (for once), as this book is one of the bedrock classics of crankdom. The Earth is hollow, and there's two big holes at the poles, where you can enter. The government and scientists are covering it up. Edgar Rice Burroughs did it better in fiction (see also WARLORD, 1976 entry).
 

Blackwood, Algernon, TALES OF THE MYSTERIOUS AND MACABRE, 1, 1969, Spring Books, HB.

Bok, Hannes, THE SORCERER'S SHIP, 1, 1969, Ballantine Books, PB.  Part of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. Reprint of a 1942 pulp fantasy.  Bok is best known as one of the greatest of the illustrators during the golden age of the pulp science fiction and fantasy magazines. His fiction is much like that of fantasy master A. Merritt, whom he knew and admired.

BOOK OF RAZZIEL, Underground Comic, 1969, Print Mint (Berkeley, CA),Thompson~Artist: John, Dec 1969. This is a series of one page illustrations with accompanying text, making Thompson the William Blake of newsprint. Thompson's mysticism incorporates a whole sink full of ideas, and is a fine example of late counterculture syncretism. Finding one of Thomson's comics in the usual scattered and tattered pile at the pot party usually resulted in responses like "far out" and "heavy trip, man." For once it really was something like those over-used cliches. Even so, about 95% of Thompson's work probably by-passed most of his audience.

Briggs, Peter, MYSTERIES OF OUR WORLD, 1969, Belmont, PB,

Buckland, Raymond, POCKET GUIDE TO THE SUPERNATURAL, 1969, Ace, PB. Above date uncertain. This was published in Britain, in 1970, A GUIDE TO THE SUPERNATURAL. I guess the Brits don't carry paperbacks in their pockets. It must be one of those subtle cultural differences I've heard so much about. This edition lists the author as Dr. Raymond Buckland. I've never seen a "Dr." in front of Buckland's name anywhere else. A PhD in Witchcraft perhaps...? This is one of many survey books on the occult which appeared in great numbers in this period. The only thing that makes this book interesting is the fact that Buckland claims to be Numero Uno in the witchcraft world. There is not a hint of that in this volume.
 

Cabell, James Branch, THE SILVER STALLION, 1, 1969, Ballantine, PB. Ballantine Adult Fantasy series with introduction by Lin Carter.

Carter, Lin, TOLKIEN: A LOOK BEHIND "THE LORD OF THE RINGS," 1969, Ballantine. PB. Carter's book was the second popular book on Tolkien to appear on the paperback racks. Carter was one of those rare people who seems to have read everything from Proust to pulps, and could breathe life into background information. This is about the only popular study to try to place Tolkien into the context of the whole tradition of fantasy. Carter is often savaged by Tolkien critics for some factual errors, and for introducing too much material from other sources. In Carter's defense, I suggest that his main aim is to lead the reader, who has recently discovered Tolkien, into the whole range of fantasy material. This he does with great enthusiasm. It is also not the usual deadly boring, repetitious drones that most of the Tolkien critics seem to prefer. This is one of the best starting points for discovering Tolkien's place in fantasy literature, in general.

Carter, Lin, ed., DRAGONS, ELVES, AND HEROES, 1969, Ballantine, PB. entry.
 

Carter, Lin, ed, THE YOUNG MAGICIANS, 1969, Ballantine, PB. 1969 was the year that Ballantine and Lin Carter launched the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. This anthology is a preview of some of the authors that would appear in the series, including William Morris, Lord Dunsany, E R Eddison, James Branch Cabell, H P Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, A Merritt, Robert E Howard, L Sprague de Camp, Henry Kuttner, Jack Vance, C S Lewis, J R R Tolkien, and Lin Carter.

Castaneda, Carlos, THE TEACHINGS OF DON JUAN, 2, 1969, Ballantine, PB.
 

Christian, Paul [Jean-Baptiste Pitois], THE HISTORY AND PRACTICE OF MAGIC, 2, 1969, Citadel Press, HB, Edited and Revised by Ross Nichols. Originally published in 2 vols. by Citadel in 1963. This is a truely weird book by even occult standards. Christian was a 19th century French occultist with some wildly variant ideas. This edition, however is so completely "amplified" by the editor, that it is truely difficult to tell which ideas are Christian's and which are the "amplifiers". Editor Ross Nichols was one of the founders of the English Druidic revival, if that gives you some idea how unusual this edition may be.

Cleaver, Eldridge, SOUL ON ICE, 3, 1969, Dell, PB. Probably the most important book written at the height of the Black Power movement.

Cohane, John Philip, KEY, THE, 1, 1969, Crown, HB. John Cohane, an amateur archaeologist, presents a case that Semitic is a universal language. This means that Semitic speaking folk must have migrated all over the world at a very early time. He offers proof in common linguistic roots in ancient (and some modern) languages. The "cognate game" is interesting in the specific, but unconvincing in the general. Cohane seems to subscribe to the Cyrus Gordon school of Defusionism in this book. Later he wrote PARADOX (1977) which argued that mankind was of extraterrestrial origin.

Cooke, David C., and Cooke, Yvonne, GREAT MONSTER HUNT, THE, 1969, Grosset and Dunlop, HB. PB? This is a light weight book on the Loch Ness monster, and some of the investigations that were going on in the 60's. There are some nice interviews with eye witnesses. The Cookes spend as much time on local folklore and atmosphere as they do on the "Nessie" problem. Included are some local rumors about the "haunted house" of Boleskine--a house on the loch where Aleister Crowley once dwelt. There are some pictures of the beast (the one in the lake) worth examining.
 
 

Crowley, Aleister,   THE BOOK OF THOTH,  2, 1969, Samuel Weiser, HB.

Crowley, Aleister, CONFESSIONS OF ALEISTER CROWLEY, 1, 1969, Jonathan Cape /British ed., HB. See 1970 entry.
 

Crowley, Aleister, MAGICK IN THEORY AND PRACTICE, 1, nd. (1969), Castle Books, HB. I can find no offical publishing date for this edition. All I know is that it was available in 1969 (the year I bought it), and that the oportunistic Lyle Stuart Publishing group certainly world not miss out on issuing their edition of Crowley's most famous work in the same year that the CONFESSIONS (see above) came out. It was the only edition of MAGICK available for many years (see 1976 entry).

Daniken, Erich von, CHARIOTS OF THE GODS, 2, 1969, Souvenir, Press/ British ed., HB.
 

Dick, Philip K., DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? 2, 1969, Signet.PB. The protagonist is a policeman who tracks down androids who are passing as humans. The synthetic humans are created to be permanent second class citizens, or slaves, but have ideas of their own. It's a complex metaphor for how humans deny the status of humanity to certain classes of our society. The androids could easily be blacks, homosexuals, witches, communists, Jews, etc., who have been relegated to nonhuman status by society, at various times. One lovely paranoid episode: Deccard finds himself in a San Francisco police station. Suddenly it dawns on him that the whole station has been taken over by androids passing as policemen. The novel finally made it to film as BLADE RUNNER (1982). Bluntly, one of the finest science fiction novels ever written.

Disch, Thomas M., THE PRISONER, 1969, Ace Books, PB. Novelization, based on the hit TV show starring Patrick McGoohan. The show had a cult status, and so does this unusual and uncharacteristic commercial work by Disch.

Duraul, Arkon, HISTORY OF SECRET SOCIETIES, 2, 1969, Pocket Books, PB. See 1962 entry. This rather uncritical and undocumented history of secret societies was very popular with the occult underground of the day. It was interesting and fun reading. It was one of the books which influenced Shea and Wilson's ILLUMINATUS TRILOGY (see 1975 entry). Several years after this book was out of print, I happened to pick up a book on secret societies published in the infamous "For the Millions" series (a Los Angeles publishing company put out a score or more of these things with titles like "Psychic Rocks for the Millions"). The book had been cribbed verbatim from Duraul's book. It made me wonder how many of these borderline houses who sell through mail order may be doing the same low stunt.
 

Ellison, Harlan, THE BEAST THAT SHOUTED LOVE AT THE HEART OF THE WORLD, 1969 Avon, PB. Contains the nasty story "A Boy and His Dog."

THE FABULOUS FURRY FREAK BROTHERS, Underground Comic Book, 1969, RipOff Press, Gilbert Shelton, Writer/Illustrator:, #1, Feb. 1969. If the Zap series is the comix most associated with the 60s counterculture, it is the Freak Brothers who probably transcended the times and will ultimately survive. Quite frankly, Shelton created interesting and complex fictional charactors, quite apart from their involvement in the dope scene. Perhaps that is why they are still in print and being read by folks who never saw a reefer or a bong -- an some of them may even be Republicans!

Farmer, Philip Jose, BLOWN, 1,1969, Essex House (North Hollywood, CA),PB. Sequel to IMAGE OF THE BEAST, 1968 entry. See 1979 entry.

Farmer, Philip Jose, A FEAST UNKNOWN, 1, 1969, Essex House (North Hollywood, CA), PB. Doc Savage meets Tarzan in an X-rated adventure. Farmer takes the kinky sex and violence implicit in the pulp adventures, and makes it explicit. Really explicit.

Framer, Philip Jose, FLESH, 3, 1969, Signet, PB. Reprint of the Doubleday 1968 ed. Take a look at the 1973 entry for this title, for an example of how publishers follow trends.

FEAR NO EVIL, T.V. movie, 1969, Director: Paul Wendkos, This is one of the earliest and best of the occult horror movies done for television. Louis Jordan and Wilfred Hyde-White play psychic investigators. Their case involves a man sacrificed to a Near Eastern demon of light by a Satanic cult. Now his ghost and/or the demon are trying to possess the wife, using mirrors as the door to this world. Like most Television movies you can hear the executives' brains grinding-- "Lets do something like ROSEMARY'S BABY." Fortunately, a rather original, well-crafted thriller came out. A less inspired sequel, RITUAL OFEVIL, followed (see 1970 entry).

Fowles, John, THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN, 1, 1969, Little Brown, HB. See 1970 entry.

Fuller, John G., ALIENS IN THE SKIES, 1, 1969, Putnam, HB.

Fuller, John G., ALIENS IN THE SKIES, 2, 1969, Berkley, PB. Obscured printing record. May date from 1970.

Fuller, John G., INCIDENT AT EXETER, 1, 1969, Putnam, HB. See 1974 entry.

Gelling, Peter and Davidson~Hilda Ellis, CHARIOT OF THE SUN, 1969, Praeger. HB.
 
 

Gould, Rupert T., ODDITIES:A BOOKS OF UNEXPLAINED fACTS, 2, 1969, Paperback Library, PB. A good example of creative repackageing. Gould's 1928 book was revived and given suitably tippy cover art .

Govinda, Lama Anagarika, FOUNDATIONS OF TIBETAN MYSTICISM, 2, 1969, Samuel Weiser, Trade. This is reputed to be the best explanation of esoteric Tibetan Buddhism ever written. It's tough going for the casually curious. Start with Govinda's more popular WAY OF THE WHITE CLOUDS (1970 entry) before wading into the deep structure of Tibetan theology.

Graves, Robert, ON POETRY, 1969, Doubleday, HB. This is the best of several later collections of essays by Graves. About one half of the book consists of dialogues on the ideas in THE WHITE GODDESS. The rest are essays or lectures on various poets and their works. Graves was a witty and blunt man, and a joy to read.

Gray, Eden, THE TAROT REVEALED, 2, 1969, Signet, PB.
 

Gurdjieff, G. I., MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN, 2, 1969, Dutton, PB.

Hansel, C. E. M., ESP: A SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION, 1969, Scribner's, HB and Trade. entry.
 

Harvard Lampoon [Henry N. Beard and Douglas C. Kenney], BORED OF THE RINGS, 1969, Signet, PB. "First, Second, Neutral, Park..."

Hesse, Hermann, STEPPENWOLF, 2, 1969, Bantam, PB. Reprint of the 1963Holt, Rinehart and Winston ed.

Holiday, F. W., GIANT ORM OF LOCH NESS, THE, 1969, Norton, HB. Holiday believed that the Loch Ness monster was a giant prehistoric orm, Tullimonstrum. This remains one of the best books on the subject, and a good place to start reading about "Nessie."

Huebner, Louise, POWER THROUGH WITCHCRAFT, 1, 1969, Nash, HB. See 1971 entry.

Hyde, Margaret O., ed, MIND DRUGS, 2, 1969, Pocket Books, PB, entry.

I CHING, Edited by Chi and Chi, Legge, James, Translation:, 2, 1969, Bantam. PB. This was probably the third most common edition of the I CHING during the salad days for hexagrams and trigrams.
 

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS WITHIN YOU COMIX, Underground Comic, 1969, Print Mint (Berkeley, CA). Thompson~Artist: John, July 1969.Underground comic artists did not often concern themselves with mysticism. Politics, sex and drugs were more available topics. JohnThompson was an exception. While most other underground artists returned to minimalistic "bigfoot" cartooning styles, Thompson went to the decorative "symbolist" and related movements for his personal mystical visions. His early works often abandon recognizable narrative from in favor of symbolic progressions, with whole pages drawn like Tibetan mandallas, Kaballistic diagrams, or M.C. Escher symmetries. His use of Greek, Hebrew, and obscure magical alphabets also makes much of his early work even more enigmatic. I have only seen part of this work as revised in ETERNAL COMIX (1973 entry), so send me a xerox of it, anytime.

Koestler, Arthur, ACT OF CREATION, THE, 1, 1969?, ?, ? ENTRY.

Kubler-Ross, Elizabeth, ON DEATH AND DYING, 1, 1969, Macmillan, HB.See 1970 entry.
 

Kurland, Michael, THE UNICORN GIRL. 1, 1969, Pyramid, PB. The sequel to Chester Anderson's THE BUTTERFLY KID (1967 entry). Kurland co-authored a science fiction novel, TEN YEARS TO DOOMSDAY with Anderson in 1964 (entry).

KUKAWK COMIX, Underground Comic, 1969, Print Mint (Berkeley, CA), Thompson, Artist: John, Dec 1969. I have listed this as it is listed in Kennedy's Underground Guide (see research bibliography), the most complete listing of underground comics so far. The title is actually Greek capital letters, and translates as "cyclops." It is another series of mystery emblems in occult order quite like THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU COMIX (1969 entry).

Laing, R. D., SELF AND OTHERS, 1, 1969, Pantheon Books, HB. See 1970 entry.
 

Lee, Dal, UNDERSTANDING THE OCCULT, 1969, Paperback Library, PB. Another example of the glut of quicky books on the occult. I smell a big fat pseudonym here. Is that "Dal Lee" as in Lama, or as in Salvadore?

Leek, Sybil, BOOK OF FORTUNE TELLING, 1, 1969, Macmillan, HB.

Lorenzen, Jim and Coral, UFOs OVER THE AMERICAS, 1969, Signet, PB.

Lorenzen, Coral and Jim, UFOs: THE WHOLE STORY, 1969, Signet, PB.
 

Lovecraft, H. P., DUNWICH HORROR AND OTHERS, THE, 2, 1969, Lancer, PB.

Luce, J.V., END OF ATLANTIS, THE, 1, 1969, Thames and Hudson/British ed. HB. This is a straightforward account of archaeological discoveries on the Aegean island of Thera. This was the scene of one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in history (about 1400 B.C.). It may have brought about the collapse of the Cretan civilization. Luce presents a fairly convincing argument that all of this is the origin of the Atlantis myth repeated by Plato. This Thera-as-Atlantis thesis was gaining acceptance in the 60's. The eruption has been seen as the explanation of the plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea in the Book of Exodus. There are some flaws in the argument, but generally it's a thought provoking work.

Margolis, Jack And Richard Clorfene, A CHILD'S GARDEN OF GRASS, 1, 1969, Contact Books, Trade. See 1979 entry.
 

Markham, Robert [Kingsley Amis], COLONEL SUN, 2, Bantam, PB.

Martello, Dr Leo L., WEIRD WAYS OF WITCHCRAFT, 1, 1969 HC Publishers Inc., PB.

Michell, John,  THE VIEW OVER ATLANTIS, 1, 1969, Sargo Press / British ed.,.

Miller, William Robert, GOODBYE JEHOVAH. 1969, Avon, PB.

Moorcock, Michael, SECRET OF THE RUNESTAFF, 1, 1969, Lancer, PB.

MOTHER'S OATS COMIX, Underground Comic Book, 1969, Rip Off Press, Dave Sheridan and Fred Schier, Writer/Illustrators, #1, Oct 1969.  My own personal favorite of all the underground comic series.

Mundy, Talbot, QUEEN CLEOPATRA, 3, 1969, Avon, PB, reprint of 1929 title. This was Mundy's Magnum Opus, the "straight" historical novel which he spent most of the 20's writing. His "persona" character, who views the action for us, is a Greek sea captain, Tros of Samothrace. He was such a good character, that Mundy had written over 1000 pages of material before he finished the original project (see 1967 entries). Mundy's Cleopatra is a wily and clever queen who demanded to stand on her own in a male dominated world. I don't think I have ever read a better description of the workings of ancient power politics and its oriental complexity.

Neugebauer, Otto, EXACT SCIENCES IN ANTIQUITY, THE, 1969, Dover, Trade. 2nd ed. of 1951 title.
 
 

Norman, Eric[Warren Smith}, THE UNDER-PEOPLE, 1969, Award Books, PB.

Nott, C. S., JOURNEY THROUGH THIS WORLD, 1969, Samuel Weiser, HB.

PENTHOUSE, Magazine, 1969, September 1969, First issue. PENTHOUSE was the first real competition for the slick men's magazine trade. Until it came along, PLAYBOY was the undisputed monolith of the men's magazines. PENTHOUSE upped the ante, so to speak, by showing "pink," something PLAYBOY had avoided throughout most of the 50's and 60's. I find that reviewing 70's issues of PENTHOUSE to be an invaluable way to review trends during that period. As PLAYBOY was a good barometer of 60's values and trends, so PENTHOUSE tended to reflect 70's values. The pictures of girls aren't bad, either!

Popoff, Irmis B., GURDJIEFF: HIS WORK ON MYSELF ...WITH OTHERS ...FOR THE WORK, 1969, Samuel Weiser. HB. See 1973 entry.

Pratt, Fletcher, THE BLUE STAR, 1, 1969, Ballantine Books, PB. This volume has the distinction of being the first issued in editor Lin Carter's ground breaking Ballanting Adult Fantasy Series.

Rand, Ayn, ROMANTIC MANIFESTO~THE, 1, 1969, World, HB. See 1971 entry.

Ready, William, UNDERSTANDING TOLKIEN AND THE LORD OF THE RINGS, 4, 1969, Paperback Library, PB. Reprint of TOLKIEN RELATION, 1968 entry. Ready has the distinction of having published the first popular study of Tolkien. The work pays special attention to Tolkien's scholarly background, and his association with the literary circle known as the "Inklings" (see Carpenter, 1979 and 1981 entries). He also calls attention to Tolkien's conservative Catholic background. Generally, he presents Tolkien as a scholar who, like Lewis Carroll, M. R. James, C. S. Lewis and others, indulged in writing fantastic tales. The work is written in clear basic English, which is helpful to casual reader. Ready makes some valid critical points, especially concerning Tolkien's tendency to over-write everything.

Regardie, Israel, TREE OF LIFE, 1969, Samuel Weiser, HB, 2nd ed. of 1932 title.
 

Regardie, Israel,THE  GOLDEN DAWN, 1, 1969, Llewellyn Publications. HB. 2nd ed., 2 vols. Orig. pub. in 1941in four 4 vols./see introduction. The Golden Dawn was a ritual magic fraternity in Britain at the turn of thecentury. A lot of famous and infamous people belonged to it. For many reasons, the Golden Dawn tradition has almost totally dominated Western occult doctrine. This book represents the papers and teachings from the lower order. This book has been heavily mined by many an occult writer since 1940. It is safe to say that anyone who claims to understand the origins of 20th century occultism, and has not read this book, is simply uninformed (see 1971 entry).

Roszak, Theodore, MAKING OF A COUNTER CULTURE, 1, 1969, Anchor, PB.

Santillana, Georgio de, and, Von Dechend, Hertha, HAMLET'S MILL, 1, 1969, Gambit. HB. The subtitle is: "An Essay on Myth and the Frame of Time." Two eminent scholars, one a world famous historian of science, argue that myth is a preliterate language of science, and that the tales of mythology are most often metaphors for astronomical information. The most important core of knowledge concerns the Precession of the Equinoxes, and the many cycles and rhythms they cause in the sky. It's a huge (over 500 pages) book, that challenges the intellect at each turn of the page, and seems to be totally new on successive re-readings. It's one of the truly visionary books of the period. Buy it, borrow it, steal it, but read it!

Saxon, Peter, DARK WAYS TO DEATH, 1969, Berkley, PB. (THE GUARDIANS #3). See Below.

Saxon, Peter, HAUNTING OF ALAN MAIS, 1969, Berkley, PB. (THE GUARDIANS #3). See Below.

Saxon, Peter, KILLING BONE, THE, 1969, Berkley, PB. (THE GUARDIANS #1). The Guardians are four Londoners who have banded together to battle the forces of supernatural evil. I have no idea how many of these novels were published. The Berkley series was numbered and had nice Jeff Jones cover paintings. I've also seen other Guardian novels in British paperbacks (where they originated). Saxon really pumped out a whole grab bag of pulpy occult potboilers in the 60's and 70's. They are quick fun (all under 200 paperback pages). Saxon does seem to make some effort to know something about his subject, which make them more "occult novels" than "horror novels."

Schonfield, Hugh, THOSE INCREDIBLE CHRISTIANS, 2, 1969, Bantam, PB. A warts-and-all history of the early church fathers and the formation of early church doctrine. This was not as sensational as Schonfield's THE PASSOVER PLOT (1966 entry), and is a better book, too. Biblical scholars know much of what is written here, but little of it ever made it into a popular book. One theme of the book was especially telling: Schonfield showed how much of Christian doctrine was formed for political reasons rather that spiritual ones.
 

Seth, Ronald, WITCHES AND THEIR CRAFT, 2, 1969, Award Books, PB.

Spencer, John Wallace, LIMBO OF THE LOST, 1, 1969, Philips, HB. See 1973 entry.

Schutz, William C., JOY, 2, 1969, Grove Press, PB. entry

Sherman, Harold, YOUR MYSTERIOUS POWERS OF ESP, 1, 1969, Signet, PB.

STAR TREK, T.V. Show, 1969, Last episode 2 Sept. 1969,

Stern, Jess, THE SEEKERS, 1, 1969, Doubleday, HB. See 1970 entry.

Stern, Jess, ADVENTURES INTO THE PSYCHIC, 1, 1969, Coward-McCann, HB. See 1971 entry.
 

Trevor-Roper, H. R., EUROPEAN WITCH-CRAZE OF THE 16TH AND 17TH CENTURIES, 1969, Harper and Row,  Trade

Vallee, Jacques, PASSPORT TO MAGONIA, 1969, Henry Regnery, HB.  What do Christian Miracles, Celtic Fairy folklore, and UFO lore have in common?  According to veteran UFOlogist Vallee, a great deal more than you might think.  This is probably Vallee's most important work, and clearly one of the most influencial books on the UFO phenomenon ever written.

Waite, Arthur Edward, THE BOOK OF CEREMONIAL MAGIC, 1969, Bell Publishing Co. (NYC), HB. Reprint of 1898 ed.

Watts, Alan, PSYCHOTHERAPY EAST AND WEST, 2, 1969. Ballantine, PB.

Weiner, Herbert, 9 ½ MYSTICS, 1, 1969, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, HB. See 1971 entry

Wilson, Colin, POETRY AND MYSTICISM, 1969, City Lights (San Francisco, CA), Trade. This is an important book in understanding Wilson's growing interest in the mystical and paranormal. He argues in favor of a kind of "learned mystical experience," in the Western tradition, rather than an emphasis on Eastern traditions or drugs. This short book should be seen as a precursor to his THE OCCULT (1971 and 1973 entries).

Wolfe, Tom, ELECTRIC KOOL-AID ACID TEST~THE, 2, 1969, Bantam, PB. entry.

Zelazny, Roger, CREATURES OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS, 1, 1969, Doubleday, HB. This is another novel in the far flung future featuring ancient gods. This one involves the Egyptian pantheon. It's a kind of spiritual sequel to LORD OF LIGHT (1967 entry).

Zelazny, Roger. LORD OF LIGHT, 2 , 1967, Avon, PB.