Theos-Talk Archives (August 1997 Message tl00455)

In message <199708201402.KAA20738@leo.vsla.edu>, "K. Paul Johnson"
<pjohnson@leo.vsla.edu> writes
>Another NYTS guy horrified some of my friends in the Maryland
>lodge by saying of Madame Blavatsky's Baboon, "No, I haven't
>read it, and I have no intention of doing so.  I've heard of
>the negative attitude of the author."  No doubt Peter
>Washington has his own biases and is not particularly admiring
>of HPB.  But like it or not (and I have far more reason than
>most *not* to like it) his book had a wider impact on the
>public than any other theosophical book (meaning on
>theosophical subjects) of the decade.  It's disappointing that
>a national TS leader would boycott it because he thought it
>anti-HPB.

Interesting. I recently read this book and loved it!  While not
flattering to many of the TS luminaries of the past and those who came
after them (TS or not) it seemd to me to be (apart from the obvious digs
at all our 'isms') a reasonabley objective view from someone *outside*
the scene. A few very minor errors of fact, but nothing serious.

Nearer the end of the book Peter W. mentioned a couple of men I have
know personally during my lifetime - and closely during esoteric work.
Both are now deceased, but not when the book was written, and his
comments about them were very accurate, as my own historical
investigations suggest were those of other more familiar names.

Of course HPB wasn't perfect - and she was one of the first to shout it
from the rooftops!

Alan