What do you think?
Rate this book
Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons
In his short 37 years, John Whiteside “Jack” Parsons embodied at least several different roles in one tormented but glorious life.
By day, Parsons’ unorthodox genius created a solid rocket fuel that helped the Allies win World War II and NASA send spacecraft to the moon. Co-founder of Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Aerojet Corporation, a lunar crater was named after Parsons.
By night, Parsons called himself The Antichrist when he performed Aleister Crowley’s Thelemic rituals to create a new sort of human being that would finally destroy Christianity.
In a Pasadena mansion, the dark, handsome Parsons hosted soirees for the emerging literature of science fiction, visited by writers such as Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, and none other than L. Ron Hubbard, who later founded the Church of Scientology. With Hubbard playing his “Scribe,” Parsons enacted dark “Babalon” rituals to help foment a new occult age. Jack Parsons died suddenly in a huge, mysterious explosion that even today cannot be definitively explained. Was it murder? Suicide? Or just an accident?
Feral House’s paperback edition adds new photographs and an Afterword about Parsons’ “Black Pilgrimage.” One of the inspirations for hit television series, "Strange Angels."
By day, Parsons’ unorthodox genius created a solid rocket fuel that helped the Allies win World War II and NASA send spacecraft to the moon. Co-founder of Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Aerojet Corporation, a lunar crater was named after Parsons.
By night, Parsons called himself The Antichrist when he performed Aleister Crowley’s Thelemic rituals to create a new sort of human being that would finally destroy Christianity.
In a Pasadena mansion, the dark, handsome Parsons hosted soirees for the emerging literature of science fiction, visited by writers such as Robert Heinlein, Ray Bradbury, and none other than L. Ron Hubbard, who later founded the Church of Scientology. With Hubbard playing his “Scribe,” Parsons enacted dark “Babalon” rituals to help foment a new occult age. Jack Parsons died suddenly in a huge, mysterious explosion that even today cannot be definitively explained. Was it murder? Suicide? Or just an accident?
Feral House’s paperback edition adds new photographs and an Afterword about Parsons’ “Black Pilgrimage.” One of the inspirations for hit television series, "Strange Angels."
239 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 1999
131 people are currently reading
2260 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
April 15, 2009
A fine and easily read biography of Jack Parsons (1914-1952). The author progresses in a workmanlike fashion with little flair or style, merely trotting out fact after fact, usually chronologically but sometimes in a more confusing fashion, with diversions which could have been cleaned up. After the brilliant introduction by the late Robert Anton Wilson (and the lamentation in realizing that there is a finite amount of R.A.W.'s writing which I have not yet read, which can never increase), Carter's tale of Parsons begins and is quite engrossing, despite its above mentioned flaws.
I was largely ignorant of both the American OTO, the history of rocket research in CalTech and J.P.L (Jet Propulsion Lab, or Jack Parson's Laboratory? Or Jack Parson Lives!) and the early history of rocket research in the US (Parsons met Robert Goddard, and possibly even Werner Von Braun after the war), and I had previously though that Parsons was merely interested in Crowley. Actually, they had a large correspondence, Parsons sent THE BEAST money, and Crowley was interested in Parson's life and work. Crowley was disappointed when Parsons was swindled out of thousands of dollars by none other than L. Ron Hubbard himself, whom THE BEAST 666 calls a 'confidence man'!
Actually, that L. Ron Hubbard, a scheisty sci-fi pulp author and neophyte magickal adept, would steal a high ranking thelemic magician's money (which Parsons got from cashing out of Aerojet Inc, which still services NASA) and his girlfriend, buy a yacht with it, and run the risk of magickal retribution is pretty crazy in and of itself. I was happy to see the linkages between all these interesting 20th century personages (Crowley, Parsons, L.Ron Hubbard, Lovecraft, Von Braun, Goddard, Phillip K Dick even), which kept me reading straight through, finishing the book in about 10 hours total. Also interesting were the diversions into the 19th century history of the OTO, and mini-biographies of Dr. John Dee, court magician to Queen Elizabeth I, and Edward Kelley, his partner in what could only be described as spooky medieval Enochian shenanigans.
Trivialities:
• Line 4, page XIV of the introduction by R.A.W. contains a spelling error: 'fundamtalists'.
• In a footnote, Carter mentions that a Master Mason knocks three times to be admitted to the lodge for initiation. This is wrong as only a candidate for 1˚ is 'initiated', whereas a Master Mason 3˚ has been 'raised' to the sublime degree of Master Mason and would not need to knock for admittance, unless he is outside the lodge after it has been opened.
I was largely ignorant of both the American OTO, the history of rocket research in CalTech and J.P.L (Jet Propulsion Lab, or Jack Parson's Laboratory? Or Jack Parson Lives!) and the early history of rocket research in the US (Parsons met Robert Goddard, and possibly even Werner Von Braun after the war), and I had previously though that Parsons was merely interested in Crowley. Actually, they had a large correspondence, Parsons sent THE BEAST money, and Crowley was interested in Parson's life and work. Crowley was disappointed when Parsons was swindled out of thousands of dollars by none other than L. Ron Hubbard himself, whom THE BEAST 666 calls a 'confidence man'!
Actually, that L. Ron Hubbard, a scheisty sci-fi pulp author and neophyte magickal adept, would steal a high ranking thelemic magician's money (which Parsons got from cashing out of Aerojet Inc, which still services NASA) and his girlfriend, buy a yacht with it, and run the risk of magickal retribution is pretty crazy in and of itself. I was happy to see the linkages between all these interesting 20th century personages (Crowley, Parsons, L.Ron Hubbard, Lovecraft, Von Braun, Goddard, Phillip K Dick even), which kept me reading straight through, finishing the book in about 10 hours total. Also interesting were the diversions into the 19th century history of the OTO, and mini-biographies of Dr. John Dee, court magician to Queen Elizabeth I, and Edward Kelley, his partner in what could only be described as spooky medieval Enochian shenanigans.
Trivialities:
• Line 4, page XIV of the introduction by R.A.W. contains a spelling error: 'fundamtalists'.
• In a footnote, Carter mentions that a Master Mason knocks three times to be admitted to the lodge for initiation. This is wrong as only a candidate for 1˚ is 'initiated', whereas a Master Mason 3˚ has been 'raised' to the sublime degree of Master Mason and would not need to knock for admittance, unless he is outside the lodge after it has been opened.
May 5, 2016
They say that truth is stranger than fiction. This is probably true in the age of Jack Parsons. If you made it up, no one would believe it.
Rocket scientist and ceremonial magician, Parsons is a nexus through which all connections flow.
If you wish to find a link between Crowley, Scientology, communism, NASA, the dark side of the moon, Dennis Hopper, Science Fiction fandom, and a myriad of other things; Parsons is the conduit.
However, the book was dull. Even with an intro by Robert Anton Wilson it was dull.
It got far to bogged down in detail. I really don't want to know that much about the intricacies of making rocket fuel, and all the pages of description just went over my head.
Nor do I want or need to know that much about magical hierarchies and ceremonies. Parsons may have done Enochian magic in the desert, but there is no need to transcribe pages and pages of utter codswallop. If I want to know the Enochian calls I can look them up. However, I really don't want a visit from Choronzon (or whoever), so I won't.
But it seems that Parson did. Apparently he and L Ron Hubbard (acting as scribe and seer) summoned up an elemental woman to be Parsons lover. In fact she was a real woman, and the idea that these men somehow manifested her seems somewhat ridiculous.
(Hubbard had a different tale to tell about the whole thing. In his version he was the hero who stopped the Pasadena sex perverts in their tracks. I feel the need to say that in case the scientologists sue me. Two sides to every story, etc.)
Most people grow out of this stuff eventually, Parsons never did, he blew himself up instead.
My main conclusions regarding this book are as follows.
If you want the scientific community to take you seriously, get a degree.
Crowley was a hypocrite. Apparently the whole of the law is 'do what Crowley tells you to do'.
Magicians always write really bad poetry.
Spelling magic with a k is pretentious.
Be careful around explosives.
April 2, 2012
This is a somewhat workmanlike biography of Parsons, but it is a good look at one of the stranger characters I've heard of. Carter tries to make a case that Parsons' contributions to the two worlds he inabited - rocket science and occult magic - have been wrongly assessed. Rather than being a brilliant magician who made minor contributions to science, Parsons was actually a scientific (or at least technical) pioneer but a failed magician. It's hard to see how the latter could be otherwise, at least from my perspective as skeptic. Perhaps the most fascinating idea encountered in this book is that Parsons may have got the inspiration for his personal magical undertaking, or Black Pilgrimage, from the M.R. James short story, 'Count Magnus'.
March 25, 2017
Okay, here it is in a nutshell: fascinating subject in the hands of someone who didn't know how to write, let alone write a decent biography. I know there is at least one other biography of the ill-fated Jack Parsons, but, quite frankly, after struggling through this mess, I am sick of the whole subject. And that's a shame because I let myself wait over a decade to read this. The two stars I give this book (which is also nightmarishly edited) is based on the subject matter alone, otherwise I would give it one star. P. U.
May 26, 2014
Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons (Paperback)
The inviting retro 50's sci-fi look cover earns this book the one star. I know a lot about Aleister Crowley and I know a good bit of the history of NASA and JPL. This book adds NOTHING of value to that body of knowledge. It's printed on rather nice paper, so I feel bad for the trees that gave up their lives for this disaster of a book. So Jack Parsons was a genius and a tad whacked.... this matters why????????? Author John Carter needs to emulate his literary namesake and head for Mars. If you have trouble sleeping, get a used copy; you'll be out in seconds. That's the best I can say about this waste of paper and ink. I'm sure Feral Press can do better.
The inviting retro 50's sci-fi look cover earns this book the one star. I know a lot about Aleister Crowley and I know a good bit of the history of NASA and JPL. This book adds NOTHING of value to that body of knowledge. It's printed on rather nice paper, so I feel bad for the trees that gave up their lives for this disaster of a book. So Jack Parsons was a genius and a tad whacked.... this matters why????????? Author John Carter needs to emulate his literary namesake and head for Mars. If you have trouble sleeping, get a used copy; you'll be out in seconds. That's the best I can say about this waste of paper and ink. I'm sure Feral Press can do better.
August 22, 2015
Overall the story of Jack Parsons is an interesting one. However this book is simply dreadful. It is poorly edited, full of errors and the author's style is dull to say the least. I didn't read this book so much as trudge through it.
May 26, 2021
La figura de Jack Parsons tuvo ya una biografía ejemplar en las manos de George Pendle, "Strange Angel", que a su vez generó una singular serie de TV que tuvo una muy prometedora primera temporada y una mejorable segunda, la cual no terminó del todo de desarrollar su potencial. "Sex and Rockets" fue la primera obra centrada en la alucinante vida del científico y mago, autoproclamado anticristo, "culpable" en cierta medida que el ser humano llegara hasta la luna, un sujeto fascinante con una de las capacidades de proyección más fuertes que haya habido; también un pánfilo, un tonto redomado y un romántico sin remedio. Un héroe, un personaje y un perdedor, todo en uno.
Aunque se trate del libro pionero, me alegro de haberlo leído después del de Pendle: lo cierto es que no está muy bien escrito (y la traducción al español es mejorable) pero el trabajo de investigación y el nivel de detalle, tanto en el apartado científico como en el esotérico, es remarcable. Por lo que se convierte en un complemento estupendo del otro libro mencionado.
Aunque se trate del libro pionero, me alegro de haberlo leído después del de Pendle: lo cierto es que no está muy bien escrito (y la traducción al español es mejorable) pero el trabajo de investigación y el nivel de detalle, tanto en el apartado científico como en el esotérico, es remarcable. Por lo que se convierte en un complemento estupendo del otro libro mencionado.
March 18, 2012
I have become fascinated with this character, Jack "Marvel" Parsons rocketeer, magician and proto-libertarian. His life story is fascinating and worth the effort. I came at this when I discovered the connection between Aleister Crowley and L. Ron Hubbard. The vision of these post war individuals and particularly Jack as they push the envelope into space inner and outer. It was written with the pseudonym of John Carter, who is obviously a magician that wishes to be anonymous. It is clear that the author is well versed in the rituals and literature of western magic and goes to great length to describe the most famous of Jack Parson's extended rituals the "Babalon Working" in extended detail. Some later gnostics have conjectured that this magical action is that ended up generating the tide of liberation theology and "hippidom" To me, the uninitiated, it was tedious and tragic. For some reason I found myself thinking of Eugene O'Neil's father James and his failed attempts to remake American theater, finally being type cast as the Count of Monte Cristo and eventually taking his whole family on the "Long Days Journey into Night" There are many interesting details about the nascent science of rocketry and the wild spirit of west that had a sort of freedom that we can only dream of. It collapsed around him and the writer is so caught up in finding an explanation for his own beliefs that the poignancy of the damage is lost.
December 13, 2008
This was a good read but I get the feeling that the full story of Parsons will never be known. Parsons was a rocket scientist who was one of the pioneers in the field. He was heavily into the occult, a protege of Aleister Crowley as well as L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard later went on to swindle Parsons out of a large sum of money but not before he and Parsons conducted the infamous "Babylon Working" ceremonial magic rituals. Parsons died by blowing himself up at his home labratory which was ruled an accident but considering Parsons was the worlds greatest authority on rocket fuel at the time of his death many believe that he was set up and murdered. Most people really have no clue as to how much overlap there has always been been between the space program, the occult and science fiction. This book is one to dig into if you want to explore those connections.
January 15, 2025
Fascinating topic, boring book. Or to be fair to the author, objectively informational which perhaps was the objective in taking as fantastical and scandalous of a true story with unsavory elements and making it unquestionably historical. This book was extremely detailed and read at times like a history book in its recollection of both his scientific experiments and occult practices. I picked up this book having never heard of Jack Parsons until 1 month ago, and wanting to learn more about this deeply mercurial and fascinating figure. Indeed did I learn knowledge, but not much insight. The world in which he operated was so foreign to me that I could not come up with my own conclusions other than that he really wanted to believe and tried his best to be a good practitioner of what he believed (no different than any religion).
So many rabbit holes to dive into:
- Aleister Crowley, a mercurial figure who founded Thelema after writing the Book of Law
- Thelema and its esoteric beliefs merging ancient Egyptian religion with early Gnostic Christianity, magick, and numerology
- L Ron Hubbard and his start in the occult magick with Parsons's OTO religion, before scamming Parsons and trying to rewrite history as having shut down OTO as a Navy officer before pivoting to scientology
- 16th Century John Dee and Edward Kelley who recorded the Enochian language and early magick practices
- Parsons risky experiments and scientific research at Caltech that spawned JPL, multiple patents and creation of Aerojet company; also being called upon as an expert ballistics witness in numerous police investigations and even helping with explosives for the film industry
- His oedipus complex having had sex with his mother in ritual magick, and numerous attempts to birth the antichrist
- His ostracism and numerous investigations for hosting a sex cult, often denounced for being a communist sympathizer ("weird" grouped together, though he was far from a communist and his work was critical to American military dominance)
- The complex numerology behind magick practices
- The Beast (666), Babalon (Scarlet Woman / mother of abominations) - trance state in which Crowley, Parsons, Dee, Kelley, and all "spiritualists" scribe these divine writings that are reminiscent of Southern Taoist trance rituals (Bored in Heaven) that require "talent" to channel
- The mystery behind his death - was it carelessness (likely)? Staged murder by an angry policeman who was convicted on account of his testimony (not likely)? Conspiracy to shut down his occult practice or risk of sharing secrets with communists (not likely but more fun to believe)?
"Crowley spoke for this tradition when he said true religion always invokes Dionysus, Aphrodite, and the Muses, which he also called 'wine, women, and song.'" [p7]
"In 1986 researchers found another 2000 year old manuscript near the Nag Hammadi caves were the dead sea scrolls had come to light. Translated in to English by Mohamed al Murtada and Francis Bendik under the title The Secret Book of Judas kerioth, this text depicts Jesus as the bisexual lover of both Mary Magdalene and St. John, and also describes the last supper as an entheogenic sacrament involving magic mushrooms. It has an introduction and running commentary by Dr. Maxwell Selander of Briggs Melton Theological Seminary and you can get a copy from Abrasax books in Corpus Christi, Texas". [p8] - really? I could not find any record of this. Indeed the gospel of Judas paints an alternative story about the role of Judas and his relationship with Judas which the Catholic church has never accepted as canon… numerous texts have suggested a relationship with Mary Magdalene and of course the role of entheogens, but Jesus having a bisexual relationship with St. John is new to me and seems like an extreme interpretation of "beloved disciple"
Story of Dr. John Dee and Sir Edward Kelley who were some of the early magick practitioners in 16th century England that "discovered" the Enochian language in a ceremony not dissimilar to how Joseph Smith received the Book of Mormon from visions of a seer stone inside of a hat. 30 aethyrs and 19 calls, some dictated backwards to Kelley who relayed to Dee what he saw and served as scribe. [p61]
"As is well known in the world of the esoteric and occult, crystal-gazing is not the only way one may scry in the Aethyrs, as tantric energy, or sex magick, may also be used to induce the same sort of ecstatic states that Kelley used so long ago. The provocative Parsons used this method, as did his libidinous mentor Crowley, who claimed to be the reincarnation of Kelley" [p62]
"Within the world of magick, it is well known that it is easier to induce astral vision when one alternately dulls and excites the senses by chemical means. Indeed, the role of drugs in magick is common, and it is fairly certain they were a part of the Babalon Working." [p65]
Role of numerology in magick and Thelema - "Parsons took Liber 49 to be an affirmation of the need to produce a 'magical child.' Liber 49 has 77 verses: The seven-pointed star is sacred to Babalon (which has seven letters), and 7 x 7 = 49, a number also sacred to Babalon. Besides being two sevens side-by-side, 77 is 7 x 11, and 11, as we have already seen, is the number of Crowley's magick." [p67]
Parsons getting scammed by L Ron Hubbard - the two co-founded a company "Allied Enterprises" meant to buy boats on the East Coast and sail them back to CA for resale. L Ron Hubbard put up $1K vs. $21k by Parsons to found the company, then Hubbard took $10k out to go to Florida with Parsons's wife Betty and sail away (only to be caught in a storm and have to return). Parsons sued and was granted 3 boats that Hubbard purchased and a promissory note for $2900 - they never saw each other again, but Hubbard married Betty and then created Scientology. [p78]
"Parsons then spent two years on the staff of the University of Southern California's Pharmacology Department starting in 1948." [p79] - really? I couldn't find any record of this either
"Having reviewed the life of John Parsons in more depth than most writers, I have come to the conclusion that he has been misunderstood - even misrepresented. Historians of rocketry and space program seem to have underestimated his contributions to the field, while writers on the occult have romanticized him as some sort of great sorcerer. Without his contributions to both solid and liquid fuels, the American space program would not be where it is today. […] In contradistinction to the underestimation in the field of rocket science and aerospace industry, Parsons' accomplishments in the arcane sciences have been highly overrated and grossly exaggerated. As a magician he was essentially a failure. As a Thelemite he learned the hard way what was required. He loved Crowley's 'Law' but couldn’t adhere to it - though he tried harder than most. He violated the rules, undertook unauthorized and unorthodox magical operations, and claimed the grade of Magister Templi without first completing all the grades below it. He couldn't handle working under authority - his ego was too big." [p90]
So many rabbit holes to dive into:
- Aleister Crowley, a mercurial figure who founded Thelema after writing the Book of Law
- Thelema and its esoteric beliefs merging ancient Egyptian religion with early Gnostic Christianity, magick, and numerology
- L Ron Hubbard and his start in the occult magick with Parsons's OTO religion, before scamming Parsons and trying to rewrite history as having shut down OTO as a Navy officer before pivoting to scientology
- 16th Century John Dee and Edward Kelley who recorded the Enochian language and early magick practices
- Parsons risky experiments and scientific research at Caltech that spawned JPL, multiple patents and creation of Aerojet company; also being called upon as an expert ballistics witness in numerous police investigations and even helping with explosives for the film industry
- His oedipus complex having had sex with his mother in ritual magick, and numerous attempts to birth the antichrist
- His ostracism and numerous investigations for hosting a sex cult, often denounced for being a communist sympathizer ("weird" grouped together, though he was far from a communist and his work was critical to American military dominance)
- The complex numerology behind magick practices
- The Beast (666), Babalon (Scarlet Woman / mother of abominations) - trance state in which Crowley, Parsons, Dee, Kelley, and all "spiritualists" scribe these divine writings that are reminiscent of Southern Taoist trance rituals (Bored in Heaven) that require "talent" to channel
- The mystery behind his death - was it carelessness (likely)? Staged murder by an angry policeman who was convicted on account of his testimony (not likely)? Conspiracy to shut down his occult practice or risk of sharing secrets with communists (not likely but more fun to believe)?
"Crowley spoke for this tradition when he said true religion always invokes Dionysus, Aphrodite, and the Muses, which he also called 'wine, women, and song.'" [p7]
"In 1986 researchers found another 2000 year old manuscript near the Nag Hammadi caves were the dead sea scrolls had come to light. Translated in to English by Mohamed al Murtada and Francis Bendik under the title The Secret Book of Judas kerioth, this text depicts Jesus as the bisexual lover of both Mary Magdalene and St. John, and also describes the last supper as an entheogenic sacrament involving magic mushrooms. It has an introduction and running commentary by Dr. Maxwell Selander of Briggs Melton Theological Seminary and you can get a copy from Abrasax books in Corpus Christi, Texas". [p8] - really? I could not find any record of this. Indeed the gospel of Judas paints an alternative story about the role of Judas and his relationship with Judas which the Catholic church has never accepted as canon… numerous texts have suggested a relationship with Mary Magdalene and of course the role of entheogens, but Jesus having a bisexual relationship with St. John is new to me and seems like an extreme interpretation of "beloved disciple"
Story of Dr. John Dee and Sir Edward Kelley who were some of the early magick practitioners in 16th century England that "discovered" the Enochian language in a ceremony not dissimilar to how Joseph Smith received the Book of Mormon from visions of a seer stone inside of a hat. 30 aethyrs and 19 calls, some dictated backwards to Kelley who relayed to Dee what he saw and served as scribe. [p61]
"As is well known in the world of the esoteric and occult, crystal-gazing is not the only way one may scry in the Aethyrs, as tantric energy, or sex magick, may also be used to induce the same sort of ecstatic states that Kelley used so long ago. The provocative Parsons used this method, as did his libidinous mentor Crowley, who claimed to be the reincarnation of Kelley" [p62]
"Within the world of magick, it is well known that it is easier to induce astral vision when one alternately dulls and excites the senses by chemical means. Indeed, the role of drugs in magick is common, and it is fairly certain they were a part of the Babalon Working." [p65]
Role of numerology in magick and Thelema - "Parsons took Liber 49 to be an affirmation of the need to produce a 'magical child.' Liber 49 has 77 verses: The seven-pointed star is sacred to Babalon (which has seven letters), and 7 x 7 = 49, a number also sacred to Babalon. Besides being two sevens side-by-side, 77 is 7 x 11, and 11, as we have already seen, is the number of Crowley's magick." [p67]
Parsons getting scammed by L Ron Hubbard - the two co-founded a company "Allied Enterprises" meant to buy boats on the East Coast and sail them back to CA for resale. L Ron Hubbard put up $1K vs. $21k by Parsons to found the company, then Hubbard took $10k out to go to Florida with Parsons's wife Betty and sail away (only to be caught in a storm and have to return). Parsons sued and was granted 3 boats that Hubbard purchased and a promissory note for $2900 - they never saw each other again, but Hubbard married Betty and then created Scientology. [p78]
"Parsons then spent two years on the staff of the University of Southern California's Pharmacology Department starting in 1948." [p79] - really? I couldn't find any record of this either
"Having reviewed the life of John Parsons in more depth than most writers, I have come to the conclusion that he has been misunderstood - even misrepresented. Historians of rocketry and space program seem to have underestimated his contributions to the field, while writers on the occult have romanticized him as some sort of great sorcerer. Without his contributions to both solid and liquid fuels, the American space program would not be where it is today. […] In contradistinction to the underestimation in the field of rocket science and aerospace industry, Parsons' accomplishments in the arcane sciences have been highly overrated and grossly exaggerated. As a magician he was essentially a failure. As a Thelemite he learned the hard way what was required. He loved Crowley's 'Law' but couldn’t adhere to it - though he tried harder than most. He violated the rules, undertook unauthorized and unorthodox magical operations, and claimed the grade of Magister Templi without first completing all the grades below it. He couldn't handle working under authority - his ego was too big." [p90]
May 27, 2016
A great bio of Jack. Enjoyed enormously. Also read "Wormwood Star" for Marjorie Cameron's life after Jack.
November 28, 2023
This is a hard book for me to rate or review usefully.
First, my agenda: I'm researching Jack Parsons for a possible writing project, and I'm particularly interested in a certain class of anecdote. This book has plenty, and compares favorably with the more standard bio of Parsons, Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons which I found too shallow.
However, chapters in this book are given over too much to info dumps of Parson's occult writings and rites. My lack of interest, and the disgust I felt toward reading straight Parsons (and especially Crowley) forced me to skim those parts. I literally did not want those words in my memory, and I recommend other readers take the same approach.
Still, a useful book over all, and recommended to others interested in a brilliant, odd, and ultimately pathetic man.
First, my agenda: I'm researching Jack Parsons for a possible writing project, and I'm particularly interested in a certain class of anecdote. This book has plenty, and compares favorably with the more standard bio of Parsons, Strange Angel: The Otherworldly Life of Rocket Scientist John Whiteside Parsons which I found too shallow.
However, chapters in this book are given over too much to info dumps of Parson's occult writings and rites. My lack of interest, and the disgust I felt toward reading straight Parsons (and especially Crowley) forced me to skim those parts. I literally did not want those words in my memory, and I recommend other readers take the same approach.
Still, a useful book over all, and recommended to others interested in a brilliant, odd, and ultimately pathetic man.
October 6, 2021
This was only an okay read for me but it did warrant an extra star because it got a lot more interesting at the end.
I think most people probably would not be interested in this book. It suffered from information overload, and some better editing probably could have made this a more accessible read for more people.
Parsons was probably a super genius when it came to rocketry, and kind of a crazy mad genius when it came to his occult and sex magick interests. He also had a connection with L Ron Hubbard of Scientology fame, who stole his money and his wife. (He was surprisingly nice about it.)
Anyway, there is a lot interesting information in here about rocketry and the occult and Crowley’s teachings, but it gets so bogged down because it is so much info and some of it is so complicated, and hard to understand.
Not for everyone, but I thought it was worth reading even if it was info overload in some parts.
3 Stars.
I think most people probably would not be interested in this book. It suffered from information overload, and some better editing probably could have made this a more accessible read for more people.
Parsons was probably a super genius when it came to rocketry, and kind of a crazy mad genius when it came to his occult and sex magick interests. He also had a connection with L Ron Hubbard of Scientology fame, who stole his money and his wife. (He was surprisingly nice about it.)
Anyway, there is a lot interesting information in here about rocketry and the occult and Crowley’s teachings, but it gets so bogged down because it is so much info and some of it is so complicated, and hard to understand.
Not for everyone, but I thought it was worth reading even if it was info overload in some parts.
3 Stars.
February 6, 2021
Interesting story, DRY book. Perhaps this would have been a better read for a person already well acquainted with Parsons and the OTO. There were moments when the author was disputing “commonly accepted beliefs” about his subject that I’d never heard of in the first place. It went deep in certain areas rather than presenting a comprehensive narrative.
May 7, 2020
I should have known with the title but I persisted. An unfortunate case of a fascinating subject and a poorly written book. Parson’s story is incredible and deserves better than this.
March 15, 2023
Aleister Crowley, rocket engineering, cults, orgies, magic rituals, L. Ron Hubbard robbing you and stealing yo girl, mysterious untimely death, and so much more I’m not comfortable mentioning in this review.
How did the author manage to bore me? As a biography, all the essential information is there, but there was a huge missed opportunity for interesting story telling.
How did the author manage to bore me? As a biography, all the essential information is there, but there was a huge missed opportunity for interesting story telling.
August 31, 2017
When I heard about this book I was very excited because I like the stories of peoples lives. Who they are and what makes them tick, and while this was an informative book it was missing that human touch that binds a story together. This was more like reading the facts of a case, something that would be prepared for a court session. The emotion of Jack Parsons was missing. Did I like it no, did I find it interesting yes.
September 3, 2017
Surprisingly dry text, though it's always entertaining to hear L. Ron Hubbard called a confidence man.
June 17, 2023
Jack Parsons’ life is a very peculiar one, certainly with more than enough reasons for a book being written about it. However though, this reviewing, commenting, liking, and disliking about SEX AND ROCKETS has nothing to do with Parsons’ life -since it would be pointless and absurd to do so. On the other hand, nonetheless, when it comes to the writing and the presenting of Parson’s life through SEX AND ROCKETS, there’s something to be said…
In a nutshell, Parsons lacked a paternal figure, he did not get to know his father and his grandfather died when Parsons was in his teens. On the occultist side, although not deeply analyzed this way, this void was a major reason for Parsons’ ever-search for a fatherly figure to whom look up to and thus, his approach to Aleister Crowley. And on the rocketry side, even though Parsons never got a formal engineering degree, his passion for explosives and rockets, along with his daring for experimenting with them, gained him a place at the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT), where his profitable career took off. With ups and downs on both fronts throughout his life, it all ended when an explosion, most likely due to an accident (despite whatever novelesque speculation from the author), took Parsons’ life at the age of 38.
The book does kick off in a very particular way, since the very beginning it feels more like a police report than a biography. The pouring in of names, dates, and -especially- addresses feels like diligent research by the author, but soon after begins to feel like annoying and pointless elaboration. To say the truth, and in retrospective, the author never found a comfortable, engaging, and uniform style throughout the book. At moments the reading felt factual and tight, other times the author just elaborated too much around inconsequential events, and some others the author let himself wander about what could have really happened. Not to mention the endless transcriptions of Parsons’ and others’ rituals, memoirs, correspondence, and writings, making the reading -at least for a skeptic- uncomfortably arrhythmic and irritating.
Although probably because of Jack Parsons’ life elapsing this way, the book sets off focusing and highlighting the character’s early like of explosives and his evolving interest in rocketry. Despite whatever lack of writing style, at this point, SEX AND ROCKETS presents a bearable and even interesting parallelism between Parsons’ life, the GALCIT (or soon-to-be-called JPL), and Parsons’ eventual occultist enabler, Aleister Crowly. However though, after a while, the spirit of the book starts to change. The rocketry side of the story begins to dilute, and you can feel the direction of the conversation is now headed toward Parsons’ occultist side, where the biases(?) of the author begin to kick in. Suddenly, what was firstly felt as sarcasm turns out to be compliment; what was then handled as coincidence is now cause-effect; what were mere transcriptions are now records for posterity; and to top it all, the book ends with the remarking on Parsons’ mediocrity as a magician, as if implying magic’s actuality.
I do admit that it was hard to cope with this reading, not just because of the style but mainly because of the content. What really took me off guard and was slightly mentioned by the author, is the possibility of a duality such as Parsons’ occurring. For a skeptic like me, it’s hard to believe such both faces could belong to a same coin. This kind of discussion, analysis, and presenting of Parsons’ life would have added for a more interesting and more bearable reading, not to say unbiased. Unfortunately, the author rather chose to go with the emboldening of magic and its related paraphernalia, whilst barely providing a recount of the events leading to JATOs -Parsons’ major technological achievement.
So, would I recommend people to read this book??? Well, I have no point of comparison -from a biographical standpoint- when getting to know Jack Parsons. SEX AND ROCKETS certainly gave me a sufficient insight into what his life and all the fuss around him were. However, whomever wanting to engage with this reading must be warned that although insightful, the content of the book is about 75% the occultist side of the coin versus 25% of the rocketry one (which is the reason for my 2-star rating: way too much “magic” for me). If you want to learn about this peculiar character and still feel like bearing with this imbalance, go ahead and read SEX AND ROCKETS.
In a nutshell, Parsons lacked a paternal figure, he did not get to know his father and his grandfather died when Parsons was in his teens. On the occultist side, although not deeply analyzed this way, this void was a major reason for Parsons’ ever-search for a fatherly figure to whom look up to and thus, his approach to Aleister Crowley. And on the rocketry side, even though Parsons never got a formal engineering degree, his passion for explosives and rockets, along with his daring for experimenting with them, gained him a place at the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT), where his profitable career took off. With ups and downs on both fronts throughout his life, it all ended when an explosion, most likely due to an accident (despite whatever novelesque speculation from the author), took Parsons’ life at the age of 38.
The book does kick off in a very particular way, since the very beginning it feels more like a police report than a biography. The pouring in of names, dates, and -especially- addresses feels like diligent research by the author, but soon after begins to feel like annoying and pointless elaboration. To say the truth, and in retrospective, the author never found a comfortable, engaging, and uniform style throughout the book. At moments the reading felt factual and tight, other times the author just elaborated too much around inconsequential events, and some others the author let himself wander about what could have really happened. Not to mention the endless transcriptions of Parsons’ and others’ rituals, memoirs, correspondence, and writings, making the reading -at least for a skeptic- uncomfortably arrhythmic and irritating.
Although probably because of Jack Parsons’ life elapsing this way, the book sets off focusing and highlighting the character’s early like of explosives and his evolving interest in rocketry. Despite whatever lack of writing style, at this point, SEX AND ROCKETS presents a bearable and even interesting parallelism between Parsons’ life, the GALCIT (or soon-to-be-called JPL), and Parsons’ eventual occultist enabler, Aleister Crowly. However though, after a while, the spirit of the book starts to change. The rocketry side of the story begins to dilute, and you can feel the direction of the conversation is now headed toward Parsons’ occultist side, where the biases(?) of the author begin to kick in. Suddenly, what was firstly felt as sarcasm turns out to be compliment; what was then handled as coincidence is now cause-effect; what were mere transcriptions are now records for posterity; and to top it all, the book ends with the remarking on Parsons’ mediocrity as a magician, as if implying magic’s actuality.
I do admit that it was hard to cope with this reading, not just because of the style but mainly because of the content. What really took me off guard and was slightly mentioned by the author, is the possibility of a duality such as Parsons’ occurring. For a skeptic like me, it’s hard to believe such both faces could belong to a same coin. This kind of discussion, analysis, and presenting of Parsons’ life would have added for a more interesting and more bearable reading, not to say unbiased. Unfortunately, the author rather chose to go with the emboldening of magic and its related paraphernalia, whilst barely providing a recount of the events leading to JATOs -Parsons’ major technological achievement.
So, would I recommend people to read this book??? Well, I have no point of comparison -from a biographical standpoint- when getting to know Jack Parsons. SEX AND ROCKETS certainly gave me a sufficient insight into what his life and all the fuss around him were. However, whomever wanting to engage with this reading must be warned that although insightful, the content of the book is about 75% the occultist side of the coin versus 25% of the rocketry one (which is the reason for my 2-star rating: way too much “magic” for me). If you want to learn about this peculiar character and still feel like bearing with this imbalance, go ahead and read SEX AND ROCKETS.
October 25, 2020
Un libro que a priori trata un tema fascinante, la doble vida de Jack Parsons como pionero de la era espacial (uno de los fundadores del JPL) y como ocultista discípulo de Aleister Crowley y compañero de farras esotéricas de L. Ron Hubbard.
Desgraciadamente yo esperaba encontrarme una biografía sobre un ingeniero aeroespacial que anecdóticamente era ocultista y el libro en realidad es justo lo contrario. El detalle y profundidad con la que se tratan todas las magufadas esotéricas me mató el libro.
Le salva la parte de la crónica sobre los inicios del JPL y las primeras aplicaciones de propulsión a cohete en la 2GM. Tres estrellas raspadas.
Desgraciadamente yo esperaba encontrarme una biografía sobre un ingeniero aeroespacial que anecdóticamente era ocultista y el libro en realidad es justo lo contrario. El detalle y profundidad con la que se tratan todas las magufadas esotéricas me mató el libro.
Le salva la parte de la crónica sobre los inicios del JPL y las primeras aplicaciones de propulsión a cohete en la 2GM. Tres estrellas raspadas.
July 1, 2021
I read this only days after finishing 'Strange Angel', another biography of Jack Parsons. Of the two, 'Strange Angel' is best, 'Sex and Rockets' being marred, for me, by its lengthy excurses into Parsons' occult practices, the descriptions of which I found extremely tedious. However, if one wants a secondary account of Aleister Crowley's teachings, this may well serve. My sense is that the author had access to the material, much of it from the internet, and simply decided to include it, thereby beefing up the book. I did not get the sense that the author took it any more seriously than I did. What the author did take seriously is Parson's contribution to early rocketry.
November 25, 2017
A reasonably entertaining read, this book acts less as a thorough biography of Parson's life (there seemed to be gaps in the chronology) but actually serves as a solid introduction to the concept of Enochian magick, which seems to have been Parson's favoured form of magick to practice (which he did alongside some guy called L Ron something). To paraphrase Crowley, and this appears somewhere near the end of the book, Parsons was actually a mediocre magician and a much more successful with his engineering work.
July 1, 2022
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to be . . . .
Other reviewers have done a fine job of outlining the book, and while the writing is truly dull, the details of Marvel Jack Parson's life are both outstanding and astounding. The cast of real life characters includes the creator of scientology, L Ron Hubbard, Alstair Crowley and several "respected" rocket scientists.
With the disclosure of the 'alleged' film found in Parson's "odd, bizarre, fairly big box, decorated with snakes and dragons" (page 183), the only logical conclusion is "darker than you know."
Other reviewers have done a fine job of outlining the book, and while the writing is truly dull, the details of Marvel Jack Parson's life are both outstanding and astounding. The cast of real life characters includes the creator of scientology, L Ron Hubbard, Alstair Crowley and several "respected" rocket scientists.
With the disclosure of the 'alleged' film found in Parson's "odd, bizarre, fairly big box, decorated with snakes and dragons" (page 183), the only logical conclusion is "darker than you know."
May 23, 2018
Fascinating biography of a person who was on the forefront of rocket science; a founding member of Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Reminds me of Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend, the biography of Keith Moon of The Who, in how the subject is part of a close group and as life moves on and changes, the subject slowly separates/is separated from the group.
Reminds me of Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend, the biography of Keith Moon of The Who, in how the subject is part of a close group and as life moves on and changes, the subject slowly separates/is separated from the group.
September 5, 2019
This is an astonishing biography of a man obsessed with rocketry and the occult. He followed both of these pursuits relentlessly and lived his life unapologetic-ally in both realms. His patents and research in rocket fuel and propulsion systems were used in the shuttle program and many others. His discoveries on the astral plain are every bit as compelling although this is beyond my scope for verification. Something wicked his way came.
May 15, 2020
Disturbing
Borrowed this from my library with Libby.
Jack Parsons is just one of those people that you can't help but be intrigued by their life.
Allegedly without him, rockets would still be in Sci Fi only and yet there is a dark side to the man that gives one pause.
Infatuated with Crowley and a hater of Christianity, rockets weren't his only passion.
A very interesting read on a very disturbing individual.
Borrowed this from my library with Libby.
Jack Parsons is just one of those people that you can't help but be intrigued by their life.
Allegedly without him, rockets would still be in Sci Fi only and yet there is a dark side to the man that gives one pause.
Infatuated with Crowley and a hater of Christianity, rockets weren't his only passion.
A very interesting read on a very disturbing individual.
January 13, 2021
A tremendous amount of science so far, lots of stories from his younger years growing up and how he got into rockets. I am currently in the middle of this book. I read several books at a time to get background details in vision. I will update soon, but so far It's starting to introduce Jack Parsons in his adolenscent years when he first met his Occultist friends. This book is just beginning to get magickal!
June 6, 2022
Written pretty dryly, but an interesting and in depth read on the life of Jack Parsons, an extremely important person in the advances of rocketry while also being the American cult leader of Crowleyian magic. The book goes into quite a bit of detail of the sort of sex magic he was performing. His weird friendship with L. Ron Hubbard I think is my favorite part of the book. A colorful character with a long and amusing FBI file.
February 27, 2023
All authors have biases, as does Mr. Carter but thankfully not as many as Robert A. Wilson whose introduction reveals a frighteningly long list of things he hates. Mr. Carter's main bias is hostility to anyone unwilling to acknowledge Parsons' genius, a word used far too loosely then and now to be meaningful. Parsons was a very smart man, but it's a stretch to argue that his contributions to American rocketry or the development of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) were indispensable. (He died two years before the publication of Milton Rosen's report recommending that JPL and the Naval Research Laboratory [NRL] build a rocket capable of carrying a satellite into orbit.) Carter's sentimental view of Parsons makes him credulous regarding things Parsons liked including the pseudo-scientific worlds of L. Ron Hubbard, and especially Thelema and the principles of the Ordo Templi Orientis (OTO), an organization that Aleister Crowley took credit for founding. Carter spends far more time recounting the contributions of Crowley and John Dee to magical lore than is needed to understand their influence on Parsons. Crowley's and Dee's achievements, occult or otherwise, are debatable, but Parsons whole-heartedly embraced Thelemite magick for reasons that Mr. Carter, nor anyone else, can explain. People with very strong personalities like Parsons are vulnerable to any ideology that feeds their ego. While attractive in its simplicity, that explanation is more convenient than compelling. People are complex, and Parsons is a striking example of how contradictory aspects (scientist and mystical adept) can coexist in one personality. He is, in some ways, L. Ron Hubbard writ small. He admired Hubbard but also envied him, and Parsons shares Hubbard's key traits: the ability to mix talent and tomfoolery, and the inability to be easily understood. Parsons was in a personal and professional downward spiral when he died in an explosion he triggered by (probably) dropping a can containing wet fulminate of mercury he was mixing. Had Parsons lived longer, he might have provided enough information for us to make sense of his various passions, but his death at 37 leaves us with a mystery. It isn't mysterious that Parsons was drawn to Marjorie Cameron, as she was his feminine alter ego, a powerful personality looking for means of expression. Their relationship dominated the last years of Parsons' life. At least his early death spared us the spectacle presented by his widow whose beliefs grew increasingly bizarre and half-baked until even her friends conceded that she was mentally ill. Carter concludes that Parsons was a successful chemist and failure as a magician which is a bit harsh, IMHO, as "success" in magick is difficult (if not impossible) to demonstrate. Recommended to those interested in unusual people. Don't read this expecting descriptions of salacious occult practices. That portion of Parsons' tale is so tame it wouldn't make a good Hammer film. NOTE: If anyone has also read Strange Angel, George Pendle's biography of Parsons, I'd be interested in reading a comparative review.
June 24, 2020
Read this in a less than a day, which may have contributed an additional star, but at 200 pages (when not counting prefaces, afterwards, magazine scans, and photos), but it still feels overly long. Parsons is an incredibly interesting figure in history but the writing style, and how the information is presented, really diminishes any affect.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews