There is an abundance of Llewellyn’s business history in this narrative, but it is incomplete. The biographical snippets do not do justice to the awesome talent and courageous publisher that Carl was – nurturer, mentor, and wise counselor to so many, and in the eyes of all, a respected master in the metaphysical world. Everyone who had contact with him – agents, writers, members of occult societies, business entities – received his thoughtful responses and the blessing of his shared vision. Some of his direct quotes in this work provide a glimpse into his foresight, and there is much to contemplate from the precious words he wrote and spoke. But we need his vision now more than ever, hopefully it will be forthcoming from the archives of the empire he built.

I found this really interesting, A nice read about the man and about the company to what it has grown to be.

I was super excited to have the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book because I heard about it a few months ago and knew that I had to read it. As a long time reader and fan of Llewellyn, I desperately wanted to learn about their origins and marvelous history. I was also curious to learn more about the person behind the name and this book definitely did not disappoint. I was amazed at the depths of this book. It’s truly a biography of a publishing house and the wizard behind the curtain.

Weschcke was such an interesting character with an incredible back story. I could see bits of myself in him as I’m sure most Llewellyn fans could as well. We magical book-worms share many things in common, one of the main ones being the love of spiritual books!

Marquis does a brilliant job at delving deep into the life of Weschcke from his childhood, pharmaceutical background, his NAACP years, and his acquisition of the Llewellyn publishing house. It was interesting to read about the New Age in the 1960s and 1970s at its height and all of Weschcke’s other magical ventures. Marquis discusses his failures and shortcomings equally as she does his successes.

The passion for sharing occult information with the world is evident in this biography and brings a human element to what has become the number one publishing house of the mind, body, spirit genre. The family like feel of this company was evident from the very beginning as was its mission to educate and celebrate the New Age. The attributes I associate with Llewellyn today such as quality and expertise have their origins with Weschcke and all of the trailblazers who have been apart of the Llewellyn family from the start.

Each chapter takes a close look at the many different incarnations of Llewellyn that often responded to and inspired the need and desire for occult information over the decades. This was helmed by Carl Weschcke whose intuition and passion for education was the North Star of this company.

Readers will appreciate the quotes from many Llewellyn authors and staff, as well as the intimate look at Carl Weschcke the grandson, son, husband, father, and boss.

Llewellyn is so much more than a publishing house. It is a relic with a history as constellated as the starry skies, and a founder as magical as its books.

I have been familiar with Llewellyn Publishing for many years and I've bought quite a few of their books. I had no idea who Carl Llewellyn Weschcke was until I noticed this book had been published and I was curious to learn more about this legendary man. Author Melanie Marquis did a wonderful job of profiling this visionary's life. Her biography is a comprehensive and meticulous one in which she interviewed those who knew this "mover and shaker" well. It's a treat to learn "the story behind the publisher of stories" and to discover that the brand name Llewellyn Publishing had a real, live human being/iconoclast who embodied its ideals behind it. One would expect nothing less than a very well written book about a publisher, and Marquis delivers with "Carl Llewellyn Weschcke: Pioneer & Publisher of Body, Mind & Spirit."Highly recommended.

I am very honored to be able to review this book on the life of Carl Llewellyn Weschcke. He was the "pioneer and publisher in the New Age of Body, Mind, and Spirit for over half a century". This book tells of his early days of publishing until his death at 85. Many of the authors were also friends and the names are quite rememberable for the books they wrote. When he started publishing, there were not a lot of spiritual books on the market. He set a precedent for publishing books and tarot cards among other things about Wicca, Witchcraft and many other paths. He had an interesting and intriguing life filled with friends, family and love. He was also an advocate for change. He was always looking for new authors with new ideas. Astrology was one of Carl Weschcke's passions and he studied it for many years. He started “Witchmeet”to bring together the 73 members of the American Witches Council. His life was so full that I will not be able to put even a fraction of all the things he did and the people he knew. For many years, the only place that I knew where I could get the books, calendars and other things to help with following my path. I have around 500 books, cards, calendars and journals from this wonderful company. I received this book from Net Galley and Llewellyn.