My thanks to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for an advance copy of this new book that looks at the rise of occult and paranormal thinking that took place in Europe during the World War. A time in which many people were looking for meaning in the devastation they saw all around them, and the people who were willing to fill this spiritual vaccum and their pockets.

Everyday that passes we find ourselves in a brave new world of technology, though to many this does nothing to fill the holes this technology has created in our lives. Everything seems complicated, trusted people have let us down, governments are run by people with little clue or interest in people, and even the simple act of recycling a soda can for deposit takes an app and weeks to get one's cents back. The numerous apps, QR codes, emails, passwords weigh the soul down, and makes many think of how to make their inner world better, and make the outer world understandable. And that is where many can get lost, cheated, scammed and bamboozled by those who promise much, seem capable of great things, but with a cost. The dead can be talked to, but they would like to be remunerated. One can see the future, but a down payment is needed. One can cure the soul, but it will empty the pockets of the faithful. This happens alot in history, but the time between the World Wars in Europe seemed like a particularly spiritual time, with a rise in occult thinking, fakirs and more, helping others make sense of the war that had passed. Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age: A Forgotten History of the Occult by scholar and writer Raphael Cormack is a look at some of this major players, men with lost paths, promising rich futures, using a mix of blather, philosophy, flimflam and sheer showmanship, to sell tickets, entertain many, and in a few instances be one step ahead of the law.

The industrial age can brought change to many things in the world, one of them the way that humans killed each other in war. New weapons, new ideas, and new policies like genocide had left millions dead, and millions suddenly stateless, their countries no more, or under the power of others, with no place for them. There was a general feeling of unease, among both victors and vanquished, that war was not over, the peace was not so peaceful, and that something had gone wrong. Men began to appear, sometimes with women accomplices, but many taking of the power of the mind and the body giving hope and entertainment to people, while making riches for themselves. One of the first of these was a man who called himself Tahra Bey. Claiming to be a doctor trained in the Ottoman empire, a fakir who dressed in the way Europeans viewed those from the mysterious East, Bey soon gathered a following and amassed a lot of money with acts of Eastern entertainment. Bey could bury himself in the Earth, pierce himself with needles, see the future, and help others with their past. Bey gained enemies, people who wanted to expose this fakir as he called himself as a fake, even as others imitated Bey, stealing his act in some ways. Though none of these prognosticators saw the future that was fast approaching them.

I was not sure what to expect from this book, but I loved it. A mix of occult studies, Lost Generation history, entertainment, fakes and fakirs and more. This book really does have a lot. Cormack had done a very good job of describing post-World War Europe, covering the various genocides, in Armenia, the situation in Jerusalem, and even the racism that was so common in Europe. That Italian men could pretend to be Middle Eastern mystics, without knowing Arabic, but looked dark enough to be. A fist fighting Bey, who was Armenian, destroying a bar in a brawl, being challenged on stage, and working later with Nazis, that is a lot of plot twists one does not see. I didn't even mention Doctor Dahesh, born in Jerusalem, thought dead more than once before passing away in Greenwich, Connecticut in the 80's. There is so much here. Cormack never loses the plot, and keeps everything moving and entertaining, while sharing a lot of different esoteric ideas, and the feeling of the people who wanted to believe. A fascinating read.

History fans, occult readers, and people who love stories full of information, and even better that are well-written will love this book. I laughed quite a bit, and bothered many people with quotes and comments from the book. A very good book, and one that I will remember for quite a while.

_Holy Men of the Electromagnetic Age: A Forgotten History of the Occult_ by Raphael Cormack is a well-researched and detailed history of prominent occult figures of the 1920s and 1930s. Cormack delves into the lives of two of the most captivating men, Tahra Bey and Dr Dahesh, while also explaining societal context and why people adored and also vilified them. A great read for those interested in history and the occult.

Raphael Cormack has uncovered a trove of interesting information about a period of history that is still relevant to this day. He introduces us to various Fakirs. Mostly men who were displaced by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, and under this mass movement of people being forced to flee, they created new identities and under difficult circumstances invented themselves into entertainers who had power to put on spiritual shows that dazzled their audiences. The shows could include live burials, hypnotism, disappearing things and then out of thin area finding them. Their abilities were constantly challenged and many of their miraculous feats got them thrown out of countries.

The movement of many of these men took place not only in Europe, but across the Middle East and even America. The world was fascinated, and some did well financially, and others not so. The findings are truly interesting, and the author clearly went to get lengths to find source material which gives the book historical value.

I highly enjoyed the read, and if anyone is interested in the 1900’s and what societies were like, please read. Some great information about the Middle East abounds, how Lebanon was once an international mecca, and how people seemed to be searching for understanding the world after the fall of the Ottomans and then the two great wars.

One of my favorite reads of this year! I'll be suggesting it to customers interested in history and metaphysical topics. I was completely hooked on these stories of several men (of complex cultural backgrounds) who find success performing miraculous displays in the early to mid 1900s. The storytelling across decades was so fluid, it felt cinematic. The author is fair and compassionate to these historical figures, not casting judgment about the validity of the displays. Instead, the author presents all of the differing stories, looking at past newspapers, rumors, and ephemera. They thoughtfully consider the context of the performers' lives and shows, not shying away from the realities of surviving a genocide. The book does an excellent job of balancing these heavy realities with a curious exploration of hypnotism, miracle displays, live burials, Spiritualist acts, and more. The book discusses the fascination with Eastern mysticisms while creating a timeline of some major contributions of POC to popular metaphysical movements. The book is about a handful of men, but the author is caring toward the women discussed, calling out slut shaming and questioning storylines that never included women's voices. The book includes an accessible resources section in the back. I'm so thankful to this author for researching these Arabic-language primary sources and presenting them in such a compelling page-turner!