Description
Jerry Edward Cornelius; Erica M Cornelius (Editor)
Privately Printed, Berkeley, California, USA 2018. Hardcover. Limited Edition, limited to 200 signed hardcover copies. A weighty tome bound in black cloth with gold foil titles, no dust jacket. Brand New/Fine.
This book contains over 1,770 biographical sketches listed by birthdays of fringe people, famous occultists such as Aleister Crowley, his followers, friends and acquaintances, his Scarlet Women and lovers, modern Thelemites, famous Masons, New Agers and Satanists, witches, alien contactees and UFO specialists, astrologers and famous psychics, psychologists, occult oriented musicians, actors and actresses of the less-than-mainstream movies, sci-fi and fantasy authors, cartoonists and artists, freaks, cowboys and murderers, less-than-nice people, all of whom made J. Edward impishly hold his hands over his mouth like Linda Blair in The Exorcist after she watched the priest have a heart attack and die.
822 pages of amusing anecdotes and insightful facts. Berkeley: Cornelius, 2018. Limited to 200 copies only and signed by Cornelius.
A MUST-HAVE BOOK FOR YOUR LIBRARY, COFFEE TABLE OR BATHROOM…
“I began writing this book began well over forty years ago. I was looking at my desk calendar, reading the names in the square with a magnifying glass. One was an actor, the other a politician and I had no idea who the third was. I yawned, was not impressed. Part of me wondered who they were, but I was not motivated enough to seek answers. I had other interests. I was always bathed in the fringes of society. I have walked in the shadows of dark alleys most of my life. I have taken great pleasure in subjects that are usually ignored as being the actions or babblings of outlandish and delusional people. But in these people, with their bizarre exploits and strange tales, I found my solace. They constantly caused me to question my reality, to sharpen my wit and realize how little I knew beyond the proverbial white picket fence of my family.
My curiosity sparked by the boring calendar, I started jotting down the birth dates of every person that confronted my sanity into a huge, blank book. Many of the birthdates in this book are extremely rare, even by Internet standards, which makes this book very unique. The entries included biographical sketches of everyone from famous occultists like Aleister Crowley, many, many of his followers, his friends and acquaintances, his numerous Scarlet Women, lovers, as well as a multitude of modern Thelemites, OTO historical figures, Scientologists, to famous Masons, New Agers and Satanists, witches, alien contactees and UFO specialists, astrologers and famous psychics, psychologists, occult oriented musicians, poets and writers, actors and actresses of the less-than-mainstream movies, sci-fi and fantasy authors, cartoonists and artists, freaks, cowboys and murderers, less-than-nice people who amused me and virtually anyone who made me impishly hold my hands over my mouth like Linda Blair in The Exorcist after she watched the priest have a heart attack and die. With each name I include a biographical sketch. It’s taken me years, but little by little, with each new entry the book grew and grew until one day I realized I had created a monster while gleefully admitting that it has been nothing less than pure frivolity that drove me to produce it.
As to who is, and who is not, included amongst the 1,770 entries and 800 plus pages, there is no rhyme or reason, so don’t try to figure it out. These are people, some of whom I knew, others I read about, all prompting me to do further research on their lives because I found them amusing; hence there is a unique lot of diversity included, and with that in mind, remember this is my book. These are stories that made me smile. I know each entry may not be the stories some of you would have liked for me to include but let me remind you that since this is my book, I picked what influenced my life and academic studies in one way or another and on that note, I have a sick sense of humor. So just sit back and enjoy the stories and realize the book reveals my psyche and what has driven me since childhood to become who I am today (he says while chuckling and sipping his coffee).
It’s best to say that there are a lot of unique individuals in this book and yes, it’s that kind of Fringe Datebook. In truth, this is a reference book that every library needs to have on its shelf.”
