The life and achievements of General Omar Nelson Bradley are legendary. During World War II, the five-star general was instrumental in the D-Day invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. But his private life has always lain just outside the reach of the media. Bradley has long been portrayed as a soft-spoken gentleman. This media-driven stereotype has pushed him aside in America's collective memory, which more readily recalls flamboyant leaders such as Patton, Eisenhower or George C. Marshall. This book re-examines the prevailing view of Bradley through a reading of unpublished sources and letters, paying special attention to his relationship with his second wife Kitty Buhler and his later years (1951-1981), a period largely ignored by previous research. Bradley's life was far from boring. Behind closed doors were trysts with Hollywood starlets, a penchant for gambling at the horse track and hobnobbing with high-profile stars, writers and political leaders.

Christian mystic, astrologer, and spiritualist, Charles Carleton Massey (1838-1905) underwent an eclectic spiritual journey that resulted in a series of articles, letters, and booklets that have largely been neglected by modern society. Massey was a child of privilege formally trained as a barrister of law at the Westminster School and the son of the English Minister of Finance for India. He devoted his life to solving the metaphysical mysteries of existence leading him into the world of religious philosophy that placed him in the middle of a crossroads between Victorian science, religion, and philosophy. Beginning his journey as a Spiritualist, Massey continued on a course that brought him into the Theosophical Society, eventually becoming the founding president of its British branch, going through the ranks of the Society of Psychical Research and ultimately into his final role as a Christian mystic. This indispensable work combines Massey's collected writings with never before published letters organized topically in order to define Massey's unique world-view for a new generation of readers. This book covers a range of topics from the "nature of God" to the "microcosm and macrocosm" to "Satanism" and "reincarnation" all the while allowing the reader a rare glimpse into Victorian England and the social and religious issues of this time period. The recollections recorded in this book though written over a hundred years ago, are dealt with in such a simple yet profound way that remain relevant to modern spiritual seekers of all types.

This book explores the religious teachings of best-selling Victorian author and former Member of Parliament, Laurence Oliphant (1829-1888). While several biographies have been written on his captivating life, the stage of his life when Oliphant first established 'The Household' commune has, until now, been largely unexplored. This book focuses on this later stage of his life, exploring Oliphant's religious teachings. Additionally, this study incorporates a newly discovered archive, which reveals many behind-the-scenes details of The Household's teachings. Jeffrey D. Lavoie shows that Oliphant provided a unique interpretation of sexuality from a mystical Christian perspective, which opposed the restrictive contemporaneous "Victorian morality."

In this incisive study, noted philosophy professor Jeffrey Lavoie presents the Reverend George William Allen, an important figure in esoteric religious and cultural movements that swept North America and Europe at the turn of the twentieth century. This original biography is the first serious scholarly attempt to define the man, his theology, and his philosophy and to trace his influence over the movements that helped to determine the cultural and religious avant-garde of the Western world from 1880 to 1914. Lavoie's extensive background in theology and history and mastery of original documents lend his research terrific relevance in linking intellectual currents of Victorian, Edwardian, and modern esoteric beliefs and patterns. Allen's dream theory, contemporary to but different from Freud's, emphasized the notion that ordinary reality was a false state and that waking up process was linked to mystical connections and thus the one sure way to human self-knowledge. Allen's influence lasted well into the twentieth century, affecting modernist poets such as Yeats and Pound as well as, at some remove, the spiritualism of the Nazis and other European fascist movements.

This peer-reviewed study represents a culmination of years of research into the history of the Theosophical Society. In this unique project which combines biographies with source analyses, Jeffrey D. Lavoie records a detailed history of the early Theosophical Society and examines its relationship with the modern Spiritualist movement between the years 1875-1891. Special attention has been paid to some of the neglected figures associated with these organizations including Arthur Lillie- the Gnostic-occultist and early critic of the Theosophical Society; the Davenport Brothers- the Spiritualist mediums who developed many of the standard elements which became associated with modern Spiritualism; Alfred Wallace- the prominent scientist, Spiritualist, and supposed member of the Theosophical Society and many others. This work will appeal to a wide array of readers including those interested in modern religious movements, Western Esotericism, South Asian history, and Victorian studies.

Founded in 2011, The Research Journal of Germanic Antiquity is an independent scholarly journal devoted to preserving, translating, and circulating all early modern German religious texts (12th - 20th century). The underlying goal of this journal is to reprint rare German publications to introduce them to a new generation of researchers while placing them into their historical context. This journal also seeks to publish articles on the subject of Western Esotericism including but not limited to Ariosophy, Atlanteology, Theosophy, Freemasonry, Rosicrucianism, Spiritualism, Norse mythology, Mesmerism, etc. We especially encourage the submission of articles that engage the subject of racism within these traditions.

This research work for the first time discusses the Baptist Bible Fellowship and its connections with segregation during the 1950sand beyond. It includes an examination of some of its key founders and their views of segregation and observes some of the crucial figures who fought for racial equality and integration within this organisation. Though many of the founders of this Baptist denomination were segregationists (which could be considered racist in and of itself) some of these individuals held blatant racist views of white supremacy. What is intriguing is that many of these founders met with violent and scandalous fates that are `strange but true.' In this work Dr Lavoie observes the racial views and policies of some founding members and how these institutional opinions have influenced and changed (or not) this autonomous organisation over the years. No standard published history of the Baptist Bible Fellowship (BBF) currently exists which would make this work an important contribution to modern American history, the history of racism in the United States with an emphasis on the South, and modern religion tinged political movements in general. An introduction to this study is included that describes author's intentions and a basic contextual background of the 1950s introducing the cultural climate. This background includes a brief analysis of the `communist paranoia' which fuelled the BBF founders' views of racial segregation and served as one of the factors behind their refusal to comply with the civil rights movement. This section will also suggest a definition for both racism and segregation and engage the question, "Are the terms `segregation' and `racism' synonymous?" This work also deals with the divisive issues which led to the foundation of the Baptist Bible Fellowship out of J. Frank Norris and his World Fundamental Baptist Missionary Fellowship (WFBMF). The study introduces key figures and personalities associated with the early BBF. The final part of this work will reprint a `segregation resolution' decided upon in a BBF meeting on 28 November 1957 at Castleberry Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, TX where this resolution was passed and agreed upon by over 1,000 churches in the BBF to support racial segregation. Since the Baptist conventions are traditionally divided Black and White congregation (although remaining fairly united on basic doctrinal message) the BBF threatened to destroy what dialogue existed between pastors and congregations of different races. Dr Lavoie also delves into the personal lives and racial views of some early BBF associated figures such as J. Frank Norris, G. B. Vick, Noel Smith, Homer G. Ritchie, and George E. Hodges ( the former having been tragically murdered by his mistress in the church parking lot). The main purpose of this chapter will be to examine these individuals and their views of racial segregation and the confluence of fundamentalist Christianity and political action.

The Reverend George William Allen was an important figure in a number of esoteric religious and cultural movements in America and Europe. This is the first serious scholarly attempt to define the man, his theology and philosophy and link him directly to movements that helped determine the cultural and religious avant-garde of the Western world from the 1880s to 1914. J.D.Lavoie's extensive background in theology and history and his mastery of available original documents lend his research terrific relevance in linking intellectual currents of Victorian, Edwardian and modern esoteric beliefs and patterns. Allen's "dream-theory", unlike Sigmund Freud's research, emphasized the notion that ordinary reality was a false state and that "waking up" process -a process linked to mystical connections-was the one sure way to human self knowledge. Allen went on to influence poets such as Yeats and Pound as well as ,at a remove, the "spitirtualism" of Nazi and fascist movements.