Guide Rating -

Richard Smoley and Jay Kinney are best known as the editors of the now defunct Gnosis magazine. Hidden Wisdom commemorates the end of the magazine's run, and contains the same subject matter that made the magazine so fascinating- Western Esoteric spirituality. The book is a thorough inventory of Western mysticism- it discusses the better known traditions like Kabbalah, Sufism, and Shamanism, but also the more obscure- Gnosticism, Shamanism, Secret societies, and Magick. Each subject is treated to its own chapter, and discussed in a very accessible way, without sensationalism. The authors are also kind enough to offer an annotated bibliography at the end of each chapter, as well as copious footnotes. The material is cleanly written, with fastidious care taken toward scholarship, which is often not the case in books on these subjects- this book will please the seeker and the scholar alike.