This book is edited by Antoine Favire, a pioneer in the field of Western esoteric thought and comprises works by some of the most noted scholars in the field. Faivre was a professor at the Sorbonne in Paris where the first university level program on the subject was taught. There are now programs at the Universities of Amsterdam and Exeter where I recently obtained my MA in the subject. The book follows a similar chronological style to Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke’s book on the Western esoteric traditions. It begins in ancient Alexandria with Hermeticism and continues through Renaissance philosophy into the Age of Enlightenment. In the introduction Faivre defines six characteristics of Western esoteric thought showing the unity between the schools of thought that are discussed in this book. It sheds light on mysterious organizations such as the Freemasons and the Rosicrucians offering a true academic analysis of what they really believed and thought. I would recommend reading this book along with Goodrick-Clarke’s and Von Stuckrad’s both of which I have also reviewed.