Rating: 
Summary: The Ultimate Pseudoscience
Review: Having read this and another book (Quantum Psychology) by this author, I can vouch for a complete lack of logic or reason within the pages of this book. Moreover, of all the authors I have ever read, this one seems the biggest kook of all. If your into unfounded, if not outright ludicrous, scientific conclusions reached through mystic-minded, drug-induced idiocy (as in the idea the human race was seeded by aliens or dancing little green men) in a form lacking utterly in any manner of logical order, then this is the literature for you. Frankly, this guy's so far out in left field he can't see home plate. There's a word for people who create their own reality in this manner: nuts. Save your money. Better yet, spend it on Carl Sagan's "The Demon-Haunted World" for some really intelligent reading. Personally, I'm actually ashamed to admit I read Wilson's books. I only did so at the bequest of a friend whose grounding in reality I am now surely questioning.
Rating: 
Summary: A well-intentioned mess
Review: I don't doubt for a minute that Robert Anton Wilson has good intentions. His book "Cosmic Trigger" is paved with them from front to back; his writing style is readable, funny, engaging, and full of charm and wit. What I do doubt is Wilson's self-proclaimed skepticism, because "Cosmic Trigger" is one of the most abhorrently credulous books I've ever read. I liked it the first time, but each time around I've liked it less and less.The book is basically a kind of autobiography of Wilson's journey through "Chapel Perilous", as he calls it -- or the outer fringes of psychedelic thinking. Some of this material is intriguing and genuinely worth reading about, like Leary's LSD experiments with hardened criminals. But the vast majority of it is intellectual and philosophical Fluffernutter. Wilson's all-purpose Excuse for wallowing in his "reality is plural and mutable" outlook is that since it's a big universe, anything is possible, so we might as well keep an open mind. Fine. But he doesn't say what the standards of evidence for his observations are, so any hopes of this being anything more than a free-for-all are tossed clean out the window. For someone who claims to have a great deal of respect for science, Wilson doesn't seem particularly interested in practicing it -- he'd rather smoke a blunt, write about how it felt and call that "research". And the worst part is that there are apparently no end of other people who would agree with him. Incidentally, the follow-ups to the book are dreary and confused, with an inordinate amount of time and ammunition wasted beating the long-dead horse of how Sagan didn't fight fair with Velikovsky when he dismissed most of his claims out of hand. There, Wilson really lays himself bare: a garrulous old man who's more interested in being an iconoclast for iconoclasty's sake than in actually hitting the mark. "Cosmic Trigger" is merely a better-disguised version of the same stance. But the sort of people who are inclined to read this book are probably not interested in science as it's actually practiced anyway, so...
Rating: 
Summary: A Good Starting Point For New Thinking
Review: I purchased Cosmic Trigger I after finishing Illuminatus!, Wilson and Robert Shea's satire (one begins taking it seriously, then you see the satire...and eventually the philosophy under the joke) on every conspiracy, ever. Illuminatus! is laced with Discordian philosophy-its a good primer on the subject. Cosmic Trigger, in addition to being filled with a variety of occult and psychedelic tidbits, is an view of the genesis of Wilson's Discordian thinking. It chronicles his trip through "Chapel Perilous"-which I suppose can be likened to a journey through a change of consciousness, a personal "Great Work". The ideas and issues Wilson raises are important...and fascinating. This was my first introduction to Leary's system, which is definately an interesting model for the progression of consciousness. If you have ever considered embarking towards "Chapel Perilous", then here is a view of another's journey.
Rating: 
Summary: If you ever wanted to see the fnords...
Review: I think this was one of the first R.A. Wilson books I read. I had heard of his work through some of my more "unusual" friends, and thought that this would be just another one of those boring new-age guru self-help trips. I started to read it at a park next to the book store. Two chapters later it was getting cold, so I began to walk home, still reading the book as I went. I spent the rest of the day reading the rest of it, and then I started to read it again. If you think you are a well-informed citizen, read this book. You will begin to doubt "reality" like you never have before. Life is what you imagine it to be. That's right! It's all imaginary.
Rating:
Summary: Depraved truth manipulation has never sunk so low.
Review: If anyone wants to read an ingenious work of prose, try Cosmic Trigger. After your head is left spinning, perhaps for up to two years, honestly contemplate the nature of the apple into which you bit. The reader shall be left with a new appreciation for the power of disinformation. Like Hitler said, "If you're going to tell a LIE, tell a big one." Yes, the world is about to end, but it won't end like this. Try the Bible
Rating:
Summary: A daring challenge to the reader
Review: In a world where everyone and everything is telling you what to do and, more importantly, what to think, it's quite a system shock to take what R.A.W. has to say to heart. In his own words, he doesn't want the reader to take what he says for the "truth". If you do then you have obviously missed his cause. Question everything. From the basic belief in god that you were raised with to the politial/world views that media crams down our throats at every turn. R.A.W. sheds a little bit of suspicion on all aspects of our robotic lives. If you feel as if there has always been something in the world that everyone has been missing and you want to find out what it is, then R.A.W. is geared just for you.
Rating:
Summary: One Of Wilson's Best "Non-Fiction" Books...
Review: Of course I use the term "non-fiction" very, very loosely. Any RAW fan may know why! This book may be Wilson's most accessible to the uninitiated reader (although it must be approached with an open mind, oblique sense of humor & a few grains of salt). Cosmic Trigger may be the type of book that can alter your perception of the world and force you into a new sense of reality. Those two factors alone may be enough to read it. Plus, throw in RAW's sense of magick, mysticism, & dark humor as an extra bonus! Add this book to cart, I bet my copy of "The Earth Will Shake" you won't be disappointed.
*ps* Why so many "may be's"?....read the book!!!
Rating:
Summary: The Beginning of A Saga
Review: Personal as this may be, R. A. Wilson's account of the spiritual, supernatural, occult, magic, whatever term you want to give it, is an exciting journey through time and space as we venture through wormholes, blackholes and kaleidascopes as well. 23's and Sirius is the focus, while contact with aliens and revelations of Horus with a touch of ESP are all inclusive in a synchronistic style. Classic Wilsonian literature!
Rating:
Summary: Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
Review: R. A. Wilson is a Thelemite manipulated towards being humorous. He has the power to imprint a belief of a lie, with the excellent purpose of making people will to learn. After years of reading this book once, presently I am amazed to discover the profound depth of his lies still whirling in the structure of my Sub-Consciousness. Do not be surprised if after reading this book the Universe seemingly changes, to be absorbed in the mass of Crowley books he Truly-Willed you to read. A nice Display of the Genius commonly left dormant in the average Human Mind. Silver Star means Sirius in the Third Order of the A.'.A.'. : in that Order one becomes united unto Sirius by a tranmitted electrical Ray of spiraling Prana.
Rating:
Summary: Expand your Mind
Review: Robert Anton Wilson is one of the most forward thinkers of his time. Wilson's first book in this series leads you down his path of exploring the changes he underwent by using mind expanding drugs and experimenting with magick rituals. Wilson's storyline of his mind expansion intersects along the way with his real life and allows the reader an insight into what types of things were influencing his decisions as he probed deeper into this fantastical realm. The timeline shifts around but the reader is never dissatisfied. The second part of the book deals with the scientific basis behind his studies and those of other free thinkers such as Timothy Leary. I first became interested in Wilson after reading the Illuminati trilogy. This book will only add to anyone's appreciation for that book and its author. This book provides some background into the events which are covered by the trilogy. In general, the Cosmic Trigger series begins with a bang. 4 stars losing one for the sometimes cryptic nature of the writing, but then again, that is RAW.
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