Back in the 1970s, Gary (Lachman) Valentine was the original bassist for Blondie and a disciple of the teachings of his satanic majesty, Aleister Crowley. He left the band during the recording of their second album and eventually wound up in London where he became a regular contributor to Gnosis, Mojo, and Fortean Times magazines.

These days, he's an accomplished author who's written an absolutely fascinating book about how the occult influenced the countercultural philosophy that underpinned the peace and love revolution of the 1960s. Turn Off Your Mind: The Mystic Sixties and the Dark Side of the Age of Aquarius methodically and calmly connects the dots between Crowley, Timothy Leary, L. Ron Hubbard, Charles Manson, Anton LeVay, H.P. Lovecraft, the Beach Boys, and a host of others, without resorting to conspiracy theories or hysteria. An excellent read for people like me who are fascinated at how strange loops form between seemingly unrelated persons and events.

If you just want the dirt on Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, Gary dishes that out too in his book, New York Rocker.