Notes and updates on the new book

Yesterday I shared the unexpected news of a new Robert Anton Wilson book, Beyond Chaos and Beyond. The introductory price was 99 cents, now it's $4.99. You can refer to yesterday's post for an accurate summation of the book's contents offered by its editor, D. Scott Apel. I've asked Scott a few questions; that interview will run Wednesday.  I've been looking at the new book and starting to read it, and here are a few notes:

1. The interview with Robert Anton Wilson, conducted by Apel and Kevin Briggs, is very good and particularly useful for its insights into Illuminatus! It appeared in an earlier book, Science Fiction: An Oral History, Apel's book of interviews with science fiction authors including Philip K. Dick, Theodore Sturgeon, Fritz Leiber, Roger Zelazny, C.L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, Norman Spinrad and Wilson. That book is 99 cents; I recommended it in this blog posting in 2014. 

2. The copyright says "Copyright 2019 D. Scott Apel and the Robert Anton Wilson Trust." The book's introduction is dated July 2018, but I only found out about it late Sunday night, so the preparation of the book took place quietly for months. More on the copyright in tomorrow's interview.

3. The book has a section of Wilson's comments on Philip K. Dick and explains how Apel introduced Wilson and Dick to each other at a science fiction in 1977, so Dick fans might be interested in the book, too.

4. There's also a section on Wilson discussing movies, including an article about his 10 favorites (which tacks on an unexpected 11th), and also a piece on 10 books RAW thought everyone should read.

5. Apel's concluding essay "Bob and Me" has many candid stories discussing a 30-year friendship.

6. A print on demand paper edition will be issued, probably in a few months. More on that Wednesday, too.

I have reading duties for the Prometheus Award, so I'm reading the new book only in small bits, for now. For more background, see my 2017 interview with Apel.