Colin Wilson
Born 26 June 1931 · Died 5 December 2013
Colin Henry Wilson was a British author who had written works on philosophy, true crime, and mysticism, as well as novels. He was born and raised in Leicester, England, the son of a factory worker. He attended school until he was 16, at which point he quit to work in a wool warehouse. He worked other odd jobs, including as a lab assistant and a civil servant, until he was called up to work as a clerk for the Royal Air Force. He worked there for six months until claiming that he was a homosexual in order to be dismissed. In 1956, his first book, The Outsider, was published.
Quotes
“What can characterize the Outsider is a sense of strangeness, or unreality.”
The Outsider “Art is thought, and thought only gives the world an appearance of order to anyone weak enough to be convinced by its show.”
The Outsider “Self-expression is impossible in relation with other men; their self-expression interferes with it. The greatest heights of self-expression in poetry, music, painting – are achieved by men who are supremely alone.”
The Outsider “Most men have nothing in their heads but their physical needs; put them on a desert island with nothing to occupy their minds and they would go insane. They lack real motive. The curse of civilization is boredom.”
The Outsider “Pessimism is a leaden weight around the feet. Defeat is always self-chosen.”
The God of the Labyrinth, p. 288
Quotes from Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Books by Colin Wilson in order
Books by Colin Wilson in the order they were published, from The Outsider (1956) to Serial Killer Investigations (2006).
- 1The Outsider
The Outsider1956 - 2Origins of the Sexual Impulse
Origins of the Sexual Impulse1963 - 3Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs
Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs1964 - 4The Mind Parasites
The Mind Parasites1967 - 5Poetry and Mysticism
Poetry and Mysticism1969 - 6The Philosopher's Stone
The Philosopher's Stone1969 - 7The Occult
The Occult1971 - 8Strange Powers
Strange Powers1973 - 9New Pathways in Psychology
New Pathways in Psychology1974 - 10Poltergeist!
Poltergeist!1981 - 11The Directory of Possibilities
The Directory of Possibilities1981 - 12The Encyclopedia of Modern Murder, 1962-1982
The Encyclopedia of Modern Murder, 1962-19821983 - 13The Essential Colin Wilson
The Essential Colin Wilson1985 - 14The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Mysteries
The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Mysteries1987 - 15Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley1988 - 16The Mammoth Book of True Crime
The Mammoth Book of True Crime1988 - 17Written in Blood
Written in Blood1989 - 18A Criminal History of Mankind
A Criminal History of Mankind1990 - 19From Atlantis to the Sphinx
From Atlantis to the Sphinx1996 - 20Mysteries of the Universe
Mysteries of the Universe1997 - 21The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved
The Mammoth Encyclopedia of the Unsolved2000 - 22The World's Greatest True Crime
The World's Greatest True Crime2004 - 23Mysteries
Mysteries2006 - 24Serial Killer Investigations
Serial Killer Investigations2006