Top Page & Personal Information
|| Alternative History || Eschatology || History || Literature || Polemical Writings || Religion || Science & Cosmology || Spelling Reform || World Government || Blog
Reply to John J. Reilly Here
Men Among the Ruins:
Post-War Reflections of a Radical Traditionalist
By Julius Evola
Inner Traditions, 2002
(Translated from the revised Italian edition of 1972;
First Edition 1953)
310 Pages, $22.00
ISBN 0-89281-905-7

Brief Introductory Review

Tradition

The State

Elites & History

The Church

Culture & Worldview

Institutions

The Occult War

United Europe

Evola's Influence

Brief Introductory Review

Julius Evola (1898-1974) was the villain from Central Casting. A monocle-wearing baron and a distinguished occultist, Evola spent much of his life trying to bring about a future that would be both post-Christian and post-democratic. He wrote the racial policy for Mussolini's government, one that focused on elites rather than the general population. In 1945, he was permanently crippled during the Russian bombardment of Vienna, while working on a "secret history of secret societies" for the SS. Evola was a key figure in "esoteric fascism" after World War II, in Italy and throughout Europe. In 1951, he was tried and acquitted of inspiring political violence. Some called him "the Marcuse of the Right," while others dismissed him as "the Magic Baron." Still, it is clear that Evola's radical rejection of the modern world inspired radicals of all stripes. Both the politics and the esotericism of the early 21st century owe a great deal to the Magic Baron.

"Men Among the Ruins," as the title suggests, is an interpretation of the postwar world. The war had not turned out as Evola had hoped, but then Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy had not been radical enough for him, either. The new situation had possibilities. The book was intended to give advice to Evola's young admirers, whom he had just been acquitted of inciting to terrorism. The Foreword to this edition, by Joscelyn Goodwin, says that the book is "by any standard far from being Evola's best work, and should never be the gateway to his thought: that function belongs to his masterwork, 'Revolt Against the Modern World.'" Still, we may note that "Men Among the Ruins" came closer than any of Evola's works to bestseller status. Moreover, this edition has a 114-page preface, by H. T. Hanson, that gives a dispassionate summary of the baron's life and thought. This edition really is not a bad place to start, though it would be better with an index.

Next

.

.

.

.

.

.

The sections of this review may be read sequentially. Please note that the sections do not correspond to the divisions of the book.

Other reviews
of books by
Julius Evola:

Revolt against the
Modern World

The Hermetic Tradition


Copyright © 2002 by John J. Reilly


Return to the top of the page.