Digitizing Al G Manning Books – A Dying Man’s Wish, A Caretaker’s Promise, A Student’s Labor of Love
When I got the overwhelming, impossible-to-ignore beacon to “phone home” I never imagined I’d end up as the next president of ESP Lab with job #1 being digitizing all Al G Manning books. That’s more-or-less what happened when I ended the call with Sami Rose, current President of ESP Lab. My first attempt to phone home was to The School of Wicca – where it all began for me — my two emails were ignored. As I would later learn, The School of Wicca needed (needs, methinks) my help even more. Wanting it is a separate conversation yet still That’s a story for another time.
Taking a few seconds to catch my breath I just blinked. Then breathed. Then wondered. I “exited the scene” some thirty years ago so… WTFx2 with the outreach to me. (What and why. The what is pretty clear now but the answer why is still a bit unclear.)
Al G. Manning, accountant, executive and occultist with no equal left chaos in the wake of his passing. Sami Rose literally moved Heaven and Earth to bring order to chaos and succeeded despite curve balls and fireballs in the form of ex-wives, the legal system, ESP Lab members, publishers, the IRS, etc.
How he navigated the ship we know and love as ESP Lab through that perfect shit storm I will probably never know. When Sami chose me as the next head of the ESP lab, he kept his promise to see to it all of Al’s works were digitized. Promise made, promise kept.
Sami nominated me as the next president of Spiritual Science over the summer of 2024 and the board unanimously passed it on October 31, 2024. I was appointed as an officer in the position of treasurer with my ascension to president scheduled for October 31, 2025. Trick or treat?
Top of my to-do list? Bring all Al Manning books to eBook form. Then digitize each and every Al G Manning lecture. I’m still in something of a fairy tale fog of how fast time went by and how awesome my responsibilities are — to preserve and proliferate the life’s work of one of the greatest occultists in human history.
As the youngest sorcerer in human history, due in no small part to what I learned from Al G Manning books – and Astral Al himself – I felt dauntless and easily up to the task. The honor no less great, the responsibility no less awesome. From day one to now to 65 years from now, I consider my task a labor of love and a validation of me and earlier years as a young Lord of Chaos. Ultimately intending only good outcomes by ways and means and thinking that are as out of the box as such things get.
A tip of the hat to Roger Zelazny. Lord Random grew up and was appointed the next King of Amber on the horn of the Unicorn.
Academics of Al G Manning books and his other writings will find a number of parallels and allegories. It doesn’t stop there but I’ll defer my digress and take a deep dive into the digital.
I’m more than halfway to the finish line in this marathon. The challenge of digitizing Al Manning books was about as complicated as any task can get. So what did I
do? I did what Astral Al taught me to do; I broke the job down into “chunks” of individual, manageable tasks and went to work.
Digitizing Al Manning Books Step One – Scan the Books
I considered a special scanner dedicated to book scanning but opted for a service instead. I had no other choice; Al’s original works were not in Word format. Or Wordperfect. Or even Wordstar. Speed bump #1 convert an analog source comprising of paper and ink into a digital form. As I write this I believe all 23 Al Manning Books are scanned. So what? Big deal? eBook formats are demanding. If only I could upload PDF files and crank out eBooks…
Digitizing Al Manning Books Step Two – Prepare eBook Drafts
Speed bump #2 – this task must be completed by at least two humans one page at a time. My team of assistants run the first pass through each book. I then drill through each and every page of each book all by myself. I’ve been a student of Al’s work for roughly 35 years. I KNOW most of Astral Al’s books and newsletters, played his cassettes in my car. We were email pals. Shot the shit on the phone. Hung out together at his home in Texas, a day I will never forget. Only Sami himself knew him better but it was my task and Sami, at age 75, has a full plate already. We’re roughly 30% of the way to proofing final drafts for eBook publication.
Digitizing Al Manning Books Step Three – Publish eBooks
Speed bump #3 – Amazon opted to NOT publish Al Manning books as processed by the publishing aggregator I selected. Fortunately, my publishing company Malinche earned me all the experience I needed. Publishing them myself was no big deal; just two extra steps. That being said, all of these speed bumps and extra steps add up…
The Final Phase – Tell The World
That’s what the two teams of website designers are working on right now with this site!
Want Some Digitized Al G Manning Books RIGHT NOW?
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That’s right friends and neighbors! Step right up and download some Al Manning eBooks today! More are coming so check in often!!
The Fickle Finger of Fate Flicked Me into My Date with Destiny
The last time I felt fully satisfied on a professional level is when I acquired Crowdfund Buzz in 2013. Everything I acquired in my career up until that point was put to good use culminating in CFB exceeding the founder’s wildest dreams. Mine too, for that matter!
Now I feel fully satisfied. Mind and spirit are unified in purpose. Body is catching up nicely. 50 pounds down, 50 more to go. War is hell. Victory is life!
