THE CROWLEY TAROT (ISBN 0880797150) wouldn't be my first choice for a book on the all-important Thoth Tarot if I was a new to the deck-- but it would definitely be on the MUST HAVE reference list. My first book, if I was to start over again would be Duquette's Thoth Tarot (ISBN 1578632765). Unfortunately over three decades ago when I acquired my old seventies Thoth Deck (still my favorite deck) neither book was available, and I became utterly confused as I tried to read Waite's clumsy book and other "beginner" books that had nothing to do with Thoth. Finally, I acquired (about 25 years ago) Crowley's own THE BOOK OF THOTH, which clarified things--and is beautifully written on top of all that.

Still, I wouldn't pass on THE CROWLEY TAROT. It's not a cover-to-cover read. It's a "daily lookup" reference. Akron and Banzhaf don't try to replace Crowley himself (who has elaborate correspondences, second to none, and very vivid and wonderful mythos and symbolism explanations) or Duchette (who simplifies Crowley, and ads depth in some areas, while going too thin in others). What they do admirably well is unique analysis. Each card is elaborately explored, from symbolism to analysis/description (with mini essays on each symbol), then on to the secondary symbolism, then on to interpretations by:
- Background
- consciousness
- profession
-relationships

Finally, and this is where the book is worth the money, frankly, they explore the archetypes, with mini analysis on the Hebrew letter, the numerology, its relative Tree of Life path or sephira, a unique exploration of I Ching correspondences, RUNE correspondences, planet, deities that relate to the card and the myths that go along with this, SACRED SITES attributed to the card, RITUALS associated with the card, astrology, gems, alchemical associations.... very complete yet organized with many subheads and structural elements that make it easy to find things. Unlike Crowley, they're not found in charts or in long essay formats (hard to find, IOW), but instead are mini subheaded essays on the chapter focused on that particular card. I prefer this approach to flipping back and forth to the appendix, then back to an untitled page (a la Crowley) -- although clearly Crowley is the master in all of these areas. I'm referring to the semantics of easy-use.

Well done, in my opinion.

The downside of all of this? Well, they really didn't get the history of Crowley and Harris (it's inaccurate) but who cares? There are other places to go for this. The suggested spreads are unique but not complete, but again there are many resources for this. And they skipped Crowley's own spread (a major oversight for a Thoth Tarot book).

Finally, it's a translation (I think from German?) with some flaws in the edit and translation (but not glaring and certainly not enough to take away from their scholarly and authoritative analysis).

Ultimately, the thing about Thoth Tarot itself is that it's really about advanced users and certainly for Magickians. Interpretations should be personal, so none of that mattered to me. But I liked the book for it's unique correspondences (especially the I Ching, the ritual associations, the sacred sites, and the Rune Correspondences). A lot of work went into this, so I'd rate it a MUST READ for any Thoth enthusiast.