An edition of The Lightning and the Sun (1958)

The Lightning and the Sun

Third edition, Complete and unabridged.
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Last edited by ysgoldt
May 10, 2026 | History
An edition of The Lightning and the Sun (1958)

The Lightning and the Sun

Third edition, Complete and unabridged.
  • 4 Want to read
  • 1 Currently reading

The Lightning and the Sun is a 1958 book by Savitri Devi, in which the author outlines her esoteric Hitlerist philosophy of history along with her critique of the modern world. The book is known for the author's claim that Adolf Hitler was an avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu and its cyclical view of history, which Savitri Devi intertwines with Nazism. It portrays Hitler as a "Man against Time", exhibiting both "Lightning and Sun" qualities: in Devi's worldview, destruction used for life-affirming purposes.

Devi began writing the book in 1948 in Scotland, ultimately completing it in Germany in March 1956. It was initially self-published by Devi in 1958 in Calcutta, India, financed by Devi's job as an interpreter. The book was obscure for several years, until 1966, when an abridged version was published by William Luther Pierce in the neo-Nazi magazine National Socialist World. The 1966 republication exposed the book to a worldwide demographic of neo-Nazis and popularized it among them. The neo-Nazi publishing house Samisdat Publishers, operated by Ernst Zündel, issued a new illustrated edition in 1979. The book was excerpted in Adam Parfrey's 1987 anthology Apocalypse Culture.

Described by scholars as Devi's most significant work, The Lightning and the Sun was greatly influential on neo-Nazis internationally and continues to be popular with the far-right. It has since been republished by a variety of neo-Nazi and white nationalist publishing houses, including National Vanguard Books, Counter-Currents Publishing, and Kerry Bolton's Renaissance Press. It introduced esoteric neo-Nazism to a wider audience of white supremacists; among the figures the work has influenced are David Myatt, Miguel Serrano, and William Luther Pierce.

Publish Date
Language
English

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Edition Availability
Cover of: Lightning and the Sun
Lightning and the Sun
2023, Lulu Press, Inc.
in English
Cover of: The Lightning and the Sun
The Lightning and the Sun
Jun 08, 2015, Counter-Currents Publishing
hardcover
Cover of: The Lightning and the Sun
The Lightning and the Sun
Jun 08, 2015, Counter-Currents Publishing
paperback
Cover of: Lightning and the Sun
Lightning and the Sun
2014, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
in English
Cover of: The Lightning and the Sun
The Lightning and the Sun
2012, Counter-Currents Publishing Ltd.
in English - Third edition, Complete and unabridged.
Cover of: Lightning and the Sun
Lightning and the Sun
2010, Lulu Press, Inc.
in English
Cover of: The Lightning and the Sun
The Lightning and the Sun
1958, Temple Press
Paperback - First Edition

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Book Details


Edition Notes

"A Savitri Devi archive book."

"Each volume will be released in a limited cloth edition of 200 numbered copies"--T.p. verso.

Originally published: Calcutta : Temple Press, 1958.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Published in
San Francisco
Series
The centennial edition of Savitri Devi's works -- volume 5

Classifications

Dewey Decimal Class
321.0092/2
Library of Congress
DD247.H5

The Physical Object

Pagination
1 online resource.

Edition Identifiers

Open Library
OL31135164M
ISBN 13
9781935965558, 9781935965534
LCCN
2013011234

Work Identifiers

Work ID
OL20295528W
Wikidata
Q135270753

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