The Secret History of the World
Ratings7
Average rating3
I read this as part of a broad research project on the history of alchemy. My review is in two parts:
With my historian hat on, I would say that the book is generalizing and overly reductive, and has a hand-wavey approach to dates that made my head hurt (“no no no,” I whispered while reading, banging my forehead on the pages, “why are we now centuries ahead of where we were in the last paragraph? Is he being misleading on purpose??”). The author is clearly widely read, but this book is in no way an authoritative history: it's more narrative than fact. That isn't necessarily a bad thing if you know to expect it, but it needs to be said. Also, the author struck me as a bit cruel in his descriptions of the scientists & philosophers in his story, which makes the text feel more like gossip than anything else.
With my pop culture mystery-lovers hat on, I would say that the book brings up some interesting points, but must be approached with a GRAIN OF SALT. Many grains, in fact. It's more an exercise in critical thinking than the tell-all “theory of life, the universe, and everything” that it may appear to be.
Obviously the topic is interesting to me, otherwise I wouldn't have picked this up. The author covered all the greats and kept me fascinated through all 550 pages. That being said, the organization was rough, and sometimes I was confused by how we had jumped from one topic to another.
A mixed bag, to be sure. I love books about esoteric history and the Western mystery traditions, but the book could have used footnotes, a better editor (there are multiple inexcusable typos), and a tighter focus. That said, it was an enjoyable, if occasionally frustrating, read, particularly if you view it as an exercise in “what if?” rather than “this is how it is.”
