Histories

                           

                  

 

It struck me recently that three of my all-time favorite books have the word "history" in the title:

A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman is a work that I read over ten years ago, but which still has a profound effect upon me to this day.  It is a non-fiction exploration of each of the five senses, stuffed with fascinating facts, anecdotes, and some of the most lyrical writing I have ever encountered.  This is the sort of book that makes one feel impossibly blessed to be alive.  I think it's time for a reread.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a fictional story about a small group of Classics students at an uppercrust liberal arts college who find themselves dangerously influenced by their scholarship.  Thrilling, satirical, and thoroughly absorbing, it's the sort of book that begs to be read under the covers with a flashlight.  I don't want to give too much away, so I'll leave it there for now.  But trust me, you won't be able to put it down.

The Secret History of the World by Mark Booth is an extremely controversial book, which I am currently reading and adoring.  Essentially, Booth calls into question everything we've been taught about the development of matter and man by looking at esoteric and mystical teachings through a more literal lens.  I realize it's a bit premature to call it a favorite of mine as I'm not done with it yet.  But it has all the trappings of the books I love:  mythology, magic, symbolic analysis, clandestine societies, covert rituals, and an irreverence toward the status quo.   

Comments

[treva]

Have you read The Secret Teachings of All Ages, by Manly P. Hall? I received it a year ago and am still working my way through it. Sounds like it would be up your alley.

[Pam]

Thanks for the suggestion! I do have that book, and have read bits of it, but I really need to sit down and give it my full attention sometime. It is so dense, but really great.