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The Secret History of the World

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The Secret History of the World

By: Jonathan Black, Quercus
Narrated by: Robert Powell
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From the esoteric account of the evolution of the species to the occult roots of science, here is a narrative history that shows the basic facts of human existence on this planet can be viewed from a very different angle. Everything in this history is upside down, inside out and the other way around.
At the heart of The Secret History of the World is the belief that we can reach an altered state of consciousness in which we can see things about the way the world works that are hidden from us in our everyday, commonsensical consciousness. This history shows that by using secret techniques, people such as Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton and George Washington have worked themselves into this altered
state - and been able to access supernatural levels of intelligence.
It soon becomes evident that a secret philosophy is encoded in the world around us, in public buildings and monuments, in great art and literature, in the arrangement of the pips in an apple, in the names of the days of the week, even in the very stories we tell our children. (P)2007 Quercus Publishing Plc©2010 Jonathan Black Social Sciences World Ancient History Middle Ages Mythology Ancient Greece
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it is easy to say that this is a pile of crap yet if this crap is believed by some the it is worth knowing.

Needs a forbearing heart

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Thought provoking, however there is little if no mention of Mohammed and he's part in the cosmic chess game

Mind Blown

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One of the best books I’ve listened too. Very interesting to say the least. In depth detail

Phenomenal book

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A lot of interesting concepts are presented in this book for the profane, the initiate, and the adept alike. It is well written and equally well read. Recommended for those seeking hidden meanings and esoteric knowledge.

A Well Read Esoteric History

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It's entertaining to listen to this book but its promise of revealing the hidden truths behind religions and secret organisations of the world is certainly not delivered.
Many of these 'shocking truths' are recycled from previous accounts of esoteric religions and many of the connections between Chritianity and initiation cults are already cited.
I found the descriptions of the suppossed early world to be imaginative and absorbing but as it progressed into more recent history this book tried to find connections between almost every significant event and character in history as if they all stemmed from the same source.
You definately know you are in hack territory when the author starts to compare themes in the book to The Matrix films (perhaps a certain ex-football commentator is the real author of this book), and the way in which the author tries to explain away the changes in society and culture from ancient times to modern day as some grand scheme that is foretold in the mystery schools is like a third rate episode of the x-files.
The book is full of ridiculous statements delivered as truths.
At one point the author, when talking about Dante, says that Dante was the first person to fall in love at first sight, and, this ushered in a whole new way of thinking to that time. The first absurdity of this statement is that for any concept, such as falling in love, to be understood by the reader it needs to already exist in the world. The idea that because Dante was an initaite of a secret religious order he was able to invent a new emotion in the human mind is absurd.
Also, when the author talks of The Antrum of Initiation, Baia, Italy he sites Robert Temple as the discoverer of this ancient maze of tunnels, neglecting to give credit to R. F. Paget who actually discovered them in the 60s. It is these types of selective journalism and fuzzy logic that make this book third rare. I don't know how Robert Powell kept a straight face reading it.

Yet another

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