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I've already reviewed this book elsewhere on this site, but why not take the opportunity to promote it again? "The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies" is an immensely informative and entertaining guide to "secret" societies, fraternities, occult groups, conspiracy theory and rejected knowledge. It contains entries on pretty much everything from the United Irishmen and the Sons of Liberty to Freemasons and suicide cults. The author, John Michael Greer, is supposedly an initiate of at least a dozen more or less secret societies, so he presumably knows what he is talking about. Unless, of course, the whole thing is a gigantic disinformation smoke-screen to make us look in all the wrong directions...
Greer is sceptical to most conspiracy theories, so don't expect any sensational
revelations about the Knights Templar, Bohemian Grove or Skull & Bones in
this work. At one point, Greer humorously reveals that an important member of
the John Birch Society was simultaneously affiliated with an obscure group in
the small town of Shickshinny, Pennsylvania, which claimed direct descent from
the Knights of Malta. Yet, the Maltese knights are usually seen as evil by
conspiracy theorists! Greer whips the Priory of Sion, known from "The Da
Vinci Code", in several entries. Folks, wake up, it's just a hoax.
Yet, even this sceptical author has a soft spot for *some* alternative
theories, including pre-Columbian contacts with America (the Sinclair Family!),
the Lost Civilization, or the idea that Shakespeare didn't really write the
works attributed to him. You have been warned. ;-)
I've already awarded this fun read five stars, and here we go again...
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