 The Cygnus Key: The Denisovan Legacy, Göbekli Tepe, and the Birth of Egypt
By Andrew Collins Published in May 2018 464 Pages Thibault’s Score: 3/5 The Cygnus Key is a book that seemingly collects a jumble of ancient mysteries ranging from Denisovian technology, to pre-historic anatolians, to ancient Egyptians into a chaotic mash of ideas. The beginning of the book is fascinating, giving a clear overview of Göbekli Tepe and explaining how many of the ideas found there are common throughout other sites inhabited by denisovans. He makes a fascinating argument that denisovans - pre-human hominids - were significantly more technologically and mathematically advanced than previously believed. Then, his narrative deteriorates into speculation about symbolism. Most of the book is devoted to ancient symbolism and numerology. He makes many highly speculative guesses about what different building alignments and animal carvings may represent. In the absence of knowledge about the day to day lives of the people of these civilizations, they are nothing but guesses. Also, the topic of sacred geometry and star alignment isn’t of much interest to me. If you are into the history of sacred geometry, then this book might be fascinating. It might also have some interest to people who are into the history of the development of mathematics. However, I found it quite dull. This isn’t a bad book - it just isn’t a book for me. I read about halfway, then put it down and moved on.
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 Children of Time
By Adrian Tchaikovsky Published in 2015 600 Pages Thibault’s Score: 5/5 Sometimes, you come across a book that is so good that you recommend it to everyone that you know - however, in cases where that book is fiction, describing why it needs to be read without spoiling the plot can be difficult. Children of Time was recommended to me by my wife Katarina, who has great taste in science fiction. It is a story about evolutionary biology, the end of man, and the rise of a new intelligent species. The story manages to grab your attention and remain fast paced, despite happening over the course of several millennia. I will not say more, out of fear of spoiling the surprises that you will encounter. When embarking on this great literary journey. Let me say this: it is likely the best science fiction book that I have ever read.  The Anunnaki Chronicles
By Zecharia Sitchin Published in September 2015 384 Pages Thibault’s Score: 2/5 Zecharia Sitchin was an Israeli ancient aliens theorist. He was an expert in ancient languages, and could translate various early languages competently, from where he draws many of his ideas. This book is a compilation of his various writings by his grand niece. Having read a large number of primary sources, mostly from the middle ages and antiquity, I have been shocked by the number of seeming anachronisms - there are all sorts of details which, to me, seem like they possibly could be alien. For this reason, I was attracted to this book. What I was hoping to find was an unbiased catalog of all of the anachronisms, along with a variety of explanations for them - explanations that both favor and disfavor extraterrestrial or anachronistic explanations. Instead, Sitchin has wild theories that go far beyond what can be borne out by the evidence. You can easily point to a Sumerian tablet and ask “how the hell did they know that there were at least 10 planets, when Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune were only discovered in the last 200 years thanks to telescopes?” and offer a wide variety of theories and explanations (aliens being one of them). Instead, Sitchin has very detailed timelines explaining that XYZ had a moon base, with clones, etc… His theories seem unsubstantiated and outlandish. I also wish that he included his complete translations of primary sources, not just quotes out of context. Then I wish I could compare his translations of primary sources with those of other academics who do not believe in aliens. This book makes for mediocre science fiction, but bad history. I am looking for a good ancient aliens book - but this is not it.  The Selfish Gene
By Richard Dawkins Published in 1976 (updated in 1988 and 2006) 350 Pages Thibault’s Score: 4/5 The Selfish Gene is an evolutionary biology book by Richard Dawkins where he argues that the gene, rather than the individual, is the basic unit upon which evolution occurs. Dawkins is, sadly, most well known for his atheist activism. This book has nothing to do with atheism - he doesn’t even mention his religious beliefs. You can completely ignore Dawkins' atheism and appreciate this book nevertheless. The idea that genes, rather than individuals or groups of individuals, are selected for is now uncontroversial. The implications are fascinating. For example, Dawkins’ theory allows him to predict under what circumstances altruism will arise - notably when it benefits the transmission of one’s genes. The reason behind this is simple: genetic algorithms that did not embrace this specific kind of altruism died out. Many non-breeding altruistic organisms - like ants that act as giant refrigerators for their peers - have genetic clones of themselves who breed. Others, such as the naked mole rats who live in colonies, need highly specialized roles. Some act as the specialized breeders, while most act as feeders for their breeding relatives. Here, Dawkins points out that there are many non-genetic types of replicators. For example, ideas can replicate much like genes, and the same rules apply. This is the book where he coins the term “meme” to describe ideas which replicate pseudo genetically. I recommend this book to anyone interested in dipping their toes into evolutionary biology. It may be old - but has stood the test of time. The updates provide more information on details but do not detract from the core. Its age is all the more proof of its incredible value.  Cry Havoc
By Simon Mann Published in September 2012 352 Pages Thibault’s Score: 4/5 Cry Havoc is the story of Simon Mann, one of the executives of the 1990s South African mercenary outfit called “Executive Outcomes.” The book details how he became a mercenary, the campaigns he fought in, and his eventual imprisonment and capture. Simon Mann was a British soldier who served with the SAS - one of the UK’s most elite units. He fought for the British army in Northern Ireland and in the Gulf War. In 1991, he left the army to work in oil and gas. Mann was working on an oil and gas project in Angola, when a group of rebels captured his project. He was angered - rather than letting his project fall apart, he decided to fight back. He co-founded Executive Outcomes, and eventually defeated the Angolan rebels. Later, he would help defeat an army of rebels in Sierra Leone, ending an insurgency in a matter of weeks which the UN had struggled with for decades. By the late 1990s, Executive Outcomes had become one of the largest and most successful mercenary outfits in the world. His men served on fields across Africa, as well as far flung places like Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Everything would come crashing down in 2004, when he was hired to stage a coup against the government of Equatorial Guinea by Margaret Thatcher’s son Mark Thatcher. The coup fails - Mann is arrested on his way to Equatorial Guinea in Zimbabwe. He is captured, tortured, and forced to sign a confession letter. He then spends five years in Chikurubi, Zimbabwe’s hardest prison. The last half of the book focuses on his harrowing time in jail. Eventually, he is sent back to Equatorial Guinea, where he stands trial, and helps the government identify everyone who had been responsible for the coup four years earlier. The president pardons him in exchange for his corporation. He returns to the UK, but finds it hard to adjust himself to life after Chikurubi. To cope, he decides to write this book. I enjoyed the writing style. This book is a must-read for any fools thinking of joining a mercenary outfit (I know a few). Even the CEOs of mercenary companies, like Mann, barely make any money. In addition to being incredibly hard and dangerous, it doesn’t pay well. The only ones making money are the ones hiring the mercenaries - the mercenaries themselves are the losers. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about privatized warfare, and modern African politics.  The Cheese and the Worms
By Carlo Ginzburg Published in 1976 208 Pages Thibault’s Score: 3/5 The content of the book is fascinating, but the writing is terrible. Academic writing is generally bad; translated books are generally bad; old writing is generally bad. This is an old academic book written in Italian - and it was a slog. Thankfully, it wasn’t very long. In the late 1500s, an Italian miller called Menocchio is arrested for heresy and interrogated by the inquisition. As a result of these legal proceedings, there is an extensive written record about Menocchio’s world view. Menocchio was a literate peasant who taught himself how to read and write. Thanks to the invention of the printing press, he obtained a few dozen books. His readings allowed him to develop a wide variety of unusual political and religious beliefs. Preaching his newfound beliefs to his peasant peers got him in trouble, and he was eventually arrested and interogated for several months. Menocchio’s story reflects a wide political and ideological movement among lower class peasants in late 1500s Europe. These peasants combined the written word (which they now had access to) with older oral traditions. They create a wide variety of alternative views that go against the church’s ancient teachings. The authorities tried to clamp down. Right now, I live in an era where the forces of the mainstream are attempting to censor and wipe out new alternative views that have emerged thanks to the internet. Nothing scares me more than the repression of medical quacks, politically incorrect views, and activists trying to prevent war with Russia. If I were to design a religion, then I would classify censorship as one of the three worst sins alongside rape and murder. I emphasize with Menocchio. He came to unusual views through the new technology of the printing press; and lacked a formal education. I am a modern day Menocchio - I came to my views through the internet and through my own readings. Like Menocchio, I can feel the predatory glares of the thought police at my back and cannot help but fear that one day I may be repressed just like him. This book was objectively pretty bad. Roughly 15% of the book is literally just the professor thanking people and talking about how he started his research. Another 15% is academic theorizing that is too abstract to matter. While the subject matter is fascinating, the writing is so terrible that I cannot recommend this book. I hope that a more competent author re-examines Menocchio’s life, and writes a book for a non-academic audience. If that happens, then I will strongly recommend this book.  The Three-Body Problem
By Liu Cixin Published in 2008 302 Pages Thibault’s Score: 5/5 I won’t give too many spoilers, but will give a few basic facts about the books: -It was written by a Chinese author -It starts in China in the 1960s -There is a very interesting use of VR -There are aliens -It is very thought provoking I fear that by saying any more, I will spoil it. This book is always surprising, and the surprises are always engaging.  The Professor of Secrets: Mystery, medicine, and Alchemy in Renaissance Italy
By William Eamon Published in 2010 368 Pages Thibault’s Score: 5/5 There was a time when calling someone an “empiricist” was a slur that denoted quackery. Now, science is based on empirical observation. However, in the Renaissance, logical explanations mattered more than observed facts. This book covers the life of Leonardo Fioravanti (no relation to Leonardo da Vinci), one of the pioneers of modern medicine. He was widely viewed as a quack / charlatan by the establishment during his time. In retrospect, he was one of the greatest doctors of the Renaissance. His philosophy of empiricism was revolutionary: he didn't care why medicine worked; he only cared that it worked. The focus on the why was distracting for his peers. In a world without microscopes, they came up with odd causal explanations involving humors, God, and the Holy Spirit. By ignoring the question of why, and focusing purely on what worked, he was a better doctor. He was humble enough to understand that the reasons why something worked would remain mysterious. He found many cures for tapeworms (a common ailment at the time) and performed one of the first splenectomies. Leonardo Fioravanti’s life is fascinating. He was a traveling doctor, a monk, battlefield medic, and royal surgeon. He would travel everywhere from Sicily, to Morocco, to Spain to learn the secrets of medicine. Like many great scientists, he suffered for his work. The mainstream academic doctors had him thrown in jail, possibly tortured, and eventually forced him to leave Italy to live in Spain in exile. There too, he was hounded by the medical establishment which resented his success. He died in poverty on the fringes of society. The history of science is fraught with dead-ends that don’t lead anywhere. Leonardo Fioravanti’s school of empiricism died with him - although he would influence many later scientists. This is one of the best written, most interesting, and all around awesome books about the renaissance that I have read. It is a true gem. The fact that this wasn’t a New York Times best seller is tragic. Anyone can read “The Professor of Secrets.” Both complete novices and seasoned experts in the Renaissance will find something in it. This is one of the best history books that I’ve read this year.  MBS: The Rise to Power of Mohammed bin Salman
By Ben Hubbard Published in March 2020 384 Pages Thibault’s Score: 4/5 This is a fascinating account of how Mohammed bin Salman came to power. The writing style is great. It is very clear, and has this no-BS way of describing what happened and why. It has just the perfect amount of human drama; neither too much nor too little. I love the descriptions of places, people, and events. MBS is a fascinating figure. Hubbard criticizes his free market economic policies and authoritarianism; however he praises his secularism. Hubbard writes from a Western liberal perspective. Western liberalism cannot understand figures like Deng Xiaoping, Lee Kuan Yew, or Pinochet. He doesn’t understand how MBS can be both fighting corruption and promoting free market capitalism. This book will make a lot of sense to people who have seen past figures like MBS at work. Students of history will appreciate it. If you just are someone who is obsessed with the news cycle and lacks historical introspection, then this book will not make any sense. While the book is well written, you better read it fast. It will become obsolete very quickly.  Trickster Travels: A Sixteenth-Century Muslim Between Worlds
By Natalie Zemon Davis Published in October 2010 448 Pages Thibault’s Score: 4/5 Trickster Travels is the story of Joannes Leo Africanus de Medici, also known as al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan. Leo Africanus was a sort of Muslim Marco Polo. He was born in Granada, in Islamic Spain to a wealthy Muslim family. His family was forced to flee due to the war, and he spent his childhood and teenage years in Morocco. Eventually, he became a Muslim diplomat, where he visited what he calls “the land of the blacks” (Subsaharan Africa). There, he reports flourishing technologically advanced Muslim city states within the Songhai Empire and Sudan. He then is sent on diplomatic missions to Mali, Tunis, Arabia, and Egypt. On his way back home, Christian pirates capture his ship and he is sold as a slave. Because he is literate and well educated, he is sent to serve in the court of Pope Leo X de Medici. There, he is (perhaps forcefully) converted to Christianity and adopts his Christian name Joannes Leo Africanus de Medici. Pope Leo X “adopts” him into the Medici family. He serves as a translator and scribe for the pope. He lives with several other captured Muslims, including a black African, Jews, and Eastern Christians. He translates many important documents. Eventually, he wrote several books in Italian about his travels. After the sack of Rome in 1527, he escapes, making his way back to Morocco where he dies. I absolutely love stories about long distance trade in the Middle Ages. The tone is very different from that of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta - first, Leo is not a gross sexpat. He seems very decent. Second, Leo is very learned while Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta are distinctly roguish and proletarian. Finally, he makes many anthropological and political observations, usually from a proto-libertarian perspective. This book might not be suitable for people who have not already studied history. There are many references that could be quite confusing for those unfamiliar with Renaissance or Islamic history. Luckily, these are my two main areas of interest. The writing style is quite dull and academic. I really enjoyed it, and learned a lot. I recommend this book if you are up to it. |
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