Mystery Tour
Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sights, Symbols,
and Societies
by Stephen Klimczuk and Gerald Warner
Sterling Publishing Company, 2009
(272 pages, $19.95, hardcover)
reviewed by Elena Maria Vidal
Therefore fear them not. For nothing is covered that shall not be revealed: nor hid, that shall not be known” (Matt. 10:26).
It has become fashionable in some intellectual circles to ridicule conspiracy theories. The tissue of absurdities put forth by authors like Dan Brown has distorted history beyond recognition, clouding the lines between fact and fiction, making it difficult to discern the genuine from the fraudulent.
In an effort to counter the tiresome falsehoods about secret societies, it is natural, I suppose, for people to laugh at all mention of conspiracies, forgetting that the American Revolution itself came about as a result of the work of conspiring patriots. Thus we sink into blissful ignorance not only of history but also of the forces that are shaping the world in which we live, assuming that if we do not hear about certain groups on Fox News, then they do not exist.
However, for every poison, there is an antidote; the only remedy for a lie is the light of truth. Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries by Stephen Klimczuk and Gerald Warner is one such searchlight in the murky swamp of falsehood. A witty and eclectic exploration of “mysterious sights, symbols and societies,” Secret Places mingles past with present, bringing history to life, while discerning truth from falsehood. This intelligent and entertaining book looks carefully at some of the great mysteries of history, as well as some current ones, as the authors sift fact from fiction and rumor from documented events.
Researching such a book is the dream of many historians and journalists, for it is clear from the photos and anecdotes they include that Klimczuk and Warner gained access to some rare places or else spoke with those who have. This reader came away with the feeling of having been on an investigative adventure, the main result of which is the realization of how much there is yet to learn about the mysteries of the world.
Disappearing Privacy
One of the problems that contemporary Americans have with secret societies, private clubs, and conspiratorial alliances is that we live in a society where privacy and secrecy have all but disappeared. The most personal matters are topics for the news media. Every detail of life and love is discussed on talk shows. Since Facebook and Twitter have come on the scene, we now know what a distant relative or an acquaintance on the other side of the globe had for breakfast. We no longer understand the need for privacy and solitude that people of the past once guarded. As the Introduction says:
What is the origin of the basic human instinct to hide away in obscure places, to seek privacy in secret sanctuaries, and to congregate in select groups in venues from which the rest of humanity is excluded? . . . This book takes a close but wide-ranging look at such behavior, both in the past and present, by casting the light of day on a rich variety of highly private enclaves in which groups have gathered to worship, to conspire, to defend themselves, and, in one gruesome instance, to plan one of the most shocking mass murders in the history of the world. In a lighter vein, we also explore a large number of secretive and exclusive venues that exist for the purpose of good fellowship and unabashed enjoyment.
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