In the Dark Places of Wisdom

I first read Kingsley's books almost 5 years ago. It was life-changing. Every time I re-read In the Dark Places of Wisdom, in particular, I'm taken back to that electric excitement, that freshness and wonder of tremendous discovery. It's true, what the other reviewers say, this book reads like a mystery novel, a whodunit. Awe and urgency come through on every page. In the Dark Places of Wisdom is not an easy read, but not for the reasons you might expect. I think it's because we, as a culture, are drowning in our own sensationalism. If you turn on the TV for half an hour, you'll see what's totally trivial and inane presented as momentous and earth-shattering. When we do finally encounter a real discovery, it can be extremely hard to accept. We're jaded. But that doesn't mean that great discoveries don't exist anymore. Kingsley's research is meticulous and impeccable. If you care to look, it will become harder and harder to escape his conclusions. And then, when you wrap your mind around what's in this book and see the implications, you'll find that it's anything but a light read. You will probably find it, as I did, both profoundly unnerving and utterly thrilling. It's such a surreal experience to discover that everything you've always taken for granted about your civilization is wrong. And it's nothing short of magical to find out that the truth is more beautiful, more alive, than you ever could have hoped or imagined. It's like seeing life for the first time. It's like walking into another world. Read this book. Your heart will thank you.

This book is about so much more than what it seems to be. I read this because it was in the bibliography of "The Apples of Apollo" by Ruck, Staples, and Heinrich. Don't think for a minute that the wisdom loved by Parmeneides is something you find just by sitting still in a cave. I would not have understood Kingsley's book at all had I not already read the other. I'm sure Kingsley knows exactly what he is doing.

How rare is it for an academic philosopher to have a deep understanding of the mystical experience, one that clearly springs not from reading old books but from within him? In my experience as a reader it is unique, and Kingsley is the one. You can read this book in an afternoon, and if you have anything resembling an open mind it will not only surely change the way you view Western history, it might even point you to a new way of viewing the universe.What more could anyone ask of a mere book?

This book simply floors me. Along with his scholarly tour de force Ancient Philosophy, Mystery and Magic, Kingsley is proving himself to be the Wilamowitz, Rohde or Nietzsche of the start of the new millenium. The man knows his sources intimately and has a truly sympathetic and astonishingly wide-ranging grasp of all the relevant material. As a neo-pagan who is at home with greek religious traditions I am so pleased to find a writer who combines solid scholarship with a mystical appreciation of the material he writes about. This book is a steal at twice the price. Buy it! read it and keep it always handy in your library of necessary texts.