Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sights, Symbols, and Societies by Klimczuk, Stephen, Warner, Gerald (2009) Hardcover

by Stephen Klimczuk

“[A] brilliant new tome . . . If you like intrigue, hidden gems and historical treatments about all things ‘off limits’ this book will fascinate you.” — The American SpectatorThe doors of some of the world’s best-hidden places and most secretive organizations have now been thrown wide open! Some of the names are Area 51, Yale’s Skull and Bones, Opus Dei, the Esalen Institute. Others are more obscure, hidden by fate or purposeful deception, such as the Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center, the super-secure facility where Vice President Dick Cheney was secreted after the 9/11 attacks, and Germany’s Wewelsburg Castle, which was intended to become the mythological centerpiece of the Nazi Regime. Readers can take an unprecedented look deep inside the off-the-map military installations and shadowy organizations that operate in the murkiest corners of our world.“A great book . . . written with wit and style . . . Of course there are many other famous sites discussed as well, from the brooding castle which Himmler designed as the headquarters of the SS, to the shrine of the Oracle at Delphi, to Bollengin Tower on Lake Zurich, Switzerland, which Carl Jung built as a retreat for his study into psychology.” — The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, History

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[librarian4Him02 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a fascination with secret societies and can be a bit of a conspiracy theorist at heart, so this book was right up my ally. It's a fascinating look at secret societies famous and obscure, famous sights and organizations (e.g., Roslyn Chapel, skull and Bones, Area 51), and little-known places as well. The authors look at historical secrets like the Oracle of Delphi and modern secrets. The also includes things I never knew about from priest holes in English homes to bolt-holes in United States mountains, government secrets to social clubs.

There are so many fascinating aspects to culture as a whole, I highly recommend this book to all who are intrigued by secrets. The book left me feeling enlightened yet even more curious.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I'd be more into the book, but maybe it's 1) not meant to be read all together in one sitting and 2) a requirement to be well-versed in much of what was discussed.

I skipped around a lot and skipped a few of the stories because I was either not interested or didn't feel like I knew enough about the topic to even understand what was being discussed. My biggest problem was that it wasn't descriptive about the history to understand the mythology, lore, or misunderstandings that surround certain places and sanctuaries, rather it really set the record straight separating fact and fiction-- for the novice like myself, it doesn't compute well. But it did make me want to revisit or learn about a few of them.

[Cate Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Monday, 13 January 2020Read 2002 - 5 - Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries



I bought Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries by Stephen Klimczuk and Gerald Warner, after reading a review in an old issue of Fortean Times last October. Another one that didn't linger on the to-read-shelf for too long. It's almost as if the number generator is as determined as I seem to have been to keep certain books on my shelf forever.

This non-fiction book is very good. but it didn't always work for me. The early chapters are full of mentions of Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code', so much so that I was beginning to think the authors were only mentioning places that appeared in the novel. Thankfully, about half-way through the book we got a reprieve.

Places that stood out (for me) were Wewelsburg Castle, which was a Nazi base during WWII and became known as one of the most evil places on earth, thanks to Himmler and SS activities there during the war. Chapter 6, which covered grottos and grotesques was interesting, and I enjoyed reading about Nicholas Owen, a Jesuit carpenter, who built many ingenious priest holes during the period pre the gunpowder plot. Mount Weather in Virginia is an interesting underground facility with a proxy US government. Svalbad, which is Norway's Arctic Eden, and something which would be of interest to the Morbid Mortician (who's books the number generator will hopefully pick soon) Oliver Cromwell's Head. Cromwell's Head.

If you have an interest in the Knight's Templars and the Masons, then the early chapters may be of more interest to you.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK, but I found some of the places I just really wasn’t interested in so I skimmed to those sections. The places I wanted to know more about seemed shorter than they ought to be and the places I wasn’t interested in seemed to be longer than they ought to be, but isn’t that always the way of it?

[Magdalene Choong · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overpromising title.

[Veiltender · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little book. I’d heard of many of the places in the book, but learned of some new ones and some new tidbits about other things. The authors seemed to lean Catholic and monarchist.

[Marijean Miyar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Meghan · Rating 1 out of 5]

For such an interesting topic this book was so damn boring, so much so that i didn’t finish it, which is unheard of for me because I hate leaving a book unfinished.

The style of writing is very matter of fact which i don’t think fits with the topic of the book, the author is very critical of conspiracy theories and seems to really hate the ‘da vinci code’, I understand being skeptical and not buying into the rumors about these places e.g disneys club 33, the island of monte cristo etc but I think that the author should have included some of the popular theories surrounding these mysterious places just to liven the book up a bit, The only section i did enjoy was about area 51 because it actually did include some information about the alien theories that it is known for.

Good topic that could have been very interesting but falls flat because of the completly fact based information used, there is a reason these places are mysterious and i would have liked to find out more about the speculation rather than the geography or architecture of the places

[Galo · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the title, I expected so much more, but sadly this book leaves much to be desired. Being unfamiliar with conspiracy theories, I wasn't looking for a Dan Brown mystery, but an in-depth study of old and new conspiracy theories and how they corrolate with those institutions, places, persons, and events which inspired them. Instead the reader is taken on a tourist-like guided tour with much factual and historical information thrown-in but not much by the way of revelation or further speculation. But it's not a total loss and to the authors credit, we're given a glimpse of the inner workings of many known and not so well-known places of mystery.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

An impulse buy when my wife and I stopped at a bookstore on our last trip to Salem. It's a fun read though the authors' opinions and conclusions sound a little dismissive at times. If you read this as if you're getting a guided tour through lots of fascinating areas around the world by opinionated tour guides, then you'll have fun. The amount of time and detail spent on each location is a bit uneven, but still engrossing if you have a fascination with notoriously secret & mysterious places.

[Lelawati.]

Eropah Timur lebih bersikap terbuka?

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting places, some are pretty mundane. The book has so much promise, but it doesn't quite live up to it...