I first became intrigued by secret societies when a student who I worked with suggested that the French Upper Paleolithic painted caves might have been decorated and used by secret societies. I subsequently enlisted another student to study the spatial use of the paintings from this perspective. Combined with the observations of Robert Hare on the motivations of psychopaths and sociopaths to control others, I realized that secret societies plausibly constituted powerful forces promoting certain cultural changes that appeared later and continued into our own modern societies. I found the prospects for understanding our own cultures fascinating and wanted to document how this all came about in my own book.
I wrote...
The Power of Ritual in Prehistory: Secret Societies and Origins of Social Complexity
The Power of Ritual in Prehistoryis the first book in nearly a century to deal with secret societies in traditional societies from a comparative perspective and the first to deal with secret societies from an archaeological perspective. It documents how secret societies worked, what motivated their organizers. what tactics they used to get what they wanted, and the kinds of material remains that they left in the archaeological record. The painted caves of the Ice Age were probably made and used by secret societies as well as monuments like Stonehenge. Hayden argues that these early secret societies were one of the key means of establishing political control that led to chiefdoms, states, and world religions. The conclusions will be eye-opening for many.
Mircea Eliade is one of the foremost historians of religion,The Sacred and the Profane is probably his most readable book. It clearly describes what traditional (oral) religions are like and how they differ from global (book) religions. Traditional religions provide critical background for understanding some contemporary ritual practices, but most importantly for me, traditional religions provide a context for understanding the emergence of secret societies. This will be a good read for anyone interested in traditional religions, whether native American, Australian, African, or pre-Christian Europe. I highly recommend it.
In The Sacred and the Profane, Mircea Eliade observes that while contemporary people believe their world is entirely profane or secular, they still at times find themselves connected unconsciously to the memory of something sacred. It's this premise that both drives Eliade's exhaustive exploration of the sacred—as it has manifested in space, time, nature and the cosmos, and life itself—and buttresses his expansive view of the human experience.
This is a bit more of a technical archaeology book dealing with the ethnographic and archaeological Pueblo communities of the American Southwest. For those interested in secret societies, it deals extensively with the nature of Pueblo ritual organizations (sodalities) and deftly provides critiques of views that these were egalitarian communities and ritual organizations. In fact, he argues that some were among the most non-egalitarian societies in North America, beginning with the Chacoan culture about 1,000 years ago. Puebloan ritual organizations are prime examples of secret societies.
In A Pueblo Social History, John Ware challenges modern anthropologists to break down the walls between archaeology and ethnography in order to obtain a more complete understanding of Pueblo prehistory in the American Southwest. This book stands or falls on two arguments. The first is Pueblo ethnographies by early scholars - including Cushing, Bandelier, and Fewkes who were simultaneously ethnographers and archaeologists and therefore incorporated origin stories, migration narratives, and other oral traditions along with lines of evidence such as artifacts and architecture - are more than speculative analogies. Pueblo ethnographies are end points on trajectories that preserve important information…
Crystals in the Sky is a remarkable documentation of the astronomical knowledge developed by secret society members in the traditional native Chumash culture of southern California. In fact, the detailed astronomical knowledge was developed as part of the secret knowledge of the Antap Society (the Chumash secret society consisting of elite community members, the head of which was the "Sun Priest"). This provides an important clue to recognizing prehistoric secret societies since it explains why and how detailed astronomical knowledge developed, such as the astronomical observations involved in erecting Stonehenge. Similar astronomical knowledge occurred in other examples of secret societies in the world as well.
This remarkable work was first printed in German in 1923 and was only translated and published in English in 1996. It is largely concerned with the secret societies in the New Hebrides Islands of Southeast Asia. Speiser documents the lavish initiation rituals, the megalithic constructions that were part of the secret society ritual locations, the power of the ritual organizations and their leaders, the special burials of secret society leaders, the plastering of their skulls, and many other fascinating aspects of these secret societies. It is just one outstanding example among other ethnographies that document the special nature of secret societies including Philip Drucker's Kwakiutl Dancing Societies, Walter Hoffman's The Midewiwin, or 'Grand Medicine Society' of the Ojibwa, and Amaury Talbot's In the Shadow of the Bush.
Originally published in German in 1923, this work records much of Vanuatu's early material culture. It was the result of two years of field work by Swiss anthropologist Felix Speiser between 1920 and 1912.
Robert Hare is a world authority on psychopaths and sociopaths. He explains how they avidly pursue their own self-interests and totally disregard the impacts on others. Psychopaths can be extremely personable, but they are very manipulative and totally lack empathy for others. They occur in all societies and gravitate to positions of control, power, and wealth in both business and politics. They relentlessly push for changes in society that benefit them the most. What I found most eye-opening and exciting about this book is that it helps explain many of the cultural developments in prehistory, including traditional secret societies, the leaders of which seem to fit Hare's descriptions to a remarkable degree. I use his insights extensively in the analyses in my own book.
Most people are both repelled and intrigued by the images of cold-blooded, conscienceless murderers that increasingly populate our movies, television programs, and newspaper headlines. With their flagrant criminal violation of society's rules, serial killers like Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy are among the most dramatic examples of the psychopath. Individuals with this personality disorder are fully aware of the consequences of their actions and know the difference between right and wrong, yet they are terrifyingly self-centered, remorseless, and unable to care about the feelings of others. Perhaps most frightening, they often seem completely normal to unsuspecting targets--and they do…
Coming from the perspective of a neurosurgeon, I have witnessed many successes and failures over more than four decades. I recognized decades ago that communication with patients at a level that involves emotions is a necessary part of being a complete physician. This involves being empathetic and, henceforth, digging deep to find the strength to be transparent, vulnerable, compassionate, understanding, and, when needed, forceful (some would call this paternalism). Although the five books I have chosen to highlight vary widely in content, they have one common theme – finding within us the will and wherewithal to succeed.
My book is a collection of monthly Editor-in-Chief letters to the readership of World Neurosurgery, a journal that I edit. Each essay is short and sweet. The letters were written for neurosurgeons but have been re-edited so that they apply to all human beings. They cover topics such as leadership, empathy, vulnerability, stress, burnout, and on and on…. These essays are relevant for all who strive to craft a better version of themselves.
Life lessons learned by the author during his 40+ year neurosurgery career are shared and translated into real-life scenarios. Between the covers are many lessons that are derived from the experiences of the author and then applied to all humans. The mastering of these lessons should translate into a sense of pride and satisfaction. In keeping with the theme of the book, this process should culminate in the feeling at the end of the day that ‘Today was, indeed, a good day.’
Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon
About the Book Today Was A Good Day: A Collection of Essays From The Heart Of A Neurosurgeon features many topics that pertain to how neurosurgeons interact with others and how each of us can use introspection to modify how we are using tools and strategies such as empathy, respect, stress management, and much more. This book provides some insights into leadership, effective communication, and fulfillment from the perspective of a neurosurgeon, and it causes the reader to think about and consider many, many attributes of a leader. We all want to have a good day. This book provides strategies…
