Malcolm Godwin

An interesting tome published in the 1990s and a very heavy hardback given that it is printed on high quality photographic paper. The chief interest is in the illustrations which include a lot from medieval manuscripts and the like.

The first part of the book traces the development of the Grail legend from the original Celtic stories which came from Ireland and then Wales, to the stories documented by monks principally the Cistercians, and the final flowering in the troubadour culture. Once the stories became European artefacts they were blended with elements from Moorish Spain and the Holy Land via the Knights Templar among others. The summary of the stories are a bit repetitive and dry but there is also some interesting commentary on the subversive content derived from Gnostic ideas, probably via the Cathars and Albigensians who were eventually brutally suppressed by the Catholic church.

Part Two deals with the relevance of the legends in modern times especially their 'restoration of paradise' aspect, and also discusses the anti-women aspect of the Christian Church. It is very clear that the author has an axe to grind on this subject, as in his view Christianity is more women-hating/anti female than various other religions - personally, I don't think it has a monopoly on that. Anyway, there is an assumption that Europe was once a paradise of women-led agriculturalists and pastoralists who knew no weapons and were subsequently crushed by an invasion of male chauvinist warriors who imposed a culture that the world has been stuck with ever since for the last five millennia. This is put across as a matter of proven fact.

So given the lack of balance in places, but the more useful information in part one and the plentiful illustrations I would rate this at 3 stars overall.… (meer)

A fun book on various different personality-defining systems, summarized in a few pages with fun pictures. This is a book I would have really enjoyed in my teen years, a time when my friends and I were doing every quiz we could get our hands on both for entertainment and our continuing quest to learn about ourselves.

As an adult, and a graduate of psychology, I prefer more scientific tests (psychometrics) or at least something with a little more depth. At the very least, I had fun with it in the beginning but eventually had to give in to precious real estate space in my library and donate the book. Hopefully, someone else is really enjoying it.… (meer)

A fun book on various different personality-defining systems, summarized in a few pages with fun pictures. This is a book I would have really enjoyed in my teen years, a time when my friends and I were doing every quiz we could get our hands on both for entertainment and our continuing quest to learn about ourselves.

As an adult, and a graduate of psychology, I prefer more scientific tests (psychometrics) or at least something with a little more depth. At the very least, I had fun with it in the beginning but eventually had to give in to precious real estate space in my library and donate the book. Hopefully, someone else is really enjoying it.… (meer)