Peter Tompkins (1919–2007)

Don't bother, unless you are also fascinated by theories involving flying saucer inhabitants creating many of the larger features of the man-made world. The book contains some decent general information, but unduly focuses on the work of various idjuts who squandered their intellects and time on mathematical calculations of the pyramids' exact dimensions. These obsessed folk were able to find correlations between various coordinates and lengths of corridors with everything from the magnetic show more poles to the biblical relation of time since Creation. I could also apply their measurements to peach pits and the distance to Alpha Centauri AB, but I don't think I'd submit my calculations to the Royal Society. If the book were written with a bit more (alright, a whole lot more) dispassion and, dare I say, disbelief, it would make an interesting study of sociological, religious, and pseudo-scientific aberration. Sorry. Reading through the thing upset me. What a waste of talent. show less

The author discusses a variety of non-scientific theories related to plants. Discussions include a theory that plants communicate with animals including humans possibly through their sensitivity to the destruction of cells. It is unclear how this would be possible. The galvanic response theorized to have detected a response in some plants was not able to be replicated under controlled studies. Other theories include that psychic energy can be imparted to plants. There is a discussion of the show more use of dowsing to improve freshness of food. There is a chapter on a theory that plants can transform elements into other elements. While it is possible to transform elements that are radioactive in other elements or transform elements by fission or fusion, there is no plausible explanation provided how plants could do this. The theories are presented and there is no scientific basis for validity, and more important there is no data to support these non-scientific claims. A friend of mine espouses the quote “In god we trust, everyone else needs data.” That kind of fits the situation. It is embarrassing that any educated person would consider this speculative discussion as anything other than entertainment. show less

Secrets they were when I picked up this book for the first time (in January 1988), and secrets they have remained. Tompkins covers the known history of the Great Pyramid (including all the major pyramidologists--Greaves, Taylor, Smyth, Petrie--and their theories), but what is known unfortunately doesn't amount to much. The fact is that we have no idea how the Pyramid was built; records of its construction have not survived. That's why there are so many books and hypotheses. This particular show more book relies heavily on a complicated geometric theory by Prof. Livio Stecchini (which Stecchini himself outlines in the appendix), but this primarily concerns the measurements the Egyptians used and fails to address the elephant in the room. How was the construction of the Great Pyramid accomplished? How, in terms of sheer physical scale, can it be accounted for? No, we don't have to fall back on the ancient astronauts catch-all, but we do need a better theory than any thus far proposed. That the Pyramid exists, and that we still cannot explain it, means our understanding of human civilization is fundamentally incomplete. It's not just an interesting ancient ruin: it may be the key to the entire puzzle. Astronomer Richard Proctor (basing his conclusion on the work of the effectively forgotten Greek philosopher Proclus) argued that the Pyramid was an observatory, and there's evidence to suggest that he was right, but consider what this means: the Egyptians not only practiced astronomy, but had the wherewithal to erect a massive, flawlessly engineered monument to that practice. What happened to the technology that enabled an achievement such as the Great Pyramid? How can it have been lost so completely?

Full of stunning black and white photographs, engravings and drawings, Secrets of the Great Pyramid makes a beautiful coffee table book if you can find a copy in near-mint condition. Sadly, there isn't a lot of substance in the text itself. show less

While there is some good information in this book, for the most part this book gives plant people a bad name. Yes, plants communicate, but why harm plants while studying this?

If you love plants, this book will likely make you cringe hearing about the cruel scientific experiments on plants. And if you don't love plants, this book may make you think that all of us who love plants are a bit crazy.