eShop USA > Books > The Cosmic Serpent
The Cosmic Serpent
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
List Price: $14.95Our Price: $10.17 You Save: $4.78 (32%)Prices subject to change.
Customer Reviews
Rating:  - Poorly written, tedious.
I'm surprised that no one before me has mentioned how poorly written this book is. It sounds like it was written by an eighth grader with no imagination. For somone who is discussing hallucinations, he would have done well to have been more colorul in his writing. It reads like a technical brochure. Half the things he talks about are of no consequence to the point he's trying to make.
Rating:  - 6th Sense?
I found the book to be well researched with over 90 pages of notes, indexes, and bibliography to support the 162 pages of the author's perspective and one possibility of how all life is interconnected. Myth or truth? Not easily answered because I don't think one could ever know now that most every inch of the planet has been explored and the primitive cultures "found" have been affected in too many ways. What impressed upon me most was that there is something profound that we can learn from studying and understanding these ancient ways. An interesting read.
Rating: - Modern Mythology
Apparently countless civilizations have recognized the serpent or other double-helix like shapes as of primal importance, and consumption of hallucogenic drugs induces similar visions. Narby has taken this information and declared that humans are, and always have been, somehow aware of the DNA that underlies our existence. He also believes that DNA has intentions, can communicate with us, and it not of this world (he does not believe in natural selection, etc). As a geneticist with an interest in neurobiology and consciousness myself, I am aware that he has butchered much of the science he presents (for example, claiming that the circularity of natural selection makes it untestable). However he writes well, and I enjoyed reading about the anthropology (which appears well documented to my admittedly inexpert eye) that led him to derive this new mythology. I certainly don't agree with his conclusions, but I appreciate his intellectual creativity and sense of discovery.
Rating:  - Intriguing theory.
Parts of this book were really interesting, and others were a bit tedious. Overall, the author's theory that Shamans are "seeing and learning" from plant DNA (that looks like snakes/serpents to them, hence the inordinate amount of ancient paintings that depict snakes) is certainly counter to conventional Western thought.
If you enjoy learning about alternative ideas, you'll enjoy this book. Who knows, it may be generally accurate -- Western science certainly can't explain the knowledge native Shamans have acquired.
Rating:  - A Very Interesting Read
I sincerely enjoyed reading this book as I could not put it down. This book is roughly 240 pages with eleven chapters. And, it is very easy to read. Narby's "Notes" section at the end of the book is lengthy and informative.
"The Cosmic Serpent" reads more like a novel or a personal journey rather than a scholarly work that one would normally read on the subject. Personally, I was fascinated with the sincere expression of the author's stories and his mix-in with the science of DNA. There were much confusion among the scientific community about connection between the use of hallucinogenic plants and genetic, and yet Narby was able to clear that up, even as briefly, in this book. I also find it interesting about Narby's discovery of the connection between the symbolism of snakes and that of DNA (double helix), and he backed this up with historical evidence from Americas as well from other cultures.
I found this book to be quite informative and most interesting to read. Most certainly a new look on DNA. I also enjoyed his other book, such as Intelligence in Nature.
Featured Listmania!
| |
 |
