Customer Reviews

Secret Museum of Mankind

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I doubt that you, the reader, will often encounter a review of a book that the reviewer hasn't read (or maybe that's more common than we know). I will eventually buy and read this particular book, if only to see if it's as enthralling as is the original edition from decades ago. I may or may not have the original edition, nobody really knows. The origins of the book seem to be shrouded in mystery. Hopefully, Mr. Stiffler provides some expository information in his introduction. My copy lists no author, date of publication or other information; only the cryptic "New York, Manhattan House."

This is a book that must be read (rather perused) to be believed. One could certainly think the author (?) a racist and a unicultural bigot, if it were not for the fact that there seems to be no race, ethnic group, or gender about which he (?) cannot make a disparaging or condescending remark. All of that aside, however, this is a book (actually the original is "Five Volumes in One") with some of the most remakable photographs one will ever encounter. If, indeed, one person is responsible for all the photographs and did visit all the lands, peoples, and cultures featured, this is one of the most astonishing journals of travel that can be encountered. There are photographs the like of which you will not have seen anywhere else. It is the "Geographic" taken to degrees of documentation they could have achieved only by a conscious decision to toss any pretense of science out the window and replace it with sensationalistic photographs that even the pulps of the day wouldn't have touched. But, oh those photographs!

Other than the preceeding words, I'll write no more other than to say, "You must have this book for your personal library," and "I'll soon add this particular edition to mine."

Awesome book. It is made up entirely of captioned photos taken in the, apparently, the 1920's. It subject is indigineous cultures around the world. It's an amazing testement to the diversity of human cultures while also being an epitaph for many of these cultures no longer exist or have been absorbed into Westernized one we live in today. The captions are enthnocentric but the photos boggle the mind.

Basically this book is made up of captioned photographs taken around the beginning of the 1900's. My hardcover copy, printed on newspaper like paper, thus justifying the same 'old newspaper' quality pictures!(The paper is also a little yellow!) And, there is no table of contents, nor page numbers!
Overall, it richly catologues diverse cultures and has an interesting occidental point of view on these foreign traditions!! Details are practically non existent due to the poor quality of the reproductions but it makes up for that in the quantity of photos!
Extremely interesting to look through and can be used to find out about, in a sort of quick impression, of different cultures, and their names.

I ordered this on Jan 24, and now they're telling me it won't ship until the end of March. Ridiculous! If you want this book, be prepared to wait while Amazon constantly pushes back your delivery date.