The Veil of Isis, Or Mysteries of the Druids [Paperback]

W. Winwood Reade (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1992

The Veil of Isis, Or, Mysteries of The Druids is a fascinating and absorbing book that offers fresh and stimulating insights. W. Winwood Reade's impressive work is a significant contribution to the reconstruction of Celtic history; a readable, balanced and valuable history and a landmark in the neglected terrain of the ancient Druids.

This splendid study masterfully reconstructs the great history, myths and theology of the ancient Druids and illuminates the early religions that spawned them. The book begins with the ancient tales of Osiris and Isis, and what follows is pure enchantment as you enter the long-suppressed mysteries of the Druids.

Through careful and thorough exploration of the rich remnants and writings of Britain's ancient people, Reade provides a startling account of these political and religious rites forever surrounded by aura and fantasy. Translating mythic and mystical experience into elegant, poetic language, Reade reconstructs the development and eventual decline of this secret society.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Newcastle Pub Co Inc (September 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087877176X
• ISBN-13: 978-0878771769
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,350,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overlooked, not overrated, September 30, 2010

By 

Ross K. - See all my reviews

This review is from: The veil of Isis, or, Mysteries of the Druids (Paperback)

I must disagree with the first reviewer. This is a cool book. Comparative religion is nothing new to us today, but this is a crisper, more direct and readable account than we usually get from our wordier writers. What may bother the first reviewer is that this is more polemical/openly opinionated and less encyclopedic than many of the books in its field, and the tone of the editorial and opinion is more bitter and cutting than one may be used to. However, Reade was an able writer and interesting thinker with his own style and wrote a good read here. He was certainly very opinionated and tendentious, the type of strong but problematic influencer we usually tend to conceal. It's OK and entertaining that he sometimes goes too far; just recognize that he's doing it, you don't have to agree with every single word to enjoy it. Provocateurs fill a niche.

Reade's role is similar to that of Harold Bloom: a provocateur who asks annoying questions and starts an argument that is too strong to absorb all at once, but which plants a seed in the mind. Provocateurs are important. By degrees their ideas steal in to one's questions and thoughts and have more influence than one would like to admit. They become the background to those opinions we more consciously espouse.

Overall, a quick, sharp, invigorating stab at comparative religious esoterica that will get one's attention and provide a few hours of diversion and ruminating. The Veil of Isis is worth reading not because it is comprehensive or the final word, but because of the personality infused into the learning--there is no other book exactly like it. The British bias toward the Druids is unabashedly nationalistic and should be taken with a grain of salt, but it does not detract from the caliber of Reade's general learning in ancient mythology and religion. The book will still trigger interesting thoughts even if is not always right. Above all this is a good, quick, provocative read one can enjoy and use to keep the mind sharp when time and attention do not allow for the longer compendia in the field such as The Golden Bough, The Hero with 1000 Faces, etc. If you don't come to it fraught with expectations, you might enjoy it.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overrated, September 12, 2009

By 

Vicki Veranese "Vicstar" (Byron Bay Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Veil of Isis or Mysteries of the Druids (Paperback)

I purchased this book because it kept popping into my message box, so I thought it may be worth it

Great marketing Amazon because it is a load or crapola that wasn't worth the postage