Review # 79: The Sacred Sphere by Paul D. Burley

Description:

     The Sacred Sphere documents the historical importance of sacred spherical symbols used by civilizations for the last ~2 million years. The book delves into world mythologies, philosophies, ethnographies, and geometries in relation to the circular patterns and symbols representing both ancient and current sacred relationships and rituals. 

Review:
    
     Being no stranger to scientific papers and college textbooks, I gladly accepted the challenge of reading Paul D. Burley's The Sacred Sphere- Exploring sacred concepts and cosmic consciousness through universal symbolism; although, I admit the ~500 page length was intimidating at first glance. Fortunately, the author did not write this book like a textbook, but as an easy to read/ understand guidebook, full of enjoyable myths and stories as well as b&w and color photos. I have taken anthropology classes, so I know firsthand what the textbooks are like, long-winded, detail-filled, and sleep-inducing, but this book wasn't like that. I actually learned more about specific cultures and their use of symbolism from reading The Sacred Sphere than I did in a fifteen-week semester of anthropology. If my professor had included this book in the curriculum, some of the concepts and depictions would have definitely been easier to comprehend, which is what I told my professor. I especially liked the sections on "Pillars of Ancient Egypt", "The Mechanics of Space" and "Time: Temporal yet Eternal, Linear or Circular?" which sparked a lot of my interest. The book is very well-researched and written, with a well-thought-out order and progression of the "timeline" it followed. The pictures, diagrams, and tables were wonderful aides in understanding and visualizing the material presented, and I found Paul D. Burley's conclusions quite fascinating. There were a few words/phrases that I had to look-up, as well as a couple of myths that I wanted a more in-depth look at, but that is expected with any scientific or historical book of this length. Overall, I felt that the book was very enjoyable and thorough, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in anthropology, archaeology, sociology, or symbolism, or those taking a class like I did.


Rating: On the Run (4/5)


*** I received this book from the author (Bostick Communications) in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.