Dante Alighieri, or Dante to his friends, is probably best known for The Divine Comedy, an epic poem touring Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. I feel like everyone has read Inferno, although I never had until now. But I never hear of anyone reading the other two. Whether it’s the epic-ness of it or the translation, I suggest pressing on. Robin Kirkpatrick’s translation is readable and mostly understandable, while maintaining the lyricality of Dante’s original poem.
I should preface this by mentioning that I realize this is a bit of a controversial book. And the show that it inspired, Ancient Aliens, may be even more controversial in its claims. But who doesn’t like a good ol’ conspiracy theory or “out there” claims? I, for one, love hearing flat-earthers try to back their claims. But let me be clear – this book only asks questions and puts forward hypotheses as to possible answers. And the author even acknowledges how crazy these may sound.
I’ve gone along for many years hearing about The Power of Myth and The Hero’s Journey. But it wasn’t until the year 2024, some 36 years after it was originally published, that I finally got to hear Campbell and Moyers’s discussion for myself.
Do people often tell you to go to Hell? Is it actually quite common? Like, more common than you’d like to admit? Do you not really have a lot of context for where exactly Hell is? Well then, this is the book for you!
