If, like myself, you find conventional Egyptology/archeology, Darwinian evolution, and church doctrine, entirely unconvincing in their explanations of human origins....then you will enjoy this book. It is not a New Age harangue by any means, and though the author does drift into diatribes against orthodoxy, he is clearly justified in doing so. Uncovering the truth of our past is, to my mind, the most important task of any researcher. West is a pioneer in this field.

I just finished reading this book and found it fascinating, informative, and intriguing. I feel that any lay person, as well as a seasoned scientist, can learn something very profound from this book. I did not find it difficult to read at all, but that may be because I already have an interest in learning more about Egypt and other paths of esotericism, higher knowledge, and higher consciousness. I don't think anyone can dispute that Egypt, as well as other ancient cultures, possessed a knowledge that far surpasses our own on so many different levels. For one thing they were able to finance huge projects (try to get any one society/civilizaton today to fund a pyramid; even a small one like Menkaure's). For the second thing, they were able to organize themselves in such a way that devotion to higher thought was the primary motivating factor in their expression of monumental building and encoding secret/sacred knowledge into symbols. These are the salient, yet subtle points made by Mr. West. Wouldn't it be nice if more of us 'moderns' could be like that? Anyone who has seen hieroglyphics has to know that it cannot be interpreted into our language (how we communicate thought) verbatum, nor into our current thought patterns. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that it takes a symbolist view to be able to make sense of them, and that may require breaking away from established patterns of thought; civilization started in Greece; modern science is the be-all-end-all marvel; the Sphinx looks like the statue they call Cheperen, etc., to enable the messages to pour into your heart. This is one of the things that comes through in this book.

This book, Serpent in the Sky, is a great introduction into, not only Schwaller deLubicz' work, but is in its own right a step toward helping one recognize that there might be something to be gained by reforming our thought patterns and exploring other subject matter such as harmonics, proportions & volume; and incorporating these concepts into our everyday living experience. I don't know anything about these things at this time, but I am inspired by this book to want to learn more. I barely got through geometry in school (decades ago-smile), but I may now be able to absorb more of it now that I see that it has a real/spiritual purpose. How about you? Would you challenge yourself by first trying to investigate the concepts outlined in this book and then have the heart to move onto Schwaller's The Temple in Man? Do you think you can be taken to a higher level of consciousness?

If you think you are a layperson, don't be discouraged from your quest for higher knowledge by listening to the comments of those who assume that laypeople cannot learn from this book and Schwaller's. You can learn anything you want to and Serpent in the Sky might be just the thing to help you step onto the road to higher spiritual development. If you have already stepped onto that road, then you know that it is not easy or quick to get to where you'd like to be. Mr. West has an impeccable style of writing, a flare for clarity and humor (because he's not in denial), and anyone with a reasonable amount of education can enjoy this book and be inspired by it. If you don't know a word used in the book, pull out your dictionary. Not well versed in geometry? Get your hands on a self-study book or a tutor. That's part of how spirit works through us and our guides to give us more illumination. We have to do the work ourselves and you'll know if someone is a guide sent from The Most High or from somewhere else.

Open your mind and your heart! (smile) See for yourself. See you in Egypt in late 2008.

If you prescibe to conventional views about Egyptology don't buy this book. However, if you believe that science does not have the story of our origins and Egypt quite right, then this book will open your eyes.

The writing style is accessible, not too technical, and not too etheric. The work of Schwaller de Lubicz is presented, along with JAWs owns metaphors, in a way to help you understand that Egyptian culture and architecture was much deeper than archeologists think.

JAW is most famous pointing to geologic weathering analysis of the Sphinx show that it is at least 10,000 years old. The book stays rooted in science enough to keep the discerning reader interested. There is also a hint of the civilization that pre-dates Egypt (?Atlantis) which will also keep the alternate reader interested. All-in-all a very good and balanced book.

Also recommended is 'Temple of the Cosmos' by Jeremy Naydler.

If you prescibe to conventional views about Egyptology don't buy this book. However, if you believe that science does not have the story of our origins and Egypt quite right, then this book will open your eyes.

The writing style is accessible, not too technical, and not too etheric. The work of Schwaller de Lubicz is presented, along with JAWs owns metaphors, in a way to help you understand that Egyptian culture and architecture was much deeper than archeologists think.

JAW is most famous pointing to geologic weathering analysis of the Sphinx show that it is at least 10,000 years old. The book stays rooted in science enough to keep the discerning reader interested. There is also a hint of the civilization that pre-dates Egypt (?Atlantis) which will also keep the alternate reader interested. All-in-all a very good and balanced book.

Also recommended is 'Temple of the Cosmos' by Jeremy Naydler.

The book is an attempt to make accessible to the layman the findings of Schwaller de Lubicz (1887-1961), a self-taught French Egyptologist with a strong mystical bend who claimed among other things that Egyptian civilization is much older than mainstream archeologist believe and that it was based on esotericism.
The book is abundantly illustrated with black and white photographs and drawings and every page has a wealth of quotes from the most diverse writers. In fact, these quotes make up about a third of the contents.
"Serpent in the Sky" could be described as a kind of short encyclopedia on Egyptian civilization but seen from an esoteric point of view. All aspects of ancient Egypt are covered, from temple architecture to the meaning of hieroglyphics. And of course, there is a chapter on the Sphinx, explaining that it is much older than most experts think.
The big trouble with this book is that it simply fails to give the reader a coherent and substantial idea not only of Schwaller de Lubicz's views but also of its topic. In typical fashion, the writer will start discussing a topic, make a few remarks which sound profound (but are not always intelligible)and then move to something else. What one gets in the end is bits of information on many topics, but one doesn't really to come to a full understanding and appreciation of what the author is talking about. One suspects that Mr.Anthony West hasn't really digested the obscure teachings of his French master.
So, while this book may stimulate your interest for a different interpretation of what ancient Egypt was all about, you certainly won't find here the answers you are looking for.
It is true, as another reviewer has noted, that the author, in expounding his "heretical" interpretation of Egypt,shows himself to be thoroughly critical not only of conventional Egyptology, but also of Western science and the modern worldview in general. As I thoroughly agree with most of his condemnatory pronouncements, I wasn't bothered by this anti-modern stance. In fact, many of his remarks are quite to the point. In my opinion, this is a positive aspect of the book.
But the fact remains that after reading this book I still don't understand the civilization of Egypt and the teachings of Schwaller de Lubicz regarding it. Sometimes it is better not to know anything about a topic than to have incomplete and unclarified notions about it.
I am sorry to say that this book leaves one in a state of complete confusion about Egyptian metaphysics and civilization.

This is West's attempt to present some of the philosophies of DeLubicz from his perception of them. West presents the theories, assumptions, conclusions and epiphanies of DeLubicz with his own radical approach to the subject matter. Encompassing a wide range of subjects West does not presume to attest to an expert status in all subjects but presents his view point of the DeLubicz material in a highly readable manner. Although quite technical in some areas it serves only to stimulate the reader to investigate further. Read with an open mind and shelving all preconcieved notions of tightly held dogma and turf wars from the differing scientific departments West's book asks us to open our minds to an entirely different thought pattern concerning what we know or think we know about the Egyptians. Whether we believe or not West presents ideas considered fringe by established thought but those five per cent of fringe thinkers are what kicks our minds out of the rut and stimulates our intellectual need to know and understand.

I whole-heartedly agree evolution is nonsense. And I also agree the dating of the sphinx and pyramids are in error. In support of West's book, I point out that the constellations they represent did not exist until 10,000 B.C. The three pyramids represent the constellation Orion and the Sphinx represents the constellation Leo. These constellations as depicted in these famous Eygptian megaliths were created by people who witnessed them; namely, people who existed 10,000 B.C. Therefore, the history books are all wrong, including the Princeton and Harvard and Yale so-called scholars who have a hard time swallowing these facts.

However, I disagree with the author's confidence in astrology. Moreover, I disagree but understand his assertion that the Golden ratio isn't a number but is a function.

The Golden ratio is an irrational number. The author seems to imply that irrational numbers are functions, not numbers. What does he mean? I mean, I kind of get what he means, but he leaves you hangin'.

First of all, the ancient Greeks thought a number is that which can be constructed with a square and compass. However, the Greeks also didn't like numbers like the square root of two and denominated such numbers as "irrational." Descartes sheds light on this topic on page 2 of his book "Geometry."

From a half circle in which Descartes inscribes some triangles, Descartes arrives at three equations (all pythagorean): c^2 = a^2 + b^2; d^2 = 1^2 + b^2; (a + 1)^2 = c^2 + d^2. Substituting the second equation into the third he gets a^2 + 2a + 1 = c^2 + 1^2 + b^2. Then, using the first equation, we substitute a^2 + b^2. Thus, a^2 + 2a + 1 = a^2 + b^2 + 1^2 + b^2. Thus, 2a = 2b^2 or a = b^2 or b = /a (square root of "a").

Thus, according to Descartes, one can theoretically construct an irrational number with square and compass. Thus, if one defines an irrational number as a function, as Anthony West does, namely that b = /a, it doesn't remove the fact that it can be constructed by square and compass. Thus, although Greeks didn't like irrational numbers, according to their own definition of number numbers like the sqaure root of two are numbers. Why Anthony West wants to define numbers in such a narrow way, I don't know. He ends up like the Greeks who got in conundrums because of their rigid definitions. The natural numbers (.i.e, 1,2,3,4,5. . .) are constructable by square and compass. Why should we not broaden our definition of number to include something other than the natural numbers? Narrowing one's defnition of number gets us into semantic disputes that get us nowhere.

Finally, why do P.h.D.'s at Ivy League colleges insist on dating the pyramids and sphinx more recently rather than 10,000 B.C.? Because, dating them at 10,000 B.C. trashes the Ice Age myth.

I recently bought another copy of Serpent in the Sky - a book I read when it was first published in 1979. I assume that whoever borrowed my first copy found it as compelling as I did, because I never saw it again. Anyway, as an artist and lover of philosophical geometry and number, I refer to it again and again - not only to satisfy my interest in Egyptian antiquity, but also to ponder the evidence of a vast knowledge of the laws of man and the universe. Be warned, this amazing book is an intellectual challenge, but it is also creative stimulation on every page. As West's insights elevate your consciousness to the immensity of human potential, new veins of creativity and invention open up for your own work. As to how this happens remains as mystifying to me as the great architectural achievements of the ancient Egyptians. It is a necessary book.

I bought this book because of fringe interests and have been overwhelmed by the information. If you are not scholarly . . . it's a hard read . . . but well worth the investment of your time.