The United Symbolism of America: Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America's Most Familiar Art, Architecture, and Logos

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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 929.9 EAN: 9781601630018 ISBN: 1601630018 Label: New Page Books Manufacturer: New Page Books Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 320 Publication Date: 2008-04-01 Publisher: New Page Books Studio: New Page Books
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Editorial Reviews: The Statue of Liberty is an ancient goddess. But why are there seven rays emanating from her crown? And why was the torch switched from her left to her right hand? Did you know that the 13 stars and stripes are not simply to honor the 13 colonies? Or why the six-pointed stars on the original American flag were changed to five-pointed stars? Did you know the CBS eye logo is considered by many to be the eye of the devil watching over us? Were you aware that the Washington Monument resembles an Egyptian obelisk channeling energy? America is young, but its symbols are old. Of the symbols and myths we chose since European colonization, the ones that have become American icons are those representing hope, positive growth, and opportunity. Many of the symbols included in The United Symbolism of America have become so familiar that most of us don't give them a second glance, let alone a second thought. Unfortunately, our patriotic symbols today have become so commonplace that, at best, we associate them with politicians we support. At worst, some believe that all American symbols are evil and Satanic. Hundreds of corporate logos are supposedly linked to this evil conspiracy and proof of its existence. Author Robert R. Hieronimus will help you see the symbolic messages encoded for us by our Founding Fathers in the symbols they chose. Unlike other writers on this topic, Hieronimus includes the historical background and the artistic influences behind the official design of each of these landmarks. In addition, he gives an archetypal interpretation based on the numbers, colors, patterns, and themes, and their usage in societies around the world.
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Interpreting Symbols? Go with Real History Comment: If the huge popularity of the _Da Vinci Code_ did nothing else, it showed how characters in a novel could become obsessed with obscure signs and symbols that had some grandly important but secret meaning. It doesn't take characters in a novel to do so, however, as has been shown by many of Dan Brown's readers who went on to retrace the paths of the characters and see the signs for themselves. For millennia, people have been making symbols, and gaining strength, unity, and purpose thereby; and for just as long, I suppose, people have been taking symbols the wrong way, and sometimes deliberately misinterpreting them. People declaiming Satanists, the Freemasons, the Knights Templar, the Illuminati, Bohemian Grove, Rosicrucians, or the International Jewish Conspiracy seem at times quite eager to latch onto the hidden meanings that can be found in, say, our national Great Seal or even the map of Washington, D.C. Robert Hieronimus has spent years researching such hidden meanings, and refreshingly, he does not deny that the hidden meanings are there. In _The United Symbolism of America: Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America's Most Familiar Art, Architecture, and Logos_ (New Page Books), he looks at familiar symbols and shows how our Founding Fathers and others used them to good purpose, and how the cranks and kooks have been able to subvert them to absurd ends. Repeatedly Hieronimus shows how interpreters he calls "fundamentalist-conspiratorialists" get their interpretations wrong, but they do so deliberately. They are "a sub-group of the religious right that believes everything that does not fit their strict definition of `Christian' is _a priori_ therefore `of Satan'". Take, for instance, the reverse of our satanic Great Seal. You have seen it plenty of times; it's on the dollar bill, and features that strange truncated pyramid capped with the eye in a triangle. Over and over in this book, Hieronimus demonstrates the proposition that what is strange symbolism to us was much better understood two hundred years ago. The strange pyramid and "all-seeing eye" were chosen for the seal not because they were occult or obscure, but because they were popular symbols, well understood at the time. Hieronimus shows examples of, for instance, the pyramid and the eye being used on money or church decorations long before they were put on the seal. The eye was the eye of God, of course, and the pyramid was a familiar symbol of endurance and unity. The seal was cobbled together, but it marked the first time that the eye and pyramid were placed together in this way, with a satisfying show of the spiritual and the earthly. The conspiratorialists who hate the Freemasons (and their hatred has gone back for centuries) insist that these are Masonic symbols that have been devilishly foisted upon our currency. Like everyone else at the time, the Freemasons knew the symbols of the eye and the pyramid, and used them in their own ways, but that is merely because they were common symbolic coinage. Of those involved in the committees who designed the seal, only Ben Franklin is known to have been a Freemason. There is no evidence that the artist who designed the seal, Francis Hopkinson who also is credited with the design of our flag), was a Freemason. The conspiratorialists also like to mistranslate the Latin phrases above and below the pyramid to make them seem satanic. There were Masons involved in getting the seal onto the back of the dollar bill in 1935, one being President Franklin Roosevelt, and although the conspiratorialists figure it's not just coincidence that disasters like women's rights and civil rights have boomed since that time, it seems unlikely that the Masons were managing any hocus-pocus to cause such changes. Hieronimus regrets most of all that viewing these symbols with a fundamentalist religious or paranoid eye is not just erroneous; it tears at the fabric of society and it is a waste. 150,000 people wrote letters to the Proctor and Gamble company protesting their "satanic" man-in-the-moon logo twenty years ago, and the company had to change it. Hieronimus wonders what might have happened if all these letter writers had instead been indignant about pollution or unfair labor practices, real evils rather than imaginary ones. Viewing these symbols with an informed historical view can make the symbolism stronger, and, Hieronimus even hopes, help them inspire and bind our nation as they were supposed to. If so, his book will help in the effort. Customer Rating: Summary: Finally, a Great Book on American Symbols Comment: The United Symbolism of America, Dr. Robert R. Hieronimus, New Page Books, 2008 BOB's new book, The United Symbolism of America, is a long-awaited examination of our Nation's symbols and its unique symbolic legacy. Bob takes us deep into the womb of Lady Liberty who celebrates the individual human spirit, a celebration rooted in Reason and Compassion, and not the current nationalistic furor we have experienced the last eight years. For too long the symbols have been exploited by politicians as excuses to portray their shallow patriotism without caring a damn about the historical and cultural nature of these symbols. Indeed, this is the last thing they want - an educated public aware of our own revolutionary heritage and intolerant of the ways of tyrants and crooks, especially those rifling our national treasury. They have succeeded because we seem to have forgotten our gift of critical thinking. We forget that our own brand of patriotism in America embraces the adage, Question Authority. Ever wonder how the symbols backed up this idea of freethinking and Reason -- that questioning authority is as American as apple pie; that it is every American's God-given right and duty to question our government without fear of being persecuted? To stand up and be counted? Ahhh, those were the days. So before it is all gone, get a hold of Bob's book to see what American spirituality is all about, and the sacred traditions they came from. United Symbols of America is your triptych to your own self-actualization, and towards a deeper understanding of that enlightened Idea our nation was founded on. With this re-emersion into the American heart, you will experience the way America is supposed to be, namely, a Verb to be practiced and acted out. And who knows? -- Armed with the knowledge of our symbolic heritage, maybe we can save Lady Liberty from the tyrants, scoundrels and journalistic toadies on the right and the left who have abandoned and betrayed true American patriotism for the cold greed of their corporate masters and the war machine. It's your call. Do it now. [...] Customer Rating: Summary: Symbolism - each and every day everyone is exposed to i Comment: Symbolism - each and every day everyone is exposed to it and it's inescapable - it's one of the things the United States of America was founded on. "The United Symbolism of America: Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America's Most Familiar Art, Architecture, and Logos" is an examination of the rampant symbolism that is entrenched in all of America's culture, focusing mainly on the monuments of historical significance - and why they are monuments of historical significance. "The United Symbolism of America: Deciphering Hidden Meanings in America's Most Familiar Art, Architecture, and Logos" is highly recommended for community library history collections and for any who want a bit of unconventional insight on our nation's history and design. Customer Rating: Summary: Being Symbol Minded is a Good Thing Comment: Dr. Hieronimus' book, `The United Symbolism of America' opens our mind's eye to a way of seeing the symbolic messages encoded in our Nation's buildings, statues, paintings, logos, and money, in a way that informs and expands our consciousness. Most Americans know very little about the art, architecture and symbols that depict our great nation. Dr. Hieronimus and Laura Courtner have taken great care to dispel many fallacies, superstitions and inaccuracies, often associated with these symbols. Things we see, use and touch everyday can be reminders of those principles upon which our country was founded. I can't look at a dollar bill now, without thinking of the Great Seal and its symbolic images depicting a potential for a greater future of the United States and the world. I often exchange my $5 and $10 dollar bills for $1 dollar bills so I have more talismans in my possession. As an artist, educator and Patriot; I highly recommend this wonderful researched and richly illustrated book that focuses on the greatness of America - past, present and future. Customer Rating: Summary: Powerful Symbols, Embodiment of America Comment: America is a country founded upon principles. Principles focusing on the freedoms of every man, woman and child who proudly call themselves an American. The symbols that our founding fathers used to represent these principles are evident in almost every building, statue and even city street layouts. After reading this book, you will see how important these symbols are and how they have the ability to reach people on truly countless levels. The author does an excellent job at discounting the Freemason ties that some conspiracy theorists like to ascribe to nearly anything that fits their agenda; as well as presenting much more believable, historically validated meanings behind these symbols. This book is an easy read and is quite exciting! More Reviews