Why Did It Have to be Snakes?: From Science to the Supernatural, the Many Mysteries of Indiana Jones

by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg

(Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2008)
Trade Paperback, 264 Pages, Nonfiction

ISBN: 9780470225561, US$15.95

ABCD Rating: CHECK OUT

From the Cover: The Ultimate Indiana Jones Companion—The true history, supernatural wonders, and mysteries of Indiana Jones! Could you really bullwhip to swing across a chasm? Or rip out a man’s heart without killing him? Was there a Shanghai mob in the 1930s—and did the Nazis have a real-life connection to the occult? At last, here is the book that finally answers the Indiana Jones-related questions that have troubled you for years. It tells you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the history, culture, and science behind your favorite Indy scenes and settings. You’ll find out the truth about the Thuggees and their deadly practices, ancient death traps, the Well of Souls, Kali worship in India, the infamous bizarre banquet that included chilled monkey brains, the Sankara Stones, the Cross of Coronado, the Holy Grail, and more. Get ready for adventure—and more than a few snakes—as you explore the secrets and stories of Indiana Jones and his world. The journey will take you around the globe and through history as you move from ancient Egypt to India, China and the United States, and from Biblical times to the Spanish Conquest to World War II. You’ll also learn about Indiana himself, including the origins of his trademark fedora, leather jacket, and bullwhip. So why did it have to be snakes? Read the book and find out.

My Review: As we were exploring our new libraries recently (we have access to both the local city public libraries and the county libraries … score!) this book was on the shelf and kind of jumped out at me as I went by. Of course, I had to throw it into the library bag and put it in my TBR pile. After all, I have read a similar book in the past, and enjoyed it, and having recently read one of Indy’s novelized adventures, I thought Why not?

Unfortunately, this is not a book that lived up to the expectations that I had for it. In fact, the only thing that made me rate it as CHECK OUT instead of DITCH was that there were a few gems of information in and amongst the general dross and tangential information that Gresh and Weinberg toss out there.

I have two main beefs with the book and its authors:

First, all too often Gresh and Weinberg describe a scenario from one of the movies (or the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles television series (remember that one?)) and then proceed to give all sorts of information about the person or event or thing but not address the central conceit of the book: Could or could not have Indiana Jones interacted with this person or participated in this event? An involved history of the Utah Territory or the Boy Scouts of America or Pablo Picasso is great, but I could get that in a history book or a biography. What I want to know is how does this fit into the Indiana Jones canon, which Gresh and Weinberg fail to do in all too many of the entries in the book.

Second, WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A VALID SOURCE TO CITE! It is a great website and one that can give you quick information, or simple tidbits of knowledge that are, on the whole, correct, such as who played Satipo in Raiders of the Lost Ark (Alfred Molina … who knew?) or who was Heinrich Himmler’s personal occultist (Karl Maria Gutberlet) but to use it again and again and then CITE the various web pages again and again in a book that is presented in a somewhat professional way is just lazy research, especially when many of the topics which Gresh and Weinberg are researching have numerous more valid sources to consult. I mean, honestly, is it that hard to find a book on the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail or Sigmund Freud? It’s not as if the authors are trading in esoteric subject matter here. These are established myths and legends and archeological subjects and people of great notoriety that Indy encounters. When I discovered, quite by accident—I was wondering what one of the sources for a claim Gresh and Weinberg made—that Wikipedia was being cited in their bibliography, 90% of their credibility flew out the window. Especially since they should know better, after all, if the authors’ claim is to be believed, they are college professors!

As I have said, on the whole most of this book can be ignored or skipped, but there are a few topics that the authors address that are quite fascinating and go beyond middle school history class-style knowledge (such as the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand is what sparked WWI) … for example, the section on Nazis and the Occult is absolutely fascinating, and even though there are absolutely no sources whatsoever for any of the claims Gresh and Weinberg make, it was eye-opening to me the extent with which the Nazi High Command was obsessed with the occult. For example, if Gresh and Weinberg are to be believed, the Nazis did, in fact, send an expedition in search of such religious artifacts as the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail, and Nazi SS troops were sent to Tibet and South America in search of mystical knowledge and learning; the SS even had an occult branch of their service, very similar, in fact, to what is presented in the Indiana Jones films (as well as the first Hellboy film, come right down to it).

So, it is with mixed feelings that I give this book a half-hearted endorsement. It is not a book that I would want in my library (or to have paid money for) but it is definitely worth checking out of your local library … just make sure you return it on time. I’m not even sure it is worth paying late fees for.