Science of the Magical

August 10, 2015
Believing that even the strangest myths of the past have a germ of truth, Kaplan (The Science of Monsters), a science correspondent with the Economist, wanders from ancient Greece and the Mayan empire to contemporary science fiction in search of that germ. Kaplan’s work differs from previous books on scientific views of myths and magic in two ways: he respects the intelligence of our ancestors and he doesn’t distort the science to make a theory fit. He uses some myths as jumping-off points that allow him to explore oddities in nature, as when his discussion of the search for immortality leads to an exploration of poisons, or when the plagues of the Biblical Exodus are treated as a sequence of events that occurred over hundreds of years. Kaplan shows how stories morph by comparing early versions of Spider-Man with his portrayals in recent films. Some of his connections are a stretch; the apple in Eden probably wasn’t a hallucinogenic mushroom, though Kaplan does have other intriguing ideas about mind-altering drugs and the Bible. Steeped in contemporary science fiction and fantasy, Kaplan’s blend of modern and ancient myths reveal an ever-present human concern with control over life, death, and the elements. Agent: Daniel Greenberg, Levine Greenberg Literary Agency.