New Books from Michael Grimley
New to our library, and for sale in our bookshop, are the following two books by Michael Grimley.
Michael is a former Waldorf School Teacher, and Teacher Trainer for many years. He taught history, art and philosophy, and has often lectured on these subjects in the public domain. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
When asked why someone should read these books, he suggests:
“I would recommend reading both books. Together they present a synoptic overview of how recent historical outlooks have uncovered the ‘fog of untruth’; the deliberate misrepresentation of facts that have continued since the closing years of the 19th Century have been the fundamental causes of worldwide conflicts ever since.”
He also says, in response to being asked what he hopes these books about our history will contribute to, towards our future as human beings:
I hope the demonstration of Rudolf Steiner’s guidelines contained in these two books help to nurture a ‘sense of truth’; a capacity of discernment that can awaken and stimulate a consciousness that can reinforce the moral grounding of inner responsibility and human insight.
The following is an overview of the books.
Consciousness and Truth.
A story of how the First World War began.
One hundred and ten years ago two shots were fired from a pistol setting in motion the greatest human catastrophe in the modern world history – the First World War; otherwise known as ‘WW1’, ‘The Great War’ or the ‘War to end all Wars’.
It in turn provoked a chain reaction of further catastrophes with a signature that marks the apocalyptic character of our times ever since.
How it is possible then, that two shots fired in a side street of a city in an obscure region of southeast Europe should precipitate such a worldwide conflict – and why?
The main aim of this story is to tell how what happened between 28th of June and 4th of August 1914 led to this, “the first calamity of the 20th century…”
The Fog of Untruth
A view of why the First World War began and its consequence.
From the South African perspective
The theme of The Fog of Untruth follows on from the contents of the previous book entitled Consciousness and Truth which outlined how the First World War started. The theme continues in this book, but with an attempt to address the question of WHY it started as opposed to the question HOW. The second book does, however, stand on its own.
Addressing the question of why, has involved wading through a large number of publications related to the subject – whilst also negotiating the minefields of over one hundred years of blame, denial, misrepresentation and avoidance – done, in dedication to the search for the truth.
A special intriguing focus is on the connection between the origins of both the South African Anglo-Boer War and the First World War. The significance of this connection cannot be fully grasped without a synoptic view of the larger picture in which the relationship between the two wars played its part; hence a significant portion of this book is committed to developing this context.
Enjoy these books by taking them out of our Anthroposophical Library, or purchasing your own copy from our Bookshop.
TALK: The Fog of Untruth
Michael gave a talk about a view of why the First World War began and its consequence from a South African perspective, on 28 June 2023, recorded in Cape Town. He focused on the spiritual battles that have played a role in the East and the West that have led to the tragedy of Europe, and that continues worldwide ever since.
VIDEO:
If you would like to view this talk, please click here.
Donations
Please consider making a contribution to our sister Group of the Society, being “The Anthroposophical Society in the Western Cape” to help cover the costs of making this video available to you. The bank details are: Nedbank Current Account. Account name: ASWC. Account number: 1043053050. Reference: M Grimley.
Thank you for your support.