How the Shaman Stole the Moon [Paperback]

William Calvin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1992 | ISBN-10: 0553370820 | ISBN-13: 978-0553370829

"Combines the wonder of magic and ancient lore with the skill and intellectual honesty of modern science. William Calvin guides us on just such a marvel-packed quest, in search of techniques used by sages and shamans, tracing discoveries made sometimes by accident and sometimes by sheer genius long before the dawn of our own age."-David Brin

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This provocative, informative yet sometimes dry catalogue sets out to unravel methods used by ancient "prophet-scientists" that may have boardered on the scientific to predict eclipses and seasonal changes. Although the work leaps around without adhering to chronology or building on its own revelations, some individual sections sparkle. Calvin ( The Ascent of Mind ) speculates about Stonehenge, "The three complicated eclipse-prediction schemes for Stonehenge all focus on this eclipse repeat cycle, all use those 56 Aubrey holes in the ring that surrounds (and antedates) the central megaliths or the inner ring of 19 bluestones." The journey continues around the world to such historic wonders as the Grand Canyon and the Anasazi caves of the Hopi Indians. The book may be somewhat technical for lay readers . Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Were shamans in prehistoric cultures able to predict solar and lunar eclipses? Calvin (neurobiology, Univ. of Washington), brings together data from astronomy and archaeology in an attempt to answer this question. Employing research at Stonehenge and Avebury in England, and numerous Anasazi Indian sites in the American Southwest, Calvin concludes that there were over a dozen possible methods of eclipse forecasting that prehistoric people may have used. He admits that his hypotheses on prehistoric astronomical techniques are speculative, and emphasizes that they may only provide a clue to what might have been. Nevertheless, his theories are well thought out and clearly explained. The narrative flows smoothly as the numerous possible methods of prediction are described within the context of the story of his research at the various archaeological sites. This fascinating book should be a useful addition to library popular science collections.
- Elizabeth Salt, Otterbein Coll. Lib., Westerville, Ohio
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Bantam (November 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553370820
• ISBN-13: 978-0553370829
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,340,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

William H. Calvin, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus at the University of Washington School of Medicine, now affiliated with the Program on Climate Change of the College of the Environment. He is the author of Global Fever: How to Treat Climate Change (University of Chicago Press 2008, see Global-Fever.org) and thirteen earlier books for general readers. He studies brain circuitry, ape-to-human evolution, climate change, and civilization's vulnerability to abrupt shocks.

In Global Fever, he writes: "The climate doctors have been consulted; the lab reports have come back. Now it's time to pull together the Big Picture and discuss treatment options. At a time when architects are thinking ahead to more efficient buildings and power planners are extolling the virtues of "renewable energy," the climate modelers have discovered that long-term planning will no longer suffice. Our fossil fuel fiasco has already painted us into a corner such that, if we don't make substantial near-term gains before 2020, the long-term is pre-empted, the efforts all for naught. We are already in dangerous territory and have to act quickly to avoid triggering widespread catastrophes. The only good analogy is arming for a great war, doing what must be done regardless of cost and convenience."

His climate talk in Beijing at the Great Hall of the People is available in streaming video as are other recent lectures at NASA and Rice University.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sorry to see it out of print., January 9, 2000

By 

Martian Bachelor (Feminacentric America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How the Shaman Stole the Moon: In Search of Ancient Prophet-Scientists from Stonehenge to the Grand Canyon (Hardcover)

As a trained astronomer and someone who has both taught the subject at the college level and been published in the sub-field of native american astronomy, I was amazed that someone from outside the field could make such a valuable contribution as this book is. It's both technically sound and entertaining to read. The explanations and arguments should be easily graspable by the educated layperson or novice at astronomy. They're plausible without being outlandish.

The book is especially good at giving an appreciation for how difficult it was for early scientists to acquire the basic understandings we now take for granted. Highly recommended to those interested in either prehistoric southwest peoples or the arcane area of the development of non-western timekeeping, calendars, and observational astronomy.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and thought provoking., October 1, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Tucson, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How the Shaman Stole the Moon (Paperback)

How did ancient peoples accurately depict the arrival of solar eclipses? They didn't have a NASA website, the concept that the earth was round, or the benefit of Copernicus' earth is not the center of the universe concept (not published until the 1500's). The author looks from Stonehenge to the walls of the Grand Canyon to the ancient Mayans to try to think how the ancients thought. It's a sort of how did we know what we knew before we should have known it puzzle. There's a lot about the degrees of the horizon, but it's still an interesting look at our past. If you're interested in native American culture then you'll enjoy the book more. While the author admits the difficulty in proving his ideas, he does outline 13 methods that might have been used and makes many interesting observations about the way things could have been.