Customer Reviews

The Unending Mystery: A Journey Through Labyrinths and Mazes

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was fascinated by mazes when I was a child. I still have books of complicated mazes that I solved with notes on how long it took me to solve them. Mazes are great fun. And they are interesting too. Which is what first attracted me to this book, subtitled A Journey Through Labyrinths and Mazes. But I was hesitant about reading this for one main reason: what was there about mazes and labyrinths to talk about for over 200 pages? Not enough, it turns out.

The book starts out well enough. Mr. McCullough takes us through some interesting points: the difference between a labyrinth and a maze, the variations of the Cretan labyrinth myth, the labyrinth as a meditative tool (for example, the Chartres labyrinth), the rise of the labyrinth as a garden sculpture, and much more. The problem is, there just isn't enough known about this subject to make a book this long.

Mr. McCullough would have been better off condensing this text to 150 pages or less. He ends up repeating himself quite a bit as the book goes on and the "new age" applications of the labyrinth that is discussed at the end of the book I found mostly uninteresting. Also, his discussion of the appearance of the labyrinth figure across ancient cultures is handled quite poorly and never gets developed as it should.

The labyrinth, by its very nature, is mysterious and books should be written about this subject. Mr. McCullough has made a valiant attempt that has its pluses but it repetitiveness and superficiality weaken it. I'm still waiting for something more in-depth, revealing...better.

This book is a fantastically well written account of one of the world's most ancient symbols. The author does an excellent job of keeping the tone light and easy to read, an area in which most historians fail miserably. I flew through the book as I pondered each turn in the symbol's labyrinthine journey through history and found myself deep in the heart of a beautiful mystery. The author allows the reader to draw his or her own conclusions after leading them on a wonderful journey through time.

Purchased this thinking it was by "the famous David Mccullough" but it turned out not to be a disappointment. Admittedly, the perspective of the book is quite narrow and it may not appeal to many. It is, however very well written, contains a multitude of links to other subjects and should therefore be of interest to history lovers - even if they do not care to learn the difference between a labyrinth and a maze.

For the eclectic reader, the subject is thoroughly covered as to what, where, when and possibly why. This knowledge could enhance many otherwise humdrum classes. Teachers would delight their students by passing on the detailed tricks for drawing mazes.