Stonehenge (Wooden Books) (Hardcover)

by Robin Heath (Author) "Stonehenge is Britain's national temple..." (more)
Key Phrases: midsummer sunrise, Sarsen Circle, Station Stone, Aubrey Circle (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Once part of a large culture of stone circles, Stonehenge-built around 3000 B.C. and developed over the next 1,500 years-is the most famous. The remains of a once-wealthy and evidently learned tribal community, it reflects the apparently disparate subjects of archaeology, astronomy, metrology, sacred geometry, and even shamanism. How were eclipses predicted at Stonehenge? Why were some stones brought all the way from Wales? What is the secret geometry of seven eights? These and many other questions are answered-and Stonehenge's secrets revealed-in this fascinating small book.

Small Books, Big Ideas Historically, in all known cultures on Earth, wise men and women studied the four great unchanging liberal arts -numbers, music, geometry and cosmology-and used them to inform the practical and decorative arts like medicine, pottery, agriculture and building. At one time, the metaphysical fields of the liberal arts were considered utterly universal, even placed above physics and religion. Today no one knows them.

Walker & Company is proud to launch Wooden Books, a collectable series of concise books offering simple introductions to timeless sciences and vanishing arts.

Attractively simple in their appearance yet extremely informative in content, these unusual books are the perfect gift solution for all ages and occasions. The expanding title range is highly collectable and ensures continuing interest. In addition, the books are non-gloss and non-color, appealing to a greener book-buying public. Wooden Books are ideally suited to non-book outlets.

Wooden Books are designed as timeless. Much of the information contained in them will be as true in five hundred years time as it was five hundred years ago. These books are designed as gifts, lovely to own. They are beautifully made, case-bound, printed using ultra-fine plates on the highest quality recycled laid paper, finished with thick recycled endpapers and sewn in sections. There are fine, hand drawn illustrations on every page.

The fast-moving world of Wooden Books brings you a selection of fascinating titles. All hardcover, 64 pages, 100% recycled paper at $10.00 each.

About the Author

Author and illustrator Robin Heath is a mathematician and engineer.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Walker & Company (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802713858
• ISBN-13: 978-0802713858
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #533,228 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to an ancient mystery, August 21, 2002

By	Theodore A. Rushton (PHOENIX, Arizona United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The Egyptian pyramids were a monumental tomb; that's simple to understand. No one has yet uncovered the purpose for Stonehenge, which makes speculation about it a fascinating and centuries old pursuit of all possibilities.

Heath isn't a pundit pursuing puzzles; instead, he offers a brief analysis of current knowledge about this 5,000-year-old site. His comments are to the point, obviously meant to introduce teen readers the great science and abiding mystery of Stonehenge. For youth, it is a fair introduction that also offers enough to whet the appetite those who will become interested in further study about one of the enduring mysteries of history.

Unfortunately, his apparent contempt for competent anthropologists weakens the value of his book. Heath doesn't seem to understand the origins of urban culture date to at least Catal Huyuk and Jericho some 7,000 years ago, and probably long before that. The great stones of Stonehenge, which began as a "wood" -henge similar to hundreds of other "woodhenges" throughout England, are rather recent compared to other great ancient works.

The great puzzle of Stonehenge is not its existence, but why it was built of stone when hundreds of others were built of wood. Of course, the reason may be as simple as understanding why the Vatican has artwork by Michaelangelo and my local church has sketches by Joe Sixpack. Sadly, Heath overlooks this fundamental aspect as do most interpreters of the site.

The value of this book is its brevity, its "factoid" format consistently offers interesting snippets of information. The weakness is mixing an unsupported point-of-view with that brevity, it raises the question of whether unsubstantiated speculation is better than open-ended imprecision. It's a minor quibble, certainly not a reason to pass up this book.

Fifty years ago, teachers thought ideas such as "continental drift" were total fantasy. Now, they're accepted orthodoxy. Likewise, current speculation about the use and meaning of Stonehenge may be orthodox in 50 years (or 500 years) -- if that happens, it may be the result of some young student inspired by a book such as this.

It's a buy. If it whets your appetite, many other books can provide a fascinating range of greater depth and diversity. If not, you'll still learn a lot about the sophistication of the English long before they learned to write -- but apparently could calculate complex astronomical details.

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile introduction, October 10, 2007

By	Mark Curran (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This interesting LITTLE book is a good introduction to many of the major themes of British pre-history. It is especilly interesting in its treatment of the varying responses to Stonehenge through time by those 'discovering' it and trying to make sense of it.
The treatment of some of the 'science' which has attempted to explain the form and function of the monument is a little uncritical but the major questions are identified. There is also a refreshing excursion into the 'Alternative Stonehenge, the loony fringe of dotty archeology', however Druids get never a mention!
The book is copiously illustrated with drawings either antique or in the antique style which are informative but in some cases, frustratingly small.