132,662
edits
Changes
From TheBookbag
Jump to navigationJump to searchThe Secrets of Stonehenge by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom (view source)
Revision as of 08:35, 20 May 2014
, 08:35, 20 May 2014no edit summary
|summary=An unscientific yet welcome primer for one of the country's standout mysteries. Destined for many a school library or parent's shelf, and deservedly so, yet with room for improvement.
}}
I hope you agree with me about the sheer optimism of this book's title. It carries a certain chutzpah to pretend to show all the secrets about a mystical site which remains, even with a lot of evidence, sheer conjecture. Yes we know when the stones were erected, and from where they came under the orders of what kind of prehistoric man, but nothing is guaranteed in the occult world of pagan ritual, prehistoric pantheons and primitive perpetual calendars. This book won't admit to doubt beyond saying some people have nutjob different ideas about Stonehenge, but it will succeed in giving a fleeting glimpse to some of the mysteries and oo-er factors that make the site so intriguing for all ages to this day.
The format is simple – a handful of double-page spreads with an impactful cartoon to illustrate it, one paragraph of main text only each time, and a side-bar with further illustrations and extra information. It's definitely more readable than it might have been. The main images are peppered with from one to eight speech balloons to bring the historical characters into the foreground for the young historian. It's very clever how the story of the site has been truncated into just a few windows into the important developments – and especially how the first few are context and background, and don't specifically feature the henge itself.
