The Atlas of Mysterious Places
Jennifer Westwood, editor
Barnes & Noble
Nonfiction, History
Themes: Locations with Character
****
Description
The great monoliths of Stonehenge, the awe-inspiring ruins of Macchu Pichu, the statues of Easter Island... the world is full of wonders left by our long-vanished ancestors. This book covers a number of mysterious structures, lost cities, and even mythical lands, some dating back to Neolithic times and all casting doubt on modern man's arrogant notion that we are the superior thinkers, planners, and architects.
Review
Considering that this is primarily a coffee table/picture book, aiming for short articles that hint at rather than resolve the questions asked by these places, it proves a fairly interesting read. A number of these sites I haven't heard about before, and the rest are worth reading about again. All in all, it makes a good introduction to some truly perplexing and awe-inspiring mysteries of our lost past, mysteries which, barring time travel or some similarly spectacular breakthrough, will likely never be solved.