The Modern Antiquarian: A Pre-millennial Odyssey Through Megalithic Britain : Including a Gazetteer to Over 300 Prehistoric Sites [Hardcover]

(On the other hand as for areas of great interest to visit in the UK this makes for a great read. Look out for his next book 'Let the Driver Speak' which goes into further details about the origination of the English Language.)

This book makes for great reading, not just for the English but also for the majority of Americans who want to know where their language originated from.

Read it... you won't be disappointed, a great record of English Megalithic landscapes and also an up-to-date field guide.

The essays at the beginning are entertaining; I wouldn't know how true they are, but I have to say that I suspect it has to be wishful thinking. I speak Welsh, and some of the things he says in the sections about Wales are completely wrong (eg his translation of Pontypridd is so far off the mark, it's laughable), or misleading (eg he says that the ancient Welsh in former days called Britain 'Prydain'. That's true but, err, so do the modern Welsh in current days. Didn't he know that?) These aren't difficult things to find out, so it makes me wonder about everything else he presents as fact.

So if you're looking for a scholarly, reliable guide to ancient British monuments, don't buy this book. If you're looking for a personal, entertaining interpretation of these sites, which will encourage you to get out there, get this book and take it with a large pinch of salt. I'm glad I've got it though.

The gazetteer is arranged geographically with each section colour-coded for ease of reference. Unfortunately some of the background colours are so dense that the print becomes difficult to read. In part one in particular there are some garishly photoshopped images laid out in various eccentric styles so that no two pages look quite the same. But these add to the charm of the book and what it might lack in academic rigour it makes up for in sheer enthusiasm. The binding of the book has come in for some criticism although my own copy is still all in one piece despite constant reference for 4 years or so now.

Cope lists many sites I would never have known about let alone have visited were it not for The Modern Antiquarian. The bizarre Figsbury Ring, near Salisbury, is a good example. There are some other sites listed and described here that I may have been put off from visiting had I not double-checked elsewhere.

Some of the material is already quite dated and some is just downright inaccurate. The entry on Stoney Littleton really needs to be updated as things have improved immeasurably at this site. The information on The Chestnuts in Kent needs some revising and correction. I'm sure there are many others besides.

But whatever the imperfections this is a marvellous and very worthwhile book, funny, informative, at times angry and passionate, always opinionated and all the better for that.

I believe a follow-up, looking at sites across Europe, is now being written; maybe this will carry some updates and corrections. But either way I look forward to it and recommend The Modern Antiquarian to you without hesitation.