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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A plea for respect, 14 Feb 2006
As much a promotional effort as a history, this book provides an excellent starting point for newcomers to Stonehenge. Even from this distance, Souden provides a close-up view of the monument, its landscape in time and space, and the history of thinking concerning its cause. A first look suggests this is a "picture" book. The photographs and graphics are uniformly of high quality. There are fine maps and diagrams, but the real value is in the perspective drawings of Stonehenge in the past and the present. These are ideally suited to improving the view for either visitors to the site or for those of use distant from Salisbury. Souden follows the direction pointed out by British Heritage to round out this study with a plan for a Stonehenge theme park.Enthusiasm for the illustrations, however, should not deter the interested reader from the worth of Souden's narrative. He has performed a Herculean task in synopsising a wealth of information about the monument and the environment in which it stands. He provides a fine overview of the likely social scene in place during the periods when Stonehenge and some of its neighbouring sites were being constructed. In developing his theme, he introduces us to some of the contentious topics that have occupied scholars for centuries. Did the "bluestones" come from Wales, or were they glacial debris? Is Stonehenge a finished, if ruined, monument, or is there indication that attention was still being paid to it before the whole area was abandoned? These are questions still plaguing students, and Souden has done a fine summary of them. Given the nature of this publication, we mustn't expect overmuch from the Bibliography. As a starting point, the list has much to recommend it, combining older and modern studies. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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