Circles of Stone

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating!
Review: For anyone whose knowledge of stone circles is limited to Stonehenge, this book is a revelation. Aubrey Burl's essay dispels some of the myths that have arisen concerning these monuments, while at the same time stimulating the reader's imagination. The photographs by Max Milligan are evocative and mesmerizing, revealing the subtle elegance of the stones and their relationship to the landscape around them. The book is a beautiful interplay between image and text... a treat for the mind and the eyes!

Rating:
Summary: The amazing photography of Max Milligan with expert text
Review: Here is my first impression of the book: Wow! I can see how some people got the idea that this book was an update of Burl's 1976 'Stone Circles of the British Isles'. It covers seventy sites in 230 pages and it's no coffee table book. Each circle has an outline plan and most sites have three or four photos giving Milligan the chance to pick interesting angles and individual stones. This is a philosophy I have tried to follow on the web where photos are almost free, but your average book shows one rather boring overall view of each site if you're lucky.

This, and things like the super-strokeable front and end-papers are why this book costs what it does. Milligan is described as one of Britain's most exciting new photographers, and he tackles the subject with energy. Commendably, he uses no ghastly graduated filters or other such fiddles. It hardly needs saying that Burl's lucid text and pithy wit are a pleasure, as always. There's even a 'carved head' from the Ring of Brodgar (frost action says Aubrey).

It's unusual in that there are no maps, and the circles are in order of date and name. Perhaps it's trying to steer away from being thought of as a guide book. Stirring the sites together like this makes for a fresh approach, and gives me the urge to reach again into the sack of reviewer's clichés and use the word juxtaposition. Apparently Circles of Stone was delayed three months from a July launch because the photography didn't come out 100% first time. This fanatic attention to quality is apparent throughout, and is doubtless why the Dr Burl was approached to write the text. Step aside Julian Cope, suddenly your holiday snaps look rather sad. I've run out of stars: 5/5!

Rating:
Summary: Sheer Beauty! What a great book.
Review: This volume covers the top 70 prehistoric monuments like Stonehenge all over the british isles. It has been photographed in every season, time of day and weather and is simply glorious. The text by prof burl is informative but easy to read and explains most of the so called mysteries about these places. They are the oldest buildings on the planet, some 5500 years old, and put into perspective all this fuss about the millennium. What of our achievements will last that long? Bravo Milligan, Burl and Harvill Press!