Manuel Vega

I got this through first reads. I was hoping I'd find it interesting, as the Neolithic period fascinates me, and the places in Orkney, like Skara Brae and the ring of brodgar are some of my all time favourite places to visit. But this book really didn't sit right with me. I understand that the author doesn't mean this is hard fact, of course most of it is speculation, but it read like an academic paper, and a poorly put together one at that. I struggled to understand a lot of it, and I've read my fair share of academic papers. And the parts I did understand didn't make sense to me. The blurb is misleading - this does not unlock the mystery, it speculates, sometimes making ridiculous jumps, and we still know very little about this time period.… (más)

As I always say, I got this book for free. The author was kind enough to send me a copy in exchange for a bit of editing. While doing my assigned pages I also perused the rest of the book for the purposes of reviewing. Despite that very kind consideration by the author I give my candid feedback below.

Many times when reading a book one can’t help but wish you could tinker with it a bit. This book has a lot of really good qualities that make it a fine reference for Neolithic stonework. The author has really done his homework and obviously knows what he’s talking about. Textually it is a bit rough but that can be cleared up with some editing which is currently underway. It’s a good textbook, though a bit on the dry side.

One thing that strikes me particularly about it though is that unlike most textbooks it’s not afraid to reach a bit for hypotheses. While the author is clearly well informed in his field, I would suspect that some of his conclusions are rather far afield for the traditional academic community. Any rigorous and detailed scrutiny of his conclusions is likely to draw some barbs from his peers. Even the reviewers here, who one assumes are not paleontologists for the most part, seem to question the linearity of his arguments.

All THAT said, I think there’s a germ of a book here that might just sell a few thousand copies. While academia isn’t likely to line up around the block for a copy, there is an entire reading subculture that practically begs for information like this. Given some editing, a larger format, some good color photos and proper marketing, there are a lot of people who would buy a book linking Stonehenge and other ancient monument sites with the lost city of Atlantis and Greek literature. The fact that author is a credible researcher in this area is a powerful thing and there are plenty of people who would adore a book on speculative human history from such a studied and legitimate source.

At any rate, take all that with a grain of salt. This book is a very educated view on an interesting topic that most people don’t know much about. I was glad to have the chance to edit and review it.… (más)