Nice astronomical outline of a large number of global ancient sites with a photograph or illustration on nearly every page. Not too technical.

Includes such things as alignment with the solstices, the equinoxes, solar burials, alignments with patron saints feast days, cross-quarter days, alignments important to various deities and mythology, lunar alignments, lunar standstill, lunar eclipses, and alignments with various planets, stars, & constellations. ( )

From the publisher:

"Celestial Geometry explores the remarkable achievements of ancient astronomers at over 60 archaeological sites, from European stone circles like Stonehenge to the pyramids of Egypt and Central America, the medicine wheels of North America, the carved monoliths of Easter Island, and lesser-known structures like the sun clock of Goseck. Combining myths and legends with modern science, this beautifully illustrated book is a profoundly illuminating celebration of human curiosity, creativity, and astounding achievements."

From me:
Wow! This is a very cool book. I read it on my Kindle Oasis which wasn't the most fabulous experience as this is a book with plenty of pictures and sidebars which tend to get messed up a bit in that format.

It could easily be used as a spine in upper middle school or high school for a study of either astronomy or the history of science course. This is the first book I've ever read about
archaeoastronomy, and it was eye-opening. I learned so much new information that was framed with gorgeous photos (once I switched to my Kindle Fire) that I'm going to work it into our school year somewhere. For instance, did you know that the
the Castillo, (Kukulkan Pyramid), at Chichen Itza has a stairway that twice a year is shadowed by the sun to create the impression of a monstrous black serpent running down the stairs? There is a photo of the stairway showing precisely that effect. I think kids will kind of love that. Talk about bringing the Ancients to life. ( )

From the publisher:

"Celestial Geometry explores the remarkable achievements of ancient astronomers at over 60 archaeological sites, from European stone circles like Stonehenge to the pyramids of Egypt and Central America, the medicine wheels of North America, the carved monoliths of Easter Island, and lesser-known structures like the sun clock of Goseck. Combining myths and legends with modern science, this beautifully illustrated book is a profoundly illuminating celebration of human curiosity, creativity, and astounding achievements."

From me:
Wow! This is a very cool book. I read it on my Kindle Oasis which wasn't the most fabulous experience as this is a book with plenty of pictures and sidebars which tend to get messed up a bit in that format.

It could easily be used as a spine in upper middle school or high school for a study of either astronomy or the history of science course. This is the first book I've ever read about
archaeoastronomy, and it was eye-opening. I learned so much new information that was framed with gorgeous photos (once I switched to my Kindle Fire) that I'm going to work it into our school year somewhere. For instance, did you know that the
the Castillo, (Kukulkan Pyramid), at Chichen Itza has a stairway that twice a year is shadowed by the sun to create the impression of a monstrous black serpent running down the stairs? There is a photo of the stairway showing precisely that effect. I think kids will kind of love that. Talk about bringing the Ancients to life. ( )

Book Info: Genre: Metaphysics/Archeoastronomy/Mythology
Reading Level: Adult
Recommended for: those interested in these ideas

My Thoughts: What an absolutely fascinating book! The only problem is that this is a heavily illustrated book in e-galley format that I was trying to read on a Kindle PaperWhite, which means the formatting was a mess. A lot of the pictures didn't show up at all, and those that did were not necessarily where they should have been, the picture subtitles were interspersed into the text, sentences would begin and never end, or stop half-way and finish two or three pages later... it was pretty hard to maintain the thread of the text.

However, I managed to keep myself more or less on the path they had put in front of me, and I really enjoyed reading this. I've always been interested in stuff like this, and to learn some of the fascinating things I did was particularly good. For instance, the Newgrange observatory is over half a millennium older than the Great Pyramid! The ancient Irish were more advanced then the Egyptians, how about that? I was also fascinated to learn that the hymns to Aten (worshipped during the time that Moses was growing up the son of a princess in Egypt) are very similar to the hymns that Moses later wrote and dedicated to Jehovah... There are actually a lot of parallels in the Bible to earlier myths and legends, which makes me think that a lot of the Bible is basically plagiarism.

At any rate, people who are interested in the history of astronomy, and in various ancient cultures and how they saw the skies, should find this book fascinating. I absolutely want a hard copy of this book so I can view it properly, with all the pictures and labels in the correct places, so I'll be adding the book to my wishlist as soon as I finish with my review. If it sounds like your sort of thing, don't hesitate—it's a fascinating read.

Disclosure: I received an e-galley through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Since the dawn of civilization, humans have sought inspiration and guidance in the night sky. Celestial Geometry explores the remarkable achievements of ancient astronomers at over 60 archaeological sites, from European stone circles like Stonehenge to the pyramids of Egypt and Central America, the medicine wheels of North America, the carved monoliths of Easter Island, and lesser-known structures like the sun clock of Goseck. Combining myths and legends with modern science, this beautifully illustrated book is a profoundly illuminating celebration of human curiosity and creativity. ( )