Stonehenge Complete

Book was very thorough, well planned, and easy to follow. Alot of information.

A good book, but Christopher Chippindale failed to mention the first stones brought to Stonehenge in the Late Neolithic Period from the South Wales Coalfield area. Stonehenge's first hauled stones, of course, are the white Early Carboniferous (Mississippian) Period, Arundian Age, High Tor (Birnbeck) Limestone Formation calcium carbonates of its original counterscarp bank (3/4's later moved to Heelstone ditch and Stonehenge's nearest barrow 100 metres east-southeast of Heelstone). These first transported stones overlay Stonehenge's geologic outcrop of white Late Cretaceous Period, Santonian Age, Seaford Chalk Formation calcium carbonates. Other than Christopher Chippindale not mentioning these Stonehenge Whitestones, as they are commonly referred to by BGS (British Geological Survey) geologists, the book "Stonehenge Complete" is a good read.

If you're looking for a good overview of the History of Stonehenge, this is it. This book covers the 800 years of known writing of Stonehenge to convey a good idea of the history of the monument. The book was originally published in 1983, and still contains some of the historical viewpoints of Britain in that era, but on the whole is fair and well done. There is some removal of the Astronomical material from first edition, and it instead points toward other sources more involved with that one aspect. Likewise, the archeological data is only what is appropriate for this view of Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments. If you only have one book on Stonehenge, this should be it, and if you plan on visiting the monument, pick it up first and at least browse through. You will understand the monument so much better, and really appreciate it.

The book's title says it all; if you have ever searched for a comprehensive book on this ancient, beautiful monument, this is your book. Christopher Chippindale takes you on a wonderful, sometimes odd, journey through the history of Stonehenge. I didn't realize how far behind the times I was in Stonehenge theory until I read Mr.Chippindale's book; for example, if you are still under the impression, (as I was), that Stonehenge is a calculator for astronomical phenemenon, (solstices, equinoxes, lunar phases, etc), Chippindale shows that, if anything, aside from possible solar alignments, the old Hawkins' theory of every stone being aligned to some celestial event is now out. And the modern day "Druid" revivalists get a few pokes-in-the-eye too! A fun and fascinating read; the photographs and artwork are wonderful. Highly recommended!

This is a terrific book about Stonehenge! Mr. Chippindale has created a wonderfully informative and readable book about one of the most famous archaeological monuments in the world. This book takes the famous quote from Jacquetta Hawkes "Every age has the Stonehenge it deserves and - desires", and illustrates it by giving an overview of all the various paradigms that have been used to explain Stonehenge. Instead of giving the reader dreadfully boring and mind-numbing details about Stonehenge and the research into it, he gives us a brief description of what is physically there at Stonehenge, then he outlines what each succesive era has thought of Stonehenge since its "re-descovery" in the 12th century A.D.All the theories, from Geoffrey of Monmouth and Merlin to the current fad of UFOs and extraterrestrials are explored. Mr. Chippindale lists sources, so that if you are interested in any particular theoretical perspective you are welcome to explore further.Mr. Chippindale is a well-respected archaeologist and the editor of one of the pre-eminent archaeological journals, "Antiquity". He does state that he firmly is in the camp of the archaeologist, as far as explaining the origin and history of Stonehenge. However, that does not prevent him from presenting many of the other competing paradigms of Stonehenge's origin.The book is richly illustrated throughout with photographs going back over 100 years, plus drawings and paintings that date back at least to the 16th century. The paintings of Stonehenge also help illustrate what the artist thought of this monument.It was also quite fascinating to read about the various ideas for "preserving Stonehenge" over the last 150 years. There have been many different ideas about how this monument should be presented, and even now there is controversy about the way Stonehenge is presented to the public.In this book you get to meet many interesting characters who left their mark on Stonehenge and its interpretation, from John Aubrey, William Cunnington, Inigo Jones, Colin Renfrew to modern new age researchers. They and their concepts are all presented here.I strongly recommend this book as a start for anyone interested in learning more about Stonehenge. It is written with a sense of humor, and in a very readable style. You can then branch out to read more in-depth studies of the various theories and paradigms that you are interested in.