Encyclopedia of Mysterious Places: The Life and Legends of Ancient Sites Around the World by Robert Ingpen

Encyclopedia of Mysterious Places: The Life and Legends of Ancient Sites Around the World Reviews

• 
  Andrew

  Ok I have an admission to make - I picked up this book from a charity shop on the grounds that it is published by Dragons world and is illustrated by Robert Ingpen. I have been collecting Paper tiger books (and their sister publications) for some time and I am still finding new and fascinating titles which I have never heard of - this being one of them.
  I must admit that even though it is based on scholarly fact (correct at the time of publishing - and backed with further reading and source references) the style and artwork still remind me of other books from the publishers such as the encyclopaedia of things that never where and as such I loved reading it - I can see this a book I will refer back to time and time again partly from the look and feel of the book but also from is clear and open format that encourages you to dip in and out of the entries. I always lament the passing of a publisher and I must admit I miss this one more than most
• 
  Amy

  (Whoops, we didn't actually read the Spanish edition. I don't know why they don't have the English edition available...)
  
  Really fascinating information about history and archeology. There were several of these locations that I had never heard of before. There are corners of history that we know a lot less about and that don't get included in history books because there wasn't a written record, but the archeological evidence just goes on and on. There are things we could study forever and still never really know. Even my 7 year-old thought this book had lots of interesting stuff.
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  Rick Davis

  I didn't expect this book to be much more than a fun coffee-table style book. I picked it up because I saw that it was illustrated by Robert Ingpen, and I loved Ingpen's illustrations of The Wind in the Willows. I was pleasantly surprised to find the book very informative, and of course the subject matter is right up my alley. Ingpen's reconstructions of historical sites based on archaeological evidence are simply fantastic. It had a good bibliography in the back as well.
• 
  Narariel

  Fairly well-written but somewhat disappointing in its depth and coverage of the legends mentioned in the title. The book is arranged logically and contains multiple illustrations for each "city." I felt that that actual photos of items and perhaps labelled maps/sketches might have been more helpful than some of the drawings. I had hoped for more legends and tales relating to the locations. What was in the book was enjoyable but I felt the title was misleading.
• 
  Bookish Enchantment (Katherine Quirke)

  A beautiful coffee table book but still a good reference book.
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  Anthea

  Facinating :)