There have been many attempts to explain the purpose of Stonehenge. Using archaelogical detail and a knowledge of the heavens as they were many millennia ago, North establishes the function of the stones themselves and what we can know of the religion that caused them to be erected.

Stonehenge: Neolithic man and the cosmos

History

North, John

Europe

Harpercollins

North has spent 15 years studying Stonehenge, the great ancient stone monument on Salisbury Plain in southern England. He brings a fresh interpretation which conclusively solves the riddle of Stonehenge. He reveals the religious purpose enshrined in the ancient earthworks. He irrefutably shows that they were directed at the heavens in a scientific way -- in the earliest cases, to the risings & settings of the stars &, later, to those of the Sun & Moon. His extensive research counters received wisdom, including that Stonehenge was dedicated to observation not of the rising midsummer sun but of the setting midwinter sun. Photos.

Stonehenge: Neolithic Man and the Cosmos

Religion & Spirituality

Harper

Cosmos: An Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology

For millennia humans have studied the skies to help them grow crops, navigate the seas, and earn favor from their gods. We still look to the stars today for answers to fundamental questions: How did the universe begin? Will it end, and if so, how? What is our place within it? John North has been examining such questions for decades. In Cosmos, he offers a sweeping historical survey of the two sciences that help define our place in the universe: astronomy and cosmology. Organizing his history chronologically, North begins by examining Paleolithic cave drawings that clearly chart the phases of the moon. He then investigates scientific practices in the early civilizations of Egypt, Greece, China, and the Americas (among others), whose inhabitants developed sophisticated methods to record the movements of the planets and stars. Trade routes and religious movements, North notes, brought these ancient styles of scientific thinking to the attention of later astronomers, whose own theories—such as Copernicus’ planetary theory—led to the Scientific Revolution. The work of master astronomers, including Ptolemy, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, is described in detail, as are modern-day developments in astrophysics, such as the advent of radio astronomy, the brilliant innovations of Einstein, and the many recent discoveries brought about with the help of the Hubble telescope. This new edition brings North’s seminal book right up to the present day, as North takes a closer look at last year’s reclassification of Pluto as a “dwarf” planet and gives a thorough overview of current research. With more than two hundred illustrations and a comprehensive bibliography, Cosmos is the definitive history of astronomy and cosmology. It is sure to find an eager audience among historians of science and astronomers alike.

Science & Math

Astronomy & Space Science

University of Chicago Press

The Norton History of Astronomy and Cosmology (Norton History of Science)

Traces the history of astronomy and the universe

W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.

This book offers a radical new survey of more than a thousand years of religious life in Rome, from the foundation of the city to its rise to world empire and its conversion to Christianity. It sets religion in its full cultural context, between the primitive hamlet of the eighth century BC and the cosmopolitan, multicultural society of the first centuries of the Christian era.

Religions of Rome: Volume 1, A History

BEARD, Mary

Price, Simon

Ancient Civilizations

Cambridge University Press

This book offers a radical new survey of more than a thousand years of religious life in Rome, from the foundation of the city to its rise to world empire and its conversion to Christianity. It sets religion in its full cultural context, between the primitive hamlet of the eighth century BC and the cosmopolitan, multicultural society of the first centuries of the Christian era.

Religions of Rome: Volume 1: A History

This book, the second of the two volumes that make up Religions of Rome, presents a wide range of documents illustrating religious life in the Roman world from the early Republic to the late Empire (both visual evidence and texts in translation). More than just a "sourcebook," it explores some of the major themes and problems of Roman religion (such as sacrifice, the religious calendar, divination and prediction). Each document has an introduction, explanatory notes and bibliography, and is used as the starting point for further discussion.

Religions of Rome: Volume 2, A Sourcebook

Religions of Rome: Volume 2: A Sourcebook

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by North, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by North, John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by North, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Stonehenge: Neolithic man and the cosmos

Stonehenge: Neolithic Man and the Cosmos

Cosmos: An Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology

Cosmos: An Illustrated History of Astronomy and Cosmology

The Norton History of Astronomy and Cosmology (Norton History of Science)

The Norton History of Astronomy and Cosmology (Norton History of Science)

Religions of Rome: Volume 1, A History

Religions of Rome: Volume 1: A History

Religions of Rome: Volume 2, A Sourcebook

Religions of Rome: Volume 2: A Sourcebook