The Unending Mystery

The Unending Mystery is a charming, offbeat, generously illustrated exploration of a form that has had a place in the culture of almost every civilization since the beginning of human history—and is now experiencing a modern revival. Labyrinths appear on Neolithic rock outcroppings and in some of the oldest legends from the Greek Isles and the American Southwest. They have been created to represent everything from the birth of a child to the descent into hell, and legions of...
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The Unending Mystery is a charming, offbeat, generously illustrated exploration of a form that has had a place in the culture of almost every civilization since the beginning of human history—and is now experiencing a modern revival. Labyrinths appear on Neolithic rock outcroppings and in some of the oldest legends from the Greek Isles and the American Southwest. They have been created to represent everything from the birth of a child to the descent into hell, and legions of claims—from facilitating pregnancy to freeing souls from Purgatory—have been made for their power. In them we see perhaps the first human effort to create a form not found in nature, and we experience a mystery that has survived the millennia in countless manifestations. From the Mediterranean to Tuscany and Scandinavia, from English villages to French cathedrals and Italian palace gardens, David Willis McCullough takes us on a grand tour of the great labyrinths and mazes. Using a distinctive blend of history and research, he tells the story of their interpretations and uses, from the exalted to the ridiculous. He visits with today’s labyrinth enthusiasts, including a Scotswoman who creates them in the South Bronx, the canon of San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral who wants to pepper the world with them, and the showman who conceived the first cornfield maze—a phenomenon that is staving off bankruptcy for many American farmers. McCullough’s infectious enthusiasm and wit make him the ideal guide to the age-old, ever-alluring world of labyrinths and mazes. From the Hardcover edition.