★★★★★ 5
Seminal
Format: Paperback
As many have noted, Hamlet's Mill is not an "easy" read, but it is an absolutely worthwhile experience not only to read but to re-read this seminal thesis on the transmission of ancient astronomical knowledge through mythology and legend. Perhaps the fact that a reader must wrestle with this text is part of the reason that it has generated so many fruitful inquiries and theories by later authors. The entire book is rich with ideas, many of which the authors drop and then pick up again and again later in the text, some of which are simply left for later analysts to pursue further on their own. Slice into it at any point and you will find a rich vein of material that can suggest new avenues for you to explore in the ancient history and literatures of the world. Sometimes an easy read or a text that hands you all of its answers and does the work for you is not "what the doctor ordered." Hamlet's Mill definitely makes more sense the second and even third time through. That in and of itself makes this book worth your while -- it's a gift that keeps on giving, a book you can keep on reading, even after you reach the end!
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Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2011
