Ceremonial Time: Fifteen Thousand Years on One Square Mile

by John Hanson Mitchell

"Ceremonial time" occurs when past, present, and future can be perceived simultaneously. Experienced only rarely, usually during ritual dance, this escape from linear time is the vehicle for John Mitchell's extraordinary writing. In this, his most magical book, he traces the life of a single square mile in New England, from the last ice age through years of human history, including bear shamans, colonists, witches, local farmers, and encroaching industrial "parks."

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Nature, Environment

244 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Author of six books dealing with the experince of place and natural history. Most recent book is The Paradise of al These Parts: A natural history of Boston (Beacon Press 2008).

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Reviews

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reminiscent of William Least Heat-Moon’s PrairyErth, though this is even smaller in scope than that book. Who would think that a book about 1 square mile of land in Massachusetts would be so engrossing? In the midst of the pandemic, I have had to content myself with staying local, and books like this make you think of your home in a whole new way. It’s amazing that there can be so many different worlds contained in such small areas, over such relatively short spans of time.

[Linda Spear · Rating 3 out of 5]

An older book that we picked for our pandemic readaloud here at home. My husband studied anthro and did archaeology, so he was a little critical and doubtful about some of the information and history, but that aside, what a fascinating idea Mitchell had. Studying the history of a small area of land in Massachusetts north and west of Boston out in the country had me checking the atlas to try pinpointing the area. Even though some of it was outdated, it was quite a captivating read.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"More and more now I find myself thinking there about time, how it drifts in from the future, how it brushes past us briefly in the present, and then drifts off again to become the past, and how none of these stages, neither past, nor present, nor future, are really knowable. Presented with this dilemma, I have come in recent years to accept the primitive concept of ceremonial time, in which past, present, and future can all be perceived in a single moment, generally during some dance or sacred ritual." (1)

[Kent · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago and lost track of the title. It always stuck with me. On a whim I located it this morning and wanted to enter it as one of my favorite books into Goodreads. It traces the 15,000 history of one square mile of a piece of land outside a Boston. An easy read you won’t easily forget.

[Kristy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wish there were half stars to give. It sort of hovers more as a three and a half for me. There were parts of this book that were wonderful and interesting, parts I really enjoyed, but other parts not so much. Overall an okay book.

[Jennifer Pletcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. I found it when I was researching for a book challenge where I needed a local author. John is from the town I currently live so I was excited to find this one. It is well researched

[Michele Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worth rereading

[Websterdavid3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life in a simple wooded area -- Littleton MA. Also aboriginal history told with magic realism? To listen to JHM is to hear a gifted story-teller

[Colleen Duggan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Owned this book for decades. Finally reading it. Defininitely appreciate it more now than I would have 30 years ago.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In "Ceremonial Time," John Hanson Mitchell takes an imaginative journey through time and looks at a square mile of land in the past, present, and different potential futures. He explores the land scientifically, mystically, and imaginatively. He comes to know people who live there with him, and people and spirits remembered in stories from the past. He describes the place's geology and the animals who live there. Mitchell is a thinker, and the book is not a fast read. I almost gave up in the last chapter, because he had been describing environmental battles won and lost, and I was growing depressed. Then he launched into a vision of a communal, agrarian future and I couldn't put the book down. Take your time with this book -- the effort is rewarding.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had several special gifts for me. It was a good read-aloud book to share with my partner, who has eye issues. It beautifully evoked an area of Massachusetts that is dear to me. And most importantly, he discussed various cultural ways of viewing or experiencing time in language I could use to examine my own relationship to time. Being both a minister and a historian, this really stirred some of my deepest sentiments.

Why not five stars? Another historian online says the facts on the witch issue are not corroborated by more recent research, although Mitchell used a source that was accepted when the book was written.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Hanson Mitchell takes his readers on a time bending exploration that has more philosophical merit than historical ambition. In other words, this is not an academic history. This is rather an examination of the interrelationship between past, present and future, and a celebration of natural resiliency that will outlive all human change and human existence itself.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that immmense amount of information the study of the history of a small amount of land can give - past, present and future.
It is worth reading again and again.

[Cathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this on my bookshelf. I don't know where it came from. But all the reviews I read here gave it 5 stars. So I'm going to try it.

I found it boring. So I am not reading it any more.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it but it was a little boring at times.

[Mlbolton56 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the first half of the book far more detailed and interesting than the second half. Even more fascinating as I live near the "one square mile."

[Trevor Maloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, powerful book that may help you appreciate your square mile a bit more.