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The Mysterious & Unknown
Crop Circles
Book by Kallen, Stuart A.
104 pages, Library Binding
First published December 1, 2009
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April 29, 2015
I enjoyed this book immensely. Fair warning: it is aimed at kids/tweens.
Wow. Crop circles are beautiful. I always viewed them as a kind of gorgeous graffiti, but I always thought about those farmers. Poor, in debt, and working hard for a living - then some prankster comes along and costs them money. But, as the book points out, a lot of farmers then capitalize on the circles, charging admission for tourists.
This book walks the reader through various ideas and theories about crop circles. I really liked that. At the end it seemed (to me) like a shocking surprise to find out they are a man-made hoax that fooled people for decades. Very well structured on the part of the author.
To me, this book is fascinating because it shows so much about human nature. When confronted with crop circles, most people did not say, "Oh, it's made by some pranksters." Instead, they developed a plethora of theories. Aliens, military lasers, God, human psychic powers...this book covers all those theories with surprising depth. It's amazing how many people - smart, well-read, respected people - believed (and sometimes still believe) that crop circles have a mystical origin. This just shows human beings desperate need to believe in a higher power (whether that higher power is God, aliens, or their subconscious minds).
I had a lot of fun not only reading this book, but discussing it with other people. For instance, there is a beautiful, stunning, full-page illustration of a jellyfish crop circle (you can probably find it on Google). I was so taken with this photo that I went around showing it to people. This led to this conversation: ME: "Look at this photo of a jellyfish crop circle!" HIM: "Hmm, obviously a gigantic jellyfish crash-landed there." ME: "Then why were no jellyfish parts found at the scene?" HIM: "Because after it crashed, it got up and flew away."
Another interesting conversation happened later. I came up behind a different, unsuspecting person. "Sherlock Holmes should start studying crop circles and find out what's happening," I said earnestly. He gave me a look of extreme pity. "Carmen. Don't you know that all crop circles are a hoax? It's been proven over and over again. People have claimed their work, stepped forward and explained how they do it. Now companies are hired to make crop circles. It's even used in advertising." My little face fell. "Oh," I said sadly, deflated. I shuffled away.
Even though this book is for kids/tweens, it is not dumb. It is relatively smart - with real, beautiful, full-page pictures and quotes from experts. The language is a bit easier than adult books, and they take care to explain bizarre words that they think tweens don't know - but it's pretty smooth and intelligent. It didn't annoy me or take me 'out of the book.'
In conclusion, very enjoyable - and for me personally, a worthwhile read.
I am now going to search on the Internet for pretty crop circle pictures!!!
P.S. I also learned about the Westbury White Horse near Warminster. So cool!
Wow. Crop circles are beautiful. I always viewed them as a kind of gorgeous graffiti, but I always thought about those farmers. Poor, in debt, and working hard for a living - then some prankster comes along and costs them money. But, as the book points out, a lot of farmers then capitalize on the circles, charging admission for tourists.
This book walks the reader through various ideas and theories about crop circles. I really liked that. At the end it seemed (to me) like a shocking surprise to find out they are a man-made hoax that fooled people for decades. Very well structured on the part of the author.
To me, this book is fascinating because it shows so much about human nature. When confronted with crop circles, most people did not say, "Oh, it's made by some pranksters." Instead, they developed a plethora of theories. Aliens, military lasers, God, human psychic powers...this book covers all those theories with surprising depth. It's amazing how many people - smart, well-read, respected people - believed (and sometimes still believe) that crop circles have a mystical origin. This just shows human beings desperate need to believe in a higher power (whether that higher power is God, aliens, or their subconscious minds).
I had a lot of fun not only reading this book, but discussing it with other people. For instance, there is a beautiful, stunning, full-page illustration of a jellyfish crop circle (you can probably find it on Google). I was so taken with this photo that I went around showing it to people. This led to this conversation: ME: "Look at this photo of a jellyfish crop circle!" HIM: "Hmm, obviously a gigantic jellyfish crash-landed there." ME: "Then why were no jellyfish parts found at the scene?" HIM: "Because after it crashed, it got up and flew away."
Another interesting conversation happened later. I came up behind a different, unsuspecting person. "Sherlock Holmes should start studying crop circles and find out what's happening," I said earnestly. He gave me a look of extreme pity. "Carmen. Don't you know that all crop circles are a hoax? It's been proven over and over again. People have claimed their work, stepped forward and explained how they do it. Now companies are hired to make crop circles. It's even used in advertising." My little face fell. "Oh," I said sadly, deflated. I shuffled away.
Even though this book is for kids/tweens, it is not dumb. It is relatively smart - with real, beautiful, full-page pictures and quotes from experts. The language is a bit easier than adult books, and they take care to explain bizarre words that they think tweens don't know - but it's pretty smooth and intelligent. It didn't annoy me or take me 'out of the book.'
In conclusion, very enjoyable - and for me personally, a worthwhile read.
I am now going to search on the Internet for pretty crop circle pictures!!!
P.S. I also learned about the Westbury White Horse near Warminster. So cool!
Displaying 1 of 1 review