In Search of the Old Ones

by David Roberts

Book Overview

An exuberant, hands-on fly-on-the-wall account that combines the thrill of canyoneering and rock climbing with the intellectual sleuthing of archaeology to explore the Anasazi.

David Roberts describes the culture of the Anasazi--the name means "enemy ancestors" in Navajo--who once inhabited the Colorado Plateau and whose modern descendants are the Hopi Indians of Arizona. Archaeologists, Roberts writes, have been puzzling over the Anasazi...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684832127
• ISBN13: 9780684832128
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Excellent adventure without leaving your couch

Not being from the Southwest this book acted like a walking guide to the mysterious disappearance and the researched history of the ancient civilization inhabiting the canyons. It was a good, easy read, with lots of references for more research. I would read more of his work without hesitation. I just wish he'd put in some maps to give an overview of the canyons he was hiking.

Finding the Old Ones

In Search of the Old Ones is one of the best books I have ever read about the Anasazi in the Southwest. David Roberts does a wonderful job and made me want to go to the deserts of Utah and Arizona and track them down myself. I have read many books about this area and I have backpacked several of the canyons he describes. This book can be used as a guide if you decide to search for the 'Old Ones' yourself. I'm waiting for the sequel.

Adventuring Back in Time!

David Roberts has done the almost impossible for the reader: actually taking you with him on an adventure into the past. Blending archaeology, scholarship and canyoneering, Roberts makes this anything but dry reading. In fact, I could literally feel the canyons under my feet and smell the air, while investigating nooks and crannies holding fascinating remnants of the various Anasazi cultures. These remaining treasures are fragile and in need of protection. This book explores in depth the philosophies and issues surrounding this often "hot topic". Highly recommended to anyone interested in the ancient past of the Americas. Nancy McDowell, Editor, "Canyon Spirits E-Journal",

Outstanding book....a very thought-provoking read

Can't add much more to the above reviews other than to say Roberts does a great job presenting varying theories on the Anasazi mystery and also credits many exceptional resources throughout his book.

First person account of a journey thru mystical Anasaziland.

David Roberts has the wonderful ability to capture and transmit the spiritual quality of his wanderings thru the land of the Anasazi. He further provides updated archaeological facts about these ancestral and prehistoric desert dwellers, their artifacts and homes, and how they established their culture by working within the parameters of what resources were available eons ago. This book is for all who love the great Southwest, prehistory, nature, and/or those who want to escape the daily pressures of life and drift into the beautiful canyons, mesas, washes, and mystical aspect of the desert. Reading this journey just made me feel better. I wanted to jump up and go out into the desert and enjoy Mother Nature and her flor and fauna. My only disappointment is, at least for the present, there won't be a Part II.