Buried Blueprints: Maps and Sketches of Lost Worlds and Mysterious Places

by Albert Lorenz, Joy Schleh

Fold-out illustrations and text provide a look at such legendary locations and structures as the Garden of Eden, Atlantis, the Tower of Babel, Ramses's tomb, King Arthur and his Round Table, and Dracula's castle.

17 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember several Christmases in a row when I was younger where my brother or I got a Buried Blueprints puzzle and we spent time assembling them during winter break. They were difficult, but it was rewarding seeing all of the complex and detailed drawings take form, and finding where the little blurbs fit in and how they made sense in context. Recentlyish I was trying to google an image of one of these puzzles to get a good look at it and I discovered that there was a book of these images, so of course I needed to take a look at it.

It was fun to see, but also a bit disappointing. For one, the size-- though necessary to make out all the tiny details-- is a bit unwieldy and makes the book hard to hold/read, especially for those images with a portrait layout. Also, I realize that the fun I had with the puzzles was in discovering little bits and getting them all to fit together; just looking at the complete picture doesn't invite the same level of scrutiny that made it so enjoyable in the past, even if the image is a bit clearer. Also, I realized that all of the information in here is bunk, and some of the images are annoyingly preachy Christian in content.

[Jeremiah Benjamin · Rating 3 out of 5]

We borrowed this for Classical Conversations Cycle 1 thinking it would be interesting to see an artist's rendition of "lost worlds and mysterious places". I expected that some of these places would be the 7 Wonders of the World, but they were not. I should have read the detailed description better!

For what it is, the illustrations are incredibly detailed but the content is overwhelmingly whimsical in nature. Full of imagination, and very little fact, the entire book is entertaining at best; and for that I give it 3 stars. It seems like a waste of talent.

As a book for teaching, it did little of course, but that was not why this book was made! Our 6 year old did enjoy looking at it for a while but not much came of it (I like when entertainment breeds questions, but that didn't really happen). I myself was mildly amused as I read through it, but there is not much of lasting value here.

[Roma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book. Seriously, awesome.