"The stone circles of western Europe, some nearly 6000 years old, have intrigued viewers through the ages. This book about these megalithic rings explores their ancestry, methods of construction and eventual desertion. It offers new insights into the purpose of stone circles. It also provides a new interpretation of Stonehenge and of Callanish in Scotland, the first overview of the cromlechs in Brittany, a discussion of the problems of archeoastronomy as related to stone circles, and includes a greatly expanded gazetteer, and an up-to-date list of radiocarbon dates and recent excavations."--BOOK JACKET.