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Informationen zum Autor Jean Kerisel was involved in a number of large-scale engineering projects! includingtheseven kilometerMaracaibo bridge linking the Northern part of Venezuela to Caracas. He was also involved in theconstructionof an industrialharbour in Sibari! Italy! and a dam in Brittany! France. He becameadvisor to construction companies working on the Paris metro and advised onexpress underground systems in other lands! for example Cairo. After chancing upon artefacts of ancient Egyptian activities at the bottom of excavationduring the construction of the Cairo line! he visited all the main Pyramids andit was this research which led to a number of highly readable books. Klappentext Looking back across many centuries and civilizations to trace the same mistakes made over and over again! Of Stones and Man explores how obsession with grandeur resulted in a series of disastrous constructions and consequences for builders of the Pantheon in Paris! the collapsed Beauvais Cathedral! medieval bell-towers! and more. This book examines these disasters and explores the errors in judgment made by both ancient and modern civilizations all over the world. Analyzing from a scientific as well as a historical-sensitive perspective! this text also highlights the hydro-geological background to repeated infamous disasters! including faults inherent in the Sphinx and the leaning Tower of Pisa. Zusammenfassung Covering a range of peoples across the ages, this text explores masters of the Nile from the pharaohs to the modern-day Egyptians and beyond. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction 1. Do Stones Possess a Soul?: Ancient Beliefs from Democritus to Lavoisier 2. The Song of Stones 3. Stone as a Messenger 4. Stone Obelisks to the Glory of the All-Powerful 5. The Art of Covering Space: Stone Capitals, Architraves and Vaults 6. Inside the Great Pyramid 7. Tutti Fuori, Niente Dietro: All for Show, Nothing Behind 8. Stones and Man in Religious Architecture: From Moderation to Excess 9. Stone Amid the Waves 10. The Panama Canal and the Soapstone of Culebra: A Gigantic Swindle 11. Works of Stone Engulfed by Sand or Water 12. Stone for the Eternal Home of the Pharaohs. Final Thoughts...
