Book Reviews
WAT’S DYKE WAY HERITAGE TRAIL by Pete Lewis
If you are still trying to find that special Christmas present for your loved ones, why not think about the above book which was published earlier this year.
Published by Alyn Books, the 128 pages describe the origins of Wat’s Dyke and then divide the walk into 9 separate sections with a walkers’ guide for each. It also has 4 circular routes so that the walker can return to their car after an invigorating ramble.
The book is lavishly illustrated with well drawn maps and several photographs in colour and black and white. Only one subject is pictured twice; that is the Church of St Cyngar and St Cynfarch in Hope!
The Trail is 61 miles long, starting in Llanymynech and ending at Greenfield, but sections 6 & 7 cover our area of Cefn-y-bedd, Caergwrle, Hope and Penyffordd. During the summer Liz and I walked the circular route based in Ruabon; this covered both of the Dykes for which this area is famous, Offa’s as well as Wat’s.
So at £5.99 it is excellent value for money and with an A5 format will fit into a Christmas stocking and an anorak pocket.
Allan Poynton (Published in Parish Magazine, December 2008)
“The Complete Bible Handbook” edited by John Bowker
One of my Christmas presents in 1954, when I was eight, was a rather bulky Bible which seemed very grown-up – but rather intimidating. However it contained line drawings and maps by Horace Knowles which made the people, places and stories real and its current “tatty” condition bears witness to how accessible I found it.
Over recent years I have looked for a newer translation which could give me that same feeling of immediacy; then this Christmas I read a recommendation for “The Compete Bible Handbook” edited by John Bowker.
I popped along to Waterstone’s in Chester and there it was in all its glory. It is published by Dorling Kindersley, and contains entries from about 40 different contributors. It bursts with information, drawings, photographs and maps all beautifully produced and presented, bringing to life the world we read about in the Bible which can often seem remote.
There is information about the different books of the Bible, specific events and themes, the history and culture of the various periods, places, music, plants, animals and many more subjects. Many of these are presented as two-page spreads which contain many bite-sized sections of texts and numerous illustrations. The section on Music in the Bible, for example, gives information about references to music throughout the Bible and the illustrations include a copy of a 19th century painting which can be seen in the Guildhall in London, a photograph of a Jewish man blowing a ram’s horn, and a picture of 3000 year old figurine of a girl playing a tambourine which can still be seen in a Jerusalem museum.
I find it a wonderful partner to my modern Bible and a great book in its own right. At £16.99 you get an awful lot for your money, and I suspect my copy will get rather “tatty” even more quickly than my old Bible.
(From Liz Poynton)