Catalyst

Richardson, Tracy. Catalyst. 2020. 256p. ISBN 978-1-61254-445-8.

For years, Marcie has accompanied her archeologist mother to her various field operations. Now 17, she joins the site not as her mother's child, but as a bone fide member of the dig crew of Angel Mounds, in Indiana, once a thriving center of Native American culture. Marcie is introduced to Zeke and Lorraine, graduate students who lead her small group. She also meets Leo, a college student who holds strong views on the benefits of fracking.

Zeke and Lorraine begin to reveal to Marcie and her friends that humans are part of the Universal Energy Field, where energy comes from thoughts, and that they must help save the Earth from its inhabitants’ bad habits. Powerful corporate interests seek to develop fracking in Indiana and have a different message, however.

When Zeke and Lorraine reveal themselves to be aliens from another dimension, Marcie must decide if she will accept the burden of saving Earth from itself. Catalyst argues that pollution and human greed are slowly poisoning the Earth but that past inhabitants knew how to care for the planet.

Relationships, paranormal activities, climate change, and archeology all compete for attention. Marcie has strong opinions, but doesn’t know what to do. Leo, her romantic interest, possesses opposite views. They often talk over one another and are not really listening to the other side. The aliens guide Marcie, but she lacks agency and rarely exhibits doubts about the mission they foist on her. Leo undermines what Marcie is trying to accomplish, and yet she forgives him for mistakes that would have ended most relationships. The intriguing match of archeology and paranormal is not fully realized, but it remains an entertaining read. Readers who enjoy lightly sprinkled paranormal activities will appreciate this book.

Every Hidden Thing

Oppel, Kenneth. Every Hidden Thing. 2016. 361p. ISBN 978-1-48146416-1. Available at FIC OPP on the library shelves.

At the end of the 19th century, the world has just discovered that large reptiles dwelled on the land and in the water millions of years ago. Paleontology is a growing science, and prospectors are scouring the globe for the best specimens of dinosaur fossils. Samuel Bolt’s father is a self-made paleontologist who has already discovered a few species, but he’s always looking for the next big thing. Rachel Cartland’s father is chair of the new paleontology department at Yale, and he also has discovered new species. The two professors positively hate each other, and they are in fierce competition with one another.

When Professor Bolt receives a tooth in the mail the size of a human foot, he knows that it belongs to the largest carnivorous dinosaur ever seen. This tooth represents a financial windfall for whomever finds the body first. Samuel and his father are willing to do anything to be the first ones to dig the fossils of the rex, the king of dinosaur, out of the ground of the Badlands out west.

Unfortunately, Professor Cartland has also heard of this find, and he comes well equipped with an army escort, several students from Yale, and all of the provisions in the closest small town. Samuel and his father only have a few dollars left, no team, and little hope. For Professor Bolt, the rex will cement his legacy as one of the greatest fossils hunter. For Professor Cartland, the rex will provide more funding to his new department. For Samuel, the rex is freedom from his father’s life and making a name for himself. For Rachel, it’s attending university and hunting her own fossils.

As the two fathers scour the hills trying to find the rex, Samuel and Rachel fall in love with each other and decide that they will strike on their own and find it first. But with Sioux warriors ready for a fight, will the rivalry between the two groups keep Rachel and Samuel apart or will they be able to find the rex before their fathers do?

A great love story set among a fierce rivalry in the badlands, fans of historical novels and of dinosaur hunters will enjoy Samuel and Rachel’s tale of searching for the dinosaur that will eventually be named Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Stonehenge

Mass, Wendy. Stonehenge. Part of the Building History Series. 1998. 96p. ISBN 1-56006-432-3. Available at 936 MAS on the library shelves.

One of the world’s most mysterious structure is the stone array of Stonehenge. Built over two millenia, from 3,000 to 1,100 BCE, the purpose of Stonehenge remains unclear to this day. Speculations abound that it served as a calendar, as a holy site, as a druid gathering places, or to track eclipses. But how it was erected is as fascinating as what it is used for.

The blue and sarsen stones that were used in the construction of Stonehenge are not from the Salisbury Plains. They were taken and shaped miles away, then brought to the site. The blue stones, between 4 and 8 tons, came from Mount Prescelly, in Southern Wales, about 135 miles away and were probably transported by ship most of the way. In the case of the larger sarsen stones, they originated about 24 miles away, but as each rock weighed up to 40 tons, moving them over land would have been an engineering feet.

The construction of the site followed four distinct stages, with the third stage being further separated in three separate phases. Each time, the arrangement of the stones were shifted around to accommodate different uses. The erection of the lintels, the piece of stone that sat on top of two parallel sarsens, required extensive engineering and manpower to accomplish.

By the time the Romans conquered England, Stonehenge was already over a thousand years old, and its purpose had disappeared along with the inhabitants who created it. Since then, there have been much speculation about what it was used for. As these continue, however, the site is deteriorating due to weather, pollution, and human activities. Efforts are taking place to preserve the site for future generations, so they too can enjoy the mystery and the quiet majesty that is Stonehenge.

The Great Wall of China

McNeese, Tim. The Great Wall of China. Part of the Building History Series. 1997. 96p. ISBN 97801056006-428-5. Available at 931 MCN on the library shelves.

The Great Wall of China is often mentioned in the same breath as the Pyramids of Egypt, structures so vast and technically challenging and so ancient that they have defied thousands of years of history to bear witness to an era when the power of rulers was limitless. Pieces of what would become the Great Wall were first built starting around 450 BCE by the various warring Chinese states, mainly to protect their northern borders from the barbarians that dwelled in the steppes but also against their neighbors.

This heritage of wall building first arose in the 4,000 BCE when villages constructed earthen works to protect themselves against attack by enemies. Builder skills and expertise grew until hundred of miles of walls protected vast segments of China. Having united the seven warring states of China, Emperor Qin Shih Huang Ti dismantled the walls that sat within the borders of the new country and endeavored to add to the various walls on the northern border to protect against barbarians. Over the course of seven years, 1,850 miles of walls were constructed or renovated to create a continuous line from the sea in the East to the Gobi desert in the west.

Over the following centuries, the Great Wall as it became known fell in disrepair and was rebuilt several times until the Ming Dynasty, which undertook a complete renovation and expansion of the Great Wall, giving us the structure we know today. Throughout that time soldiers manned the Wall and fought large battles against encroaching tribes from the North. Farmers, merchants, and government officials dwelled within its shadows. Two periods of foreign domination, the Khans and the Mings, did not end the perceived need for the Great Wall, however, but the emergence of the cannon soon ended its domination as border protection.

Fans of military history and of architecture will enjoy the story of how the Great Wall was built. To this day, it remains a marvel of engineering and an amazing feat of construction.

Terra-Cotta Soldiers: Army of Stone

Dean, Arlan. Terra-Cotta Soldiers: Army of Stone. Part of the Digging Up the Past series. 2005. 48p. ISBN 0-516-25124-4. Available at 931 DEA on the library shelves.

More than 2,200 years ago, China was divided in seven states, all warring with each other for dominance over the region. One of these states was ruled by a strong man named Chao Cheng. Using novel military tactics, he succeeded in conquering all of the six remaining states one at a time until he was able to unify China. He crowned himself emperor and took the name Qin Shi Huangdi.

Among his many accomplishments were the standardization of the Chinese language and of weights and measures. He also reformed the government and the military. Most importantly, though, Qin Shi Huangdi is known for commissioning a large terra-cotta army that would follow him in the afterlife. His tomb was erected at great costs, both in terms of money and in terms of human capital. Covering over 20 square miles, it included palaces, training fields, and all of the comforts he had enjoyed in life. To protect it all he commissioned an army that could guard him in the afterlife.

Each soldier in this 8,000 strong army is modeled after a specific individual, and comes equipped with weapons and armor of the era. Brightly painted, the army also featured horses and wagons. Discovered in 1974 by farmers, the site has been extensively excavated by archaeologists and has been placed on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites.