Mazes and Labyrinths is a look into the origin and mystery of mazes. From ancient stone carvings, Minoan palaces to today's hedge-maze, Matthews chronicles the history of the maze. With over 140 illustrations.

amusements using principle of maze, most based on story situations. Quite unusual. 84 illustrations.

The path least traveled makes all the difference in this volume, especially when you find yourself crossing bridges, escaping from caves, lighting firecrackers, spelling out passwords, and untangling snakes. These 50 challenges include classic, solid, and ripple mazes, along with short-path and avoidance labyrinths and other intriguing problems. Solutions.

Two of the world’s ancient traditions come alive for young readers in this fascinating book that proves the most interesting distance between two points is never a straight line. This brilliant book on mazes and labyrinths in history and the modern world encourages young readers to really think about why these puzzles are so appealing. Filled with photographs, drawings, artwork, illustrations, and puzzles, it takes a thematic approach to these enigmatic works. Why are we sometimes afraid to get lost—and why does the idea excite us? How do mazes and labyrinths figure in history and mythology? What can nature tell us about humankind’s obsession with lines, spirals, and patterns? Along the way children will learn about the labyrinth designed by Daedalus for King Minos in the ancient city of Crete; the mystery of the Hemet Maze Stone in southern California; and the magnificent labyrinth at the Cathedral of Chartres. They are encouraged to trace their fingers along a labyrinth to experience its soothing effect, to solve maze-related number puzzles, and to create their own mazes and labyrinths. Packed with fun facts and engaging ideas, this book will help children understand why mazes and labyrinths are so popular, while inspiring them to identify and create these fascinating puzzles in their own world.

The labyrinth is one of the world's oldest symbols, and its meaning is often shrouded in myth and mystery or ties to religious rites. Today, this enigmatic form inspires artists to create their own interpretations in different, even unusual, ways, including by working with materials as varied as ice, snow, salt, wood, stone, glass, cement, and metal. This new collection features both classical examples and the best contemporary projects, showcasing work by artists, landscape artists, and architects from around the world. The diverse and stunning examples include pavement labyrinths of thirteenth-century French cathedrals, a historic English turf maze, Renaissance hedge mazes, and numerous present-day projects by artists and architects, including BIG, Chris Drury, Richard Fleischner, Dan Graham, Robert Irwin, Arata Isozaki, Robert Morris, Yoko Ono, and Billie Tsien and Tod Williams.

In this full-colour, beautifully illustrated book, Gailand MacQueen uses myth, history, and personal experience to explore the spiritual meanings of mazes and labyrinths. Convinced that labyrinths and mazes have much to teach us, Gailand MacQueen invites readers on a sometimes mystical, sometimes mysterious, journey of spiritual discovery.

Beautifully designed and gorgeously illustrated, this immersive, puzzle-like exploration of the history and psychology of mazes and labyrinths evokes the spirit of Choose Your Own Adventure, the textual inventiveness of Tom Stoppard, and the philosophical spirit of Jorge Luis Borges. Labyrinths are as old as humanity, the proving grounds of heroes, the paths of pilgrims, symbols of spiritual rebirth and pleasure gardens for pure entertainment. Henry Eliot leads us on a twisting journey through the world of mazes, real and imagined, unraveling our ancient, abiding relationship with them and exploring why they continue to fascinate us, from Kafka to Kubrick to the myth of the Minotaur and a quest to solve the disappearance of the legendary Maze King. Are you ready to step inside?