Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive by Eliot Stein

4.27 AVERAGE

sarah_knuep's profile picture

sarah_knuep's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 42%
Listened on audiobook. Had to force myself to listen. 
catreynolds28's profile picture

catreynolds28's review

5.0
adventurous hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced
I was so into this book I even read the Acknowledgements. This is a masterpiece and unlike anything I’ve ever read. I cannot fathom the time and painstaking effort, by people around the world, it took to make this book. Each story is completely unique and I could feel the importance and history in every page. Absolutely marvelous, I can’t recommend it enough. 

kellyrawson's review

3.5
informative inspiring mysterious slow-paced
Good book about several obscure soon to be lost customs. The author went into great detail about history surrounding the customs and in some cases of broad history of the region; this, in my opinion, made the book’s pace much slower and I found myself increasing the audio speed to finish it.
culebrablanca's profile picture

culebrablanca's review

4.5
hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
jodimclean's profile picture

jodimclean's review

3.0
informative inspiring medium-paced
trzcuit's profile picture

trzcuit's review against another edition

3.75
informative slow-paced

emzeegee's review

5.0
emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
This book is a delight and very interesting, read it. 

athomewithbooks's review

5.0
informative medium-paced
sadiebobadie's profile picture

sadiebobadie's review

4.25
informative reflective
marksmeltz's profile picture

marksmeltz's review

3.0
Through interviews, anecdotes, and historical context, this book shares a series of dying traditions in various parts of the world: making a specific type of Sardinian pasta, serving as a country's last night watchman, etc. Some of these examples are more interesting than others, but they're all told with great sensitivity and respect. The author does a fine job of weaving any necessary historical background into each chapter, although sometimes this involves biting off just a bit more than any book of this nature could reasonably be expected to chew (e.g., tackling an overview of Cuban revolutionary history). I particularly enjoyed the chapter about an English beekeeper "telling the bees." Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.