Motel of the Mysteries

Not only is the book humorous, it delves into humanity's hubris.It's an interesting way to see how humans can misinterpret what they see.95 pages, a great "coffee table book".

Macaulay’s signature spectacularly well-drafted finely detailed illustrations are here placed in service to a one-note gag that never quite outwears its welcome, but is not nearly as witty as it might once have seemed.As the book is a parody of the Tut Mania that gripped the US in the late 70s when a major King Tut exhibition made its way across the States, the specifics of the high concept have long since faded from our collective cultural memory, significantly blunting the humor and the impact of the concept. But it’s short and a quick read to boot, so it’s good for a smile, and possibly a chuckle or two. But not more than that.

This is one of my favorite books I was glad to find it and be able to have a copy of my own.

It's humor/satire in the best tradition - something that pokes fun at (some would say skewers) those who tend to take themselves far too seriously. In this case we're talking about archeologists, but even at that it's limited to those who make too many intellectual leaps from the available evidence. By that I mean those scientists who tend to input too much in the way of fiction or story telling to artifacts.It's done so gently, but the tone is spot on - the same pronouncements done with no doubt whatsoever and yet objectively wrong. We have the benefit here of knowing what the actual truth is, which is where the humor is grounded. Macaulay really has done a good job in this parody of a serious scientific work, so much so that one kind of wonders what the *real* story is when reading, oh, the latest paleontological findings or other similar papers. This isn't to say that all science is wrong - not at all - but only to wonder what if science doesn't necessarily know what it thinks it knows And again, I'm talking about scientists who go a bit too far in their theorizing.I like this book - a lot. It's a fun parody.

... One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.”Mark TwainIt's beautifully drawn, and a wry take on so much of archaeology - or any other science, for that matter. Very amusing, but also a caution to those of us trying to piece together an image of the world, given only a few small facts at a time.-- wiredweird

This is a story about a man who discovers the United States - years after it disappeared mysteriously into the mists of time.As this scientist and his crew uncover many ancient artifacts, they do their best to piece together how various items were used in this ancient culture. Their conviction that the motel they've discovered is an ancient burial ground colors their interpretation of every item that they find.Macaulay's illustrations bring the text to life, allowing the reader to see the humor it what is going on - Macauley is able to reference various items they've discovered by the name given them by the scientists, but the illustrations show us what it is that they've really found. (e.g., the pictures show us that the "Sacred Collar" worn at the final burial ceremony is actually a toilet seat.)Of course, what Macauley really does, and does brilliantly, is point out how arrogant it is for us to assume that we can piece together an entire culture's way of life by analyzing a few odds and ends and giving them purposes, even though we have no way to determining whether what we've decided is true is actually true."Motel of the Mysteries" is an excellent reminder to keep our perspective as we study ancient cultures and peoples - a reminder that scientists are fallible humans like anyone else.

I thought this was a book, but it turned out to be a (very) short story. My American friends had recommended it as a classic, but I think one of those things that was clever when it was written and read years ago, but now shows its age. The article does rely on a number of illustrations to enable you to get the joke, which are a little hard to see in the Kindle version. Overall, I don't regret reading it, and I suspect maybe this was the first time this trope had been done, i.e., where a future society reviews historic events or archeological finds and completely misinterprets or adds meaning to meaningless objects. So, I give 3 stars, deducting 1 for the page to price ratio, and 1 star because it's a bit lame compared to newer stories.

Weird book. Not what I expected from the description. It's about 10x10 and thin. It's more drawings than actual writing. Set faarrr into the future. It's a satirical take on an archeological "dig" of a motel...that the team treats like a sacred site. "Do not disturb" placard on the doorknob is the official seal on the "burial" site. It's a motel room! I'm enjoying reading it, even if its kind of silly. More tongue-in-cheek kind of humor.

As I tutor I use this book regularly with my classes to illustrate how, when we look at history, we can never know the facts for certain as we can only make assumptions based on our current knowledge. This humourous book shows how easy it could be to misinterpret historical findings to make them fit our current way of thinking or meet a personal agenda. As the saying goes 'history is written by the survivors/victors' so the 'truth' may not be all it seems.

The basic premise is a future archaeologist excavating the site of a 20th century motel and the deductions he made from it. I won’t spoil it for readers by describing it any further!Contrived, simplistic, but thought provoking. Not long after reading it (although the pictures are better!) I visited both Ephesus and Aphrodisias: it did make me wonder about the guide’s descriptions an explanations of both sites.Fun; worth the money; should be required reading for amateur (and professional) archaeologists.

I didn't like it, but some people might find it funny.

All as described and quick delivery. Very happy.

So much fun!