House of Rain

Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest

By: Craig Childs

Narrated by: Craig Childs

A "beautifully written travelogue" that draws on the latest scholarly research as well as a lifetime of exploration to light on the extraordinary Anasazi culture of the American Southwest (Entertainment Weekly).

The greatest "unsolved mystery" of the American Southwest is the fate of the Anasazi, the native peoples who in the eleventh century converged on Chaco Canyon (in today's southwestern New Mexico) and built what has been called the Las Vegas of its day, a flourishing cultural center that attracted pilgrims from far and wide, a vital crossroads of the prehistoric world. The Anasazis' accomplishments -- in agriculture, in art, in commerce, in architecture, and in engineering -- were astounding, rivaling those of the Mayans in distant Central America.

By the thirteenth century, however, the Anasazi were gone from Chaco. Vanished. What was it that brought about the rapid collapse of their civilization? Was it drought? pestilence? war? forced migration? mass murder or suicide? For many years conflicting theories have abounded. Craig Childs draws on the latest scholarly research, as well as on a lifetime of adventure and exploration in the most forbidding landscapes of the American Southwest, to shed new light on this compelling mystery.

Masterful Ancient Mystery Adventure True Story

Strap on a pack, try to keep up as Craig Childs tracks the Ancient ones.

Outstanding

An evocative journey through time and space. The curiosity of the seeker and links between the landscape and its people are explored in a magnificent fashion. You are going to inspire more visits to the region. Kudos.

keeping me pacified

thank you Craig. as I haven't gotten to spend much time lately out in the world of ruins, you have captured, so well, the feeling of adventure and wonder of seeking out these wonderful people and places of the past. now, onto your next book!

A look way, way back

I loved this.  Craig Childs writes about the history of the ancient American SW peoples with compassion and care, distilling ideas into a first person narrative of his exploration of landscapes and concepts.  This wasn't a quick listen for me and I took my time mulling over ideas, time-lines, and competing schools of thought.  I enjoyed his narration and thought it matched his writing style, in some places nearly poetry.  Thanks for this.

Tlaloctlan

The Southwest part is excellent. The associations with some parts of Mesoamerica are a bit speculative.