Custodians of Wonder is a fascinating look at the living ancient cultural traditions and the last practitioners/guardians of that knowledge curated and collected by Eliot Stein. Released 10th Dec 2024 by Macmillan on their St. Martin's Press imprint, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.
This is a collection of disparate traditions and crafts from different cultures with the common thread that the practices are under threat or actively being lost to the ravages of modern life. There are 10 chapters, each covering a different cultural art and the artisan(s) who are keeping it alive. They range from hand painted film posters in Taiwan to the last engineers maintaining the astounding ancient Incan roads, to living repositories of oral tradition in Africa.
The author has an engaging and respectful voice and brings these disparate cultural traditions to life. The book is well annotated throughout and the chapter notes and bibliography alone are probably worth the cost of the book.
Five stars. Very interesting stories. Written like mini travel documentaries, this would also make a superlative series for BBC or NatGeo or the like. The book would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, or for gift-giving purposes for a nonfiction / culture fan.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes
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