The Cave and the Cathedral: How a Real-Life Indiana Jones and a Renegade Scholar Decoded the Ancient Art of Man

Aczel's latest book addresses the truly fascinating topic of the origins and meanings of early cave art. I had never really given much thought to what these early artists had in mind as they created their marvellously evocative and complex images underground in the damp fetid darkness aided by the light of animal fat lamps. I frankly had no idea exactly how old these images were (12,000 to 32,000 years old) nor some of the extraordinarily difficult environments in which these brilliant images were created.
The opening chapter recounts Aczel's visit to the cave art at Niaux and shows the strengths of Aczel's narrative style. I was getting claustrophobic just reading it. Alas, apart from the 16 color plates, it is the high point of the book.