Mystery of the Ancient Ones

Part of the fine New Explorers series hosted by Bill Kurtis, this new addition finds the crew in Arizona, trying to solve the mystery of the Anasazi, the ancient Pueblo people who abandoned canyon-floor living for cliff dwelling, and then disappeared entirely from the area within a scant generation. Kurtis, who dramatically repeats the question of what happened to these people as though the earth has gobbled them up or UFO's are responsible, is rather off-putting. Anthropologists piecing together clues of environmental stress and possible tribal warfare provides the real interest here, not the hyped-up sensationalism. Recommended, overall. Other titles in the series include: Slavery's Buried Past, Walking Among the Sharks, and Doctors With X-Ray Vision. Aud: J, H, C, P. (N. Plympton)