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ROME ANTICS by David Macaulay

ROME ANTICS

by David Macaulay & illustrated by David Macaulay

Pub Date: Oct. 1st, 1997
ISBN: 0-395-82279-3
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

In another of his explorations of the traversal between A and B (Shortcut, 1995, and a detour: Why the Chicken Crossed the Road, 1987), Macaulay takes the scenic route and concludes, perhaps, that all roads really do lead to Rome. This bird's-eye view of a grand city's architecture begins when a maiden ties a message onto the leg of a homing pigeon. Before readers can say S.P.Q.R., the pigeon has made the unusual decision of abstaining from the shortest path between two points in favor of a whirling flight through Rome. Macaulay has created a pen-and-ink sketchbook of ancient buildings in the modern city, stringing together black-and-white drawings of landmarks with the thinnest of red lines (to indicate the pigeon's flight). Along with labeled monuments are more mundane sightings: On the street, a dog drinks from a fire hydrant while conversations take place in cafes and on cell phones. The views of Rome are so encompassing that by the time the pigeon delivers its message to a draughtsman hunched over a drawing, readers have almost forgotten the bird's errand. "Yes" is the answer to an unstated question that hangs, tantalizingly, in the air. An aerial map of Rome ("not to scale") and brief, conversational descriptions recap the highlights of the pigeon's trip. In it, Macaulay confirms that his is not a profession, nor an obsession, but a love affair of sketching and architecture. (Picture book. 7-11)