"From Stonehenge to Callanish, from Newgrange to Er-Lannie, great prehistoric stone circles draw thousands of admiring visitors each year. This practical and informative guidebook, written by Aubrey Burl, the acknowledged authority on these monuments, is the first to deal comprehensively with the stone circles of Britain and Ireland, and the cromlechs of Brittany."--Page 4 of cover.

The author provides a hypothetical chronological framework for the circles and considers their origins and purpose, examining in particular their possible astronomical function. He then discusses each regional grouping of circles, describing their architectural types and the finds from excavations. Special attention is paid to Stonehenge and Avebury, the two best known and most spectacular rings.