Ceremonial time is the moment when past, present, and future can be perceived simultaneously. Experienced only rarely, usually during ancient dances or rituals, this escape from time is the gift of John Mitchells extraordinary writing. In this, his most magical book, he traces the life on a single spot in New England from the last ice age through years of Indians, shamans, and bears, to the colonists, witches and farmers, and now the encroaching parks.