Having recently visited some of the remote areas the author discusses in this book I returned to it with renewed interest. Her meetings and talks with a plethora of fascinating individuals for whom Romania is a home are eye-opening and enriching. The section on Bucium in the Metaliferi mountains is especially rewarding and the author's encounters with the owner of the building on the front cover. An important book in the canon of Romanian travel literature, full of informative and delicate observations, it will enhance any visit to these still wonderful places. It should be read in conjunction with 'Along the Enchanted Way' by William Blacker.

Searching for Sarmizegetusa: Journeys to the Heart of Rural Romania by Caroline Juler is the author’s personal account of her travels and experiences in Romania, but it’s also much more. An author and art historian, Juler found herself deeply attracted to the culture, the history, and the people of Romania, especially the undeveloped areas where simple village life still followed age-old patterns, and natural beauty wasn’t yet spoiled by industrialization. Juler also became very concerned at the possible destruction of nature and history through proposed mining operations in an archaeologically-rich zone. An Afterword provides an update to some of the issues with which she wrestled. Simple illustrations and maps are sprinkled throughout to add to the reader’s understanding. Caroline Juler describes Searching for Sarmizegetusa as “a pilgrimage, a fictional journey and a collection of true ones.” In my opinion, that’s an understatement. I found Juler’s blending of ancient and modern history, with her vignette-like accounts of her adventures, and the philosophical debate on environmental and cultural preservation, fascinating. Her writing style is precise, intellectually satisfying, highly descriptive, and utterly enjoyable. Doses of humor are sprinkled here and there, and the simple illustrations are charming. This is no dry or dusty travelogue. It’s a delightful, amusing, and very warm-hearted conversation with a friend who has just returned from a long journey and has so much to share, including a sincere concern for preserving what is best of the past in the face of a modern future. If Juler takes you to the heart of Romania, it’s through her own heart.