Customer Reviews

The Atlantis Blueprint: Unlocking the Ancient Mysteries of a Long-Lost Civilization

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Put briefly, the premise of this book is that an advanced civilization existed in distant prehistory, sometime around 10,000 - 12,000 B.C. Its cultural center was located on what is now the continent of Antarctica and was wiped out due to a global cataclysm: a shift in the earth's pole, from a former North Pole in the Hudson Bay in Canada to the current North Pole location in the Arctic. This pole shift brought tremendous upheaval and resulted in sheets of ice covering Antarctica. These ice sheets prevent today's researchers and explorers from uncovering the strongest evidence of its existence.

The inhabitants of this civilization were technically advanced, particularly in the area of geology and possibly in other areas as well, including acoustics. In terms of geology they were able to figure out that even earlier pole shifts had occurred and, the authors surmise, were able to predict that there was another one coming that was going to wipe out most of what they had come to build. They had two goals: to create as permanent a memorial as possible to their existence and to pass along their knowledge to subsequent cultures. This memorial would encode a message to a future, advanced civilization that it, too, should be aware of the existence of pole shifts.

Wilson and Flem-Ath postulate that this ancient civilization accomplished its first goal -- memorializing their civilization -- by creating a huge network of "markers" at meaningful locations around the globe. Giza was chosen as the prime meridian, partly due to its being the geological "center of mass" of the continental array of the time. The global survey resulted in markers being placed all of the globe, at regular intervals of degrees of latitude and with orientations that pointed to the pre-shift pole location and/or to the post-shift location. Through this means they knew that a future advanced civilization -- one that also had knowledge of the earth's dimensions and poles -- would be able to interpret their message. The Great Pyramid of Giza, as the monument located at the center of world mass and on the then-prime meridian, provided the most carefully coded clues based on its dimensions and design.

As the people of this culture came into contact with the other, less advanced cultures of the time, they made a powerful impression. They were often considered to be gods or angels. As a result, their influence is expressed in a miriad of ways: as Mayan gods, angels in the Book of Enoch, Egyptian gods, etc. In addition, the sites they marked in their survey came to be considered sacred sites. This resulted in sacred temples, shrines, and buildings being erected.

"The Atlantis Blueprint" presents a remarkable overview of how sacred sites all over the world -- from Stonehenge to Easter Island -- fit into the scheme created by the lost civilization. It even shows how it has become possible to actually predict where an ancient site *should* be located, based on the blueprint, and how certain sites came to be discovered based on it. (This latter point was to me the most compelling part of the authors' presentation, since the truest test of any theory is its ability to not only explain past phenomena, but to *predict* future phenomena. Wilson and Flem-Ath's concept of the site markers provides a straightforward way to test their ideas -- if their techniques can be applied to areas of the globe where historical sacred sites have not yet been uncovered, and this results in the discovery of sites at those locations, then it adds tremendous weight to their ideas. And, indeed, this is just what happens.)

The book is entertaining and engrossing. It also provides an excellent starting point for exploring various other theories about the possible existence of this civilization, including the books by Charles Hapgood, Andrew Collins, Graham Hancock, and Robert Bauval. In some instances, Flem-Ath and Wilson provide elegant summaries of these authors' theories. (Based on this book I myself have now decided to read books by Hancock and Bauval as well as more about the Book of Enoch, the Templars, and the Mayans.)

Some points I would like to make in addition:

The book does not propose that Antarctica itself took a "voyage", or that any islands sank into the sea, but rather that the longitude of Antarctica shifted and thereby radically altered its climate.

In addition, Wilson and Flem-Ath do *not* claim that the advanced civilization actually built all of the sacred monument that exist at these important latitude locations. Instead they believe that the local inhabitants were responsible for the monuments, viewing the locations as sacred due to the fact that the revered "gods" had placed markers on them.

Also, you will notice that I have avoided using the term "Atlantis" to refer to this ancient civilization, since I think many readers may find the Atlantis association too "New Age" for comfort. Perhaps these people did refer to their home city as Atlantis, or maybe it was Plato who is more responsible for the name, but whatever the case, for me it is the possible existence of this civilization that is most important.

Finally, some readers might find it more helpful to read the Appendices *first*, then the main portion of the book. The Appendices provide some nice summaries of Wilson and Flem-Ath's theories that I probably would have liked having under my belt before I began the book.

Highly recommended to those with open minds and inquisitive natures.

I think there are at least three points that readers need to keep in mind as they approach a reading of "The Atlantis Blueprint." The first point is the distinction between ordinary or "mere" speculation, a leisurely activity we all engage in during our daily lives and which is seldom critically examined, and serious or "scientific" speculation, a formal activity involving critical examination related to an important topic and based on objective evidence. The second point is the distinction to be made between a singular "piece" of evidence, which can always be seriously challenged, and a related "web" of evidence, which is more difficult to challenge and will always raise the level of probability or certitude. The third point to keep in mind is that many hypotheses and theories proposed in the past have been rejected and considered untrue or impossible, only to be accepted later as conventional doctrine. In other words, science marches on, as do historical research, philosophical analysis, and other serious disciplines.

In "The Atlantis Blueprint," Colin Wilson and Rand Flem-Ath confront and attempt to solve one of the most fascinating mysteries of world history: was there an ancient civilization, an advanced technological culture, a precursor to the early societies about which we have written knowledge, and which was subsequently destroyed by some catastrophic earthly event? Furthermore, if such a civilization did exist, where was it located then and where are its vestiges now? For many, this ancient civilization was Atlantis, first described over two millennia ago by the philosopher Plato in two of his dialogues. Considered merely a legend by most contemporary scientists and historians, the existence of Atlantis or some similar advanced precursor civilization has rarely been the subject of serious scholarship. Wilson and Flem-Ath may have changed that by offering a critical work which presents a serious challenge to conventional thinking and raises numerous issues which deserve a response from the scientific and historical communities.

This book is certainly not a matter of "mere" speculation; it is a critical examination of the objective facts currently available and is, therefore, serious scientific speculation. Also, the book presents a "web" of related evidence, not merely singular and disjoined "pieces" of evidence which can easily be cast aside and ignored. What is presented is a mosaic of evidence, both emperic and rational, blended and unified to support their main thesis that an advanced technological culture may have existed in ancient times and that it may have been located on the continent of Antarctica. A wild theory based on an old legend presented by an ancient Greek philosopher? Consider, for a moment, the city of Troy. Conventional wisdom had maintained for centuries that Troy, discussed in Homer's great work the "Iliad," was a figment of Greek legend and few scholars took its possible existence as a serious matter. And, then, along comes a German archaelogist named Schliemann, who in 1870 defies conventional wisdom and excavates the city of Troy.

For many years, I have been bothered by the fact that Western history generally begins with the Sumerians. Here we are presented with a highly-evolved ancient civilization, yet we seem to have no idea what led to its specific development, that is, there seems to be no "evolving" culture prior to Sumer which explains its own being. It's almost as if Sumer just "popped" into existence with its culture intact and completed. This is very difficult to accept. The idea of a precursor civilization such as that proposed by Wilson and Flem-Ath, whether or not one wishes to call it Atlantis, seems to be required.

The questions with which "The Atlantis Blueprint" wrestles are many and intriguing. Did a maritime society such as Atlantis really exist and was able to sail around the globe influencing and, possibly, dominating other societies? Is Atlantis the civilization that provided the technological know-how for building the pyramids in Egypt, Machu Picchu in the Americas, Stonehedge in England, the statues of Easter Island, and other important monuments all over the world? And how does one explain the similarities which exist among many of the languages in various regions of the world, regions which conventional wisdom has maintained never had any contact with one another? And what about the ancient maps which have been discovered, maps which show features the ancients are not supposed to have known about? Furthermore, how does one explain the so-called "sacred sites" which we know exist around the world and which appear to have so much in common? These questions and many others are tackled by the authors.

It is true at this time that the existence of an ancient sophisticated precursor civilization, whether or not it is called Atlantis, has not been proven conclusively. It is true that if such a society did exist in the past, we do not conclusively know its location then or now. But an important step forward in this fascinating investigation of our cultural ancestry has been taken by Colin Wilson and Rand Flem-Ath. "The Atlantis Blueprint" needs to be taken as a serious work of critically-examined speculation, a presentation of a well-researched web of evidence, and an exciting challenge to the conventional wisdom of our time. Whether one considers the existence of Atlantis and its location on Antarctica an initial hypothesis or a persuasive theory, an ancient legend or a literary myth, a mere possibility or a strong probability, we cannot dismiss the importance of the investigation. The authors have performed an invaluable service and, in my opinion, this book is worthy of a place in everyone's personal library.

Jonathan Dolhenty, Ph.D. Executive Director The Radical Academy (radicalacademy.com)

"An exhaustively detailed argument that the legendary lost city was located just north of what is today Antarctica and that its highly evolved citizens traveled the world building and mapping sacred sites from Egypt to Mexico. Drawing extensively on history, science, and old maps, as well as offering their own speculative theories about the disappearance of Atlantis, the authors offer not only a new location for the city but also assert that civilization is much older than currently thought. Plato mentioned Atlantis in his writings, they argue, and the notion of a civilization that suffered catastrophic destruction is found in many early writings, from the Bible to Sumerian tablets. Atlantis, thought to exist either in the western Mediterranean or in the Atlantic, was assumed to be a victim of either a comet or the events surrounding the Biblical flood. Flem-Ath theorizes here that the North Pole was once situated in the Hudson Bay, that the Antarctic climate was temperate, and that Atlantis flourished there until catastrophic movements occurred in the Earth's crust around 9600 B.C. Observing the movements of the stars and planets, the Atlanteans had predicted and prepared for the upheaval and were able to flee, carrying their advanced knowledge to places as far flung as Egypt, Central America, and the Indus valley. To preserve their lore, they built monuments that became the sites of such sacred places as Machu Picchu, the pyramids, and Stonehenge. Mathematical calculations, detours into the founding of the Freemasons and the Knight Templar, who hid their secrets in a small French village where Jesus may have fled with Mary Magdalene after surviving the crucifixion, all make for a dizzying but stimulating theoretical extravaganza. The authors are most persuasive when demonstrating that intelligent society dates back further than is usually accepted."

500 years ago the most important single advance in our western civilization was the heliocentric theory articulated by Copernicus and confirmed by Galileo, Kepler, and others.

Today the greatest single issue that cries for attention is the untold past history of our planet, which is the crux of this collaborative effort by Colin Wilson (The Outsider) and Rand Flem-Ath (When the Sky Fell). Their book is not seminal, it's a continuation of the dialogue begun by such revolutionary thinkers as Charles Hapgood (The Path of the Pole) and Immanuel Velikovsky (Worlds in Collision). Nevertheless, it makes important contributions and is certainly worth a read.

Has our earth experienced repeated catastrophic events -- that wiped out previous high civilizations with hardly a trace? Plato thought so (see his Timaeus) and growing evidence certainly points in this direction. The Atlantis Blueprint argues that the location of ancient archaeological sites is not arbitrary, but reflects a planet-wide grid system that becomes evident once it is understood that in the ancient world Giza (rather than Greenwich) was the prime meridian of longitude. Wilson and Flem-Ath can't take credit for this idea. Credit goes to the royal astronomer Piazzi Smythe, who pioneered modern scientific intrumentation at Giza (see Smythe's The Great Pyramid).

Still, Flem-Ath uses the Giza meridian model to predict where ancient sites ought to be found -- then goes for a look -- and, what do you know? he finds them, spot on. This is the book's most impressive contribution.

There's also much more here that's worth a look. The material covered is vast. My problem with the author's case is that while I agree with the crustal displacement theory, the actual locations of the former north pole remain to be determined. The authors casually toss off coordinates as if these locations were already precisely known. They jump the gun in this respect, presenting very little hard evidence for the true coordinates of the former Hudson's Bay, Greenland Sea and Yukon poles. Hapgood had good reason to conclude the former pole shifts, but his locations were estimates, and it seems to this reviewer that more work remains to be done to firm up the precise points on the map. For this reason, The Atlantis Blueprint should be read with a critical eye -- but it should be read. The book offers food for thought.

This book opens a door to possibilities that might be real. His basic point is soild, and amazing in it's simplicity. He relates the change in orbital rotation with that of the migration of the magnodynamic flux of the Earth. This, while is completely well known in the world of geology, is little understood elsewhere. That is too bad, because his theories answer many questions....many that cannot be answered using the current accepted evolutionary theories. This is not a book for someone to read cold turkey. I would suggest some fine books on alternative science and history first. But once read, his points are clear and stunning. Was there a global seafaring culture in 75,000 BC? I don't know, but he certainly has opened the door to speculation.

First my criticism: It got very frustrating reading this book mentioning longitudes and latitudes over and over and their significance without any frame of reference. A dozen or so basic diagrams showing these positions would have be a great help. Basically we read about the blueprint---but we don't see it.

Still this book is brings forth a very interesting theory without jumping into silly sensational ideas like aliens and such. On the other hand they weren't afraid to reference nut jobs like Stichen when Stichen had a valid point. After all, the nice thing about the deluded is they don't have any qualms about delving into things others wouldn't and in the process actually stumble on valuable nuggets of truth.

You'll see some reviewers effectively labelling the authors of this book "nutjobs" but I, for one, think that's simply not the case. The findings are pretty clear and they present a theory based on it. Time and new discoveries (if allowed to be known by the all-too-frequently blinded powers that be in the archeaological world) will tell. In the meantime this book provides a very interesting and compelling theory.

It would have been nice if they would have shared a figure with regard to the final theory put forth on the possible position Atlantis. Nevertheless, the book is well written and well-documented.

I found "The Atlantis Blueprint" at times to be textbook-like, but full of interesting facts, with some familiar topics and some intriguing information I'd never heard before. Where a lot of books on these subjects jump to too many conclusions, I didn't feel this one drew up enough conclusions. I wanted more! The authors mix Thor Heyerdahl with Zechariah Sitchin, Charles Hapgood with the Knights Templar, and mix some of my favorite subjects -- the pyramids, geography, Atlantis, ancient history, mythology, geometry, religion. I've read many of the books referred to here, but plan to look up more of them. The notes and bibliography are truly valuable for the interested reader.

The authors present an interesting theory regarding the creation of "markers" to indicate pole movements. But I'm just not sure people on the ground would have consciously thought to do that. They wouldn't have known ahead of time that a pole shift would occur. It seems that would surely imply a view from "outside." Nevertheless, this is truly a work worthy of respect and admiration.

Personally, I have always believed that pyramids were meant to be mountains -- man-made mountains for people who didn't have a natural one of their own -- sacred mountains for sacred rites and, yes, for markers, saying "here, God, here we are," and for finding "home" from whatever distance away. For me this means, of course, that there was a first civilization that DID have a sacred mountain that was so meaningful to its people that its descendants felt they simply had to have a sacred mountain in order to relate to their god. So, accepting that the pyramids and other sacred sites are markers, we could theoretically follow their path and pattern to find this original mountain, no?

There were some obvious problems with this book that were apparent early on. If you read about the authors on the back cover, you will find that there is an unnatural blend of talent reflected in this book. Rand Flem-Ath has some excellent theories that he has spent a large part of his life researching. I was compelled by his research noting the unbelievable alignments to two separate North poles including one over Hudson Bay. I actually flew over Hudson Bay this year and could see strong supporting evidence that a polar ice region could have existed there. The elongated lakes appear to extend northward and to the west from a singular point as you fly east. Rand Flem-Ath casts doubt on the ice age theory and offers another more plausible explanation which suggest that the Earth shifted temporarily, or at least long enough for ancient structures such as the Egyptian pyramids, to be aligned to that point as opposed to the current day north pole. The supporting evidence for this theory is mind boggling but unfortunately, these theories take a back seat to the Colin Wilson who is a well know cult writer. I got the feeling these two writers were not on the same page since the best reading was actually in the Appendix of the book which was written exclusively by Rand.

The section on Brown's gas was very exiting to me and the writer had successfully convinced me that the fundamental laws of physics had been broken allowing energy to be created without the loss of energy through the use of a Hydrogen and Oxygen reaction which supposedly causes an implosion as opposed to explosion. This would also indicate an unlimited supply of energy forever. However, further research on my own, indicated that developers of this gas which can be used for welding, had found no practical use in industry yet and the gas creates unpredictable results when used as a torch or welder. The other problem not suggested in this book is that this gas actually will cause an explosion and is very expensive to create and store. (So much for free energy.) There is some hope here for the future, but not without credible people getting behind the research. The scientific community is currently shoving Brown's gas under the rug because the manufactures don't even understand their own product works and it is well below the line for industrial use.

If you must buy this book, tear out chapter 8 and throw it away. It reads like a fictional novel with little or no reference to historical known facts. To make matters worse, Colin tries to connect a very recent religion, Free Masonry to ancient cultures. (Good Luck). As I read this book, I could see the emphasis on Free Masonry concepts but Colin spells it out for you as he describes his trip to the book store and "picked up a few books on Free Masonry" on his way out.

Do me a favor, save your money and keep your eye out for other books by Rand Flem-Ath. In the meantime, take a look a this book. It is excellent and includes some fantastic rare photos of sites that have only recently become available: Heaven's Mirror : Quest for the Lost Civilization.

If you're interested in Atlantis, lost civilizations, etc., then this book is definitely worth a read. I found the most interesting pieces to be the evidence of Antarctica as a potential site for Atlantis, complete with comparisons to ancient maps, the concept of the North Pole having moved twice before from the Yukon and Hudson Bay, and the subsequent mapping of ancient sites. No doubt the authors have uncovered some very interesting correlations here on locations of ancient sacred sites and their relationships to each other. These issues are something that "mainstream" science should definitely be addressing, but of course will refuse to and call this book "pseudo-science". Of course that's just any subject the mainstreamers don't want to address. Much of the rest of the book gets bogged down in details, and Wilson's third-person approach to writing about Flem-Ath is annoying and over done. Still and all, a good read with many interesting proposals put forth.

Worth Waiting For

Another jewel full of original research from Rand Flem-Ath. His first book WHEN THE SKY FELL (a concise classic) was the first in the surge of popular ancient history books and provided a lot of fuel for other books and a lot of food for thought. I enjoyed Wilson and Flem-Ath's friendly style and although radical in many of its ideas the book deftly delivers its points without undue sensationalism or self-aggrandisement on the part of the authors. There is always the sense of being invited along on the journey of discovery and whether its the fascinating account of the lost opportunity to make Giza the location of the prime meridian and possible buried jungle cities or the speculations (and detailed measurements for those who want to examine it themselves) about the 'blueprint' and the evidence of an ancient worldwide grid, THE ATLANTIS BLUEPRINT has been worth waiting for.