The Atlantis Enigma [Paperback]

Herbie Brennan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2000

The legend of Atlantis has prompted controversy and intrigue for centuries. This fully documented examination of the latest archeological and scientific findings dares to challenge traditional views about human history.

"A marvelous and informative read."--The Irish Independent

Product Details

• Paperback: 225 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (June 12, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425175049
• ISBN-13: 978-0425175040
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,156,130 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A professional writer whose work has appeared in more than fifty countries, Herbie Brennan is enjoyed by children and adults alike -- sales of his books already exceed 7.5 million copies.

Herbie has an well-established career writing for the children's market -- from picture books to teenage fiction, from game books to school curriculum non-fiction. His keen eye for novelty, both in technology and market development, made him among the very first writers to create adventure gamebooks and his GrailQuest series was an international bestseller.

His teenage novel, Faerie Wars, also rocketed to international success, achieving best-seller status in more than 20 overseas editions, and was voted No 1 Top Ten Teenage Pick in the United States and listed as a New York Times Best Seller title.

Equally prolific in the adult market, Herbie has a powerful reputation for challenging conventional assumptions with penetrating intelligence and a clear, easy style. This is reflected in his interests, which range from transpersonal psychology, spirituality, reincarnation and psychical research to comparative religion and quantum physics. His reappraisal of ancient history has stirred lively debate on TV and radio as well as in the Press. He broadcasts and lectures regularly throughout the UK and Ireland.

Herbie became interested in mysticism as a child and was studying books on the subject virtually from the time he was able to read. He found himself pursuing several unorthodox lines of research, including hypnosis, and actually hypnotised his first subject -- a school friend -- at the age of nine!

He began a journalistic career at eighteen and at twenty-four became the youngest newspaper editor in his native Ireland. His early career path included magazine work, hypnotherapy, counselling, advertising and market¬ing.

His first book, Astral Doorways, an exploration of out-of-body experience, became a specialist best-seller and went on to become a classic in its field -- it is still in print some thirty-five years on.

In his mid twenties, Herbie had his first novel published, an historical romance brought out by Doubleday in New York. At the age of thirty he decided to devote most of his time to writing and has since gone on to produce more than 100 books, many of them international best-sellers.

When he can be persuaded to take a break from his writing, Herbie give lectures and seminars, which have included modules on reincarnation research, the astral plane, dreamwork, healing, spiritual development, psychical research, quantum physics and magical training..

With a background that includes writing for radio, the creation of boxed games and computer software, perhaps his greatest strength lies in the realm ideas, particularly in the diversification of publishing product into allied fields like audio and CD-ROM.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating premise that has stayed with me., May 27, 2001

By 

MLPlayfair (Ravenna, OH) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Atlantis Enigma (Paperback)

I was drawn to this book because of its title. Brennan presents an interesting theory with a lot of background and factual evidence. Atlantis, however, is not the main theme of this book. The themes are actually (1) the idea that scientists have been wrong about the Ice Age all along and (2) the possibility of the catastrophic entry into the earth's presence of a visiting cosmic fragment of some kind. In other words, where did Atlantis go, all of a sudden? While at first the reader feels like scoffing -- oh, sure, no Ice Age, right -- one is drawn into the web created by the author's presentation. The amazing thing is that I found a kind of support for his theory in a totally bizarre place -- on a Christian Web site supporting a literal interpretation of the Bible. These people described Noah's flood and the sudden raising of mountains in almost the same way as this book's author. Makes you think! The book really could have used some illustrations to support the narrative -- not that I can't read a book without pictures! But he talks about the positions of planets, etc., and I sometimes had a hard time figuring out what he meant. The author talks about fascinating premises regarding global pre-history. For similar subject ideas, check out Zechariah Sitchin or Graham Hancock and the Flem-Aths. So, in the end, do I believe it? I don't know. That's not the point. The point is that it creates an amazing place for my mind to travel. A place of possibilities. And my mind just loves to travel to that place -- again and again.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad overview of current Atlantis theory, October 28, 2001

By 

L. Blumenthal "lynn" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Atlantis Enigma (Paperback)

I was favorably impressed with this book. Having read everything from crazed ravings to dry-as-dust tomes by geologists, Brennan's book comes across as breezy, informative and somewhat sensible. He goes astray at the end, in my opinion, when he poses the possibility of a supernova fragment causing the Atlantis catastrophe. It's really just too wild for me. I'm more inclined to go along with writers such as Andrew Collins who believe Atlantis is sunken in the Caribbean, the victim of a comet strike.

Still, this book makes excellent reading. And it's the perfect introduction to the Atlantis question for anyone who's wondering about it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ancient History Buff, September 16, 2003

By 

saj "common-sense advocate" (Colorado Springs, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Atlantis Enigma (Paperback)

I consider this to be an excellent book (with one minor flaw).

It brings to light many mysteries in a very plausible and understandable way, such as the unusual physical characteristics of the planets in our solar system, why a large number of species suddenly disappeared not that long ago, and the 'sudden' appearance of fully-formed civilizations.

Add all that to the discovery of ancient maps of Antarctica showing shorelines that have been covered by ice for thousands of years, maps of the shores of North and South America made before Columbus sailed here, massed collections of bones (many of unrelated creatures, including humans) found packed in caves around the world, and evidence that the Earth's many mountain ranges were created very suddenly only 10,000 to 12,000 years ago.

It has been asked how the 'fragment' that, according to the author, wreaked havoc in the solar system could possibly have affected each of the planets as if they were sitting in a row... Well, have they never heard of a conjunction of the planets, where they actually DO line up (or come very close)? This has occurred in the past (a number of times, if I'm not mistaken). Furthermore, the author does state that Jupiter was not affected because that planet's position happened to be out of the fragments gravitational range. And, from the size of the object as described in the book, it wouldn't need to come very close to the planets to cause the changes. Again, a very plausible theory, in my opinion...

Also, it was asked how the poles could possibly have been warm if they did not receive the solar radiation they currently get in the summer months... well, if I understand the theory correctly, the Earth had a circular orbit at a constant distance from the sun (as opposed to the eliptical orbit it now has), and an upright rotation. This gave an even amount of radiation to every part of the planet (granted, a bit less to the poles, but more than they get now), thus the warmer temperatures. Then the object passed by, threw the Earth's orbit off true, tilted the axis, and caused a wobble, forever destroying the idylic world. Now, you have to realize that this scenario is purely theoretical (and only one possibility), and should be taken with a pinch of salt...

On a side note, I'd always believed Pluto was never a true planet, but a captured asteroid, moon or some other object, and this theory substantiates that hypothesis.

The only real flaw in this book would be the origin of the object that caused the havoc: The author believes it's a part of the Vela supernova, which he states is only 45 light years away (when, in fact, it's between 1,300 and 1,500 light years away!). This error certainly does not detract from the overall theory, in which SOME large object passed through our solar system around 10,000 years ago and wreaked havoc on the tranquility known by the inhabitants of Earth at that time.

Whether the theory is true or not, it does provide plausible answers to many questions and puzzles about the ancient history of our planet (and I, for one, am now a believer).