Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of South America (Lost Cities Series) [Paperback]

David Hatcher Childress (Author)

Book Description

Series: Lost Cities Series | Publication Date: October 1986

Rogue adventurer and maverick archaeologist David Hatcher Childress takes the reader on an unforgettable journeys deep into deadly jungles, windswept mountains and scorching deserts in search of lost civilizations and ancient mysteries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 375 pages
• Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press; 1st edition (October 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 093281302X
• ISBN-13: 978-0932813022
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #165,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A tour of mystery and speculation, August 3, 2001

By 

Ian Vance (pagosa springs CO.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of South America (Lost Cities Series) (Paperback)

Through the high altitude ruins of Peru and the dust-dry deserts of Chile, across the fertile range of Argentina and the carnival-infested streets of Rio, David Childress seeks the unknown, the undetermined, the secretive and the source of strange rumors; of vanished cities and twelve-foot-tall giants; and though he finds relatively little in the way of closure for the mysteries presented in _Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of South America_, one must remember it is the trip, not the destination, that buoys the author along...and for the casual reader, there is much to learn.

Despite his hyperbolic claims, Childress is definitely not an archeologist, a profession that tends to be dry, dusty, and for the most part dull-rather, he is a shoestring traveler with a yen for history and adventure. Which suits this material fine: instead of a `professional' report detailing one particular society as it lived and co-existed in its environment, Childress' breezy travelogue takes us through a dozen different societies, ancient and modern, with a fair amount of speculation that most academics wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole: the lost continents of Atlantis and Mu and how they relate to the rise of Inca civilization; supposed alien visitors; Amazon dinosaurs still on the prowl; a tunnel system spanning the American continent; a half-dozen myths of missing gold-hordes... nothing here that would impress the professor, but it certainly is an entertaining read, and the theories about South America's ancient colonies, including the Irish (!), Egyptians and Romans, are fun to ponder over.

Moreover, Childress' tone throughout places his book above the usual alternative-history exhortations, for he takes each and every story/legend with a grain of salt, even discrediting some by pointing to obvious discrepancies. By compiling these theories, he lets the reader sort through it all rather than try to hammer in a belief structure. The good-natured ease of the author's voice as he distills these legends/theories makes this tome a pleasant affair rather than tedious or obnoxious.

One thing did bother me: because of a variety of problems, including low funds, low energy, and the dangers involved in trekking through out of the way regions (snakes, mountain cats, cocaine smugglers), Childress doesn't actually visit the majority of the sites/cities he writes about. This is rather disappointing, as are the numerous typos and grammatical mistakes. One star deduction.

Recommended to those interested about South America and/or alternative history.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars More focus on alcohol, sex, and hotel prices than lost cities, May 11, 2009

By 

J. Williams "Countryboyjwill" (Louisiana, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of South America (Lost Cities Series) (Paperback)

I had several issues with this book:
1. His writing is spine-tingling horrendous. The grammatical errors, typos, etc. litter the entire page. Pick a page from the book -- I promise you'll find an error.
2. The title of this book makes me laugh hysterically, because that is hardly what the book is about. Basically, the book was this continuous cycle of hitch hiking, meeting someone, finding a hotel (and listing all hotels and prices in that area), getting plastered, and having sex. The way he writes about the lost cities is just plain... well, corny. He'll start out talking about the beer in a certain city and then "suddenly" recall this article he read about the lost city close to there. Considering he doesn't even visit a majority of these cities, I hardly believe he's truly thinking about them while hammering down drinks.
3. HE DOESN'T EVEN GO TO MOST OF THE "LOST" CITIES. This, above all problems, is absolutely unexcuseable. He talks about them, yes. Visit them? No. I would say 40% of the book is talking about various articles and arguments he has read ABOUT the cities. While this is very helpful and interesting, I picked up the book to read about treks into the jungle looking for these lost cities -- not to read what other people have said about them. About 10% of the book consists of him actually at the lost cities, which even then, it's not his own thoughts, but his interpretations of other writers'/adventurers' arguments. The other 50% of the book consists of him hitch-hiking, having sex, getting drunk, getting mugged, talking about hotels (Because I care about the price of a run down hostel in some unheard of town of South America in the 1980's), and asking ignorant nobodies about their views of the lost cities.

This book is a waste of time, I assure you. Unless you are looking for a book about some middle aged guy going broke and hitch-hiking, while talking about hotels in a horrific writing style, I would stay far from this book. If you want an excellent adventure/non-fiction that's actually looking for lost cities and writing from his own perspective, check out Exploration Fawcett.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars who's the archeologist?, February 17, 2000

By 

Plaku "plaku" (BRONX, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of South America (Lost Cities Series) (Paperback)

The book makes a great read, same as DHC's other books of the "Lost Cities" series. Very entertaining, thought provoking, and well written. One thing though: I don't get why the author keeps calling himself "a rogue archeologist": someone has to explain to him what archeologists do. DHC is no archeologist, whatever he might think; he's a traveler, a gossip gatherer, and a free spirit, but all this has little to do with archeology. I enjoyed his open-mindedness, and the relativism with which he judges most of the theories and hypotheses considered. Going through his whole opus, I can't help noticing that this writer is a really great guy, and that his travel companions and friends must have been lucky to have met him, but archeologist? Please, give me a break. And use some proofreader, for the next edition.