Lost Cities of Atlantis, Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean (Lost Cities Series) [Paperback]

David Hatcher Childress (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 488 pages
• Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press (November 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932813259
• ISBN-13: 978-0932813251
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #187,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive overview of Ancient European sites, January 18, 2000

By 

Ranney H. Moss "A.R. Moss" (Arizona, U.S.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost Cities of Atlantis, Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean (Lost Cities Series) (Paperback)

This book actually covers more than the mediterranean area. It talks about prehistoric ruins throughout Europe and parts of the mid east. Many sites are familiar, but many more are ones the reader may not have heard of; the author has apparently visited them all. He writes with an easy readable style and includes the history, the legends and other pertinent information. Anyone going to Europe who wants to visit ancient sites should have this book, since it will tell you about ruins you may not know about. The author discusses the various theories about Atlantis with impartiality and ultimately gives his own views. But this book is much more than a treatise on Atlantis and the reader will find much food for thought. Childress also includes in the back of the book an extensive bibliography for further reading. All in all, a highly readable and well researched book.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Side of the Old World You Never Knew, May 20, 2006

By 

Zekeriyah (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lost Cities of Atlantis, Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean (Lost Cities Series) (Paperback)

Before I start this review, I have to reiterate what others have already said; Childress is not an archaeologist in any sense of the word. He's an explorer, and his works are essentially travel narratives that weave together conjecture, pseudo-science, history and paranormal phenomena. They make for entertaining, and sometimes even though-provoking narratives. But they are not legitimate archaeology in any sense of the word, and I should know since it's my Major (mind you, I'm fairly open minded and I like his books; I'm simply stating that the material in these books isn't going to help you pass any Archaeology courses you might take).

That said, his quest for lost civilizations, Atlantis in particular, make for a good read if nothing else. This book is only part of the series, but it makes for a good starting point since he covers many well-known sites here. Starting in the Mediterranean, he conjectures the idea of a globe-spanning Atlantean empire, going on to mention lost continents in Babylonian lore, the Sea People, Hittite artifacts in the Americas, secret societies in Rhodes, the Phaistos disk, Thera, the Etruscans, Carthage, ancient Maltese megaliths, Mycenean ruins, the lost city of Tartessos, the origins of the Basque and Berber peoples, the now dead Guanches of the Canary islands, Phoenician exploration of the New World and much more.

He continues roaming onward, relating stories, myth and outright speculation as he travels through continental Europe. We are treated to the obligatory mention of the Knights Templar, the Merovignians and the Holy Grail, the Priory of Zion, the Frisian Atland and the Orea Linda manuscript, Stonehenge, Arthurian legend, the Druids, winged cats, ley lines, lost continents off the coast of Lyonesse, Celtic faerie lore, vitrified forts in Scotland, Loch Ness, the Picts and stranger things still. Divided up into chapters based around countries or regions, each section includes several pages of photos, maps, illustrations and runes. Most don't really give a great deal of information, but theres so much that it at least gets you thinking, perhaps doing more research by yourself. Heck, as I've said before, you could read the chapters by themselves without needing to worry about continuity or such.

Overall, DHC's works are well worth the read. Again, I have to emphasize that he is not a trained archaeologist as far as I know, nor does he conudct research in a scientific way. But hey, it's still interesting. It is speculation after all, but at the very least it makes for a thought-provoking read. Check this and his other books out, especially if you plan on travelling to any of the regions he mentions. The books practically read like and occult or paranormal travel guide at times.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He casts wide his net, perhaps overly so, August 5, 2001

By 

Matthew W Rossi (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost Cities of Atlantis, Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean (Lost Cities Series) (Paperback)

David Hatcher Childress has written a series of these books, and in this one, he tends to conflate and expand the Atlantis myth past the bounds of any possible credibility. Now, this is fine for me...I love insane speculation...but for those looking for reasoned, conservative exploration of the Atlantis myth, you might want to look elsewhere than a book that postulates that Atlantis was or is everywhere from Ireland to Turkey. The Hittities, the Harrapans, the Egyptians, the megalithic builders of Malta and the pre-Celtic inhabitants of Europe...it's as if David figures if he claims Atlantis was everywhere and did everything, eventually he'll get it right by sheer thoroughness.

This being said, I loved the book. I was a little sad that he didn't do more with events like the possible Hittite/Mycenaean connection to the Iliad and how that might have played out in the post Santorini Bronze Age Aegean, but that's a mere quibble. Just for postulating that the ancient Celts used a gold disc to fire a laser beam into a barrow, Childress earns my loyal readership. An excellent collection of fancies that may hold more truth than they appear to.