Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

One of Childress' popular "Lost Cities" series, Lost Cities of Atlantis Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean covers the region in and around the Mediterranean Sea, with a special emphasis on cities and mysteries submerged beneath the waters of this vast inland sea. Calling himself a "maverick archaeologist", Childress is more of a researcher, historian, travel writer, and general raconteur rather than a a true academic archaeologist, making general observations based upon library research, study of local myths, legends, and personal anecdotes, as well as actual experiences visiting these sites. Childress is part of a growing trend in historical and archaeological studies towards the rise of independent researchers. These independents are men and women who have developed a distrust for "mainstream" academic archaeology, due to the fact that there is increasing evidence that the academic community is dismissing, ignoring, or even suppressing archaeological evidence that does not fit in with their preset theories. As a result, these independents have dismissed academe as largely irrelevant, and have gone out on their own to examine the evidence for themselves, usually at their own time and expense. It was this kind of passionate search for the truth about history and our origins that motivated similar men of the 19th century to develop the science of archaeology, a passion that motivated people of the 20th century like Childress, unsatisfied by the condescending, pat answers of academics, to take matters into their own hands. Now, in the 21st century, a growing chorus of discontentment with the academic archaeological establishment continues to erode their viselike grip on the truth of our origins, and the independents stand poised to wrest the sword of truth from the hands of those who seem only to be concerned about personal power, privilege, and social status. Lost Cities of Atlantis, Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean is a fascinating read, and a good addition to the Lost Cities series. It should make a great traveling companion for anyone traveling in the Mediterranean region, as well as a great read for the armchair archaeologist, or just someone who enjoys ancient history and mysteries.

Doug Elwell, Publisher
Mysterious World
http://www.mysteriousworld.com

Despite the careless editing of the previous entry in the "Lost Cities" series (Lost Cities of North & Central America), that book was interesting enough for me want to continue on with the series and buy this latest volume covering the search for Atlantis.

Well...the editing is back up to where it should be, but I find this book to be a bit of a letdown. Having read the entire series, I was already familiar with the rehash of information, and I wish that there was more narrative on the author's actual travel experiences. It also seems that the open-mindedness tinged with healthy skepticism in the earlier books has become less consistent. While David Hatcher Childress still professes to be unsure about some aspects of his research, he clearly has developed a set of beliefs out of the mishmash of theories, philosophies and spiritual concepts that he has studied over the last several years.

On a personal level, the most disappointing aspect is the author's own little holy war: blaming the Vatican as the cause of the Dark Ages and other assorted evils. His tolerance and acceptance of other religions becomes marred by more and more Roman Catholic-bashing as the series progresses. There is no question that the Vatican, like ANY OTHER POWERFUL INSTITUTION RUN BY HUMAN BEINGS, has been responsible for evil and destructive acts over the centuries. However, repeatedly describing the Catholic Church, ad nauseam, solely as an evil entity bent on squashing all the free-thinkers of the world seems like a nyah-nyah mentality better suited to a one-dimensional mind. Then again, as Childress himself has pointed out in earlier volumes, it's sadly easy to dwell on past transgressions and have someone or something to feel superior to...

From Turkey to islands in the Atlantic Childress takes the reader on a
search of sunken cities and the ancient techologies and cataclysms
that marked and struck Atlantis. However, recent evidence demonstrates
that the "island-continent" could not have been contained
within the Mediterranean or even in the nearby Atlantic.

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.

The Lost Cities series by David Hatcher Childress has proven for me to be probably the most entertaining, thoroughly informative, and thought provoking series of books I have ever read and have also served as an invaluable road map for my own travels around the world in search of ancient mysteries. I have traveled, so far, to several locations in Egypt, Malta, Europe, Asia, Central and South America and each time I have used his books to plan my route and have taken whichever one I needed for the journey as a guide. I bought the whole series long ago and they are generally beat to hell if not falling apart at this point and I wouldn't have them any other way. Reading this series made me make up my mind that I could never be satisfied being a spectator of the debate, but the only way to truly know these mysteries was to be a participant and see them for myself. At the very least this series should inspire you to get out there, live your life as a traveler and not a tourist and go see these places for yourself. Save the money, do it cheap, whatever you have to do, but don't let the opportunity to actually go there pass you by in this life.

Equal parts detective story, travel guide, diary, history book, and compendium of esoteric knowledge; what makes these books so unique, among other things, is that Childress takes the reader with him through every step of the journey -cold beers, missed trains, broken legs, chance encounters, stolen wallets, one night stands in far away places, wishing you could stay but knowing you can't. All the while on the trail of an ever growing mystery with every answer leaving only more questions spurring you on to the next stop wondering what will happen next. One thing I always respected about Childress in these books, which some may not get the point, is that while at times he does present off-beat esoteric ideas about lost civilizations, it is done so not to promote any particular idea, but rather to give a greater context of the history of the literature of the last few hundred years concerning lost civilizations in the hope that something worthwhile might be gleaned from even the most outlandish or dated of source. To him it is a journey and to his credit does little to leave any stone unturned. But also unique to Childress compared with other writers of the genre is that other than the obvious general idea that there is much more to the story of history than we know, he rarely takes a definitive stance on any pet theory, but rather presents the information with more of a sense of wonder and openness and is really not trying to sell the reader on anything either way other than the necessity to keep an open mind. All just interesting to know and he leaves the reader to think of it what they will which is refreshing.

All and all very interesting and entertaining and I highly recommend getting the whole series. The Lost Cities series are true classics of the genre and should be a front and center addition to any alternative researchers library and as a whole are an unparalleled source of of information about many megalithic sites and discoveries you will be hard pressed to find anywhere else. Hopefully they will inspire you as they did me.

Anyone hoping to research Atlantis will be faced with a vast amount of books, all ranging from oddball theories to outright rejection of any possibility of Atlantis. Childress surveys a wide swath of those books and the ancient sites that may or may not be related or in some way impacted by any Atlantis existence. Childress generally stays away from the oddball theories, but doesn't hesitate to throw out there some talk of ET or ancient, advanced technologies. Sure, maybe they had some things we don't know about, but atomic weapons? There is much ground covered in the book, including some interesting theories on the Mediterranean once being mostly dry. A true lost world. The vitrified ruins in various areas is also interesting, but perhaps natural cause like impact events may be the logical answer. He ends in the British Isles, which deserve a book all their own (see The Holy Kingdom: The Quest for the Real King Arthur for more on this region).

Sometimes one wishes Childress would be more critical when he says things like (paraphrasing) "Atlantis is as good a reason as any for crop circles" or "Jesus and Mary took a boat trip to England after he died." The whole alternative Jesus fad has come back in recent years, but most serious students discovered how silly it is (see The Historical Jesus: Ancient Evidence for the Life of Christ and The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ). Though the idea of Jesus visiting Britain during his "missing" years prior to his ministry is interesting (see Did Jesus Come to Britain?). But over all, one has to give him credit for compiling this series and bringing together so much work. Some ideas, like pre-Columbus diffusion to America are becoming more mainstream and catastrophes caused by impact events have become accepted. I wonder how many scholars and academics read these books secretly, wishing they could talk and research them freely without condemnation? You'd be surprised what a joke "academic freedom" really can be. This series is a good place for those interested in the ancient world to start. Just keep your thinking cap on. This particular one is sort of a companion to Lost Cities of Ancient Lemuria and the Pacific (The Lost City Series). Lemuria, Atlantis' counterpart in the Pacific, is understudied, yet has as much, if not more, potential than the Atlantis idea. See also The Destruction of Atlantis: Compelling Evidence of the Sudden Fall of the Legendary Civilization.

Great adventure. I envy the fun you apparently have while doing some very good research. Don't they call that self-actualization. Congratulations! I'm reading this for the second or third or fourth time. I'd like mo betta pictures if possible, but the information is compellingly accurate and thought-provoking. Keep traveling and writing.