Customer Reviews

Civilization One: The World Is Not as You Thought It Was

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This fascinating book of alternative history examines the evidence of weights and measures and comes to the conclusion that there must have been an advanced culture in prehistory. The structures of the Stone Age were built by using a very precise unit of measurement, called the megalithic yard. The book explores the science behind prehistoric units, their mathematical origin and means of reproduction, and proves that these are linked to the dimensions of the solar system.

The reader must have a basic knowledge of arithmetic but overall the book is an easy read and very revealing. Amongst the topics discussed are writing, Egypt, Sumeria, the Minoan foot, solar and sidereal days, pendulums and the importance of the planet Venus. It turns out that the British Pound and Pint are both derived from ancient measurements. The units of the hour, minute and second were developed more than 4000 years ago, from the movements of the moon.

The text also encompasses subjects like the harmony of the spheres, Sumerian degrees and the calendar, and explains that the metric system is not a recent invention. There is a section on Thomas Jefferson and his achievements; this great man apparently realized that he was rediscovering parts of a very ancient system.

Amongst the most captivating sections is the chapter on music and light. There is a definite correspondence between the rotating mass of our planet and human music. Also, megalithic mathematics produces its own musical structure. The authors conclude that there must have been an advanced people who instructed the rest of the world in science and technology. They also refer to the Masonic concept of the Great Architect of the Universe.

There are seven appendices that include further information on earth days and the megalithic year, megalithic music, the Phaistos Disc, the amazing barley seed, and the connection between megalithic principles and Freemasonry. The colour plates include approximately 20 full colour photographs and there are many black and white illustrations throughout the text. The book concludes with an index.

I also recommend Lost Civilisations Of The Stone Age by Richard Rudgley, Stone Age Soundtracks by Paul Devereux, and Forbidden Archaeology by Michael Cremo and Richard Thompson.

I have made the journey from the Hiram Key, through the Book of Hiram and now Civilization One. They are all interconnected but not in the way that I had thought them to be. If I had to choose only one to remember, it would be C.O. because it provides some solution as to how we begin our quest for true knowledge of who we are and the origin of our culture. It provides a unifying theory of our civil developement but does not yet reveal the origins of our culture. I am fully expecting more to come from the authors and suspect I will not be disappointed. The book is all 'stuff' and no 'fluff' and is presented in such a way that anyone with basic math skills can follow it adequately to understand the conclusions. It is an easy read but still left me with an urge for more info. Although the music is nice and interesting, I would have been satisfied just knowing about it, since hearing it does nothing to confirm or deny the other data presented. Congratulations to both authors, and I wish them courage to withstand the abuse that will no doubt come from the main body of scientific research. And Chris, I agree with your summation in Appendix 7.
Harvey L. Gaspar MD
hlgaspar@cox.net Tulsa Oklahoma, USA

I've just read this book twice. There are no words that can convey the stupefaction, amazement and wonderment that this book caused in me. I'll try to, however, but the truth is far beyond. Fantastically brilliant! What Alan Butler and Christopher Knight have done is a powerful achievement. It is by far the best book I have ever read and I would be surprised if there ever is one that will surpass it. I am quite convinced there won't be any, because what they did is incredible enough.
The demonstration is brilliant and touches the sublime. Even better than Butler's own "The Bronze Age Computer Disc," published 5 years ago.
Easy to read, easy verifiable calculations, the origin of geometry imposes itself as an evidence which is doubly startling: first, everything is integrated within a system which, incredibly, is thousands of years old; second, the book unambiguously shows that the very laws of our part of the universe are very hard to explain without a "Great Architect" ... unless anyone has a better explanation?? The two authors just show the existence of some "Great Underlying Principle." Both of these facts are breathtaking.
For the numbers 366, 10 and 40 are just omnipresent in calendars, time, planet dimensions, units of length and weights!
The subtitle of the book is not exaggerated -- this book shows that the world is not as you thought it was, and it might change your life forever!

Sylvain Tristan, author of 'Les Lignes d'or' (Paris, Alphee 2005)

have read lots of book in this genre... hat's off to these guys... a masterwork that gives one pause to reconsider our place in history and how humankind perpetually thinks we are smarter than our ancestors... strong evidence for advanced and integrated thinkers long long ago... inspiring to say the least.

I love this book and many others that Christopher Knight has written. The ideas put forth by him add a few more pieces to the puzzle of ancient history and science. It's too bad that someone expecting the book to be about something else was compelled to rate it so badly. Not to mention someone else rating it so badly due to the fact that something else is written in the old testament. Don't just read this book hoping to find an argument; read it to gain another viewpoint and some knowledge.

This book is a real world-changer. It is exciting to read and the facts are beyond dispute. I am on my third reading right now and I would recommend this book to everyone. Some of the reviews on this site must be from people who have not read the book - such as someone who rambles on about Knight and Butler having invented some connection between ancient peoples. This is not what the book is about at all! They stick to testable facts that I for one have checked out.
I'm still getting over the impact this book has had on me -read it and make up your own mind.

I'm only three-quarters through this book but it is fantastic - and its all good science. Despite what one very ill-informed reviewer said, Venus is the perfect solution for the Megalithic Yard reproduction because it is a disc! Watching trailing edge to trailing edge works beautifully as a timing mechanism.
These guys have just fitted the biggest jigsaw together and the picture it produces is simply breath-taking.

I have to admit I have never read a book that covered the subject of measurements used by early civilizations that come to such incredible conclussions. If the authors are right, prehistoric people knew much more about astronomy than we give them credit for. These guys definately think outside the box.

Originally, the two authors set out to check the work of the pioneering archeoastronomist Alexander Thom (1894-1985), who found out about some stone age measurements precisely used for megalithic structures such as Stonehenge ("Megalithic Sites in Britain", Megalithic Remains in Britain and Brittany and some undisclosed third book). They had no idea, what sort of scientific rollercoaster they would get into - and the potential career killer publication of their findings.

This new book neatly shows how the neolithic, so called pre-historic ancients MUST have been able to know the measurements of the Earth, precise astronomical data and other breathtaking science. Inventing a most logical and elegant calender, which makes the current globalized one look hotchpotch by comparison. In fact, the ancient culture of knowledge seems to have been global just the same. With universal measurement units being able to get reproduced from scratch, no matter the location in Earthly time and geographics.

Christopher Knight and Alan Butler found out that the further they went back in (pre-)history, the more complex the knowledge must have been. Because virtually all measurements - historic and modern -, such as length, volume and time are derived one way or the other from these ancient ancients, even though later ancients and "modern" humans obviously lost part of the picture.

The "unorthodox" scientists find evidence of links of ancient measurements even to sound (music) and perception of colors. Closing with fascinating questionmarks on the same system of measurement applyable to the Sun, Moon and Earth, but no other planet in our solar system. This is the concluding chapter and the authors cannot explain that last part and cannot help, but speculate, rather helplessly. Very comprehensibly so.

To make it clear, especially in light of the ever more extraordinary spiral of revelations throughout this book, the authors are trustworthy scientists who are not interested in cash-in sensationalism for the Atlantis philes and the similar garden variety of yellow press authors. Actually, they are rather orthodox minded in principle, e.g. blinding the so called Egyptian Book of the Dead as funerary (instead of a mystical initiation procedure); blinding the Sphinx as only 5,000 years old (which has to be much older because of water erosion not being possible within that time frame); as a consequence coming to the conclusion that ancient "Britains" influenced ancient Egypt (instead of the other way around, as Britain once was a mining and other "colony" of ancient Egypt); and obviously not getting the idea to check the pre-Columbian Americas for measurement consistencies with ancient global culture (other than musical patterns, which is something a bit different). For all of that I subtract half a star, actually.

Remember that Stephen Hawkins once had been ridiculed in the 1960s, when he published a book about Stonehenge being a precise astronomical tool. Today, that's common knowledge.

Also interesting are the French and US revolutions around the end of the 18th century paving the way for introducing "new" measurement systems... which in fact aren't really new to begin with and are unknowingly derived from the megalithic system anyway. Which makes that period of modern time even more important. (For the invention of the global construct of nationalism from the very same revolutions read the classic Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, New Edition.)

The very last pages, the appendix 7, avers the knowledge of this book as possibly representing the lost original secrets of Freemasonry. Not being general topic of this book, previous books by one of the authors include this search within Freemasonry: The Hiram Key: Pharaohs, Freemasonry, and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus and "The Book of Hiram: Freemasonry, Venus, and the Secret Key to the Life of Jesus". "Civilization One" indirectly represents the last one in an involuntary trilogy. (If you are interested in the Egyptian roots of Freemasonry read AFRICAN ORIGINS OF FREEMASONRY: Treatise of the Ancient Grand Lodge of Khamet.)

Written in 2004, there's a website, based on the title, provided with FAQ and updates, which is a very good service - if my library computer could open that page...

If you are interested in a similar book, only about very ancient cartography, I advise the classic Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings: Evidence of Advanced Civilization in the Ice Age. If you are interested in the cyclical nature of history, read Lost Star of Myth And Time (though I have just started reading that and so far this one seems to jump into theory rather than facts). If you are less concerned with derailing into wild speculation as long as some base knowledge gets provided, Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients may harbor some hints to follow up on ancient sophistication. The very conclusion (ONLY) of "Civilization One" raises the brief question wether there is a divine plan, considering "coincidences of measurements". In the same vain you will find a belief in Maat the 11 laws of God. A more pure science and more convincing approach (than both) of a physicist coming to terms with divinity via quantum physics and the relativity theory you will find in the very recommendable From Science to God: A Physicist's Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness. After reading the beforementioned concluding chapter I have to chuckle at the thought of actually reading Who Built the Moon?, just for the fun of it, I presume, though it IS by Christopher Knight...

This was an excellent book for those of us who believe that ancient human history is something more than what is written in state controlled text books. Most people who give books like this low ratings are too simple minded or have not done any additional research into the subject presented. The facts are everywhere for anyone interested in checking them out and making an informed decision about the idea that humans have a far broader history than main stream pseudo-archeologists will admit. This book is well written and adds much needed insight into this entire debate.