Customer Reviews

Myth and Prehistoric Global Navigation

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Dr. Fraenkel was my Latin and Greek teacher in the Hilversum Gymnasium in the Netherlands many years ago. He died a few years ago at the age of 97. He wrote this book when he was already in his nineties. It is interesting that this book was first published as a translation in English. I know that today there are efforts underway to have it published in Dutch, the original language in which the book was written.
This is a book for those of you who are versed in the classics and is presented as a dialogue between the person (the author?) who brings his ideas to the table and who is then questioned about his suppositions by an imaginary opponent. The premise of the book is that ancient text contains a host of references to other cultures and locations that would indicate that mariners have sailed the seas all over the world, well before the famous travels of Columbus, Cook, Vasco da Gama and Tasman, among many others. I would assume that at this point in time, this has not been proven. However, perhaps in the future, Dr. Fraenkel's ideas will be considered correct. As one who remembers him fondly, I hope so. The book is about 145 pages with about 40 pages of addenda, sources and annotations. I would be interested to know what a classical scholar would think of this book.

I got this book from a friend and just read it. If I only had books like these at school I would have enjoyed my schooldays much more. Recommended to anyone who (had to) read Homer c.s.