The Atlantis Blueprint: Unlocking the Ancient Mysteries of a Long-Lost Civilization (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Rand Flem-Ath (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this pseudoscientific account, Flem-Ath, a Canadian librarian, and Wilson (Alien Dawn: An Investigation into the Contact Experience; etc.), bestselling author and New Age-y jack-of-all-trades, propose a single, geo-historical theory that links the Egyptian, Chinese and South American pyramids and other sacred sites. According to this argument, these civilizations received templates from Atlantis that contained crucial geodesic, geological and geometric information. Furthermore, Atlantean mariners, based in Antarctica, sailed the globe over 100,000 years ago and established more than 60 sacred sites around the world, such as Byblos and Jericho, to preserve the sophisticated wisdom of their culture. They erected these sites, say the authors, before geological disasters wiped out their civilization. Flem-Ath and Wilson take us on a hectic roller-coaster ride through pseudoscientific history, complete with the requisite numerology and mythology. The authors stand proudly on the shoulders of their forefathers, Charles Hapgood featured prominently among them. Before his death in 1982, Hapgood had amassed "irrefutable" proof of civilizations far more ancient than accepted archeology allows for. Flem-Ath and Wilson seem to leave no cultural, geological or paleontological stone unturned in their quest for detailed evidence, touching on everything from the origins of Freemasonry and the Ark of the Covenant, to ancient Japanese pottery in America and angels in the Book of Enoch. Frequently, they claim the interest or support of various famous people, many of whom suffered untimely deaths. Albert Einstein and John F. Kennedy, for instance, died before fully embracing earlier theories about Atlantis. For followers of mystical science, fantasy readers and conspiracy theorists, Flem-Ath and Wilson's enthusiasm and conviction will be a welcoming island in a sea of skepticism.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Veteran chronicler of history's mysteries Wilson and his cowriter Flem-Ath have come up with a new theory on Atlantis, or at least an expanded version of an old one. An intelligent society (but probably not from outer space), commonly known as Atlanteans, lived in snow-free Antarctica and left a connection of sacred sites that spans the globe. Whether the authors' theory could possibly be true is hard to divine because their evidence is so convoluted, so filled with measurements and math, geometry and geography, that it would take an Atlantean to work it all out. It doesn't help that the authors feel compelled to throw into their discourse everything but the kitchen sink: the Knights Templars, pyramids, even the Shroud of Turin make an appearance. Still, these sorts of books always generate hype and never fail to attract a solid audience. Pair it with James and Thorpe's Ancient Mysteries (1999), which debunks just this kind of treatment. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (March 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385334796
• ISBN-13: 978-0385334792
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #993,918 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating hypothesis, compelling reading!, May 17, 2002

By	RaabH "Rob" (USA) - See all my reviews

Put briefly, the premise of this book is that an advanced civilization existed in distant prehistory, sometime around 10,000 - 12,000 B.C. Its cultural center was located on what is now the continent of Antarctica and was wiped out due to a global cataclysm: a shift in the earth's pole, from a former North Pole in the Hudson Bay in Canada to the current North Pole location in the Arctic. This pole shift brought tremendous upheaval and resulted in sheets of ice covering Antarctica. These ice sheets prevent today's researchers and explorers from uncovering the strongest evidence of its existence.

The inhabitants of this civilization were technically advanced, particularly in the area of geology and possibly in other areas as well, including acoustics. In terms of geology they were able to figure out that even earlier pole shifts had occurred and, the authors surmise, were able to predict that there was another one coming that was going to wipe out most of what they had come to build. They had two goals: to create as permanent a memorial as possible to their existence and to pass along their knowledge to subsequent cultures. This memorial would encode a message to a future, advanced civilization that it, too, should be aware of the existence of pole shifts.

Wilson and Flem-Ath postulate that this ancient civilization accomplished its first goal -- memorializing their civilization -- by creating a huge network of "markers" at meaningful locations around the globe. Giza was chosen as the prime meridian, partly due to its being the geological "center of mass" of the continental array of the time. The global survey resulted in markers being placed all of the globe, at regular intervals of degrees of latitude and with orientations that pointed to the pre-shift pole location and/or to the post-shift location. Through this means they knew that a future advanced civilization -- one that also had knowledge of the earth's dimensions and poles -- would be able to interpret their message. The Great Pyramid of Giza, as the monument located at the center of world mass and on the then-prime meridian, provided the most carefully coded clues based on its dimensions and design.

As the people of this culture came into contact with the other, less advanced cultures of the time, they made a powerful impression. They were often considered to be gods or angels. As a result, their influence is expressed in a miriad of ways: as Mayan gods, angels in the Book of Enoch, Egyptian gods, etc. In addition, the sites they marked in their survey came to be considered sacred sites. This resulted in sacred temples, shrines, and buildings being erected.

"The Atlantis Blueprint" presents a remarkable overview of how sacred sites all over the world -- from Stonehenge to Easter Island -- fit into the scheme created by the lost civilization. It even shows how it has become possible to actually predict where an ancient site *should* be located, based on the blueprint, and how certain sites came to be discovered based on it. (This latter point was to me the most compelling part of the authors' presentation, since the truest test of any theory is its ability to not only explain past phenomena, but to *predict* future phenomena. Wilson and Flem-Ath's concept of the site markers provides a straightforward way to test their ideas -- if their techniques can be applied to areas of the globe where historical sacred sites have not yet been uncovered, and this results in the discovery of sites at those locations, then it adds tremendous weight to their ideas. And, indeed, this is just what happens.)

The book is entertaining and engrossing. It also provides an excellent starting point for exploring various other theories about the possible existence of this civilization, including the books by Charles Hapgood, Andrew Collins, Graham Hancock, and Robert Bauval. In some instances, Flem-Ath and Wilson provide elegant summaries of these authors' theories. (Based on this book I myself have now decided to read books by Hancock and Bauval as well as more about the Book of Enoch, the Templars, and the Mayans.)

Some points I would like to make in addition:

The book does not propose that Antarctica itself took a "voyage", or that any islands sank into the sea, but rather that the longitude of Antarctica shifted and thereby radically altered its climate.

In addition, Wilson and Flem-Ath do *not* claim that the advanced civilization actually built all of the sacred monument that exist at these important latitude locations. Instead they believe that the local inhabitants were responsible for the monuments, viewing the locations as sacred due to the fact that the revered "gods" had placed markers on them.

Also, you will notice that I have avoided using the term "Atlantis" to refer to this ancient civilization, since I think many readers may find the Atlantis association too "New Age" for comfort. Perhaps these people did refer to their home city as Atlantis, or maybe it was Plato who is more responsible for the name, but whatever the case, for me it is the possible existence of this civilization that is most important.

Finally, some readers might find it more helpful to read the Appendices *first*, then the main portion of the book. The Appendices provide some nice summaries of Wilson and Flem-Ath's theories that I probably would have liked having under my belt before I began the book.

Highly recommended to those with open minds and inquisitive natures.

45 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Challenge to Conventional Thought, March 26, 2001

By	Jonathan Dolhenty, Ph.D. (Port Orford, OR USA) - See all my reviews

I think there are at least three points that readers need to keep in mind as they approach a reading of "The Atlantis Blueprint." The first point is the distinction between ordinary or "mere" speculation, a leisurely activity we all engage in during our daily lives and which is seldom critically examined, and serious or "scientific" speculation, a formal activity involving critical examination related to an important topic and based on objective evidence. The second point is the distinction to be made between a singular "piece" of evidence, which can always be seriously challenged, and a related "web" of evidence, which is more difficult to challenge and will always raise the level of probability or certitude. The third point to keep in mind is that many hypotheses and theories proposed in the past have been rejected and considered untrue or impossible, only to be accepted later as conventional doctrine. In other words, science marches on, as do historical research, philosophical analysis, and other serious disciplines.

In "The Atlantis Blueprint," Colin Wilson and Rand Flem-Ath confront and attempt to solve one of the most fascinating mysteries of world history: was there an ancient civilization, an advanced technological culture, a precursor to the early societies about which we have written knowledge, and which was subsequently destroyed by some catastrophic earthly event? Furthermore, if such a civilization did exist, where was it located then and where are its vestiges now? For many, this ancient civilization was Atlantis, first described over two millennia ago by the philosopher Plato in two of his dialogues. Considered merely a legend by most contemporary scientists and historians, the existence of Atlantis or some similar advanced precursor civilization has rarely been the subject of serious scholarship. Wilson and Flem-Ath may have changed that by offering a critical work which presents a serious challenge to conventional thinking and raises numerous issues which deserve a response from the scientific and historical communities.

This book is certainly not a matter of "mere" speculation; it is a critical examination of the objective facts currently available and is, therefore, serious scientific speculation. Also, the book presents a "web" of related evidence, not merely singular and disjoined "pieces" of evidence which can easily be cast aside and ignored. What is presented is a mosaic of evidence, both emperic and rational, blended and unified to support their main thesis that an advanced technological culture may have existed in ancient times and that it may have been located on the continent of Antarctica. A wild theory based on an old legend presented by an ancient Greek philosopher? Consider, for a moment, the city of Troy. Conventional wisdom had maintained for centuries that Troy, discussed in Homer's great work the "Iliad," was a figment of Greek legend and few scholars took its possible existence as a serious matter. And, then, along comes a German archaelogist named Schliemann, who in 1870 defies conventional wisdom and excavates the city of Troy.

For many years, I have been bothered by the fact that Western history generally begins with the Sumerians. Here we are presented with a highly-evolved ancient civilization, yet we seem to have no idea what led to its specific development, that is, there seems to be no "evolving" culture prior to Sumer which explains its own being. It's almost as if Sumer just "popped" into existence with its culture intact and completed. This is very difficult to accept. The idea of a precursor civilization such as that proposed by Wilson and Flem-Ath, whether or not one wishes to call it Atlantis, seems to be required.

The questions with which "The Atlantis Blueprint" wrestles are many and intriguing. Did a maritime society such as Atlantis really exist and was able to sail around the globe influencing and, possibly, dominating other societies? Is Atlantis the civilization that provided the technological know-how for building the pyramids in Egypt, Machu Picchu in the Americas, Stonehedge in England, the statues of Easter Island, and other important monuments all over the world? And how does one explain the similarities which exist among many of the languages in various regions of the world, regions which conventional wisdom has maintained never had any contact with one another? And what about the ancient maps which have been discovered, maps which show features the ancients are not supposed to have known about? Furthermore, how does one explain the so-called "sacred sites" which we know exist around the world and which appear to have so much in common? These questions and many others are tackled by the authors.

It is true at this time that the existence of an ancient sophisticated precursor civilization, whether or not it is called Atlantis, has not been proven conclusively. It is true that if such a society did exist in the past, we do not conclusively know its location then or now. But an important step forward in this fascinating investigation of our cultural ancestry has been taken by Colin Wilson and Rand Flem-Ath. "The Atlantis Blueprint" needs to be taken as a serious work of critically-examined speculation, a presentation of a well-researched web of evidence, and an exciting challenge to the conventional wisdom of our time. Whether one considers the existence of Atlantis and its location on Antarctica an initial hypothesis or a persuasive theory, an ancient legend or a literary myth, a mere possibility or a strong probability, we cannot dismiss the importance of the investigation. The authors have performed an invaluable service and, in my opinion, this book is worthy of a place in everyone's personal library.

Jonathan Dolhenty, Ph.D. Executive Director The Radical Academy (radicalacademy.com)

24 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From: Kirkus (1 January 2001), March 8, 2001

By A Customer

"An exhaustively detailed argument that the legendary lost city was located just north of what is today Antarctica and that its highly evolved citizens traveled the world building and mapping sacred sites from Egypt to Mexico. Drawing extensively on history, science, and old maps, as well as offering their own speculative theories about the disappearance of Atlantis, the authors offer not only a new location for the city but also assert that civilization is much older than currently thought. Plato mentioned Atlantis in his writings, they argue, and the notion of a civilization that suffered catastrophic destruction is found in many early writings, from the Bible to Sumerian tablets. Atlantis, thought to exist either in the western Mediterranean or in the Atlantic, was assumed to be a victim of either a comet or the events surrounding the Biblical flood. Flem-Ath theorizes here that the North Pole was once situated in the Hudson Bay, that the Antarctic climate was temperate, and that Atlantis flourished there until catastrophic movements occurred in the Earth's crust around 9600 B.C. Observing the movements of the stars and planets, the Atlanteans had predicted and prepared for the upheaval and were able to flee, carrying their advanced knowledge to places as far flung as Egypt, Central America, and the Indus valley. To preserve their lore, they built monuments that became the sites of such sacred places as Machu Picchu, the pyramids, and Stonehenge. Mathematical calculations, detours into the founding of the Freemasons and the Knight Templar, who hid their secrets in a small French village where Jesus may have fled with Mary Magdalene after surviving the crucifixion, all make for a dizzying but stimulating theoretical extravaganza. The authors are most persuasive when demonstrating that intelligent society dates back further than is usually accepted."