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48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Definative Atlantis, December 26, 2000
This is the book that started it all, written a century ago by a man as strange and dynamic as his story. Every fantastical image of a sunken paradise, or heated dispute about it's existence and location, all started with these pages.The origin of all Atlantis-hype, this book similarly starts with the origin of the concept itself. Donnely includes a translation of Plato's story that all Atlantean research goes back too. This was the most interesting part of the book, just hearing the first account all discussion and contemplation aside. It is also the most integral part of the book, since out of it comes all of Donnely's extrapolation. The basic point of the rest of the book is to try to show that 1) Atlantis could have existed and disappeared geologically ages ago, and then furthermore 2) to explain Atlantis's affect on the rest of human history. Here, his attempts are the most interesting, and, often, the most ridiculous. Generally speaking though, he does state his case scientifically, and in most cases, rather believably. The only glaring faults are his mistranslation of the original Plato, placing Atlantis most likely in the wrong area, and how sometimes he takes some rather huge leaps to justify his points. But hey, he wrote it 100 years ago and still manages to produce an intriguing study into the Atlantean question, without the aids of more advanced technologies. Either way, it's a very interesting book, and whether you believe in Atlantis or not, I'm sure it will give you a lot to think about, which was indeed Donnely's purpose in the first place. I recommend it to any inquisitive mind.
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