Ancient Micronesia & the Lost City of Nan Madol: Including Palau, Yap, Kosrae, Chuuk & the Marianas (Lost Cities of the Pacific) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by David Hatcher Childress (Author)
Key Phrases: latte stones, rongo rongo, underwater columns, Nan Madol, Ancient Micronesia, New Zealand (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Explores the astonishing array of megalithic ruins found in the South Pacific, including the Latte Stones of the Marianas, the menhirs of Paulau, the megalithic canal city on Kosrae Island, and the ever-mysterious Nan Madol on Pohnpei Island. Childress researched Nan Madol to discover that it contains over 250 million tons of basalt columns strewn, partially submerged, over an 11 square mile area of artificial islands. Strange underwater buildings of this incredible city are found at 80 feet. Local legends insist the huge volcanic rocks, weighing up to 50 tons each, were levitated into place by mysterious island ancestors.

Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Adventures Unlimited Press; illustrated edition edition (February 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0932813496
• ISBN-13: 978-0932813497
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,097,524 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fun uncritical use of serious and not so serious sources., July 17, 1998

By	Ronald Mayo "Fishguy" (Lopez Island, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Here is a writer with an unflagging lust for ancient cities who is more than willing to pick and expand pieces from any source he can find. But he is fun!! I collect pacifica and I lived there but he has found sources I've never heard of. I think he includes some factoids just to add to the references. But still its readable, current and his actually visiting the sites is worth a look from anyone interested in the subject. I'm sending it to my 88 year-old dad who lived in the area as a young man. He'll love it even as he finds fault.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Diffusionist Theory Applied to Micronesia, February 15, 2000

By	Winston Whitaker "aupress" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

It is difficult to find books that include an indepth look at diffusionist theory in Micronesia, or other Pacific Islands, for that matter. Thor Heyerdahl, Barry Fell, and others have proposed that the settlement of the Pacific started in early Egypt. Indeed, did the same people who built the Egyptian pyramids and megaliths build the incredible city of Nan Madol? Childress says that Nan Madol and other megalithic remains in the Pacific were built by the ancient Egyptians. A great theory, and Childress provides a great deal of evidence in the form of photos, maps, and well referenced "facts." Highly recommended for diffusionists and those who study the megalith builders of thousands of years ago.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rigorous or not, this book is great reading !, December 30, 2000

By	Maurizio Giuliano (Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Indeed, as other reviewers have also observed, some of the contents of this book come from uncertain sources. Some of its parts are more serious, some less so. But all in all, this book does provide a great insight into the culture and life of ancient Micronesia - and it's one of very few books that accomplish this. It is written in a vivid style, easy to read, serving also as a guidebook to some extent for those visiting the region. For armchair travellers, real travellers, scholars of Micronesia, and others, this is a book I recommend ! Just take it with some caution if you are looking for academic rigour.