Saturday, December 17, 2011

Lost Civilizations & Secrets of the Past


Edited by Michael Pye and Kirsten Dalley

This book of essays by such luminaries as Erich von Däniken, Micah Hanks, William Bramley, Nick Redfern, and others is a splendid read.

The essays include:

Archeological Scandals by Frank Joseph

The Cosmology of the Afterlife: Hamlet’s Mill, the Star-Strewn Path, and the End of Days by Adrian G. Gilbert

Atlantis: The Lost Walhalla by Philip Coppens

Oppenheimer’s Iron Thunderbolt: Evidence of Ancient Nuclear Weapons by Micah A. Hanks

From the Pyramids to the Pentagon: The U.S. Government and Ancient Mysteries by Nick Redfern

The AB Intervention Hypothesis: The Truth Behind the Myths by Paul Von Ward

The Time Machines by Erich von Däniken

And eight others.

I like to think I’m well-read and surfeited with information that is esoteric, but right off the bat, Frank Joseph’s Archeological Scandals showed me just how much I do not know about such interesting topics as the Kensington Rune Stone or the Bat Creek Stone and how the Smithsonian and establishment archeologists dismissed those artifacts for reasons that had nothing to do with science or truth-searching.

The iconic John Wesley Powell is uncovered as a bigoted fraud; Ivan Sanderson is lauded.

Mr. Joseph doesn’t spew vile accusations; he substantiates his views with details and facts that have been hidden from public view.

The Chapter is an eye-opener, indeed. [Page 7 ff.]

Philip Coppens provides a wealth of information about the Megalithic Civilization (Vikings, Celts, et al.) influenced and were influenced by Egypt and the fabled Atlantis in his Atlantis: The Lost Walhalla. {Page 75 ff.]

Mr. Coppens doesn’t just trot out the clichéd Atantis myths but, rather, provides material that links some Norse tales and activities (viz: Stonehenge) using the research and hypotheses of Belgium historian Marcel Mestdagh and English writer John Michell.

Oberon Zell allows that Atlantis was part of Paradises Lost, which included Lemuia, and the Garden of Eden. [Page 31 ff.]

Following the Atlantis theme, Pat Chouinard presents his account, Clash of Giants: The Untold Story of the Lost Atlantean Race[Page 163 ff.]

Paul Von Ward takes readers into the Ancient Astronaut world with his Chapter on The AB [Advanced Being] Intervention Hypothesis: The Truth Behind the Myths [Page 181 ff.]

PVW doesn’t offer the usual schlock about extraterrestrial intervention of humanity and human evolution. He uses ancient texts, DNA remnants and the fossil record to support his view that Earth was colonized by advanced beings [ABs].

Nick Redfern, as usual, uses his research into government archives and secrets to tell readers that governments are intensely interested in the arcanity that this book deals with.

Mr. Redfern’s From the Pyramids to the Pentagon…[Page 131 ff.] elaborates, by citation and fact, on government intrusions into the world of Fortean mysteries and the lives of those who study such things.

It’s a chilling resumé, and one that buffs of the topics in the book would do well to heed.

William Bramley covers UFO Cults [Page 211 ff.] and Thomas A. Brophy lays out A Symbolic Landscape: The Mystery of Nabta Playa and our Ancient Past [219 ff.], both essays offering unique appraisals of topics covered not so well by others.

I’ve merely touched on the many gems and goodies in this book.

I’m not a devotee of many of the topics but I did find them intriguing, and interesting, to say the least.

The writers are superb, intelligent and cautious with their hypotheses and thoughts.

You won’t find the hysteria that the topics are immersed in elsewhere.

The paperback sells for $15.99, has 254 pages of fascinating thinking, and much information that you didn’t know.

It’s a New Page Book, which is a Division of The Career Press, Inc., Pompton Plains NJ.

You can read more about it and find other books of like character at:

http://www.careerpress.com

http://www.newpagebooks.com

And the book can be purchased online at Amazon.com, Powell’s, Anomalist.com, and Barnes and Noble of course, as well as at offline bookstores.

RR