Lost Cities of Atlantis Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean (Lost Cities Series)

by David Hatcher Childress

Release Date: November, 1995

Edition: Paperback

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Mysterious World Recommended Book

One of Childress' popular "Lost Cities" series, Lost Cities of Atlantis Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean covers the region in and around the Mediterranean Sea, with a special emphasis on cities and mysteries submerged beneath the waters of this vast inland sea. Calling himself a "maverick archaeologist", Childress is more of a researcher, historian, travel writer, and general raconteur rather than a a true academic archaeologist, making general observations based upon library research, study of local myths, legends, and personal anecdotes, as well as actual experiences visiting these sites. Childress is part of a growing trend in historical and archaeological studies towards the rise of independent researchers. These independents are men and women who have developed a distrust for "mainstream" academic archaeology, due to the fact that there is increasing evidence that the academic community is dismissing, ignoring, or even suppressing archaeological evidence that does not fit in with their preset theories. As a result, these independents have dismissed academe as largely irrelevant, and have gone out on their own to examine the evidence for themselves, usually at their own time and expense. It was this kind of passionate search for the truth about history and our origins that motivated similar men of the 19th century to develop the science of archaeology, a passion that motivated people of the 20th century like Childress, unsatisfied by the condescending, pat answers of academics, to take matters into their own hands. Now, in the 21st century, a growing chorus of discontentment with the academic archaeological establishment continues to erode their viselike grip on the truth of our origins, and the independents stand poised to wrest the sword of truth from the hands of those who seem only to be concerned about personal power, privilege, and social status. Lost Cities of Atlantis, Ancient Europe & the Mediterranean is a fascinating read, and a good addition to the Lost Cities series. It should make a great traveling companion for anyone traveling in the Mediterranean region, as well as a great read for the armchair archaeologist, or just someone who enjoys ancient history and mysteries.

Doug Elwell, Publisher
Mysterious World
http://www.mysteriousworld.com

A Source of Disappointment

Despite the careless editing of the previous entry in the "Lost Cities" series (Lost Cities of North & Central America), that book was interesting enough for me want to continue on with the series and buy this latest volume covering the search for Atlantis.

Well...the editing is back up to where it should be, but I find this book to be a bit of a letdown. Having read the entire series, I was already familiar with the rehash of information, and I wish that there was more narrative on the author's actual travel experiences. It also seems that the open-mindedness tinged with healthy skepticism in the earlier books has become less consistent. While David Hatcher Childress still professes to be unsure about some aspects of his research, he clearly has developed a set of beliefs out of the mishmash of theories, philosophies and spiritual concepts that he has studied over the last several years.

On a personal level, the most disappointing aspect is the author's own little holy war: blaming the Vatican as the cause of the Dark Ages and other assorted evils. His tolerance and acceptance of other religions becomes marred by more and more Roman Catholic-bashing as the series progresses. There is no question that the Vatican, like ANY OTHER POWERFUL INSTITUTION RUN BY HUMAN BEINGS, has been responsible for evil and destructive acts over the centuries. However, repeatedly describing the Catholic Church, ad nauseam, solely as an evil entity bent on squashing all the free-thinkers of the world seems like a nyah-nyah mentality better suited to a one-dimensional mind. Then again, as Childress himself has pointed out in earlier volumes, it's sadly easy to dwell on past transgressions and have someone or something to feel superior to...