Product Description

In 1982, the American scholar Charles Hapgood made an astonishing claim to a young librarian, Rand Flem-Ath - that civilization was almost 100,000 years old and he had the evidence to prove it. Before he could substantiate this remarkable assertion, Hapgood died. Together with fellow author Colin Wilson, Flem-Ath set out to track down the truth behind the scholar's statements. Their study of the world's most sacred sites - Stonehenge, the Great Pyramids and many others - led them to an amazing discovery. Far from being built by local people for local reasons, these monuments formed an undeniable geometrical pattern. This is turn implied the existence of an ancient advanced civilization, one that existed before the Flood that destroyed Atlantis and whose knowledge of the world was far wider than had previously been thought possible. This book deciphers this remarkable code and the reasons behind it: the attempt by scientists from Atlantis to preserve a legacy of their civilisation. The book presents its argument with enormous persuasiveness - namely that our civilization is not the first to occupy the planet, nor is it likely to be the last.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #250586 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 430 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Atlantis Blueprint ends with a question--is there a city beneath the ice of Antarctica? In fact, the book is a mystery-fest, linking a host of popular enigmas to the theory that civilisation is thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of years older than we think. It proposes the existence of an antediluvian world-wide maritime civilisation whose blueprint left a legacy of specially positioned sacred sites around the world and whose centre, Atlantis, may be in Antarctica due to earth crust displacement.

If any of this sounds familiar, its because much of it is not new. Indeed this book constantly cites other related literature to support its ideas, bringing in such writers as Graham Hancock, Michael Baigent and Robert Bauval. Rejecting some especially outlandish theories, The Atlantis Blueprint shows a will to speak sensibly and it is easy to agree that conventional science has historically underestimated our earliest ancestors and that archaeology is now pushing back the age of civilisation. Readers would need to be experts in a wide variety of disciplines to assess exactly how much scepticism this book deserves, but many will possess enough general knowledge to debate with parts of it. The Atlantis Blueprint is, whatever else, a thought-provoking assemblage of fringe science theories on some of the worlds most enduring mysteries. And, we remember, some of sciences most brilliant theories were derided in their time. --Karen Tiley

Review
'The Atlantis Blueprint ends with a question--is there a city beneath the ice of Antarctica? In fact, the book is a mystery-fest, linking a host of popular enigmas to the theory that civilisation is thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of years older than we think. It proposes the existence of an antediluvian world-wide maritime civilisation whose blueprint left a legacy of specially positioned sacred sites around the world and whose centre, Atlantis, may be in Antarctica due to earth crust displacement. If any of this sounds familiar, its because much of it is not new. Indeed this book constantly cites other related literature to support its ideas, bringing in such writers as Graham Hancock, Michael Baigent and Robert Bauval. Rejecting some especially outlandish theories, The Atlantis Blueprint shows a will to speak sensibly and it is easy to agree that conventional science has historically underestimated our earliest ancestors and that archaeology is now pushing back the age of civilisation. Readers would need to be experts in a wide variety of disciplines to assess exactly how much scepticism this book deserves, but many will possess enough general knowledge to debate with parts of it. The Atlantis Blueprint is, whatever else, a thought-provoking assemblage of fringe science theories on some of the worlds most enduring mysteries. And, we remember, some of sciences most brilliant theories were derided in their time.' - Karen Tiley, Amazon.co.uk Review 'Extraordinary and compellingly plausible ...provides compelling evidence that Atlantis not only existed but was, in fact, the cradle of an advanced and higly sophisticated civilisation that spanned the world as far back as 100,000 years' - Daily Mail

From the Author
Every summer solstice thousands of pilgrims gather at sacred sites - Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid, Machu Picchu and many others to pay respect to the past, hoping perhaps, to merge in some way with the mysterious power represented by the great megaliths. It seems that a long lost truth lies just beyond our grasp, hidden within the lines and crevices of these massive stones. Many feel certain that we might recapture that elusive past if only we could find the key.

If an advanced civilisation was trying to leave a message for future generations they could never be sure that their units of measurement would be the same as the ones that evolved after they perished. Two things, however, would never change: the dimensions of the Earth and the science of geometry. The distance from the Equator to the pole will always be the same no matter what number system is used. And this distance can always be divided geometrically.

When it comes to latitude, the Earth's dimensions are fixed by the Equator, all latitudes defined as being north or south of it. Longitude is a different problem. In her bestselling book Longitude Dava Sobel explains how "The thorniest problem of the 18th century was how to determine longitude. Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position".

The decision of what line of longitude should be zero (known as the Prime Meridian) was based upon commercial rather than geographic considerations - the British Empire was at its height in the 1880s and many British ships dropped anchor in Greenwich harbour. But what instead if the line of longitude that runs through the Great Pyramid at Giza had been declared the Prime Meridian? The Great Pyramid is arguably the best-built surveying station and monument that has ever been erected. More land lies directly east, west, north and south of Giza than any other location on the Earth's surface. The Atlantis Blueprint argues that there was an ancient global grid and that a long-lost civilisation was aware of the exact dimensions of the Earth. The Great Pyramid, by rights, should have had the honour of the designation "longitude zero" - not Greenwich.

In The Atlantis Blueprint we will show how these ancient structures are ultimately linked to a vast geographic survey. We have deciphered the code which ties these mysterious sites together as part of an ambitious enterprise undertaken by scientists from Atlantis. The Atlantis Blueprint can be 'back-engineered' to locate 'lost' sacred sites in the jungles of Brazil, beneath the sands of the Sahara Desert and under the ice of Antarctica.

Customer Reviews

Slightly cobbled, treading on old ground
I have an interest in all things obscure and historical and bought this book because it seemed to promise an objective view; however it is my solemn duty to report that I was far from impressed. Many of the conclusions in this book are poorly conceived; most notably browns gas. As one reviewer has pointed out, a little research, like a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. The authors do raise several interesting ideas but these have almost always been covered more extensively in other books.
Also; providing a brief synopsis of someone elses work and then using this as the basis for assumptions smacks of wishful thinking. Good researchers only hope for more data.
I was disappointed at the lack of supplementry evedince for their theory regarding wholesale mantle/crust displacements as it meant I had to take what they asserted at face value, which I just couldn't bring myself to do.
The truth usualy has a certain ring to it, it bears it's own weight and when people hear it, it makes sense. There was too much in this book that seemed to me wild speculation. also it was poorly set out, it jumped from one subject to the next sometimes going off on a tangent only to return to a point that ended up being lost in the guff. It just didn't have a beginning, middle, end, feel to it. I think the authors would have done better had they tried to narrow the scope of the book; some chapters ("6000 degrees celsius" / "what the templers found") could have been completely left out in my view.
There is no doubt, for those who look, that the conventional view of old world history is distorted and in many cases routinely suppressed, but I think this book does little to further this contention.
There are however a few nice snippets of information. Having said that it still aint enough to cut even a small ammount of mustard.
Sorry Colin, Rand; I'm sure your nice guys and all, but this book should not have reached the shelves in such a state of disarray.

Interesting yarn
For those who are not really 'up' on their wild and wacky theories of ancient civilisations (that includes me), this is a good survey. It is immediately apparent that two hands are at work here - the book does not hang together and some key theories that take large sections of the book to justify, are doubted in single sentences in subsequent chapters.

That said, it is a most enjoyable read, and there are some genuine thought provoking points here. Namely, that intelligent man must have been around for an awful lot longer than the archaeological establishment would have us believe.

Another facsinating point, and one which deserves further study is the observations that Turkish portalans dating from over a thousand years ago, are better at mapping the world than any other map into the early modern age. They even show the Pacific coast.

Also, the observation that the land-mass probably under the Antartic ice shield bearing a similarity to a land-mass seen on several maps as being in the Atlantic ocean is intriguing, as is the seemingly plausible theory as to how it 'shifted' (possibly a realignment of the poles following a massive asteroid collision).

I also liked the research that attempts to show more than a passing similarity between various mythologies from around the world, however, the book looses credibility towards the end, when the authors attempt rather too heavily to convince us of the overarching unity of all this.

Nevertheless, if you have the money, spend it - its a good read!

Impressive research, interesting omissions
Was Atlantis buried beneath the Antarctic 9,600 years ago? Flem-Ath and Wilson seek to prove by geology, geometry, astronomy and selective analysis of the subject's literature mans' earthly existence could encompass 100,000 years. The usual suspects are present; Tula, Easter Island, Stonehenge and Rosslyn, but enhanced by previously undiscussed additions all logically connected to the Great Pyramid at Gisa. Such large coverage of the available literature surprises with the omission of the undersea cave paintings discovered in the South of France, believed to date back 40,000 years. The skilled comprehension of perspective tangibly supports the theory of highly intelligent, scientifically knowledgeable ancestors. It is not explained how so much of this expertise was lost, for so many millennium, in all parts of the world. Despite this lacuna the narrative flows as a sea bound travelogue between continents and the bizarre discoveries of intrepid explorers. Whether inspecting the "Mystery spheres" at Costa Rica or puzzling through the moving Poles of the earth which placed Lhasa on the equator, plausible explanations will provoke a mixture of thought, for some acceptance and others probably a large pinch of incredulity. The amount of research is impressive as is the exposure of bigotry espoused by both religious and scientific institutions who choose not to examine facts or theories on their proven merit, thus provide a worthwhile contribution. The authors should be commended for bravery in publishing their findings.