What do you think?
Rate this book
Return to Sodom and Gomorrah: Bible Stories from Archaeologists
A brilliant author, scientist, and adventurer who has been called "the real Indiana Jones," Dr. Charles Pellegrino takes us on a remarkable journey from the Nile to the Tigris-Euphrates rivers -- crossing time, legend, and ancient lands to explore the unsolved mysteries of the Old Testament. Return to Sodom and Gomorrah is an epic saga of discovery that interweaves science, history, and suspense --the first book ever to bring archaeologists, scientists and theologians together to examine the same evidence. In this enthralling revelatory adventure, Pellegrino introduces us to dedicated pioneers like Benjamin Mazar, Leonard Woolley, and T. E. Lawrence, who retraced the steps of Moses to demystify the Exodus and the Flood. In the process, he enables us to view ancient relics in an extraordinary new light -- as both fascinating windows on the past and vivid signposts to the future.
387 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
4 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
Charles Pellegrino
26 books167 followersCharles Pellegrino is a scientist working in paleobiology, astronomy, and various other areas; a designer for projects including rockets and nuclear devices (non-military propulsion systems), composite construction materials, and magnetically levitated transportation systems; and a writer. He has been affiliated with Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand National Observatory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Long Island, NY; taught at institutions including Hofstra University and Adelphi University Center for Creative Arts; a member of Princeton Space Studies Institute. Cradle of Aviation Museum, space flight consultant; Challenger Center, founding member. After sailing with Robert Ballard to the Galapagos Rift in the immediate aftermath of the discovery of the Titanic (in 1985), Pellegrino expanded from the field of paleontology “into the shallows of archaeological time.”
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 14, 2024
This is advertised as an interpretation of biblical events within a rational and historical context. Get ready to get quite a bit more. A bit all across the board, abounding with theories, some well-grounded, others a bit more speculative that are not only about the biblical past but also about the future of mankind, space and ecological dangers, the author shows to know much about everything. However, as he gives us interesting tidbits about what comes to his mind, the overall effort comes across as a bit unfocused. Forgivable, in my opinion, after all this is Charles Pellegrino for you, a world travelled archeologist and jack of many trades. There is much to learn for the casual reader, and apart from facts and interesting places the author has actually visited, the author dazzles us with speculative theories that if true would change history as we currently understand it.
March 29, 2016
I read Pellegrino’s Unearthing Atlantis years ago, and was completely enthralled. So much so, that, over the years, I’ve read as many of his books as I could. Finally picking this one up, I was surprised to read how much of the Bible’s stories interconnect with the events of that first book, though I suppose I shouldn’t have been, as they share a time and place.
But there’s much more to this book, which reads as part detective story, part history lesson. Archaeology, anthropology, geology, are only some of the tools used to uncover and put forth rational explanations for the mythologies that have sprung from the land known as the Fertile Crescent (even that is found to be a popular misconception.) To say that this book did not disappoint, would be a huge understatement.
But there’s much more to this book, which reads as part detective story, part history lesson. Archaeology, anthropology, geology, are only some of the tools used to uncover and put forth rational explanations for the mythologies that have sprung from the land known as the Fertile Crescent (even that is found to be a popular misconception.) To say that this book did not disappoint, would be a huge understatement.
September 9, 2017
This was a fun read, kind of like visiting your favorite history or archaeology professor after hours and listening to his past exploits and far out theories. Not to say that all his theories are far out, but he is careful to say that many of his hypotheses are not proven and may never be.
The author is maybe the polymathic person I've ever heard of - paleobiologist, astronomer, rocket scientist and occasional archaeologist who apparently hangs out with Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Jay Gould while visiting the wreck of the Titanic with Robert Ballard while also consulting with James Cameron on Avatar and Michael Crichton on Jurassic Park (I think the mosquitoes in the amber idea was his creation).
On the surface that sounds amazing, but a quick google search shows some controversy about his PhD credentials as well as some facts regarding a previous book on Hiroshima. That gives me pause, along with a few little details from the last section of this book where he tells two quick stories about a cursed sarcophagus aboard the Titanic (snopes says false and supporting websites look untrustworthy) and another Egyptian curse immediately preceding the NYC blackout in the late 70's.
Anyway, most of the book is entirely interesting and entertaining. He goes deep into the field with archaeologists in Iraq, Eqypt and various Biblical locations to explore some possible finds that may help support the stories told in the Bible. Not being much of a Bible reader myself, it was sometimes hard to follow the details/names, but it was a wealth of follow up material.
The stories surrounding the volcanic explosion of Thera and the lost civilization of Minoans was itself worth the price of admission. Were the Minoans the source of Plato's Atlantis? Did the dust cloud, tsunamis and pestilence spread by Thera factor into the stories of the Exodus out of Egypt? I'm not qualified to say, but I like hearing the debate.
I'll probably do a little more research before i commit to more Pellegrino books, but I like what I've found so far and I hope he's completely above board.
The author is maybe the polymathic person I've ever heard of - paleobiologist, astronomer, rocket scientist and occasional archaeologist who apparently hangs out with Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Jay Gould while visiting the wreck of the Titanic with Robert Ballard while also consulting with James Cameron on Avatar and Michael Crichton on Jurassic Park (I think the mosquitoes in the amber idea was his creation).
On the surface that sounds amazing, but a quick google search shows some controversy about his PhD credentials as well as some facts regarding a previous book on Hiroshima. That gives me pause, along with a few little details from the last section of this book where he tells two quick stories about a cursed sarcophagus aboard the Titanic (snopes says false and supporting websites look untrustworthy) and another Egyptian curse immediately preceding the NYC blackout in the late 70's.
Anyway, most of the book is entirely interesting and entertaining. He goes deep into the field with archaeologists in Iraq, Eqypt and various Biblical locations to explore some possible finds that may help support the stories told in the Bible. Not being much of a Bible reader myself, it was sometimes hard to follow the details/names, but it was a wealth of follow up material.
The stories surrounding the volcanic explosion of Thera and the lost civilization of Minoans was itself worth the price of admission. Were the Minoans the source of Plato's Atlantis? Did the dust cloud, tsunamis and pestilence spread by Thera factor into the stories of the Exodus out of Egypt? I'm not qualified to say, but I like hearing the debate.
I'll probably do a little more research before i commit to more Pellegrino books, but I like what I've found so far and I hope he's completely above board.
May 15, 2021
This book just didn’t hold my attention and frustrated me. I got almost half way through and gave up!
Good points - in what I read, he showed that the archeological record of events was consistent with events recorded in scripture once he got to recent pre-history, albeit that he always seemed to take the position that the Bible record was faulty and that therefore the Bible record was following, somewhat inaccurately, his interpretation of events.
But surely archeology is not an exact science, and in my view the least he could have done would have been to present what he believes archeology shows, but also admit that when it comes to events, which he acknowledges occurred approximately 6000 or less years ago, there are other possible ways that these things played out.
The good thing about this book is that he does acknowledge (in as much as I read) that the Bible record of events over the period from around 4000 BC onwards, is very consistent with what the inexact science of archeology finds.
Good points - in what I read, he showed that the archeological record of events was consistent with events recorded in scripture once he got to recent pre-history, albeit that he always seemed to take the position that the Bible record was faulty and that therefore the Bible record was following, somewhat inaccurately, his interpretation of events.
But surely archeology is not an exact science, and in my view the least he could have done would have been to present what he believes archeology shows, but also admit that when it comes to events, which he acknowledges occurred approximately 6000 or less years ago, there are other possible ways that these things played out.
The good thing about this book is that he does acknowledge (in as much as I read) that the Bible record of events over the period from around 4000 BC onwards, is very consistent with what the inexact science of archeology finds.
July 26, 2011
This should have been titled, "The Bible is a stinking pile of bull and this is why."
I don't mind reading books with evidence that the Bible didn't happen exactly as it says, that isn't the problem. The author comes across as a bigoted, intellectual elitist. His view is the only one that matters, and if you don't agree with it then that just proves that you are an uneducated, moron. Not only is he an elitist, but he is also terribly bigoted. He seems to be of the opinion that all white males who aren't as intelligent as he thinks he is are just racist red-necks.
I read the introduction before I bought the book. The introduction was magnificent. I give the introduction a 5-star rating. I don't believe the person who wrote the introduction is the same person that wrote the remainder of the book.
While it has some interesting historical and archaeological facts, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. If I could rate it a negative-5-star, that's what I would give it.
I don't mind reading books with evidence that the Bible didn't happen exactly as it says, that isn't the problem. The author comes across as a bigoted, intellectual elitist. His view is the only one that matters, and if you don't agree with it then that just proves that you are an uneducated, moron. Not only is he an elitist, but he is also terribly bigoted. He seems to be of the opinion that all white males who aren't as intelligent as he thinks he is are just racist red-necks.
I read the introduction before I bought the book. The introduction was magnificent. I give the introduction a 5-star rating. I don't believe the person who wrote the introduction is the same person that wrote the remainder of the book.
While it has some interesting historical and archaeological facts, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. If I could rate it a negative-5-star, that's what I would give it.
October 25, 2013
If I had read this book while in my teens, I would've become an archaeologist. It's inspiring, intriguing and poetic. The author's masterful storytelling skills make this a joy to read, such as the way he fictionalizes dialogue to drag the reader into the moments, and how he plays with words and pacing to create a beautiful flow.
But asides from the style, there is a lot of substance. There are some strange biases that can be felt (especially towards the last chapters), but overall it's a magnificent piece of work and will make you wonder what else lies buried beneath the desert sands.
But asides from the style, there is a lot of substance. There are some strange biases that can be felt (especially towards the last chapters), but overall it's a magnificent piece of work and will make you wonder what else lies buried beneath the desert sands.
July 15, 2008
This is an amazing synthesis of disciplines attempting to explain the nuggets of stories preserved in the old testament, by exploring the plausible means by which those stories could have been partly true.
Read
March 3, 2012This book was a game changer in my thinking. It was the straw that broke the camels back in my shift from religious believer to skeptic.
April 29, 2015
Fantastic book. Brought the bible stories into a more human arena with rational arguments for how the stories occurred.
December 27, 2024
I've always been fascinated by Archaeology - the reading of what is left in the Earth to tell our history. This book suggests that it is going to show how those ruins and leftovers, hidden under centuries of subsequent civilisations, show that the stories of the Bible had a basis in fact - even if that fact has become slightly distorted over time - sometimes on purpose, sometimes just by accident as people tried to re-interpret the stories of the previous generations. But like other Pellegrino books, it is so much more. It touches on war, the evolution of life on Earth, the deign of robots, intersteller travel and the history of one of the most fought over bits of real estate on the Earth. There is so much here that it's hard to give a synopsis that really does it justice.
A lot of the book is about the volcanic eruption of Thera, which was on such a scale that it changed the course of human civilisation. Giving rise to the legend of Atlantis, the plagues of Egypt, caused the Biblical Exodus, and was the inspiration behind hundreds of our legends that were passed down before the written word. It's utterly fascinating.
The story of Noah and his Ark also comes under scrutiny, focusing on the river lands where a major flood would have swamped the flat area from horizon to horizon - to the people that lived and farmed there, it was as if their whole world was under water ... and would have attempted to flee by loading their precious farm animals onto rafts.
Of course, this is all theory - but to me anyway, it all holds together. And the author comes across as being impartial, highly knowledgeable and with a huge amount of friends just as clever as he is. A confirmed agnostic, he even comes round to discussing what the nature of God might actually be and whether it can be a name given to any of the forces that have been in action since the Big Bang ... and maybe before.
Not the lightest of reads, but highly recommend it.
A lot of the book is about the volcanic eruption of Thera, which was on such a scale that it changed the course of human civilisation. Giving rise to the legend of Atlantis, the plagues of Egypt, caused the Biblical Exodus, and was the inspiration behind hundreds of our legends that were passed down before the written word. It's utterly fascinating.
The story of Noah and his Ark also comes under scrutiny, focusing on the river lands where a major flood would have swamped the flat area from horizon to horizon - to the people that lived and farmed there, it was as if their whole world was under water ... and would have attempted to flee by loading their precious farm animals onto rafts.
Of course, this is all theory - but to me anyway, it all holds together. And the author comes across as being impartial, highly knowledgeable and with a huge amount of friends just as clever as he is. A confirmed agnostic, he even comes round to discussing what the nature of God might actually be and whether it can be a name given to any of the forces that have been in action since the Big Bang ... and maybe before.
Not the lightest of reads, but highly recommend it.
January 25, 2018
It's not that Pellegrino can't tell an interesting story, it's that he's all over the map, from Mitochondrial Eve to Jericho to Qumran, to Leonard Woolley and Ur to the Minoan eruption of Thera. Oh, yes, Thera. Pellegrino loves him some Thera, so much so that he tries to rewrite Egyptian and Near Eastern chronology based on the Thera eruption; the experts he talks to aren't exactly lining up to support his efforts to dovetail Biblical events such as the parting of the Red Sea and the pillar of fire with Theran volcanic phenomenon. Pellegrino's dating is off by 120-200 years.
And about Thera: if you've read other Pellegrino books such as Finding Atlantis and The Ghosts of Vesuvius you'll instantly pick up on his stock phrases about the eruption. Think you've read before how after the pyroclastic cloud passed over Kos, "thousands of bodies lay bleeding under the starlight," or how where the cloud touched the sea, "it converted men and ships into gas?" You have. Finding Atlantis covers the excavation of Akrotiri and the events of the Thera eruption in much more detail, if that's your sort of thing, though Return to Sodom and Gommorah does have one nice extra, a scientific explanation of the disintegration of the organic material under the layers of Theran ash.
If you read this book, you will also come across Pellegrino's irksome habit of long footnotes that don't always add anything of relevance, and are often a digression from the subject at hand. I've no doubt he's fascinating to talk to in person, but in a book that conversational style gets old.
All in all, it's an interesting book, but be prepared to go all over the map if you decide to pick this one up.
And about Thera: if you've read other Pellegrino books such as Finding Atlantis and The Ghosts of Vesuvius you'll instantly pick up on his stock phrases about the eruption. Think you've read before how after the pyroclastic cloud passed over Kos, "thousands of bodies lay bleeding under the starlight," or how where the cloud touched the sea, "it converted men and ships into gas?" You have. Finding Atlantis covers the excavation of Akrotiri and the events of the Thera eruption in much more detail, if that's your sort of thing, though Return to Sodom and Gommorah does have one nice extra, a scientific explanation of the disintegration of the organic material under the layers of Theran ash.
If you read this book, you will also come across Pellegrino's irksome habit of long footnotes that don't always add anything of relevance, and are often a digression from the subject at hand. I've no doubt he's fascinating to talk to in person, but in a book that conversational style gets old.
All in all, it's an interesting book, but be prepared to go all over the map if you decide to pick this one up.
July 8, 2017
I very much appreciate and enjoy Pellegrino's writing. _Return_ is as thought provoking as I had hoped. His notions and revelations about archeology and the Jewish and Christian texts were not earthshaking for me; they rather fit in with the scholarship I grew up with.
The extent and advancement of early classical or pre-classical cultures in the present Middle East and the extent and impact of the Thera event were very engaging. The implications for our present culture operate on many levels.
As I found with _Ghosts of Vesuvius_ his writing brings together diverse disciplines and knowledge in a clear, engaging and cogent fashion that consistently leads me to new perspectives. With a liberal arts education most of the "terrain" he covers is familiar, but I greatly appreciate how he adds depth and builds the webwork of connections that lead me to new views of "old knowledge". Very grateful for that.
Beyond that I find his words most engaging. He is a good storyteller with a sense of the drama of our history, pre-history and the twilight between. To bring events that are part and parcel of the collective culture's twilight into clearer view is a gift much appreciated.
The extent and advancement of early classical or pre-classical cultures in the present Middle East and the extent and impact of the Thera event were very engaging. The implications for our present culture operate on many levels.
As I found with _Ghosts of Vesuvius_ his writing brings together diverse disciplines and knowledge in a clear, engaging and cogent fashion that consistently leads me to new perspectives. With a liberal arts education most of the "terrain" he covers is familiar, but I greatly appreciate how he adds depth and builds the webwork of connections that lead me to new views of "old knowledge". Very grateful for that.
Beyond that I find his words most engaging. He is a good storyteller with a sense of the drama of our history, pre-history and the twilight between. To bring events that are part and parcel of the collective culture's twilight into clearer view is a gift much appreciated.
November 26, 2020
This was the book that started my archaeological adventure almost 25 years ago. It is filled with interesting information, pieces of evidence, and stories involving unlikely archaeological people. That is if you can get past his evolutionary thinking.
This volume introduced me to Thera, the Minoans, and the volcanic eruption that was so impressive it 'made Krakatoa look like a pimple popping' (his words).
This volume introduced me to Thera, the Minoans, and the volcanic eruption that was so impressive it 'made Krakatoa look like a pimple popping' (his words).
April 22, 2023
Fascinating. Imagine if only they could excavate under the current Dome of the Rock in Israel.
I've returned numerous times to this book over the years. In fact, this was so long ago, that I remember I listened to it on cassettes in my car during my long commute. But it was the favorite time of the day since the book was so good.
I've returned numerous times to this book over the years. In fact, this was so long ago, that I remember I listened to it on cassettes in my car during my long commute. But it was the favorite time of the day since the book was so good.
February 26, 2017
Extremely fun, engaging, thought-provoking read.
February 23, 2017
I love this book! If you love history, archaeology, and mystery...then you will too!
October 23, 2018
Quite wonderful, a second read today made me not a believer in god, but gave me a deeper understanding where humanity comes from, and why one "god" was needed to explain things.
I'd love to read an update, as in 1994 DNA was just an emerging science, Charles would surely love that most of his theories about the creation of our culture were pretty spot on. Oddly, as were the bible stories when you pull them apart and understand when they were written.
Next to read: The Bible.
I'd love to read an update, as in 1994 DNA was just an emerging science, Charles would surely love that most of his theories about the creation of our culture were pretty spot on. Oddly, as were the bible stories when you pull them apart and understand when they were written.
Next to read: The Bible.
October 26, 2007
A very good and entertaining discussion of archaeology, evolution, science, philosophy, and the universe in general! Scientific explanations of Biblical events are quite interesting, lending much credence to those events actually occuring and how they became great mythological stories. Certainly worth the time!!!
Read
February 17, 2016This book is very thought provoking. Now that I'm done with the 1st few chapters about the origin of human life I have started reading Creation about Charles Darwin to see how he thought about it. I like connections.
February 2, 2008
Accessible archaeology. Biblical speculation. Ruined cities. Wonderful stuff.
December 30, 2011
mentions almost every single pet interest i've ever had in one book. gripping read, sometimes infuriatingly self-congratulatory, very enjoyable.
September 24, 2010
I loved this book!!!!! I've bought four copies and loaned them out and they never came back and I keep buying the dang thing. Fascinating read.
September 2, 2017
(found read date in diary)
May 1, 2016
Excellent read packed with history and scientific explanations of biblical passages without ruining the magic of those stories.
April 1, 2008
great accounts of arceological finds and well known stories from the Bible and their connections
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews