Lost Worlds

by Leonard Cottrell

Between 5,000 and 6,000 years ago, in a few favored areas of the world, humankind mastered the formulas that released it from the Stone Age. For the first time in history, people became civilized. This globe- and time-trotting book vividly describes how a number of major civilizations - the Mayans, the Egyptians, the Khmers, the Etruscans, and more - emerged, thrived, faded, but left a mark on our collective imagination and culture. Memories of some of these civilizations linger in the form of legends. Some left monuments whose meaning seemed inscrutable to later ages. Still others vanished under desert sands, floods, or tropical jungles. This sharply observed and meticulously researched book unearths the stories and the cultures that make us who we are today.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

431 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 10, 2015

About the author

Leonard Eric Cottrell was a prolific and popular British author and journalist. Many of his books were popularizations of the archaeology of ancient Egypt.

Leonard Cottrell was born in 1913 in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, to William and Beatrice Cottrell (née Tootell). His father inspired his interest in history from a very young age. At King Edward's Grammar School, Birmingham, Leonard was notably only interested in English and history, in which he read widely.

In the 1930s, Cottrell toured the English countryside on his motorcycle, visiting prehistoric stone circles, burial mounds of the Bronze Age, medieval and Renaissance monuments. On those journeys, he was often accompanied by Doris Swain, whom he later married. After gaining experience writing articles on historical subjects for motoring magazines, he wrote his first documentary for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 1937.

Cottrell was rejected by the RAF during World War II for medical reasons, but he joined the BBC in 1942 and was stationed in the Mediterranean with the RAF in 1944, as a war correspondent. His wartime experiences formed the basis of his book All Men are Neighbours (1947). He worked at the BBC until 1960, when he resigned and moved to a house overlooking the estuary of the River Kent in Westmoreland, Cumbria, where he stayed for the rest of his life, writing.

Among other achievements, Cottrell was the editor of the Concise Encyclopaedia of Archaeology (1965).

He was married and divorced twice, first to Doris Swain (divorced 1962) and Diana Bonakis (married 1965; divorced 1968). He had no children by either marriage.

Leonard Cottrell died on 6 October 1974.

Reviews

[Jamie Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

When was this book published? It depends on who you ask. Amazon uses the date of the most recent re-release, regardless of whether the text was revised from previous editions. In this case Amazon/Goodreads says it was published March 10, 2015, and the book itself shows a date of 2018 by American Heritage Publishing. Dates as recent as those would indicate that it benefits from modern archaeological discoveries and research. However, a look at Goodreads’ Book Details & Editions section shows an edition from 1964. Furthermore, on Leonard Cottrell’s Wikipedia page it does not list this title at all, although there is a book called Lost Civilizations from 1974.

In any case, it is not a modern book, and sometimes feels so ancient it could almost be an archaeological artifact itself. For instance, when discussing the Mayan civilization it refers to Belize by its old name of British Honduras.

Nevertheless, I did read it all the way through. (I bought it, so I was damn well going to read it.) Cottrell was a popular author in his time, with an engaging writing style. In this book he takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of ancient civilizations, giving chapters to Egypt; Mesopotamia (Sumer, Babylon, the Assyrians); the Harappan civilization of the Indus Valley; the Minoans of Crete; the Hittites; the Etruscans; the Khmer and Angkor Wat; and the Mayans.

Unless, like me, you actually bought it, is there any reason to spend time with it? Perhaps. It still manages to do an adequate job on the larger themes, so if you are unclear on the difference between Egypt’s Old and New Kingdoms, or the ebb and flow of history across the Levant, or are trying to sort out the Mayans from the Olmec, Toltec, Zapotec, or Aztecs, this book can provide a general overview without going into any technical details. A quick search of Goodreads did not find any similar general historical survey-type books like this; instead, they all seem to focus on one specific people and historical era.

Also, I will give the author credit for his nuanced view of the collapse of civilizations around the eastern Mediterranean and Anatolia about 1175 BC. This is often attributed to invasions by the Sea Peoples (the name given them by the Egyptians), but the author correctly notes that it was more a domino effect of people pushing east and south and dislocating those who were already there, who then pushed against their own nearest neighbors. The precipitating event is now thought to have been one of the periodic droughts that devastated parts of the Mediterranean seaboard.

Having said that, archaeology has changed enormously since 1964, helping fill in previously blank stretches of history, and occasionally the book’s descriptions give a reader the wrong impression of what we now know was going on. For instance, in discussing the Minoans he adopts the then-current view of them as the hippies of the ancient world, a happy, prosperous, carefree people. Modern archaeology paints a darker picture, with evidence of widespread human sacrifice, and so the ancient stories of Theseus and the Minotaur may hark back to a time when the Minoans demanded human tribute from vassal cities in Greece and the Aegean. Also, the book was published before evidence was found of the massive volcanic explosion on the nearby island of Thera around 1628 BC, which sent giant tsunamis swamping cities across the region, and may have been a key event in the fall of the Minoans.

It is hard to recommend Lost Worlds except as a very general primer on ancient civilizations. It is readable and mostly informative given the limitations of its time and place, but there are better books if you want a modern understanding of distant times and peoples.

[Iset · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very outdated book by now, espousing long-since disproven hypotheses about ancient societies, such as ancient Egypt being founded by invading Mesopotamians. Interesting, from the point of view of examining how historians and archaeologists of the mid-20th century viewed their subject.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating depth of knowledge can be gained among these pages... the mysteries of the ancient Egyptians, Etruscans, Mayans, and other post-Stone Age civilizations that emerged from their humble beginnings and destined to be the cradles of their respective empires.
This is a great addition to anyone who wants an archaeological basis for their ancient history classes.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read, gives a thumbnail description of various ancient civilizations. That being said, the author was not accurate when he stated that the pharaoh Ahkenaten did not have any sons. He did have a son - Tutanhkamen.

[Dave Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly interesting, ending was abrupt. Took soooooo long to finish.

[Foggygirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining and illuminating historical read.

[David Catron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously dated (couldn't find date of publication), but still interesting. Would like to see an update.

[Rick Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lost Worlds by Leonard Cottrell is a fantastically fun book to read. Cottrell covers a series of lost civilizations including the Egyptians, Sumerians, Khmers, Etruscans, and more. Cottrell writes in a journalistic style with brisk, fast-moving prose. However, he still manages to be incredibly detailed and scholarly in his presentation. If you are interested in ancient civilizations and archaeology, you'll want to read this book.

There are a few caveats though. This book was originally written in 1964, and the original book was apparently lavishly illustrated with photographs. This edition, published in 2015, has none of the pictures, which is a bit disappointing. Also, scholarly consensus has changed on many historical issues in the last 50 years. Throughout most of the book, these discrepancies are minor, at least as far as my limited knowledge could tell: the nature of the Dorian invasion in Greece, for example, or the question of whether the proto-Egyptians practiced cannibalism. The greatest changes have occurred in the area of Maya studies. This book was written before Mayan hieroglyphs were deciphered in the 70s and 80s, so we have much more information available about the Maya today.

If you want to read this book, but are worried about not having the most up-to-date info, I will say that the e-book version is hyperlinked to wikipedia, so you have the opportunity while reading the book to look at pictures and articles and get an idea of where current scholarship stands.

[Sherrill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very intricate book about many lost civilizations. They covered ancient civilizations in Egypt, the Mayans and various other worlds. It was a little too technical for me but I plowed through it because it was pretty interesting. I think if I had read a sample I would not have read it but then maybe i would have and gotten a lot out of it.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read about ancient civilizations, more than just the ancient Egyptians that we hear so much about. After skipping the first chapter, as it seemed very confusing, the rest of the book was worth reading. Many civilizations dated back to 3000 BC and beyond.