The Atlantis Blueprint: Unlocking the Ancient Mysteries of a Long-lost Civilization

by Rand Flem-Ath, Colin Wilson

In 1982, the American scholar Charles H. Hapgood made an astonishing claim to a young librarian, Rand Flem-Ath--that civilisations was almost a hundred thousand years old, & that he had evidence to prove it. But before he could substantiate these remarkable assertions, Hapgood was tragically killed in a car crash. Together with his 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, Machu Picchu & 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 in turn implied the existence of an ancient advanced civilisation whose knowledge of the world was far wider than had previously been thought possible. Presenting its argument with enormous persuasiveness The Atlantis Blueprint makes a powerful claim: that our civilisation is not the first to occupy the planet--nor is it likely to be the last.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Ancient History, Science, Alternate History, Reference, Paranormal

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Terence · Rating 1 out of 5]

I take great enjoyment reading books like this. In this case, the authors claim to have discovered a cluster of ancient sites scattered across the world that lay upon certain latitudes.

I tried, truly tried to understand how they figured out these latitudes but couldn't. As far as I can determine, they find an ancient site and "cook" the numbers until it lies upon one of their latitudes.

Oh, well, it is fun to imagine a lost Atlantean civilization that spanned the globe and founded every other civilization known to man :-)

I'll take this opportunity to enthusiastically recommend L. Sprague De Camp's Lost Continents The Atlantis Theme. It's more than 30 years old and so it doesn't cover the more recent "stuff" but it's a wonderfully written deconstruction of the entire Atlantean myth.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one book that is for open-minded people. If you walk into this already doubting their theory before the evidence is laid out, then the book will be ridiculous and probably offensive. If you have an open mind and are unbiased towards alternate ideas, this book will open your eyes like never before. The authors make clear distinctions between what are absolute facts, undeniable by the scientific and religious communities, such as the enigma of the Piri Reis map, and theories and ideas. They give a theory of Atlantis that is revolutionary and yet more believable than an island sinking into the Atlantic or wherever. A lot of theory evolves around Earth Crust Displacement Theory which I had a little trouble understanding but they have page after page of hard data to back up their proof and in that view, their ideas should be taken very seriously. It's a must-read for aspiring archeologists, Bible scholars, and those who think it's time history explains the unexplainable.

[Andreas Schmidt · Rating 3 out of 5]

In generale, gli scritti di Colin Wilson sono densissimi di informazioni, non sempre pertinenti al messaggio o alla tesi che il testo vuole esprimere.
In questo testo non si dice granché di nuovo, l'ossatura è fondata sulle teorie di Charles Hapgood (che mi risultano essere confutate da tempo) dello slittamento dei continenti, nonché sulla teoria di Rand Flem-Ath delle latitudini sacre.
In effetti, utilizzando come meridiano fondamentale quello che passa per la Piana di Giza e la Grande Piramide, molti altri siti megalitici assumono tutt'altro significato, con distanze nette tra loro (cosa che non accade se si utilizza il meridiano di Greenwich).
Il problema di fondo di questo testo, al di là della teoria di Hapgood e i portolani, è che si suppone che queste latitudini sacre siano servite come osservatorio per lo spostamento dei continenti, poi ci si perde in assurde tesi sui templari, Rennes Le Chateau, eccetera.
Non commento neppure il gas di Brown, visto che trattasi di uno scam, e già esiste una teoria secondo la quale le piramidi in Egitto erano centrali energetiche (senza riuscire nemmeno a spiegare le modalità con le quali la civiltà egizia avrebbe utilizzato questa energia).
E' molto interessante tuttavia notare che sembra esserci stata un'era in cui l'umanità costruiva opere titaniche, e per il momento non sono molto convincenti le teorie degli storici riguardo a queste opere megalitiche.

[Dave Bara · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're interested in Atlantis, lost civilizations, etc., then this book is definitely worth a read. I found the most interesting pieces to be the evidence of Antarctica as a potential site for Atlantis, complete with comparisons to ancient maps, the concept of the North Pole having moved twice before from the Yukon and Hudson Bay, and the subsequent mapping of ancient sites. No doubt the authors have uncovered some very interesting correlations here on locations of ancient sacred sites and their relationships to each other. These issues are something that "mainstream" science should definitely be addressing, but of course will refuse to and call this book "pseudo-science". Of course that's just any subject the mainstreamers don't want to address. Much of the rest of the book gets bogged down in details, and Wilson's third-person approach to writing about Flem-Ath is annoying and over done. Still and all, a good read with many interesting proposals put forth.

[Leah]

IT WAS A CONSPIRACY!!!

I'm hoping it'll be like Hollow Earth: The Long and Curious History of Imagining Strange Lands, Fantastical Creatures, Advanced Civilizations, and Marvelous Machines Below the Earth's Surface...but one level closer to a primary source. Er, as primary sources go.

[Janelle]

Although some are quick to dismiss the idea of Atlantis, the writers of this book displayed a lot of well thought out and researched hypotheses, and present corroborating information in such a way that leaves you truly convinced of its existence, and it's location. I was mesmerised by this book upon reading it 2 years ago.

[R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great idea, and one that must be read by people who wonder about the existence of Atlantis. Some of it was hard to follow and some of it was poorly written I think but it would be a great introductory book to someone that is interested in the subject. Much of Wilson and Fleming's theory revolves around Plato's Map, the Piri Reese (Spelling?) map and Polar Shift.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good alternative with some decent numbers. I don't claim to be a math genius, but it seemed like the Flem-Aths chose what they wanted and then made the numbers fit what they wanted them to fit. Where their theories interesting? Yes. Are they plausible? Maybe. I leave that for you to decide for yourself.

[C Jon Tice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The shifting of the Earth on its axis as described by the authors explains a lot about the magnetic shifts of iron deposits in the Earths crust.
I found some of the other logic difficult to follow but the Antarctica location seemed pretty solid.

[Trevor Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely interesting. Much should be taken with a grain of salt (maybe!?). Very Cool!

[Jessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Particularly interesting companion read to Edgar Cayce's Atlantis texts...a very compelling series of well-put academic essays

[Eduardo Caballero]

Learning about the Map Makers of ancient civilization and how the world looked before current day. About Pangea and the movement of the plates of the earth.

[Peter Mcdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

we are doomed, I am convinced.

[Fleur Gessner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great!

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book, it was so intriguing and did give me another way of thinking!

[Chris Craddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting and well documented. Makes a compelling case.

[JOSEPH MC · Rating 1 out of 5]

I began this book with high hopes. The premise seemed intriguing; the authors claimed to offer evidence that human civilisation was far older than previously imagined, and was also much more advanced.

The first couple of chapters prove to be an interesting little journey through the life of the late Charles Hapgood. However rather quickly the narrative style becomes somewhat jaunting, as the prose alternates between the two authors who opt to identify themselves to the reader by narrating from the 1st and 3rd person perspectives respectively. This technique seems unnecessarily confusing, and surely attributing sections or chapters to each author would have been less disruptive to the narrative flow. Despite this, the prose itself is composed competently enough and is reasonably enjoyable.

But my oh my, how the content is laughably absurd. Like a foundation of sand, debunked geological theories are stacked one upon the other to form a "scientific" basis for the book's many preposterous claims. Various quacks and historical con-men are wheeled out and revered as sages. Confirmation bias is rife as patterns are imagined between various historical sites spanning thousands of kilometers and thousands of years. Fibonacci spirals are everywhere it seems and even point to hypothetical desert treasure. Wild speculation mushrooms from every historical anomaly. The scientific method is tossed aside and any logical challenge is dodged with conspiratorial mutterings.

After the entertainment and promise of the initial couple of chapters, the wheels began to fall off as the writing became more tangential and seemingly directionless. I got to page 134, but when the authors started referencing a guy rambling on about space visitors mining Earth for precious minerals, I decided that this was one for the charity shop.

[Ltopo McFly · Rating 1 out of 5]

A very typical European conspiracy theory book: Theosophist, pseudo-Masonic, racist, very sloppily researched, uses religious Scripture as literal history and believes all theories are true to prove its own theories. It's all very predictable. While the writers don't go into aliens or believe Atlantis to be technological, they do believe all religions are evidence that Europeans are an Antarctic race who brought civilization to all dark-skinned cultures and thus the white man is the true civilizer of the world.

So it rejects Atlantis as a reality but a myth based on an even less probable lost civilization. The writers parse their racism by acknowledging Africans would've sailed to South America to get to Antarctica. That's a little better than the Nazi version of the same "Out of Antarctica" theory. Why the writers can't accept the same Africans spread to Europe is beyond me. To argue Caucasians actually come from an advanced civilization, they must place it in a tropical Antarctica so the evidence was lost. But a tropical Antarctica destroys their suggestion that climate change turned these "proto-Atlanteans" white and blond.

So what's the argument for all of this? The claim that all the world's ancient structures are built on a global grid mapped by world-travelers. The evidence? Duh, t was discovered by the Knights Templars in Solomon's Temple. The church is hiding the superiority of white people from all of this from us! Why? Never explained.

The book is based on so many flimsy ideas and can't seem to use any sources that are mainstream or scholarly. I think there might be some credence to the Polar Shift hypothesis (which these writers didn't invent) but they use it for their own narcissistic and narrow-minded greed. By denying the reality of Neanderthals they only prove it.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I found it incredibly interesting, although I admit that I didn't understand some of it. It felt like you needed a bit of a degree to understand some of the terminology and findings, but overall, I really enjoyed it.
I've always been fascinated with Atlantis and while this book brings me no closer to concrete evidence of where Atlantis was, it sure does give me some things to ponder about. The earth has been changing and is constantly changing.

[Nigel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a heavy read which moved around a bit and had many numbers and bearings within its pages. But, then again this is scientifically based rather than a novel and with that in mind the authors made the text flow as much as they could. It raised many interesting and thought provoking points.

[Sandra Donegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, with some fascinating deductions on the age of the earth and who may have gone before modern man.

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not enough of Wilson's just-above mediocre yet beguiling style, and too far into out and out crankiness.

[Hannah carlock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Your gonna fall out of your chair when you read this one!

[seth chapin · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read, lots of fun

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

fascinating topic.

[Cyneman]

This was a fabulous book linking ancient civilizations to the mystery of Atlantis! Makes me want to learn more!

[Erynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a book stuffed with knowledge that can be, at times, overwhelming. I felt that I needed a degree in some science to understand some of what Mr. Wilson spoke. A lot of the book seems, also, to be regurgitation of what other people have said. There were dozens of references to other authors' books and opinions - used to validate the authors' opinions in this book, but between all of the other folks' experiments, expeditions, theories, etc., I wasn't entirely sure just what it was these gentlemen were positing.
Not a terrible book, but probably not one for me, sadly enough; I enjoy topics like this, but this was not a layperson's novel.