Richard Guy

I have to admit, I’d never heard of the “Expanding Earth” theory or its companion the “Receding Seas” theory prior to receiving an e-mail invitation to review The Ascent of Man: Downhill All the Way by Richard Guy. The e-mail stated the book would forever alter my perspective on the history of ancient civilizations. How could I refuse?

Mr. Guy maintains the seas have receded throughout time, making one time port cities landlocked and explaining seashells found in mountain caves. show more It’s been some time since I last studied geology but I seem to recall something about plate tectonics causing the mountains to rise, which seems to be a more reasonable and scientifically accepted explanation.

Mr. Guy’s explanation for the receding seas is the expansion of the Earth, to quote, “The only reason the seas recedes is because the earth is expanding.” (113). I can come up with about half a dozen other explanations for receding seas, admittedly at least two involve aliens but that doesn’t seem too far off the mark for this theory.

In spite of my initial skepticism I was prepared to read Mr. Guy’s scientific evidence for this theory and maybe find something useful or informative in it. However, once he started citing the story of Noah and the Ark I pretty much gave up on that, but continued to read as a public service so you wouldn’t have to. I learned that the United States Government is aware of the receding seas, no mention if they agree with the expanding earth as well, which is why they have not signed the Kyoto Treaty. They have not released this information due to “National Security”. There is no mention of how national security would be threatened by the knowledge that the seas are receding at such a small rate as to be unnoticeable for 60 years. That, according to Mr. Guy is how long it will be before the theory can be proven. And so it goes, for a mercifully short 134 pages, of which 38 are taken up with hand drawn maps and seemingly unrelated photographs. Mr. Guy’s “interesting” use of the English language, particularly grammar, capitalization, and punctuation, tells a story of conspiracy theory wrapped in dubious “science” and biblical references without source notes.

Just as I thought I had lost an hour of my life that I would never get back, I read the copyright page. It states, “This is a work of non fiction, Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.” Then I got it. show less

This is a non fiction book about global warming, receding seas, earthquakes etc. The author states that the earth is expanding and that is what is causing these changes. He talks about some of the changes from all over the world. This is a very short book, only 134 pages, of which 38 are photos and drawings, and it took me no time to read it. I learned a lot about our world and am quite surprised by some of it. I didn't agree with everything the author says and could have done with out the show more repetitiveness, but all in all it was a very informative and enjoyable short read. show less