Roy Stemman

A somewhat odd book, in that it welds togther conventional histories of past civilisations (Ancient Egypt, the Khmer, Zimbabwe, the Etruscans, and others) and the fictional civilations of Atlantis, Mu and Lemuria.

The first six chapters are written by Van Zandt, comprising the generally accepted academic view, which were added to the previously published second half of the book,written by Stemman, founder of the London UFO Research Organisation.

To be fair, the 'evidence' for the fictional show more civilisations is assessed rationally and is largely debunked, with just a lingering soupçon of "but what if?" to keep the believers on board. And, as these theosophical imaginings and archeological flights of fancy have inspired some of my favourite sci-fi, fantasy and sword-and-sorcery books, I can't altogether condemn them. show less

Gave this 5 stars because it is absolutely hilariously ridiculous. Especially the photos and illustrations. Definitely should appeal to any Discordians or Subgeniuses. Just wonderfully absurd.

Very easy to read, I finished it in an hour. Stories were brief and compelling, a good read for a lazy day.