The Lost Empire of Atlantis: History's Greatest Mystery Revealed Hardcover – January 1, 1994

I see the shills have been around here reviewing. I see comments like "speculative" "needs proof" and the like. What??? We must have read entirely different books. There was little in the way of unsupported speculation. Lots of artifacts, hard science and math, history, and nautical knowledge of which Menzies has plenty of. Lets get this out of the way. This is not really about finding or proving Atlantis. It is about suggesting that the tale of Atlantis might have been inspired by the real life Minoans and their "well attested by artifacts all over the world" empire. There are certain conclusions that are impossible to deny, if you remove the impossible, as Sherlock Holmes would suggest. But shills and their supporters just want to discourage any sensible revision of history, fearing that real history might unravel their nonsense they have been feeding us for so long such as Columbus discovered America or that we were all idiots and cavemen prior to 1776 or 1860 and that no one could sail or navigate the world so early. That might indicate brains and knowledge and then one has to ask, where did that knowledge originate?Now that does not mean the book is error free. Menzies seems to suggest an empire lasting continuously for 3000 years. I'd sooner believe in the Easter bunny than that any empire could last that long. He also chooses to ignore the 1628 BC tree ring recorded date for Mt. Thera, one of the biggest eruptions, 3rd largest in the last 400,000 years, and whose tree ring record shows up all over the world in tree rings. That is pretty hard to ignore. Menzies also misses that the Minoans likely had a "sons of Gomer and Javan" origin as revealed by a very rare but most amazing book on the Celtic people of old lost history by a French Monk, Paul Yves Pezron. You should get it and read it. But these are small nit picking things. Menzies did an amazing and you will note the many 5 star ratings of people who share far more brain power than the shills and "geniuses." Yes, that was intended to be sarcastic. It is stunning to realize that such a vast organized empire existed so early. But climate and the internal breakdown of the "family business" likely took them down and out in the late Bronze age. Yes, the Minoans were likely all somewhat related and a family can only stay together for so long. Read about the first multinational corporation on earth. That is what this was. A great book and easy to read and will hold your interest. 1434, by comparison, was dry by the nature of its content. No dryness here. Menzies delivers, big time!

I've always been intrigued with Atlantis and their abilities / technologies, as well as their self-destruction and location. What I have learned from this book is how evolved early civilizations were, they had wealth, played, had time for pleasure, music, dance, sports, etc. Invented bronze, were peaceful and talented / highly skilled artists, traded extensively (3,500 BC) via boat all around the world from Crete, Greece. People traded art, spices, pottery, tools, bronze, metals, tobacco - from America, Very interesting, I found it connected a lot of history I learned in Art School - I minored in Art History and this filled in a lot of timelines through early artifacts / architecture. Extremely investigated and highly qualified research. Great explanations, detailed facts. Author worked as a sailor and is highly knowledgeable about the seas / islands, countries mentioned / visited. I have read about half of it thus far, and LOVE IT! I highly recommend for those interested in depth of research, backed by personal investigation and interviews with experts. I look forward to reading the second half! May add to this when I finish.

The author takes us through an amazing journey from the Mediterranean Sea to Turkey, Egypt, India, Northern Europe, the British Isles and North America, pinpointing the possible outposts of the Atlantean (Cretan-Minoan) Empire, connecting the dots and describing a magnificent culture and an advanced civilization that co-existed and traded with Ancient Egypt and the rest of the World. His analysis and research are very thorough and convincing. Something was going on around the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean between 3000 BC and 1450 BC and classic historians have not made an effort to elucidate nor satisfactorily explain the mysterious ruins and copper mining sites (and bronze tools !) found in Northern Europe and North America, dating from that era. Thanks to the finding of ancient sunken Minoan boats and their precious cargo, new light is being shed on the importance of copper, arsenic and tin in those times, in order to make Bronze (the ultimate alloy that propelled civilization forward).The sudden stop of Cretan-Minoan activities coincided with the volcanic eruption in Santorini (Thera) and the subsequent tsunami that wiped out the islands around it, circa 1450 BC. As new archeological discoveries are made, the History books will have to be re-written, no doubt. Gavin Menzies provides a lot of ammunition to that effect.

I agree with other reviews, "Best explanation yet, on Atlantis" I would like to see more evidence on the Minoan influence on Stonehenge , the other henges in the UK, and the Welsh mining operation, in general! I hope more definitive Minoan "fingerprints" will be unearthed soon! I realize they just are not out there.....yet.A few quick thoughts. What about the WAUBANSEE STONE? ( see photo) Didn't read about that! Google it! The stone was an ancient relic found on the shore of Lake Michigan, at the junction where the river system to the Mississippi starts, just outside Chicago. It may be a sacrificial alter. Very typical of thePhoenicians seafaring ritual. Also, Phoenician in appearance, notice the closed eyes. Same style of face found in their homeland, on other dipctions of their gods.If you sailed into Lake Superior thru the St. Lawrence seaway, how would you get past Niagara Falls? Its in the way!You can sail to Hudson bay Canada, from the Atlantic. Then south thru the rivers to lake Superior, its tricky, and some smaller rivers. I agreed on the "FACT" of an ancient world copper industry in the lake Superior basin. For more on Great Lakes copper trade read Berry Fell AMERICA B.C.All in all, a really GOOD BOOK, Amazing research, Fun read too,

Ive read most of Gavin Menzies books. Good research and presented in a way that is easy to follow. The Lost Kingdom to me is the pinnacle of his work

Wir leben in einer interessanten Zeit. Neue Forschungstechniken und die Vernetzung verschiedenen Forschungsgebiete räumen mit den alten festgefahrenen Theorien auf. Jetzt kommen die Verteidiger der politisch bedingten Geschichtslehre in Erklärungsnot. Die Fakten sprechen !Der Autor stellen anhand der Fakten Theorien vor, es ist den Kollegen und Lesern erlaubt, daraus alternative Theorien zu erarbeiten, an den Fakten führt aber kein Weg mehr vorbei, auch kein politischer (wer gibt das Geld für die Uni, wer hat ein Land erobert etc.etc.).

After having enjoyed 1421 I couldn't wait to follow Gavin in applying his analytical eye and mind to this one. And I was not disappointed. When a nautical expert has a passion for history, the result is not only original and refreshing - it's a totally new multidisciplinary approach to history. It makes it come alive, we can relate to the Minoans as if they were here a generation before us.That's the way history should be taught at schools to stop it from being generally classified as boring by most pupils. Gavin has this unique ability to put himself into the mind set of a Minoan admiral navigating his vessel with the available technology, with clearly outlined economic objectives, backed up by the knowledge of astronomy,wind and sea currents of those times.Gavin asks questions and shares with us his search for the answer all the way. I would have probably admired the colours and composition of the Thera frescoes , it would have never crossed my mind to count the oars,study the sails and project what such a vessel could actually do in the sea.It's an absolute mind opener for anybody with a passion for history,plus beautifully written in a fresh non academic tone.

Sorry aber das ist einfach nur die Träumerei in Form eines Reiseroman, geschrieben von einem alten Seebären, der mit seiner Frau Urlaub auf Inseln im östlichen Mittelmeer macht. Liebe Studenten, bitte ja keine Seminararbeit auf sowas aufbauen.

This book is in some ways a follow up of his previous books 1421 and 1434 where he traced the travels of the Chinese to America and the Mediterranean.The authors aim was to define the extent of the Minoan empire when its base at Santorini island(Thera) was destroyed by a volcano in 1450 BC.He deals wih this by a) showing that copper ingots from the wreck Ulunburun had a purity that was only found in mines near Lake Superior in North America b)analysis of a Minoan fresco c)tracing the American tobacco bug and cotton from the Americas and d) tracing the Henges on the western coasts of Europe.Quite assumptions are made but i would like to think the whole adventure is fact.A very good read.