j_kupp33's review against another edition
5.0
Stunning third entry into Graham Hancock's life work in discovering an advanced lost civilisation. As always, Graham makes it abundantly clear that what we believe to know about our distant past is very very wrong. There are still many mysteries to solve and new ones to uncover.
We are a species with amnesia.
While I hope it is not the last entry in the so far three book series in Graham's search for his lost advanced civilisation, America Before did truly feel like a conclusion. Building on the previous Fingerprints of the Gods and Magicians of the Gods, America Before further contributes to the amounting evidence that there was once a civilisation which had global seafaring skills, the ability to create stunning architectural works (The Great Pyramid, Sacsayhuaman, Kailasa Temple) which still baffles modern architects today in the methods of their construction, and a deep connection and understanding of the human spirit and the spirit world, a connection which is all but lost today. However, what is different about this book, is that Graham claims the location of this lost civilisation to be North America.
While that might sound crazy, recent scientific discoveries have shown that North America was first peopled at least 130,000 years ago. Giving the settlers 117,000 years to grow and civilise before their horrific end due to a global cataclysm.
Yes, while not everyone might be on board the idea of a lost civilisation, what can no longer be denied anymore, however, is that during the last Ice Age, in the Younger Dryas period of about 12,900 to 11,700 years ago fragments of a comet struck the Earth, primarily in North America but also bits of it in Europe, Antartica, and even so far as Syria. Graham goes into grim detail on what the people of that time would have witnessed during this comet strike. With scientific evidence showing that the whole North American continent would have been on fire, the sky would have been permanently darkened, ice blocks with the equivalent weight of 14 Suv trucks whirling around faster than a jet; all happening in an instant, without a sound, as it all happened faster than the speed of sound. The results of this comet impact resulted in the complete extinction of 35 genre (not species) of megafauna, the disappearance of the Clovis culture in NA, and the rising of sea levels sinking massive chunks of land underwater. If there was once an advanced civilisation 11,000 years ago, none of it would be left to salvage after a cataclysmic even like the Younger Dryas Impact... except for their legacy.
While we might not find any evidence in archeology of this lost civilisation, such as tools, or texts, or technology; what we do find is their legacy. Graham makes an astounding connection between the different mounds found in North America and in the Amazon in South America and their relation to the movements of the cosmos. Such precise construction is put into these mounds so that they connect to different phenomenon of the universe such as the winter and summer solstice, the spring and autumn equinox, and most importantly, to the constellation of Orion. Much like the monuments in Giza, and the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and many other ancient structures across the world. Indicating that there was once an important purpose across ancient cultures to build architectural stunning monuments that link with the universe, connecting heaven and Earth. This global obsession with aligning the movements of the sky to that on the ground could only come from a shared idea passed down from a single source. This source being the lost civilisation.
While the importance of the Universe and its connection to our world is all but lost in the modern world, the ancients saw it as a great importance. Perhaps it was a warning from them, as many ancient myths across the world state, that through the disconnection of man and spirit and the universe, a global cataclysm, much like the one that occurred only 11,000 years ago, will happen again.
It is only from our past that we can learn to be better in our future, and Graham Hancock's 20 year journey of finding his lost civilisation ultimately concludes that we as a species need to reconnect with our past and unite ourselves physically and in spirit in order to once again live in harmony with the universe to prevent any future cataclysms from happening again.
We are a species with amnesia.
While I hope it is not the last entry in the so far three book series in Graham's search for his lost advanced civilisation, America Before did truly feel like a conclusion. Building on the previous Fingerprints of the Gods and Magicians of the Gods, America Before further contributes to the amounting evidence that there was once a civilisation which had global seafaring skills, the ability to create stunning architectural works (The Great Pyramid, Sacsayhuaman, Kailasa Temple) which still baffles modern architects today in the methods of their construction, and a deep connection and understanding of the human spirit and the spirit world, a connection which is all but lost today. However, what is different about this book, is that Graham claims the location of this lost civilisation to be North America.
While that might sound crazy, recent scientific discoveries have shown that North America was first peopled at least 130,000 years ago. Giving the settlers 117,000 years to grow and civilise before their horrific end due to a global cataclysm.
Yes, while not everyone might be on board the idea of a lost civilisation, what can no longer be denied anymore, however, is that during the last Ice Age, in the Younger Dryas period of about 12,900 to 11,700 years ago fragments of a comet struck the Earth, primarily in North America but also bits of it in Europe, Antartica, and even so far as Syria. Graham goes into grim detail on what the people of that time would have witnessed during this comet strike. With scientific evidence showing that the whole North American continent would have been on fire, the sky would have been permanently darkened, ice blocks with the equivalent weight of 14 Suv trucks whirling around faster than a jet; all happening in an instant, without a sound, as it all happened faster than the speed of sound. The results of this comet impact resulted in the complete extinction of 35 genre (not species) of megafauna, the disappearance of the Clovis culture in NA, and the rising of sea levels sinking massive chunks of land underwater. If there was once an advanced civilisation 11,000 years ago, none of it would be left to salvage after a cataclysmic even like the Younger Dryas Impact... except for their legacy.
While we might not find any evidence in archeology of this lost civilisation, such as tools, or texts, or technology; what we do find is their legacy. Graham makes an astounding connection between the different mounds found in North America and in the Amazon in South America and their relation to the movements of the cosmos. Such precise construction is put into these mounds so that they connect to different phenomenon of the universe such as the winter and summer solstice, the spring and autumn equinox, and most importantly, to the constellation of Orion. Much like the monuments in Giza, and the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, and many other ancient structures across the world. Indicating that there was once an important purpose across ancient cultures to build architectural stunning monuments that link with the universe, connecting heaven and Earth. This global obsession with aligning the movements of the sky to that on the ground could only come from a shared idea passed down from a single source. This source being the lost civilisation.
While the importance of the Universe and its connection to our world is all but lost in the modern world, the ancients saw it as a great importance. Perhaps it was a warning from them, as many ancient myths across the world state, that through the disconnection of man and spirit and the universe, a global cataclysm, much like the one that occurred only 11,000 years ago, will happen again.
It is only from our past that we can learn to be better in our future, and Graham Hancock's 20 year journey of finding his lost civilisation ultimately concludes that we as a species need to reconnect with our past and unite ourselves physically and in spirit in order to once again live in harmony with the universe to prevent any future cataclysms from happening again.
anghusss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
raviollie's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
spinnerroweok's review against another edition
2.0
So, I'm listening to this book exploring the archaeology of the Americas and how the writer proposes that the time of migration to the Americas from Asia should be moved back many many thousands of years. However, I start to get uneasy as the author constantly complains about the "institutional" archaeologists and scientists try to muscle him out because what he proposes would "destroy" their careers. Then he starts making connections with Native American beliefs and Egyptian beliefs. So far, I'm like, "OK, maybe he is a little on the fringe, but still within the realm of possibilities provided that more evidence can ever be found." Then, WHAM! In the last hour of this 16 hour audiobook, Hancock goes off on a tangent about Ancient Americans or a group of mysterious world travelers using telepathy, telekinetics, and ESP to construct all sorts of marvels. And all this knowledge is lost in a great cataclysmic rain of comet fragments on North America. Now I don't know what to believe from this book, but I will tell you, it ain't much. This book is worthy of a History Channel special, right next to Pawn Stars and Ancient Aliens because like them, it has little to do with history.
greatlibraryofalexandra's review against another edition
DNF.
I think the last book I DNF'd was Don Quixote like 15 years ago, and I had 100 pages left.
I couldn't get into this and after Hancock's most recent Netflix show gained traction and I did some research and found him to be a purveyor mostly of pseudoscience and fringe ideas, I decided not to waste valuable reading time on this.
For anyone looking for an actual scientific look at America before, check out 1491 by Charles Mann.
I think the last book I DNF'd was Don Quixote like 15 years ago, and I had 100 pages left.
I couldn't get into this and after Hancock's most recent Netflix show gained traction and I did some research and found him to be a purveyor mostly of pseudoscience and fringe ideas, I decided not to waste valuable reading time on this.
For anyone looking for an actual scientific look at America before, check out 1491 by Charles Mann.
mverdoorn's review against another edition
4.0
Graham Hancock’s theories are always interesting. This one was better than most because his ideas didn’t go totally off the rails at the end. (They were only slightly off the rails this time).
melissamarisacelina's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
2.5
I thought this book was going to be a bit more broad about AMERICA BEFORE but halfway, it only focused on one archeological site. I also felt like the authors arguments where wrong (it didn’t help that they said not a lot of people believed in them as well) I thought it was interesting, but for me, it was a bit too long.