Rating: 
Summary: Scholarly and Challenging
Review: Charles Hapgood's Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings is a much needed scholarly examination of the large number of maps dating from the Renaissance period which seem to show an ice-free Antarctica and accurate depictions of areas thought to have been unknown at the time the maps were drawn. Since the maps in question were based on older maps which are now lost, the inevitable question is: How in the world could they have been created? Hapgood does not draw fantastic conclusions about ancient astronauts or magical powers, he simply sets forth compelling evidence that civilization is far older than orthodox science thinks. His work deserves to be taken seriously,not ignored.
Rating: 
Summary: Hapgood"s writing style is dry; his content is fascinating.
Review: Hapgood presents crucial evidence that libraries of ancient Greece and Constantinople held accurate maps of the New World, the west coast of North America, and of the Antarctic prior to the twelfth century. These maps were made with mathematical formulae that were not rediscovered until the 1600s. The clear implication being that someone in the dim past had possessed the knowledge and the ability to accurately map the entire world, not just the ancient "known world." The Antarctic coast is detailed without the current ice covering. Modern technology allows the ice sheet to be penetrated to confirm the accuracy of this ancient map. As the original libraries and their contents were destroyed, the copies of those seminal maps, stored elsewhere, became the primary sources for subsequent sailors and explorers. Many of the maps' details were lost or distorted over time due to repeated copying, but the essence of the original accurate mapping remains to this day.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, rigorous analysis.
Review: I recently read the book "Maps of the ancient sea kings" by Charles H. Hapgood. The book provides a rigorous analysis of a number of maps that appear to be copies and compilations of far more ancient maps detailing the coasts of North and South America, Antartica, India, possibly Australia and other coastlines that are currently thought not to have been "discovered" until only comparatively recently. The ancient maps appear to have used a projection system that was not "invented" until recent times and some of the maps seem to indicate a remarkably accurate estimate of the circumfrence of the earth. Interestingly, the ancient maps, according to the author, appear to have been drawn at a time when the level of the oceans was lower and the distibution of glaciers was different, thus detailing islands (e.g., in the Aegean Sea) that are currently submerged. The author's conclusion is that the ancient maps were created by a highly organized and advanced culture predating currently known cultures of the ancient world. I found the author's analysis of the maps to be rigorous and convincing although some of the assumptions are questionable. The author wisely keeps speculation to a refreashing minimum (as compared to other books on related topics) and bases conclusion on the facts at hand. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the topic.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing and well-researched
Review: I'm fascinated by the possibilities discussed in this book. I also recommened Robert Doherty's AREA 51 series. While fiction, they raise some interesting questions that point in the same direction as this book. There is also a new series coming next May with the first book titled ATLANTIS by Greg Donegan that I've seen a review copy of. Links Atlantis with Angkor and other sites-- I'm greatly anticipating its publication.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible & Well Thought Out Thesis!
Review: In "Maps of The Ancient Sea Kings" Professor Charles Hapgood creates a compelling thesis suggesting that ancient maps, hand copied and handed down through the ages, may actually have been copied from earlier maps which offered world views, such as aerial, that were premised on technology not previously thought to exist.
Hapgood offers a comprehensive index and bibliography and of course, many maps and plates to help the reader understand exactly what is being suggested by the author.
At slightly over >300 pages, this text does not require advanced education to read and understand. This book is for anyone interested in world history. I rate this text at five stars for Hapgood's tackling an alternate theory of history. Well done!
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing, but unconvincing.
Review: In this book, Charles Hapgood presents the results of an investigation conducted by himself and his students into a number of very old maps. He claims that upon extensive analysis of these maps, it becomes apparent that some of them are likely to have been based on still earlier maps that were astonishingly accurate in their depiction of the world's coastlines, often long before these coastlines were thought to have been explored. From this, Hapgood makes the extrapolation that the accuracy shown on these maps provides evidence for an advanced knowledge of the world's contours in antiquity, perhaps by a lost civilization of great technical prowess. If this sounds like Atlantis to you, then you have a keen grasp of the obvious. Unfortunately, Hapgood's argument depends upon some extensive transformations to which he subjects these old maps; in truth, the maps he examines are not that accurate. Only by assuming that different portions of each map were derived from different source maps, and allowing for significant errors in the compiling of these source maps, does he reach the conclusion that the original maps were in fact accurate, and naturally these originals are not in evidence. The laborious transformations that are applied lead to the obvious question--if the same effort were applied to a "control" map, one known to be inaccurately drawn from other sources, could Hapgood make the same inference? He never tries. Alternative explanations for certain features on the old maps are discarded with no serious evaluation. For example, Hapgood notes that hundreds of years ago many mapmakers placed a continent in the present location of Antarctica simply out of convention--it was thought that a landmass was needed to balance the greater amount of land in the northern hemisphere. The presence of Antarctic coastlines on the Piri Reis and Mercator maps, however, is never ascribed to this impulse, due to the presumed accuracy of these maps in representing the actual Antarctic coastline (said accuracy, of course, not even existing, but only assumed to exist for the hypothetical source maps). Overall, while this work is perhaps sufficient to plant a seed of doubt (I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious as to whether, despite my objections, some of what Hapgood claims might be true), it would seem to be largely a fantasy with little empirical basis. Not written for entertainment value, this book will appeal only to Atlantis enthusiasts, who need no empirical evidence to be convinced, and to fantasy writers looking for material.
Rating:
Summary: Recommended--for the Critical Thinker
Review: It's hard to find a richly detailed and respectably scholarly work of counter-establishment ancient history. This is one.Hapgood leaves me behind at the end by lapsing into the discredited 'pole shift' theory (and he plugs his other book on that topic). But the bulk of his book sticks closely to the maps, and Hapgood's scholarly and detailed analysis of them. He argues that maps ranging from Ptolemy's to some made during the Renaissance are actually compilations of far more ancient maps. Much of the evidence is compelling, especially the Renaissance maps of Antarctica, which wasn't officially discovered by Europeans until much much later. At least in this book, Hapgood's work should not be lumped in with other psuedo-crypto-historians like Graham Hancock. Modern historians would do well to reexamine their beliefs about ancient explorers and their knowledge of world geography. The fact is, the maps passed down to classical civilizations cannot be explained with the established history of human civilizations. There is a good deal of cartographical science to wade through, but it is not overwhelming for the interested reader. Many of Hapgood's references are to material that is clearly quite outdated by now (the book was published in 1966). One of the least gassy books on lost history for the critical thinker.
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't do his homework.
Review: Mr. Hapgood didn't do his homework. There are numerous accounts of maps made by native americans that were used by early explorers in place of their own deficient ones. This was particularly true in the arctic. These maps were made by individuals who had traveled on foot or in small boats over large areas (hundreds of miles) and simply remembered what they had seen. Hard to believe but true. Some of these maps have been checked from the air in modern times and have proven remarkably accurate, with only slight distortions. This is not something we can do but these folks had capacious memories, lived in these areas, and were not distracted by books, radio, and television. These maps were treated as precious objects by ship's captains since they could mean the difference between life and death. Some of them found their way back to Europe.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Amazing!
Review: Seven years of absolutely amazing detective work by the author and his students. The discoveries were absolutely amazing. Well done! The author made thorough analysis on a number of maps from 1300's-1500's and presented his findings, and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions. The discoveries indicated that the people of the 1300's - 1500's could not (no way in the world) have drown the maps but instead the maps were copies and copies of some original ancient (source) maps. There are maps that shows Greenland and Antarctica without the icecap showing rivers, streams and the topology, there are maps that contained islands that could not have existed in the 1300's-1500's or even in the present day. Why hasn't anyone thought of it before! A map contains so much information in terms of sea level, climate and hence the time in which the (source) map was drown, the technology used in drawing the maps. So who were these ancient sea kings? Could they be the ancient Sea People (Philistines) as refer to by the Egyptians or could they be the Phoenicians. Or could they be the descendants of the forever mythical Atlanteans. The book also points out that our famous scientist and mathematicians who thought to have invented what ever, did not actually invented them but merely rediscovering what the ancient advance civilisations had known along. I guess we will never know since countless amount of information were destroyed due to burning of books and libraries in the past. History and knowledge lost forever!
Rating:
Summary: Atlantis and me
Review: The book looked fascinating to me until I read your "reviewers'" references to Atlantis. I can't buy a book true-believers recommend. However, you'll make more money from them than you will from the likes of me. So, as a stock-holder, I say, keep up the good work; long live Atlantis.
|
