Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Voyages of the Pyramid Builders: The True Origins of the Pyramids from Lost Egypt to Ancient America by Robert Aquinas McNally, Robert M. Schoch ISBN: 1-58542-203-7 Publisher: J. P. Tarcher Pub. Date: 06 January, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (10 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Worth Consideration
Comment: The title's provocative phrase "The True Origins of the Pyramids..." does not indicate a proposed alternate civilization of pyramid-builders; instead, it is about the possible common historical origins of the various pyramid-builder (and other) civilizations around the world.
Schoch, a geologist, is perhaps best known for his re-dating of the Sphinx back to 4700-7000 BC, based on weathering and climactic patterns. (This book has an Appendix where Schoch replies cogently to various critics of his Sphinx theory and cites some additional support.)
The main premise in this book is that there are enough distinct threads of evidence to support the theory that the proto-civilization for many of the notable cultures of the past (such as the ancient Egyptions, Mayans, and so on) was based in a time when the sea-levels were much lower in a region called "Sundaland". This region is now mainly underwater due to glacial melting since the last Ice Age and stretches from Indochina to Borneo and Timor.
Schoch uses a myriad of types of circumstantial evidence such as commonality of flood myths, linguistic comparisons, genetics, geologic, tree-ring data, archeological remains, ancient math and astronomical knowledge, and so forth to piece together support for his theory. Some of it is robust, some of it is a bit tenuous, but all in all, I find it worth considering.
In pulling together these disparate trails of evidence into a prehistorical timeline, I do not think Schoch has reached beyond plausibility; indeed, I consider some of mainstream archeology to be more ardently ideological and consist of far more speculative story-telling than what Schoch proposes here.
This book is a worthwhile read for someone interested in the idea that civilization did not spring up suddenly in the last 5-6,000 years. To me, it is far more parsimonious that the homo sapien mind of 10,000, 20,000, or even 40,000 or more years ago - a mind which was identical in capability to ours - had societies and cultures which acted as significant sources of knowledge and influence on the later cultures we know historically. Whether Sundaland was indeed the site of one of these proto-civilizations is something that will likely never be provable to a high degree of certainty, but perhaps this book will at least stir more investigation.
Rating: 2
Summary: Nice theory, but dry, dry, dry
Comment: VOYAGES OF THE PYRAMID BUILDERS by Robert Schoch is the geologist famous for re-dating the Sphinx (with John Anthony West) thousands of years earlier than Egyptologists had determined. However, Schoch is not much of a writer, and even with a co-author, this book is about as exciting as your college physics textbook. The problem is over-research. I get the feeling the Schoch is so used to writing academic papers that he feels that every single fact must be documented and footnoted. In the popular press, the reader is willing to go along with some ideas as long as they are documented now and then.
Once you get past the format, it's not hard to apprehend Schoch's primary theme. He believes that the pyramid structure has not popped up all over the globe by accident, but that ancient mariners brought the ideas with them. He won't date the time of this migration, but it sounds quite a bit like an Atlantean diffusion. Schoch finds pyramids in China, India, Africa, the Mid-east and the Americas. There also are the mounds in North America.
Schoch is convinced that the American pyramids came from China, although his reasoning here is not easy to follow. When even the Mayan legends themselves speak of settlers from the East, Schoch opines that the settlers actually came across the Pacific and worked their way east to the Yucatan. This I find completely unbelievable, especially in light of the underwater findings that have been sighted near Cuba. Clearly the migration was from east to west. Another problem is that Schoch sees pyramids where I can only make out conical towers. He claims that many Indonesian structures are pyramids, but they don't even resemble the stepped or triangular structures to me.
His last chapter refutes those who refute his Sphinx dating. It's dry in the extreme, but he certainly has the academic goods on his detractors. As a skilled geologist, he can easily rebuff Egyptologist Mark Lehner's absurb peeling and scaling theory.
This is a book to skim. It drags where it should inspire and reiterates what we already know. As for ancient boat migration, all he had to do was refer to Thor Heyerdahl's Ra and Kon-Tiki experiments. There's some good information here, but much of it is material you'll want to skip.
Rating: 5
Summary: A solid case for diffusion
Comment: A logical sequence to Voices of the Rocks. Although I am Professor Schoch's webmaster, how could anyone expect me to write a review other than a good one? Questioning my objective views of the book would be legitimate, however, he has obtained good reviews from the skeptics.
Although he centers his book around the pyramids of the world, he also describes how it was possible that these ancient people could have sailed from their country to another after a catastrophic event that ripped apart their culture, taking with them the knowledge they used and seeding a new culture. Thus, leaving temples and other architectural works that show striking similarities with other cultures.
I could go on, but I only have 1,000 words. What I can tell you is that anyone with an interest in this subject, will not be disappointed.
 |
Title: The Origin Map : Discovery of a Prehistoric, Megalithic, Astrophysical Map and Sculpture of the Universe by Thomas G Brophy ISBN: 0595241220 Publisher: Writers Club Press Pub. Date: 30 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: Moses and Akhenaten: The Secret History of Egypt at the Time of the Exodus by Ahmed Osman ISBN: 1591430046 Publisher: Inner Traditions Intl Ltd Pub. Date: 30 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
 |
Title: Lost Secrets of the Sacred Ark: Amazing Revelations of the Incredible Power of Gold by Laurence Gardner ISBN: 0007142951 Publisher: Thorsons Pub Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
 |
Title: The Hebrew Pharaohs of Egypt: The Secret Lineage of the Patriarch Joseph by Ahmed Osman ISBN: 1591430224 Publisher: Inner Traditions Intl Ltd Pub. Date: October, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
 |
Title: Voices of the Rocks : A Scientist Looks at Catastrophes and Ancient Civilizations by Robert M. Schoch Ph.D ISBN: 0609603698 Publisher: Crown Publishing Group, Inc. (NY) Pub. Date: 11 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
