Rating: 
Summary: A Travelogue of Archaeology
Review: Much of this book is pleasant escape reading, and some of the things discussed are intriguing, such as tunnel systems associated with some ruins. The book was spoiled for me, however, when I came to chapters dealing with things I knew of firsthand. One major Northwest petroglyph site is placed in the wrong state. There are just enough wrongo facts to make me wonder how many others masquerade as reality in the text. I will reread the book in the future and enjoy the mysteries of past cultures south of the border, while keeping a salt block handy for the rest of it. His books certainly hold true to the basic instructions for finding lost cities - ask the locals. Few lost cities are truly lost to those who live in the area. They're just forgotten. Enjoy this as a tale told by a traveler, and a collection of some of the more interesting legends of American mystery archaeology. I don't really think there are Egyptian treasures in the Grand Canyon, but I would be delighted if they were real. The same holds true for the treasure-laden tunnels of Death Valley...
Rating:
Summary: A Travelogue of Archaeology
Review: Much of this book is pleasant escape reading, and some of the things discussed are intriguing, such as tunnel systems associated with some ruins. The book was spoiled for me, however, when I came to chapters dealing with things I knew of firsthand. One major Northwest petroglyph site is placed in the wrong state. There are just enough wrongo facts to make me wonder how many others masquerade as reality in the text. I will reread the book in the future and enjoy the mysteries of past cultures south of the border, while keeping a salt block handy for the rest of it. His books certainly hold true to the basic instructions for finding lost cities - ask the locals. Few lost cities are truly lost to those who live in the area. They're just forgotten. Enjoy this as a tale told by a traveler, and a collection of some of the more interesting legends of American mystery archaeology. I don't really think there are Egyptian treasures in the Grand Canyon, but I would be delighted if they were real. The same holds true for the treasure-laden tunnels of Death Valley...
Rating: 
Summary: Great book, bad editing
Review: Reading through I noticed many editing errors, but they do not take away from the integrity or readableness of this book. A wonderful piece of literature and should be read by children in school. Would be a lot better than the works they are reading now. Might actually get them to think instead of just accepting what is already printed as truth.
Rating:
Summary: who's the archeologist?
Review: The book makes a great read, same as DHC's other books of the "Lost Cities" series. Very entertaining, thought provoking, and well written. One thing though: I don't get why the author keeps calling himself "a rogue archeologist": someone has to explain to him what archeologists do. DHC is no archeologist, whatever he might think; he's a traveler, a gossip gatherer, and a free spirit, but all this has little to do with archeology. I enjoyed his open-mindedness, and the relativism with which he judges most of the theories and hypotheses considered. Going through his whole opus, I can't help noticing that this writer is a really great guy, and that his travel companions and friends must have been lucky to have met him, but archeologist? Please, give me a break. And use some proofreader, for the next edition.
Rating: 
Summary: How to read Childress
Review: There are two ways to read Childress. If you want to live in a button-down, straight laced world of academic archeologists, then every time Childress asks a question, just answer (to yourself) No! Then go about with your boring life. But if you want to live a little wild, to peel back the layers & pierce the veil, then answer (again, to yourself) Yes! to every one of his questions. Should you do that, you will have a gay old time figuring out how the world all fits together! Honestly, DHC's speculations are full of BS, but it sure is fun suspending your disbelief & reading these books. Someone mentioned that DHC really seems like a great guy, and you get that sense reading this book. Sounds like he would be a really cool guy to travel & chat with. His travel writing is straighforward, but exciting. Unfortunately, the book is full of typos & poorly done photographs. After reading 5+ of the Lost Cities series, I don't even notice anymore, but it will bug some beginners.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting book, a little more detail would be nice.
Review: This book did give the reader some very interesting facts and folk lore about archaeological discoveries that could prove the existence of superior "giant" races in the Americas. The only thing I did not like about the book (except for the grammatical errors), was that the author would mention some dramatic event (such as the discovery of giants' bones in a mound) and leave the reader hanging after a couple of paragraphs about the find. This book could have easily been an entire set of volumes, should everything have been explained in detail. Overall, it was a very interesting book leaving the reader wanting to know more about certain discoveries and theories within the book.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Thought Provoking
Review: This book is very interesting and thought provoking. I enjoyed reading it. Rather than a book that explains what places you can visit, how to get there and what to see when you go- this is more of a journal of the authors travels. In here he tells you what he sees, what he thinks and the things he learns. The author covers a wide range of thoughts from pteradactyles still living to Asians visiting Mexico to Romans in Arizona. I rated this a four instead of a five for two reasons. At times the writing seems stiff and it makes it hard to wade through some sections of this book. Also, the proofreading leads a lot to be desired. Words are left out, typos and spelling errors are plenty. Enough to be a distraction at times. Otherwise, it's an interesting book and well worth reading. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking.
Review: This is a great book regardless of how outlandish some of the stories it contains are. The author's greatest strength is not in forming unique opinions about the subject but rather in bringing together a vast number of sources to show an America completely different than what we've been lead to believe. The book just isn't about lost cities but also generally weird stuff throughout Central and North America. There is evidence of Asian contact with Central American cultures, pterodactyls in Arizona, Vikings in Oklahoma, Irish monks running all over the place, and those are the more believable stories. Atlantis or a gold city always seems to be around the corner, Jesus may have visited the New World, a master race is controlling the world from underground, the Egyptians had a colony in the Grand Canyon, and of course the government is covering all this up. The book does have its problems. The editing is horrible. The narrative that strings the author's travels together is wooden and painful to read. Each chapter stands by itself, but this means that some background material is repeated, often word for word. Overall these are minor issues. The book doesn't provide any answers but it does make a choice perfectly clear. You can either accept the traditional view that people wandered across a land bridge in Siberia to colonize the Americas and stayed relatively isolated and unadvanced until Europeans showed up in 1492 and wiped them out. Or you can read this book and see if there is evidence out there that suggests otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking.
Review: This is a great book regardless of how outlandish some of the stories it contains are. The author's greatest strength is not in forming unique opinions about the subject but rather in bringing together a vast number of sources to show an America completely different than what we've been lead to believe. The book just isn't about lost cities but also generally weird stuff throughout Central and North America. There is evidence of Asian contact with Central American cultures, pterodactyls in Arizona, Vikings in Oklahoma, Irish monks running all over the place, and those are the more believable stories. Atlantis or a gold city always seems to be around the corner, Jesus may have visited the New World, a master race is controlling the world from underground, the Egyptians had a colony in the Grand Canyon, and of course the government is covering all this up. The book does have its problems. The editing is horrible. The narrative that strings the author's travels together is wooden and painful to read. Each chapter stands by itself, but this means that some background material is repeated, often word for word. Overall these are minor issues. The book doesn't provide any answers but it does make a choice perfectly clear. You can either accept the traditional view that people wandered across a land bridge in Siberia to colonize the Americas and stayed relatively isolated and unadvanced until Europeans showed up in 1492 and wiped them out. Or you can read this book and see if there is evidence out there that suggests otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking but needs work
Review: This was a very thought provoking book. The author himself has, been too many of the places described in the book, which adds a sincere element of realism to the story. This book is a "must read" if you are interested in ancient ruins and pyramids, but it is one book you will need to exercise a little personal judgment. The author is lacking in credibility and doesn't spend a great deal of time on details. This book could have easily been cut up into four separate books and the author could have spent a little more time researching the various regions discussed. I also found it very frustrating that the author didn't appear to make a better effort to explore some of the more mysterious areas talked about in the book. Portions of the Grand Canyon are supposedly restricted and contain mysterious magnetic fields that cause compasses to be offset. I am surprised that there hasn't been more attempts to access this area and that the government has not allowed research in this area. When researching the underwater ruins in the Great Lake, the author couldn't hold his breath very long so he had to surface. Given the importance of this research, another dive might have been nice to read about. I was convinced after reading this book that there have been many attempts over the years to discredit and hide evidence that is contradictory to the theory of Creation and Evolution. The author noted some 900 tablets that were supposedly discovered in a Mexican temple, but cannot be found. The pyramids in the U.S. are interesting as well, but I have since learned that the majority of the pyramids in the U.S. were made by ancient Indian cultures. The credit for these pyramids has been explored (although the author fails to mention this,) but it appears to be prejudice that has not allowed the Indians to receive the credit for their structures. It appears that the ancient Indians were much more advanced than the Indians that have existed in the last 300 years, which is also shown in their art prior to the discovery of maze. Like our own culture, the Indians suffered from over abundance, which led to the breakdown of their interdependent family units and their art. The evidence for this can be seen in the tooth decay, which occurred almost simultaneously with the loss of detailed artifacts buried in the pyramids. I also have to mention that the literary quality of this book is weak. The author could have spent a little more time editing. There were plenty of missing words and typos, which didn't help the credibility of the book. Otherwise, this book is well worth reading and is a good break from the more serious books out there. There is plenty of drama and lots of loose theories. If Indiana Jones were to write a book, it would probably read a lot like this book...Enjoy.
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