Plato Prehistorian: 10,000 to 5000 B.C. Myth, Religion, Archaeology

Rating:
Summary: Best Book I've Read in Two Years
Review: I'm currently reading the original (1986/87) edition of this book. First saw it cited in Robert Schoch's "Voices of the Rocks" which I also highly recommend. Mary Settegast has produced a well written, well reasoned, and well documented survey work. She builds a case for the identification of the Magdalenian culture as the historical basis for Plato's Atlantis legend. This is analogous to Schliemann's use of Homer's Trojan war accounts to locate the historical Troy. While not necessarily accurate in certain particulars (conversations between characters etc), each tale is a retelling and preservation of an historical event with many verifiable facts.

Rating:
Summary: Best Book I've Read in Two Years
Review: I'm currently reading the original (1986/87) edition of this book. First saw it cited in Robert Schoch's "Voices of the Rocks" which I also highly recommend. Mary Settegast has produced a well written, well reasoned, and well documented survey work. She builds a case for the identification of the Magdalenian culture as the historical basis for Plato's Atlantis legend. This is analogous to Schliemann's use of Homer's Trojan war accounts to locate the historical Troy. While not necessarily accurate in certain particulars (conversations between characters etc), each tale is a retelling and preservation of an historical event with many verifiable facts.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating look at prehistoy
Review: Prehistoric cultures have always been a mystery unto themselves. How "civilized" were they and what knowledge was passed on to the earliest civilizations of Egypt and Sumer (and in turn future civilizations like Greece) is debatable.
The purpose of this book is to show that Plato may have been referring to actual events that took place during the end of the last ice age. This is not a book about an Atlantis that was comprabable to 2002 technology. This book is about prehistoric cultures that were widespread throughout Europe that were more advanced than current thought would lead us to believe. How advanced is really the question as this book only refers to the possiblilities while presenting it's case. Anyway the belief is that at the end of the last ice age water levels were much lower, hence cultural meccas were wiped out leaving the lesser cultures to carry the torch, when the water levels began to rise to present day levels. These cultures were the Atlantians and the Greeks who fought, according to the priests of Egypt. There's much more to the story but that's the start of it.
This book is very well written and researched. You certainly get a sense of Miss Settegast opinions but she sticks to the facts when reviewing her case. I have read a dozen or so books on the subject and this is by far the best of the lot. If Plato's story is true (and I believe it was to Plato just because of the Solon reference alone), then this is a vey sound theory. Oh and one more thing.... Anyone who thinks that Egyptian and Sumerian civilizations appeared out of nowhere might have a differnt take after reading this book, especially the section about Catal Huyuk.