Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries

Brian Haughton has made an excellent work of compiling the basic facts around the ancient mysteries and secret knowledge topics. Because of the vast number of topics that he has covered in the book, I can imagine that a compromise had to be found in terms of length and depth. A pity that he didn't include more pictures and illustrations on the subjects, though. All in all, a very good starting point for anyone wanting to research further on any of the presented topics.

I was impressed at the intelligent approach of this author's writing. The areas covered are very diverse, fact-based, fascinating accounts of mysterious places, curious and unexplainable artifacts and other strange and unusual historical events and people across the world. There is no question that this author put considerable time and research into each topic covered. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Unlike similar books, this looks at each mystery or historical object or location even handly. No UFOs and government conspiracies. An excellent collection that all students of ancient history should have. It is also a good companion to some of the more fantastical "hidden" history books out there. For a more detailed look at his chapter on Noah's Flood, see The Genesis Question: Scientific Advances and the Accuracy of Genesis.

Written by archaeologist and devote of the esoteric Brian Haughton, Hidden History: Lost Civilizations, Secret Knowledge, and Ancient Mysteries is an amazing survey of mystic places, people, events and structures throughout history. From clues to the true identity of the Queen of Sheba, to ongoing debates concerning the Great Sphinx, to the Irish Newgrange megalith hundreds of years older than the Giza Pyramid and Stonehenge, to evidence for the origins of the Greek myth concerning the Minotaur, each chapter sheds new light on ancient quandaries of human history. A scattering of black-and-white photographs illustrate this fantastic volume; though highly speculative at times, Hidden History is sure to be a treat for anyone with a taste for ancient fables, wonders, and conundrums.

As a skeptic, I enjoy picking up "conspiracy" type books, such as Cremo's "Forbidden Archaeology" and mentally debunking them. Despite the title of this book, this work is a skeptic's treasure trove! The work is divided into Places, Artifacts, and People, and covers a wide range of topics, such as: Petra, Chihcen Itza, Easter Island, Helike, the Library of Alexandria, the Piri Reis Map, the Shroud of Turin, the Crystal Skulls, Robin Hood, Bog bodies, the Phaistos disc and so on. Each chapter is about 5-6 pages long, perfect for a quick break. It doesn't denigrate the folks who would love to believe in more fanciful origins. It just calmly debunks them. The only critique I might have is that there are no references, although he does refer to researchers, and so one could find the source material fairly readily - the book is geared toward a general audience, after all. If you like this sort of thing, you can't pass on this work.