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& REVIEWS FORBIDDEN HISTORY This is a rollicking ride through history in edited by J. Douglas Kenyon the process of being rewritten (although, Bear & Co., USA, 2005 again, navigation would have been helped ISBN 1-59143-045-3 (322pp tpb) by the inclusion of an index). Availability: Australia— Brumby Books, tel _ (03) 9761 5535; USA—Inner Traditions, COLLAPSE: How Societies Choose to http://www. innertraditions.com Fail or Survive lhe US-based bimonthly journal At/antis by Jared Diamond Rising has been plugging away with Allen Lane/Penguin, 2005 alternative views on ancient history and ISBN 0-7139-9862-8 (575pp tpb) mysteries for a decade or more. Now, its Availability: http://www.penguin.com editor, J. Douglas Kenyon, has compiled a any societies have failed in the past, collection of essays from its pages that but a handful have succeeded in pros- reflect a growing body of knowledge that pering for millennia. So what can we learn questions the usual arguments and suspects, —_ from their experience and how can we apply and applies some lateral thinking to our old- _ jt to societies today so that we don't repeat est conundrums on such questions as where mistakes? In Collapse, his epic analysis of we come from and where we are going. the changing fortunes of civilisations ancient The contributors are mavericks in their and modern, Jared Diamond acknowledges fields but are carrying on with expanding the that many cultures have disintegrated due to envelope despite the occasional ridicule and environmental crises—most of which have, extreme tactics from critics in academia. at least in part, been self-induced. Several of them you'll have encountered | Diamond identifies eight categories of before in the pages of NEXUS, whether in processes through which past societies have our feature or science pages or reviews. brought on unintended ecological suicide: deforestation and habitat destruction, soil problems, water management problems, overhunting, overfishing, effects of intro- duced species on native species, human pop- ulation growth and increased per-capita impact on people. He adds four more cate- gories for today: human-caused climate change, environmental build-up of toxic chemicals, energy shortages and full human utilisation of the Earth's photosynthetic capacity. It's claimed that most of these 12 threats will become globally critical within the next few decades. Diamond uses diverse examples from past and present societies, treating them with his hard-hitting, down-to-earth perspective to encourage us to connect with the rhythms of nature that produce times of abundance and then scarcity. The chapters cover a broad spectrum from the vanished Anasazi of the Four Corners of southwestern USA to our As well as Kenyon himself, contributors include: Will Hart, on the futile search for missing links; Peter Bros, who exposes the scientific myth of the ice age; Robert Schoch, whose geological analyses confirm the Sphinx is much older than Egyptologists believe; Rand Flem-Ath, who wonders modern-day, drought-ridden Australia. whether alignments of ancient monuments Ultimately, Diamond takes a positive note have something to do with the Earth's shift- by stressing that our environmental, eco- ing crust; and Christopher Dunn, who specu- HoMIC and social problems are not insur- lates that the ancient Egyptians built the mountable but can be solved if we choose to Great Pyramid as a power plant. start solving them. However, part of our Touched on by various of these contribu- choice must involve a realistic assessment of tors are Velikovsky's catastrophe theories, our modern consumer values and living Schwaller de Lubicz's secret wisdom standards, for we cannot continue treading insights, Michael Cremo's forbidden archae- _ roughshod over the environment if we want ology work, John Michell's research into the _ to survive into the future. He also takes a Atlantean dimensions of megalithic pot shot at corporations who put so much England, Paul LaViolette's and John Major pressure on fragile environments, but points Jenkins's heralding of a superwave from to more enlightened alternatives involving galactic centre, and Wal Thornhill and stewardship. Then again, there's not too David Talbott on the electric universe (see much you can do about an asteroid impact David's items in Science News this issue). on our planet. Sometimes, collapse just isn't your fault at all! A powerful, timely book. FORBIDDEN HISTORY edited by J. Douglas Kenyon Bear & Co., USA, 2005 ISBN 1-59143-045-3 (322pp tpb) Availability: Australia— Brumby Books, tel (03) 9761 5535; USA—Inner Traditions, http://www. innertraditions.com he US-based bimonthly journal Atlantis Rising has been plugging away with alternative views on ancient history and mysteries for a decade or more. Now, its editor, J. Douglas Kenyon, has compiled a collection of essays from its pages that reflect a growing body of knowledge that questions the usual arguments and suspects, and applies some lateral thinking to our old- est conundrums on such questions as where we come from and where we are going. The contributors are mavericks in their fields but are carrying on with expanding the envelope despite the occasional ridicule and extreme tactics from critics in academia. Several of them you'll have encountered before in the pages of NEXUS, whether in our feature or science pages or reviews. ae RBIDDEN STORY: a As well as Kenyon himself, contributors include: Will Hart, on the futile search for missing links; Peter Bros, who exposes the scientific myth of the ice age; Robert Schoch, whose geological analyses confirm the Sphinx is much older than Egyptologists believe; Rand Flem-Ath, who wonders whether alignments of ancient monuments have something to do with the Earth's shift- ing crust; and Christopher Dunn, who specu- lates that the ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramid as a power plant. Touched on by various of these contribu- tors are Velikovsky's catastrophe theories, Schwaller de Lubicz's secret wisdom insights, Michael Cremo's forbidden archae- ology work, John Michell's research into the Atlantean dimensions of megalithic England, Paul LaViolette's and John Major Jenkins's heralding of a superwave from galactic centre, and Wal Thornhill and David Talbott on the electric universe (see David's items in Science News this issue). NEXUS = 71 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2005 www.nexusmagazine.com