Lost Continents

Infobox Book |
name = Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Dust-jacket for "Lost Continents"
author = L. Sprague deCamp
illustrator =
cover_artist = L. Robert Tschirky and Ric Binkley
country = United States
language = English
series =
subject = Atlantis
publisher = Gnome Press
release_date = 1954
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 362 pp
isbn = NA
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Lost Continents: The Atlantis Theme in History, Science, and Literature" is a 1954 study by L. Sprague de Camp, first published in book form in 1954 and updated in 1970. It is one of his most popular works.

Publication History

"Lost Continents" was originally written in 1948, and first published serially by in the magazine "Other Worlds Science Fiction" in 1952-1953; portions also appeared as articles in "Astounding Science Fiction", "Galaxy Science Fiction", "Natural History Magazine", and the "Toronto Star". It was first published in book form by Gnome Press in 1954. De Camp revised the work for its first book publication and for a later edition published by Dover Publications in 1970.

The 1970 edition was updated to reflect the rehabilitation of Alfred Wegener's continental drift theory and investigation of the ancient volcanic eruption of the Aegean island of Thera. This eruption is considered by many who think that Plato's account of Atlantis' destruction had an underlying historical basis, to be that basis.

Overview

"L. Sprague de Camp" enjoyed debunking doubtful history and pseudoscientific claims. In "Lost Continents" he is at his best. The work provides a detailed examination of theories and speculations on Atlantis and other lost lands, including the scientific arguments against their existence.

He explains the origins of the Atlantis legend in Plato's "Timaios" and "Kritias" dialogues and how it has been continued, developed and imitated by later theorists, speculators, scientific enquirers, enthusiasts, occultists, quacks, and fantasists throughout history. Major speculative locales as Atlantis, Mu and Lemuria are covered in depth, with the origins of lesser-known ones such as Thule, Hyperborea and Rutas also treated. The work shows how the misinterpretation of Mayan writings created the Mu-myth, and how the name Lemuria originated from the geological hypothesis about a land bridge between India and South Africa. Modern usage of the concept in speculative fiction is gone into, as are the various attempts to discover the "real" Atlantis.

Importance

De Camp's work is still one of the most reliable sources on the lost continent theme. Lost continents or ancient civilizations sunk by a deluge are a common theme in the scriptures of doctrines of many modern (pseudo-)religions or cults. Well-known instances include James Churchward's books on Mu, or the Theosopical portrayals of Hyperborea, Lemuria and Atlantis, and even the Nazi mythologizing about Thule. As authors of these materials tend not to state (or mis-state) their sources, works like that of de Camp are quite useful to anyone interested in objective information.

References

*cite book | last=Laughlin | first=Charlotte | coauthors=Daniel J. H. Levack | title=De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography | location=San Francisco | publisher=Underwood/Miller | pages=76-77 | date=1983
*cite book | last=Chalker | first=Jack L. | authorlink=Jack L. Chalker | coauthors=Mark Owings | title=The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 | location=Westminster, MD and Baltimore | publisher=Mirage Press, Ltd.| pages=303 | date=1998