I am a writer whose articles appear in this book, one who has investigated alternative scholarship, drawn on various sources, and found that prevalent theories and mindsets often distort what may be the truth regarding history and science. That is what this book is about. It attempts to open the door to a new understanding of the past, and in so doing to better understand who we are, where we come from, and our potential. This often requires unraveling the tangled ball of string that is accepted as historical fact, etymological fact, scientific fact, etc.
I do not have the previous reviewer's specific training in languages and etymology, only a fascination for the subject, and a lifelong sense that something was amiss in this field (Perhaps that is a good thing, for established mind sets may be part of the problem, the perpetuation of distortions by those, who, are often prevented from taking seriously anything that threatens the established way of thinking).
In my research for several articles included in this book, I found, among other things, that standard tenets of history and prehistory ought to be seriously questioned, and that the perpetuation of misinformation through academia is inherent to the institutional and psychological nature of academia itself (which, in turn, is often a product of the human ego and its processes, a state of affairs that often derails a genuine quest for truth).
The ancient history of India is a case in point (as told in this book). That history seems to have been rewritten by Europeans. It should be understood that the Indo-European language is not really a language or anything historical (the language from which, we are to believe, the great family of other languages derive). This "language" is an assumption, a theory, based on the fact that there are great similarities in the roots words of many varied languages across the globe. Indo-European is an invention to try to account for this, a device that runs hand in hand with the alleged Aryan Invasion of India (which reduces the antiquity of India and her languages by several thousand years as compared to tradition). For the sake of simplicity, the story goes like this, as espoused now by various sources: Both the Indo european "language" and the Aryan Invasion were invented, and contrary to the indigenous "nonacademic" history of India as told for millennia. Evidence now shows, though, that India's extreme antiquity as expressed in her mythology is probable, given the discovery of an ancient city (dated to 8000 years ago), now submerged, off the western coast, and satellite images that show the path of the "mythical" Saraswati river. These developments validate that which is written in India's ancient texts, the tradition of a timelessly old India held as a common understanding in her past, from generation to generation. These are developments similar to the archeological discovery of Troy, taking what was deemed fiction by scholars into the realm of actual history.
Furthermore, traditions exist, and perhaps ignored geologic evidence, that what we call India was once a more vast continent, the land, perhaps, of the great rishis whence the vedas and traditions of southern India derive. This book, and Atlantis Rising magazine, tries to unravel the series of untruths piled upon one another regarding the past, and to debunk some of academia's sacred tenets. It is certainly not Christian creationism (as a previous reviewer strangely suggested) merely because it points out the glaring problems in evolutionary theory. The problem in seeing things that way is simple mindedness, as if we have but two choices, Biblical creationism or Darwinism.
(Another reviewer complains, by the way, that one part of the book discredits Ice Age theory, while another uses it to support a point. Keep in mind that the chapters in this book are written by various authors, not a single author. That reviewer's complaint would only be valid if one author had done this. Contained in the book are various points of view with a coherent theme as expressed in various articles, not that of one individual.)
The previous reviewer, who takes issue with the proposition that the languages of India predate those of the rest of the world's languages (as evidence of that land and people's profound antiquity), might look into the ancient traditions and the modern evidence that supports them (and my effort is not the first to do this). Don't expect to find such material in a textbook though. You won't, just as you won't find other "anomalous" evidence in your textbooks that throw monkey wrenches into widely accepted theories. That's the whole point of the book, and Atlantis Rising magazine. Instead, start all over, from the beginning, setting aside what you were taught to believe were indisputable facts.
