Fantastic Archaeology: The Wild Side of North American Prehistory by Williams, Stephen - 1991

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991. Second Printing . Trade Paperback. Good. 6" X 8 3/4. 407 Pages Indexed. About half of the total pages have some underlining or highlighting. Otherwise it is a bright tight little used book. Over 100 illlustrations with sources. Williams has written a cheerful and delightful excursion into the realms of fraud, hucksterism, wretched excess, and wishful thinking that constitute Fantastic Archaeology. From Indiana Jones to Lost Atlantis, from mysticism to Mu, Williams reviews the colorful characters and misguided theories which have misguided the public and exasperated mainstream archaeologists .Acknowledging the widespread appeal of these exotic ideas, he has long used them to teach his beginning students. His attitude in this volume is critical, bemused, and and even affectionate. Williams concludes with a review of North American archaeology, his particular interest, and it is to his credit that he makes the real thing as compelling as the rest of Amazing Archaeology. --- Michael Crichton