Meet Me in Atlantis

My Quest to Find the 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City

By: Mark Adams

Narrated by: Andrew Garman

Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The New York Times best-selling author of Turn Right at Machu Picchu sets out to uncover the truth behind the legendary lost city of Atlantis. A few years ago, Mark Adams made a strange discovery: Everything we know about the lost city of Atlantis comes from the work of one man, the Greek philosopher Plato. Then he made a second, stranger discovery: Amateur explorers are still actively searching for this sunken city all around the world, based entirely on the clues Plato left behind. Exposed to the Atlantis obsession, Adams decides to track down these people and determine why they believe it's possible to find the world's most famous lost city and whether any of their theories could prove or disprove its existence. He visits scientists who use cutting-edge technology to find legendary civilizations once thought to be fictional. He examines the numerical and musical codes hidden in Plato's writings, and with the help of some charismatic sleuths traces their roots back to Pythagoras, the sixth-century BC mathematician. He learns how ancient societies transmitted accounts of cataclysmic events - and how one might dig out the "kernel of truth" in Plato's original tale. Meet Me in Atlantis is Adams's enthralling account of his quest to solve one of history's greatest mysteries; a travelogue that takes listeners to fascinating locations to meet irresistible characters; and a deep, often humorous look at the human longing to rediscover a lost world.

©2015 Mark Adams (P)2015 Recorded Books

A Bryson-esque tour of people, myth, & archaeology

When I started the book I wondered whether it would veer towards crystals-and-harmony New Age acceptance of Atlantis or else be a mocking catalog of crazy Atlantis belief; but, to my surprise, it did neither. Instead, we are treated to a witty travelogue in the spirit of Bill Bryson - a well-written and thoughtful discussion of scholarly (and serious amateur) efforts to locate the source of the Atlantis myth interspersed with personal asides and observations. Adams takes us on a tour of candidate locations, and gives us sharply written encounters with the people behind each potential theory. It is a fascinating (and fun!) listen.

The book hinges on the account of Atlantis in Plato, and, as a result, there is a lot of deep discussion of Plato and his beliefs in an attempt to identify the truth behind the accounts. Along the way, we are treated to bits on volcanology, archaeology, ancient trade routes, and 19th century cranks. It may sound dry, but it is almost all told in a breezy, entertaining style, focused around interviews with interesting people.

Surprisingly, it also takes the subject seriously: Adams actually draws some conclusions at the end that wraps things up on a (relatively) satisfying note. The reading is also excellent. Overall, a great find for anyone looking for witty history with a personal flavor, I am really happy I found it.

An Engaging Quest!

Adams is a talented writer, as anyone who read his previous book, Turn Right at Machu Picchu, can attest. He writes with wit, enthusiasm and a healthy skepticism (arguably a little too healthy at times) and although the enduring mystery of Atlantis lies at the heart of this book, it's really Adams' journey to learn about that mystery, and the fascinating people he encounters and interviews along the way, that make it such a good read/listen. Through those people, serious, devoted researchers into Atlantis, we get some insight into possible locations for the fabled land while also developing an appreciation for why they search. Adams develops that appreciation too, and eventually, he's drawn into the search and dreams of finding Atlantis himself.

The end, of course, is unsatisfying, as it must be without a real resolution on the subject. Atlantis remains an unsolved and much-debated mystery but this book provides an excellent, entertaining overview and it's anything but dull or dry. Highly recommended.

Andrew Garman does an excellent job as the narrator.

The Lure of Atlantis

There is something about ancient mysteries that proves to be an irresistible draw for many of us and that really is what Mark Adams' exploration into the legend of Atlantis is about. If you're looking for a book about the woo woo world of ancient aliens, super beings or alternate dimensions, this will not be the book for you--although there are brief forays into the beliefs of Madame Blavatsky, Edgar Cayce and even Nazi Occultists (who believed that the "superior" Aryan race was descended from the inhabitants of Atlantis).

Rather, Adams engages us in a thoughtful and intelligent quest into the meaning of Atlantis and its potential reality. Large sections are devoted to an analysis of Plato's writings on the topic (our sole source for the existence of Atlantis) as well as the writings of other contemporary philosophers and historians in the ancient world. We also learn a lot about the history of the ancient world culturally, meteorologically and geologically. Adams explores current thinking about the topic, interviewing archeologists, scientists (including a physicist whose interest in Atlantis was initially spurred by a Scrooge McDuck cartoon) and a plethora of amateur investigators. He treats his subject seriously and with an open mind as to the possible origins and veracity of the legend.

The book can be pretty dense at times and would have benefitted from an accompanying pdf with maps and diagrams of some of the concepts, but Adams does a good job of not overwhelming the reader with technical information--breaking it up with often humorous descriptions of his travels. I learned a lot from this book and not just about Atlantis. Narration is excellent. A good and thought-provoking read.

Interesting.

This was a little dry, but I've always been interested by the idea that certain legends and myths have a genesis in real events. Adams has spent a lot of time interviewing experts and scholars, some quacks, regarding this subject. Will we ever really find Atlantis? Perhaps not, but it does seem plausible that somewhere at sometime there was a place where a great disaster occurred and water covered up the land. Was this related to Noah's ark and other ancient flood stories? I think so. Which of any of these stories holds all of the truth? Well,I'm not sure that can ever be answered.

Yawn

I bought this book for my boyfriend and I to listen to on a road trip. It's so boring I fell asleep while listening (he was driving, thank goodness!) and we didn't even finish it. Very historical and technical, not at all "thrilling".

Author unnecessarily belittles others

I bought this book by the author & another audiobook of his that I’ve not listened to yet and probably won’t now. I got 5 hrs into it and quit. I’d wanted to hear different theories about Atlantis and the basis of each. At some point, the author became too unlikable for me to continue because he ridiculed people he disagreed with. It wasn’t necessary. I can think for myself on whether different theories are unfounded or silly or whatever. I just didn’t need the attitude and mistakenly thought the material would be presented objectively for me to assess. Maybe I’m just too tired of people being snarky to one another but it soured me on this author’s work.

A Search for the Search of Atlantis

I enjoyed listening to Mark Adams's journey. He assumes the pose an intelligent everyman, and buzzes around the world interviewing people engaged in the search for Atlantis. It's great fun to go on the journey with him. He admits that along the way, he got the bug of wanting to find Atlantis too. It is, after all, a lost utopia. I learned a lot about Plato, as well.
Skillfully narrated by Andrew Garman.

Recommend.

More substance than the title implies

I bought this thinking it would be a simplistic explorer/adventure sort of book with interesting factoids, interesting places and odd people, and hoping it would be easily listenable. Well, it has all that, but what I didn't expect was a book that would leave me pondering the definition and significance of mythology, both in the ancient and modern worlds, and provide me with some significant insights into the minds of Plato and his contemporaries. I didn't expect an engaging overview of the geography of the Mediterranean, and to some extent the world, during the bronze age, or of the nature of the volcanoes and earthquakes and how their effects shaped the mythologies which still underlie so much of our culture.

This might not be as interesting to someone better educated in Greek philosophers and mythology than I, and as a neophyte I cannot attest to the accuracy or depth of the author's conclusions, but the book really stimulated my interest, made me want to know more, and that, by my standard, makes this a very good book.

I found myself re-listening to significant portions of the book, and wanting maps and photographs of the places and people the author encounters. That lack of visual material would be a shortcoming, except, of course, I bought an audio book. You might want to have an atlas handy when you listen, I wish I had.

The narration was very good, close to 5 star, but I try to reserve 5 star ratings for really exceptional work and it doesn't quite get there.

Heady

I hate criticizing this book because the author's research is EXHAUSTIVE. An excellent author and scholar who really worked to get to the bottom of his subject. However, the book was pitched as a "Bryson-esque" travel narrative. The moments of humor and wit are very few, and there is not much of any plot beyond the author's travel schedule. I struggled to listen to the end, and this read much more like a textbook than I expected. I suppose I was hoping for more Erik Larson and less Encyclopedia Brittanica. If you love research you will love this book, if you are looking for adventure writing or plot and mythology look elsewhere.

Very interesting, but why not ask a few geologists

Why didn't anyone ask a geologist/paleontologist about major geological events (volcanoes, changes in land elevation, seriously catastrophic floods, climate change that shows up in the geological record) that happened in the relevant time periods? Lots of archeologists, no geologists??? Geologists know about that sort of thing - it's their business!