Finding Atlantis: A True Story of Genius, Madness and an Extraordinary Quest for a Lost World

The untold story of a fascinating Renaissance man on an adventurous hunt for a lost civilization-an epic quest through castles, courts, mythologies, and the spectacular world of theimagination.

What do Zeus, Apollo, and the gods of Mount Olympus have in common with Odin, Thor, and the gods of Valhalla? What do these, in turn, have to do with the shades of Hades, thepharaohs of Egypt, and the glories of fabled Atlantis? In 1679, Olof Rudbeck stunned the world with the answer: They could all be traced to an ancient lost civilization that once thrived in the far north ofRudbeck's native Sweden. He would spend the last thirty years of his life hunting for the evidence that would prove this extraordinary theory.

Chasing down clues to that lost golden age, Rudbeck combined the reasoning of Sherlock Holmes with the daring of Indiana Jones. He excavated what he thought was the acropolis of Atlantis, retraced the journeys of classical heroes, opened countless burial mounds, andconsulted rich collections of manuscripts and artifacts. He eventually published his findings in a 2,500-page tome titled Atlantica, a remarkable work replete with heroic quests, exotic lands, andfabulous creatures.

Three hundred years later, the story of Rudbeck's adventures appears in English for the first time. It is a thrilling narrative of discovery as well as a cautionary taleabout the dangerous dance of genius and madness.

From the Hardcover edition.

Describes the thirty-year quest of Olof Rudbeck, a seventeenth-century explorer, adventurer, and Renaissance man to locate a long-lost civilization that he believed once thrived in the far north of his native Sweden. 40,000 first printing.

If you'd never heard of Olof Rudbeck before you read David King’s excellent Finding Atlantis, you’ll never forget him after. Larger than life, with a boldness and compulsive curiosity that approached madness, Rudbeck was both one of Europe's greatest scientists and one of its most startling eccentrics. -Jake Morrissey, author of The Genius in the Design

King is marvelous at elaborating Rudbeck's theories. . . and] tells his tale with the pace and appeal of a classic whodunit. -Publishers Weekly

From the Hardcover edition.

David King teaches European history at the University of Kentucky. A Fulbright Scholar with a master’s degree from Cambridge University, he spent several years in Europe researching this book. He lives in Lexington, Kentucky, with his wife and their daughter.

From the Hardcover edition.

Promises — Oracle of the North — Remarkable correspondences — A Cartesian witch hunt — Follow the fish! — Gazing at the fac of Thor — The quest for the golden fleece — Mountains don't dance — Twelve trumpets, four kettledrums and a bag of gold — All oars to Atlantis — Olympus stormed — Hanging by a thread — Et vos homines — On nothing — And then the snake thawed — The Elysian fields.