The best books about ancient mysteries that popular culture loves to explore

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been an explorer since I was young. My first short trip was to Cahokia Mounds, a site so little is known about that researchers have yet to discover the name of the people who built the famous city of mounds. As I grew into an adult, I was drawn to visit the Pyramid of Chichen Itza in Mexico and Stonehenge in England. As a writer, I decided the one thing missing from the mysterious places field was a fun way to learn about them. So I wrote a mysterious places book in a trivia game format, as learning something new is always more fun when presented as a  game.  


I wrote...

Amazing Mysterious Places: Geography Trivia Quiz

By Jerry Davis,

Book cover of Amazing Mysterious Places: Geography Trivia Quiz

What is my book about?

This is your opportunity to have fun discovering the most mysterious places in the world. Unlock the secrets of mysterious places around the world with the Amazing Mysterious Places, Geography Trivia Quiz. With this book, you'll have an exciting and enjoyable way to test your knowledge of mysterious places and challenge yourself and your friends. Enjoy your next game night and discover accurate information about these mysterious places while having fun. 

Amazing Mysterious Places offers the player multiple clues, with three difficulty levels for each mysterious place. You'll also get two exciting, mysterious places, picture grid games, and an easy-to-understand scoring system for those with a competitive streak.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Fingerprints of the Gods: The Evidence of Earth's Lost Civilization

Jerry Davis Why did I love this book?

Graham Hancock's book has inspired me to learn more about mysterious places like Stonehenge and Machu Pichu.

Graham is a former newspaper reporter, which is evident when reading his works. He goes to the site and gives you a report on what he saw and learned about the place. He includes history, native beliefs, and mainstream archaeological theory to help the reader develop a clear understanding of the mystery and the differing viewpoints about the mystery.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in mysterious places. 

By Graham Hancock,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Fingerprints of the Gods as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Could the story of mankind be far older than we have previously believed? Using tools as varied as archaeo-astronomy, geology, and computer analysis of ancient myths, Graham Hancock presents a compelling case to suggest that it is.
 
“A fancy piece of historical sleuthing . . . intriguing and entertaining and sturdy enough to give a long pause for thought.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
In Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock embarks on a worldwide quest to put together all the pieces of the vast and fascinating jigsaw of mankind’s hidden past. In ancient monuments as far apart as Egypt’s Great Sphinx, the strange Andean…


Book cover of Lost Cities of North & Central America

Jerry Davis Why did I love this book?

After reading Lost Cities and Adventures Across America, I was filled with a sense of curiosity about exploring and uncovering ancient mysteries.

David Hatcher Childress, an archaeologist and author best known for his Ancient Aliens show, takes readers to Mayan cities, ancient canal systems, megalithic monuments, and Guatemala's jungles. Childress is a superb storyteller and leads the reader's thorough exploration of mysterious places, making it a book I recommend to all who enjoy mysterious places.

By David Hatcher Childress,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lost Cities of North & Central America as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the jungles of Central America to the deserts of the southwest down the back roads from coast to coast, maverick archaeologist and adventurer David Hatcher Childress takes the reader deep into unknown America. In this incredible book, search for lost Mayan cities and books of gold, discover an ancient canal system in Arizona, climb gigantic pyramids in the Midwest, explore megalithic monuments in New England, and join the astonishing quest for the lost cities throughout North America. From the war-torn jungles of Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras to the deserts, mountains and fields of Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.A. Childress…


Book cover of The Enigma Of Tiwanaku And Puma Punku: A Visitors Guide

Jerry Davis Why did I love this book?

Tiwanaku and Puma Punku are possibly the most mysterious places on earth.

Brien Foerster has been researching and leading tour groups to these mysterious abandoned cities for almost 20 years. He has a very understandable way of writing and conveying the mystery surrounding these two ancient places. This book hooked me with its captivating account of the mysterious Tiwanaku and Puma Punku.

Foerster delves deep into the unexplained stone-cutting technology that baffles researchers worldwide. Foerster explores the history, construction, and undiscovered creators through his research. As a reader, I found myself inspired by the unanswered questions and the desire to understand the origins of Tiwanaku and Puma Punku.

I highly recommend this and all of Brien Foerster’s books. 

By Brien Foerster,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Enigma Of Tiwanaku And Puma Punku as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Of the megalithic ruins of the world, one that still stupefies visitors to South America, researchers and laymen alike, is the complex of Tiwanaku, also called Tiahuanaco in Bolivia. The most mysterious part of this archaeological site for many is Puma Punku, a cluster of shattered hard stone building block components that lie undisturbed in the high altitude grasslands near Lake Titicaca. The strangest thing about Puma Punku is that the stone cutting technology found there is not present at other locations in Bolivia, Peru, or in fact the world! This book looks at solving the riddles of who made…


Book cover of Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt: Advanced Engineering in the Temples of the Pharaohs

Jerry Davis Why did I love this book?

Christopher Dunn's research is impressive, as he shares over 30 years of study and nine trips to Egypt in Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt.

He explains the unique marks left by skilled craftsmen that today, with modern technology, we would have great difficulty reproducing. Dunn writes about the precision found in the monuments of Egypt. He uses digital photography and computer-aided design software to give the reader an appreciation for the ancient Egyptians' remarkable achievements.

He includes over 280 photographs of Egyptian monuments to support his theories, and his examination of the underground tunnels of the Serapeum is worth the price of the book alone. His explanation of the precision engineering achieved by our ancient ancestors leads the reader to question long-held beliefs about ancient people. 

By Christopher Dunn,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Lost Technologies of Ancient Egypt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the pyramids in the north to the temples in the south, ancient artisans left their marks all over Egypt, unique marks that reveal craftsmanship we would be hard pressed to duplicate today. Drawing together the results of more than 30 years of research and nine field study journeys to Egypt, Christopher Dunn presents a stunning stone-by-stone analysis of key Egyptian monuments, including the statue of Ramses II at Luxor and the fallen crowns that lay at its feet. His modern-day engineering expertise provides a unique view into the sophisticated technology used to create these famous monuments in prehistoric times.…


Book cover of Voyages of the Pyramid Builders: The True Origins of the Pyramids from Lost Egypt to Ancient America

Jerry Davis Why did I love this book?

In this book, Robert M. Schoch challenges the mainstream belief of mere coincidence regarding the prevalence of pyramids worldwide.

Schoch explores mysterious geographical and historical examples, from ancient Egyptians to Buddhists and the Mississippi Indians; Schoch argues that ancient cultures shared a common vision of these majestic structures. He believes ancient sailors from Southeast Asia spread the concept of pyramids throughout the world, even reaching the Americas.

Schoch presents a thoughtful, well-reasoned theory that proposes the possibilities of cross-cultural exchange. I really enjoyed Schoch’s thinking, supported by solid evidence from this Boston University Geology professor. 

By Robert M. Schoch, Robert Aquinas Mcnally,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Voyages of the Pyramid Builders as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Is it a mere coincidence that pyramids are found throughout our globe? Did cultures ranging across vast spaces in geography and time, such as the ancient Egyptians; early Bud-dhists; the Maya, Inca, Toltec, and Aztec civilizations of the Americas; the Celts of the British Isles; and even the Mississippi Indians of pre-Columbus Illinois, simply dream the same dreams and envision the same structures?

Robert M. Schoch-one of the world's preeminent geologists in recasting the date of the building of the Great Sphinx-believes otherwise. In this dramatic and meticulously reasoned book, Schoch, like anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl in his classic Kon-Tiki, argues…


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Native Nations: A Millennium in North America

By Kathleen DuVal,

Book cover of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America

Kathleen DuVal Author Of Independence Lost: Lives on the Edge of the American Revolution

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a professional historian and life-long lover of early American history. My fascination with the American Revolution began during the bicentennial in 1976, when my family traveled across the country for celebrations in Williamsburg and Philadelphia. That history, though, seemed disconnected to the place I grew up—Arkansas—so when I went to graduate school in history, I researched in French and Spanish archives to learn about their eighteenth-century interactions with Arkansas’s Native nations, the Osages and Quapaws. Now I teach early American history and Native American history at UNC-Chapel Hill and have written several books on how Native American, European, and African people interacted across North America.

Kathleen's book list on the American Revolution beyond the Founding Fathers

What is my book about?

A magisterial history of Indigenous North America that places the power of Native nations at its center, telling their story from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today

Native Nations: A Millennium in North America

By Kathleen DuVal,

What is this book about?

Long before the colonization of North America, Indigenous Americans built diverse civilizations and adapted to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally. And, as award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal vividly recounts, when Europeans did arrive, no civilization came to a halt because of a few wandering explorers, even when the strangers came well armed.

A millennium ago, North American cities rivaled urban centers around the world in size. Then, following a period of climate change and instability, numerous smaller nations emerged, moving away from rather than toward urbanization. From this urban past, egalitarian government structures, diplomacy, and complex economies spread…


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