Official Review: Prehistory Explained by Shane leach
Posted: 19 Jan 2020, 08:26
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Prehistory Explained" by Shane leach.]
If prehistory is a mystery, shrouded in primordial mists, Shane Leach is a very capable Sherlock Holmes, meticulously gathering clues from around the world to solve the riddle of how the earth and the human race came to be.
Prehistory Explained draws from archeology, astronomy, and various ancient accounts to conclude that the age of the earth is 100,000 years old. Leach believes the world has been repeatedly visited by different extraterrestrial races who colonized the earth, the moon, and Mars. These visitors elevated primitive man by teaching him agriculture, medicine, science, and law. The extraterrestrials traveled in spacecraft made from X-Aerogel (a dense yet lightweight, extremely strong, cross-linked aerogel). Leach suggests that many of earth’s archeological anomalies can be explained as ancient alien structures made from X-Aerogel that has depolymerized into stone.
Too often alternate-history books will present the author’s conclusions as irrefutable facts without any corroborating evidence: the reader is expected to take the author’s word simply because he said so. Leach does not make this mistake. His proposals are very well-researched and documented.
Admittedly, many of his conclusions are speculative. To his credit, whenever Leach speculates, he clearly states that he is presenting his opinion. However, his hypotheses are not without merit. The evidence he presents clearly demonstrates why his conclusions are reasonable deductions.
The element I like best about this book is how well-researched it is. Leach presents arguments from science, astronomy, history, and archeology. He has collected evidence from literally all over the world. You may not agree with all of Leach’s conclusions but, after reading his book, you will understand why he believes the way he does, and the evidence that supports his conclusions. The book also provides color illustrations. Photographs from NASA as well as artifacts drawn from ancient Sumer to Mesoamerica and more, powerfully demonstrate the points being made.
Fascinating as it is, this book is not for everyone. People who are convinced the earth is billions of years old may have a problem with Leach’s conclusions. Likewise, Christians who take the Bible literally, who believe the earth is only 6,000 years old, will likely take issue with Leach’s use of Scripture to support his hypothesis. However, those who are willing to “think outside the box,” who are willing to consider the accumulated evidence with an open mind, will find this an interesting, sometimes startling, but arguably plausible explanation of ancient history.
Much as I enjoyed this book, there are a number of issues I disliked and they are rather serious. The first approximately 70 pages appear to be nothing more than an extremely rough draft; so rough, in fact, that I honestly had a difficult time getting through them. Although the writing in the rest of the book improves, it clearly has not been professionally edited. After the first 70 pages, the biggest issue is various formatting errors. These can make it difficult to know when another source is being quoted or even on what page within a book a quote is found. That said, Leach extensively documents his sources. So, despite these issues, you can know from where he got the information.
Due to the extensive and pervasive formatting issues, I cannot give Prehistory Explained more than 3 out of 4 stars. Understand, however, that if this book were to be professionally edited, if Leach did a complete overhaul of the first 70 pages, I would very happily give Prehistory Explained four out of four stars. That is how good is his research, and how extensive his documentation.
******
Prehistory Explained
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
If prehistory is a mystery, shrouded in primordial mists, Shane Leach is a very capable Sherlock Holmes, meticulously gathering clues from around the world to solve the riddle of how the earth and the human race came to be.
Prehistory Explained draws from archeology, astronomy, and various ancient accounts to conclude that the age of the earth is 100,000 years old. Leach believes the world has been repeatedly visited by different extraterrestrial races who colonized the earth, the moon, and Mars. These visitors elevated primitive man by teaching him agriculture, medicine, science, and law. The extraterrestrials traveled in spacecraft made from X-Aerogel (a dense yet lightweight, extremely strong, cross-linked aerogel). Leach suggests that many of earth’s archeological anomalies can be explained as ancient alien structures made from X-Aerogel that has depolymerized into stone.
Too often alternate-history books will present the author’s conclusions as irrefutable facts without any corroborating evidence: the reader is expected to take the author’s word simply because he said so. Leach does not make this mistake. His proposals are very well-researched and documented.
Admittedly, many of his conclusions are speculative. To his credit, whenever Leach speculates, he clearly states that he is presenting his opinion. However, his hypotheses are not without merit. The evidence he presents clearly demonstrates why his conclusions are reasonable deductions.
The element I like best about this book is how well-researched it is. Leach presents arguments from science, astronomy, history, and archeology. He has collected evidence from literally all over the world. You may not agree with all of Leach’s conclusions but, after reading his book, you will understand why he believes the way he does, and the evidence that supports his conclusions. The book also provides color illustrations. Photographs from NASA as well as artifacts drawn from ancient Sumer to Mesoamerica and more, powerfully demonstrate the points being made.
Fascinating as it is, this book is not for everyone. People who are convinced the earth is billions of years old may have a problem with Leach’s conclusions. Likewise, Christians who take the Bible literally, who believe the earth is only 6,000 years old, will likely take issue with Leach’s use of Scripture to support his hypothesis. However, those who are willing to “think outside the box,” who are willing to consider the accumulated evidence with an open mind, will find this an interesting, sometimes startling, but arguably plausible explanation of ancient history.
Much as I enjoyed this book, there are a number of issues I disliked and they are rather serious. The first approximately 70 pages appear to be nothing more than an extremely rough draft; so rough, in fact, that I honestly had a difficult time getting through them. Although the writing in the rest of the book improves, it clearly has not been professionally edited. After the first 70 pages, the biggest issue is various formatting errors. These can make it difficult to know when another source is being quoted or even on what page within a book a quote is found. That said, Leach extensively documents his sources. So, despite these issues, you can know from where he got the information.
Due to the extensive and pervasive formatting issues, I cannot give Prehistory Explained more than 3 out of 4 stars. Understand, however, that if this book were to be professionally edited, if Leach did a complete overhaul of the first 70 pages, I would very happily give Prehistory Explained four out of four stars. That is how good is his research, and how extensive his documentation.
******
Prehistory Explained
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
And I really love all his research.