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In Quest Of The Great White Gods:: Contacts Between the Old and New World from the Dawn of History
An archaeologist describes his search for evidence of pre-Columbian contact between the Old and New Worlds
343 pages, Hardcover
First published January 28, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 20, 2018
It is always a thrill to read of the dedication that fuels an obsession for knowledge into discovery.
Such enterprises, of course, don't come cheap, and require scrupulous attention to detail. RFM gives an insiders version of his years as an underwater archaeologist searching for proof of his theory, which offended so many but is probably true, that Columbus was not the first to reach the Americas.
What success his projects achieved is candidly balanced by some spectacular failures. Occasionally, RFM takes responsability, although the weather of course answers to no one and shoddy workmanship on one of the vessels he planned to sail across the Atlantic proved almost fatally time consuming. Worst of all, and excruciating for his costly projects, was obstinate bureaucracy and often hostile bureaucrats and uncooperative experts and scientists who refused to verify whatever they did not approve. It is truly heartbreaking to think that so many ancient shipwrecks are lost because of the lack of a permit, or the brutal dredging of a site in the name of development.
In this account, in which the author admits to resorting to a few common tricks to get information from reluctant informants, I was surprised at his modest aplomb. In spite of his somewhat racy reputation, I found him to be a man of integrity who can also fascinate with his accounts of scoundrels, sunken treasures, and links to the past that open up vistas.
Such enterprises, of course, don't come cheap, and require scrupulous attention to detail. RFM gives an insiders version of his years as an underwater archaeologist searching for proof of his theory, which offended so many but is probably true, that Columbus was not the first to reach the Americas.
What success his projects achieved is candidly balanced by some spectacular failures. Occasionally, RFM takes responsability, although the weather of course answers to no one and shoddy workmanship on one of the vessels he planned to sail across the Atlantic proved almost fatally time consuming. Worst of all, and excruciating for his costly projects, was obstinate bureaucracy and often hostile bureaucrats and uncooperative experts and scientists who refused to verify whatever they did not approve. It is truly heartbreaking to think that so many ancient shipwrecks are lost because of the lack of a permit, or the brutal dredging of a site in the name of development.
In this account, in which the author admits to resorting to a few common tricks to get information from reluctant informants, I was surprised at his modest aplomb. In spite of his somewhat racy reputation, I found him to be a man of integrity who can also fascinate with his accounts of scoundrels, sunken treasures, and links to the past that open up vistas.
May 13, 2025
This is a fascinating topic, but Mr. Marx REALLY needed a better editor, and perhaps a better "life manager." He marries at some point, but we are never introduced to her; she appears quite suddenly as a character in one of his archeological efforts.
The author clearly has ADHD but has used that to his advantage to make a totally amazing and completely adventurous life for himself, in which he's had seemingly few "official" successes, for all his efforts.
It seems quite clear that there were likely many people from Europe and Asia who landed in North and South America by choice, luck and accident. To my mind, it is a much greater accomplishment to begin a sustaining settlement (Columbus, etc), than to simply accidentally arrive in an unknown place because of wind and weather. It is a disappointment that more governments aren't interested in parsing those two events and allowing archeology to discover all that may be learned.
The author clearly has ADHD but has used that to his advantage to make a totally amazing and completely adventurous life for himself, in which he's had seemingly few "official" successes, for all his efforts.
It seems quite clear that there were likely many people from Europe and Asia who landed in North and South America by choice, luck and accident. To my mind, it is a much greater accomplishment to begin a sustaining settlement (Columbus, etc), than to simply accidentally arrive in an unknown place because of wind and weather. It is a disappointment that more governments aren't interested in parsing those two events and allowing archeology to discover all that may be learned.
October 11, 2016
Marx picks up the legacy of Dr. Van Sertima in these revealing book about the legend of white settlers and voyagers who brought European/Asian civilization to the southern hemispheres. This is very well-written and a good piece of detective work. There is so much information here that the book has to be read twice to digest all of it. The only problem I had was that there is so so many cultural anthropological facts that needed to be expanded upon.
April 11, 2016
Really cool. This guy is an under water archaeologist that has focused his research on pre- Columbian contact between the old and new worlds. He's got some amazing stories. Awesome read!
October 16, 2015
Fascinating book BUT WRONG co-author. Proper co-author is Jenifer Grant Marx.
September 11, 2025
Really cool. This guy is an under water archaeologist that has focused his research on pre- Columbian contact between the old and new worlds. He's got some amazing stories. Awesome read!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews