Drs………. Greg & Lora Little’s ‘The A.R.E.’s Search for Atlantis’ highlights the organization’s relatively recent field efforts investigating the theory that the Lost City of Atlantis had its roots in the island nation of the Bahamas. The A.R.E. (Association for Research and Enlightenment) is a not for profit organization based in Virginia Beach, VA built upon the work of ‘sleeping prophet’ Edgar Cayce.
The book leaves more questions than answers, as do most texts on this controversial subject. The read itself is an interesting one, and a must for those curious about Atlantean and other ancient civilizations. While there are traces of evidence that stand to support a prehistoric human presence in the Bahamas and Cuba, much of the book actually pokes holes in many of the theories. In fact, a significant amount of the text describes a series of boondoggles (the scientific term for ‘short field expediiton’) which expose that several anomalous features seen from the air are natural biological and geological formations.
The debunking of these ‘discoveries’ seem obvious to the reader, and in my opinion, could have and should have been further investigated from a hard science perspective before heading into the field to save a lot of apparently wasted time and effort. However – and there is usually a ‘however’ – each boondoggle did expose some new piece of evidence that warrants some continued investigation in the future. And so the quest continues…
As I’ve written before, the Bahamas does have a certain mysterious appeal, which has attracted a long history of maritime exploration firsts. There may very well be some deep-rooted attraction from the human psyche that stems from an ancient civilization…I am not one to argue this either way. On the short term however, while I am deeply intrigued by Atlantean theory, and the consideration that Atlantis may have occupied a portion of the greater Bahamas region, I am not convinced that this book does much to support any claims.
The text references some gray scientific literature and the Edgar Cayce readings. When used collectively, there truly is a fascinating and exciting story to follow – and that is the allurement to the topic. But, there is no reference to any hard research that the A.R.E. has conducted in the research, nor references to any related scholarly publications from the organization. As such, the book does much to expand upon the ‘theory’, but that is its fullest extent. Now, to the A.R.E.’s and Little’s credit, there are few credible conduits for dissemination of this type of material, hence scholarly publication of related exploration or research are far and few between. That’s not to say that there isn’t value in th work however. But, for this niche community to gain some traction in the mainstream, I am convinced that they must work together to publish some related hard science.
In close, the book is a must read for those interested in the Atlantean subject, especially those interested in learning about related exploratory efforts in the Western Hemisphere. For those who believe, there are more questions than answers left on the table, which means an ocean of opportunity at our fingertips.
