Was an advanced civilization lost to history in the global cataclysm that ended the last Ice Age? Graham Hancock has made it his life's work to find out, and in this survey—illustrated with 32 pages of color photos—he draws on the latest archaeological and DNA evidence to make the case that the Americas were first peopled more than 130,000 years ago—many tens of thousands of years before human settlements became established elsewhere. Traveling from the Mississippi Valley to the Amazon rainforest, and from Stonehenge to the Pyramids of Giza, Hancock reveals that the ancient inhabitants of the Americas shared a legacy of advanced scientific knowledge and sophisticated spiritual beliefs with supposedly unconnected cultures around the world.

"A fascinating, alternative version of prehistory…. Detailed and wide-ranging, [this book] turns what was myth and legend into a new story of the past."—Daily Mail (London)