Cataclysm!: Compelling Evidence of a Cosmic Catastrophe in 9500 B.C.

I am very interested in earth's past and the untold history of our species. And this book surpasses everything I have seen to date. It's erudite, and comprehensive. The author's break new ground in many areas.I can't relate to the debunker's claim of pseudo science. That's become the mantra of dogmatists, of late, those who prefer not to look at the anomalous data. The flowers found in the mouths of the frozen Siberian mammoths and mastodons and other evidence of flora adapted to a temperate climate rules out the possibility that some of the carcasses date to 30-45,000 years. No, 11,500 years BP must be the actual date. The idea they were frozen mummies does not compute with the anecdotal reports that the flesh was fresh enough for humans and dogs to eat. The debunker has attempted to trivialize this extremely important evidence. Also, the debunker fails to understand the distinction between precession and the earth's 23 degree tilt. The two are separate characteristics.But back to the authors: one of their biggest contributions is their provocative suggestion that the earth's axis was more vertical to the ecliptic (the plane of the orbiting planets in the solar system)prior to the cataclysm. They suggest the earth gained its 23 1/2 degree tilt in the encounter with Marduk (Phaeton). This could explain how the polar regions were more temperate before, because a vertical earth (they assert) would have a smaller polar cap. We will have to wait and see if this turns out to be correct.I especially loved the way the authors compare and relate the geological record with the record of the great literary epics, the Edda, the Kalevala, the Avesta, Vedas, Bible, etc. Their understanding of the classics is phenomenal -- and asute. I learned a great deal and will rely on their interpretations in the future.I do have several critical comments. I was disapointed that the authors never discussed Charles Hapgood's contribution regarding the shifting of earth's crust. They mention this as one of the effects of an encounter with Marduk, but no not include adequate discussion. A crustal shift would of course explain why the orientation of the pyramids and ancient sites of meso America are aligned east of north -- a fact no one has ever explained. Obviously, these sites are older than N-S aligned Giza and thus are human testaments that the crust really did move.The authors are in my opinion wrong that all of earth's mountain ranges were low hills before the Phaeton disaster. If this were true, how to explain the alpine flora: wild flowers, liverworts, grasses, mosses and lichens? I agree that much mountain building occurred at this time, but not all.Nor do the authors ever finally succeed in explaining the Greenland ice sheet. It remains a mystery.The author's astutely conclude that a comet could not have caused the Phaeton disaster, because a cube of ice does not have the necessary mass to cause the gravity induced effects. However, Allan and Delair are unaware of scientist Jim McCanney's Plasma Discharge Comert Model, which is in process of revolutionizing our understanding of comets. If McCanney is correct, comets are not dirty snowballs, but are asteroidal and can be extremely large. We will know more next summmer when NASA's Deep Impact space probe causes a collision with the comet Tempel 1 -- an attempt to confirm the ice model. When NASA fails to find the ice, it will be time to junk the current model. No doubt about it, Phaeton was a comet!Despite these criticisms, I heartily recommend this book. We have barely begun to understand the mind boggling power and wonder of the cosmos...

If you are interested in the hypotheses of Graham Hancock, Robert Schoch and Randall Carlson, you will like this book. Hancock accepts the Comet Impact Hypothesis for the end of the Ice Age and the resulting Younger Dryas time period. Robert Schoch supports the idea that the glacial melting was caused by a coronal mass ejection from the sun. Randall Carlson says that they may both be components of one larger event, but continues to say that we probably still have more to learn about this period of history. Those familiar with the works of Zecharia Sitchin know that he believes that the cuneiform tablets of the Sumerians describe the planet Nibiru destroying the planet Tiamat in the early times of the solar system.Delair and Allan take a somewhat different approach to this event. Delair is an Oxford geologist and Allan a Science Historian. They are both eminently qualified to weigh in on the problem. They interpret the Sumerian description of the demise of Tiamat to be a far more recent event. Rather than the planet Nibiru, they propose that a rogue planet entered the solar system about 11,500 years ago, decimated Tiamat and left the asteroid belt in its place and then went on to a close fly-by with Earth which caused havoc on this planet, causing the events of the Younger Dryas.To support this claim, they cite a huge amount of evidence, both geological and biological, as well as supporting evidence from traditional descriptions from around the world of a catastrophic time which we know as Noah's flood. The massive amount of hard evidence includes geologically recent crumpling and upheavaling of the lithosphere, as well as vast global coverage of volcanic activity at the same time. The biological evidence they present includes the vast number of species and genera which became extinct at this time as well as the global deposits of oscious brecia which have been discovered. This brecia includes the remains of huge numbers of broken bones of multiple animal - and human - species jumbled together with broken trees, tree limbs with leaves attached, the remains of numerous plant types, and significant amounts of mud, clay, volcanic ash and gravel. In the higher latitudes this much is frozen solid and has been for 11,500 years. In other places it is found dried and packed together in caves and crevices, and in still others, buried meters below current ground level.Delair and Allan's hypothesis may be the overarching theory that unites Hancock, Schoch and Sitchin, and in the process provides a clearer picture of the end of the Ice Age and the Younger Dryas. It is not without new and shocking components, such as the possibility that glaciers may not have covered North America at all. But for all those who are interested in the question of the truth of what happened on this planet in the remote past, Cataclysm should be required reading.

Very thorough analysis, however, the author has a very wordy writing style where one feels like they are plowing through the material. If you are interested in our past and what the future holds as well as reading material that improved analysis as technology and research improved, I'd recommend reading the following books in order:(1950) Worlds in Collision - Immanuel Velikovsky(1994) When the Earth Nearly Died (this book)(2005) Thunderbolts of the Gods - David Talbott, Wal Thornhill(2016) Cataclysms and Renewals - Rubert D Holms(2017) Star Core Zeus - Rupert D HolmsI think it's important to read the books in order to see how the research has evolved and been refined. All of the authors listed took their inspiration from Velikovsky who was somewhat on the right culminating with Rupert D Holms' work who I feel has solved the big puzzle (unfortunately as it does not look good for humans in the near future). Talbott's book reinforces and adds more detail to the astromythology; however, their Saturn/Polar theory is completely wrong. Catastrophes have hit the Earth, not only ~12000 years ago, but they have been hitting Earth with varying degrees of severity around every 4000 years. It not only been documented all over the world in ancient texts by every civilization present at the time but the events have been recorded in the geological records. Venus has played a part for the last 3 (really 4) destruction cycles although probably won't play a part this upcoming cycle.Warning: Once your eyes have been opened, there is no going back. You'll also realize how useless your childhood education was(and contiues to be for the current generation in school) when it came to Earth history.