In the shadowy recesses of history lie tantalizing glints of fabled ancient cities and island civilizations; of undiscovered treasure and vanished sacred relics; of people, ships, and texts that have entirely disappeared. Swallowed up by the sands and seas of time, they have left behind ghostly traces in legend and myth. Generations of adventurers, archaeologists, and scholars have followed the tracks in search of knowledge, riches, or fame. Some have turned up leads; some have come up empty. In Lost Histories, Joel Levy investigates twenty four of the greatest mysteries of the past. In addition to such mega-mysteries as Atlantis, the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant, Camelot, the Templar treasure, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, he digs deep to explore such long-unanswered questions as: · Was there ever a golden kingdom of El Dorado? · Will we find the missing Dialogues of Aristotle or lost plays by Shakespeare? · How did the entire Roanoke colony disappear? · Did Captain Kidd bury a vast treasure? · Where was Genghis Khan entombed when he died? · What happened to Amelia Earharts body? Examining the wealth of theories and speculations put forth on these topics, Levy skillfully sifts the truth from the myth, and shows us whether or not we ever have a chance of putting these mysteries to rest.