THE STONES OF ATLANTIS <i> by David Zink (Prentice Hall: $10.95, illustrated) </i>

In this unintentionally hilarious compendium of pseudo-science, David Zink argues that the Caribbean island of Bimini is a remnant of the “lost continent” of Atlantis and/or one of its colonies and/or the source of the story of the Fountain of Youth and/or the site of an ancient civilization founded by visitors from the Pleiades, ca. 28,000 B.C. Buttressing his contentions with dubious evidence that ranges from psychic visions to the writings of Edgar Cayce and Immanuel Velikovsky, Zink makes leaps of faith that should qualify him for the interdenominational Olympics.

More reputable scholars, including the late Joseph Campbell, trace the origins of the Atlantis legend to the destruction of the Mediterranean island of Thera in 1485 B.C.; Plato embroidered the story to illustrate the sin of hubris, or overweening vanity--which probably includes presenting one’s half-baked pet notions as scientific fact.