LOST HORIZONS

Random House owes Bettyann Kevles a lunch at In and Out Burger for her rave review (Dec. 15) of “Unearthing Atlantis,” in which she lends credibility to the theories of author Charles Pellegrino, a man who would make P. T. Barnum sick with envy. My extensive research as screenwriter of “The Lost Cities of Atlantis,” a television documentary that has aired in syndication more than 100 times since 1980, prompts me to comment.

Padded with a trowel, the book uses highly selective research techniques to justify the author’s premise. For example: Plato’s dialogues are the ancient world’s only written source of information on Atlantis. Pellegrino quotes him liberally, but chooses to omit Plato’s clear statement that Atlantis was located “west of the Pillars of Hercules” (Straits of Gibraltar). Thera lies to the east. Are we to assume Plato also didn’t know which way was up?

The author also ignores the fact that carbon-dating (an actual scientific procedure, for gosh sakes!) years ago knocked the props from under most of the dust-covered theories he cites and caused the Marinatoses (Spiridon Marinatos and daughter Nanno, both archeologists) to be unable to get further funding for their excavations on Thera (a blow, since the digs had been a career for the Greek family for two generations). If the Marinatoses’ successor was looking for a press agent to help drum up fresh financing, he certainly found one in Pellegrino.

As for the Mayan art above the review, why not a shot of a Dolly Parton wig? It’s old and kind of looks like a volcanic eruption, doesn’t it?

SARA NICKERSON

TOLUCA LAKE