Exodus Lost, by S. C. Compton
Synopsis:
Exodus Lost, by S. C. Compton, reopens outstanding cold cases from antiquity and tracks down their solutions using cutting-edge science, classical scholarship, and tenacity. The adventure begins with an epic journey across the Atlantic Ocean that Aztec and Mayan chronicles describe as their ancestral voyage to Mexico. By mapping the details within these texts, the author locates their lost homeland and corroborates their traditions of an ocean-crossing long before Columbus or the Vikings. This discovery leads to revolutionary insights into the origins of ancient Mexican and Western civilizations, the Bible (including the first archaeological evidence for two major biblical events), the alphabet, a lost passage in the history of the pyramids, and more. Enter a world of exploration and discovery, mystery and revelation. Whether your passion is archaeology or religion, history or simply a great adventure, Exodus Lost delivers.
1. When did you first start writing, and when did you finish your first book?
I got the initial idea in Oxford in early ’96 and began working on it in earnest when I returned to the States later that year. I took on a graveyard shift that let me research and write through the night while on the clock, night after night, finally publishing the book in late 2010. While investing 14 years for a single work is a bad deal for me, it is great value for the reader. Ideas and research that might elsewhere have sufficed for an entire book are here distilled into a single chapter.
2. What was your favorite chapter to write and why?
I love the rush of adrenaline at the moment of discovery, when the long hours of research finally pay off, and you see and understand something that perhaps no one ever has. Although those moments are rare, I spent so long on this research that, in the end, the book contained quite a few.
The first one that you come to is the realization that the Aztecs’ lost homeland across the Atlantic, called Tlillan Tlapallan "Black Land, Red Land," was identical in its names, geography, royal emblems, etc. with ancient Egypt (known to the Egyptians as Kemet Deshret "Black Land, Red Land"). No one had previously noticed because Egyptian scholars were unfamiliar with the Mesoamerican texts and vice versa. And that is really just the starting point.
3. Do you see writing as a career?
In that I put in full-time hours? Yes. In that I make enough at it to pay the bills? No. Maybe someday.
4. What books have most influenced your life?
As a kid, Lewis and Tolkien. In high school, Thoreau and Great Expectations. Age 19, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Then the Beats. Then Dostoevsky, especially The Brothers Karamozov... As a reader, I’ve had many loves over the years. Though, ever since I started this project, my reading time has been subsumed by research.
Oh, and the Bible. In Exodus Lost, the Bible and its relationship to history and archaeology come up a lot. I was steeped in it growing up, and the culprits of the great historical who-done-it at the heart of this book hail from the same ancient Semitic inhabitants of Egypt as the heroes of the Bible.
5. What project are you working on now?
One research project that I did for Exodus Lost was to check ancient claims of climate anomalies against actual climate data. For example, with regard to the Bible, I found that the 7 years of plenty and 7 years of drought of the Joseph story match perfectly with an extreme 7 year climate event in the region’s tree rings and fossil pollen counts, and thus provided a precise anchor for the Biblical chronology. I explored a similar correlation with the various global traditions of a great flood, and that has led some really interesting places and is becoming the basis for a second book with the working title Apocalypse Past.
More About the Author
S. C. Compton has been fascinated with ancient civilizations since childhood adventures living in the rainforests of Peru with his grandparents and exploring Incan ruins in the nearby Andes. He went on to obtain a Bachelor of Arts in the Humanities cum laude from Shimer College, a Master of Liberal Arts from the University of Chicago, a Master of Arts in Literature from Northwestern University, and studied at Oxford University and in Switzerland at L'Abri. Compton has dedicated 14 years to the research and writing of Exodus Lost, including travels to archaeological sites in Egypt, Mexico, Greece, Israel, and Turkey and to relevant museum and library holdings across Mexico, Europe, and America.
FOR MORE INFO:
Website: www.exoduslost.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ExodusLost
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/StephenCCompton
BUY THE BOOK:
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/T6Eftm
Website: www.exoduslost.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ExodusLost
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/StephenCCompton
BUY THE BOOK:
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/T6Eftm
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