Fingerprints of the Gods
by Graham Hancock
★ Top 25 book of 1995 · #17 on Best Books of 1995
Graham Hancock questions conventional accounts of human beginnings, arguing that ancient structures worldwide may be far older than believed. He wonders how distant civilizations seemingly communicated, and whether a superior race taught them advanced technology.
Best for: Fans of alternative history who enjoy challenging accepted theories about ancient civilizations
Fingerprints of the Gods is #17 on BookWard's Best Books of 1995, out of 28 1995 books that cleared our data bar.
What Fingerprints of the Gods is about
Graham Hancock proposes that history's standard account of the beginning of civilization is missing something large. He claims that during the last ice age an advanced culture lived on Antarctica, before the continent shifted south to its present position, and that survivors carried their knowledge to peoples around the world, giving rise to the earliest known civilizations. He points to ancient structures he says are far older than usually believed, and asks whether early societies were visited by a superior race or taught technology they could not have developed alone.
The book draws heavily on the earlier work of Ignatius L. Donnelly and Charles Hapgood. It is worth knowing that it is described as pseudoarchaeology and promotes a form of hyperdiffusionism, so it is best read as speculative, provocative alternative history rather than settled science. It will appeal to readers who enjoy lost-civilization mysteries and want to see the case made at full length.
Fingerprints of the Gods on the Best Books of 1995
Fingerprints of the Gods came out in 1995. Of the 28 books first published in 1995 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #17 on our Best Books of 1995 list.
Why it made the list: 207 readers have shelved it on Open Library. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 1995 list
- Lies My Teacher Told Me James W. Loewen, #15
- Dreams from My Father Barack Obama, #16
- The Firework-maker's Daughter Philip Pullman, #18
- Longitude Dava Sobel, #19
See all Best Books of 1995 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1994 Best Books of 1996.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 191 want to read it, 6 are reading it now and 10 have read it, according to Open Library.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 32 | 55% |
| Reader love | 79 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 14 | 20% |
Questions about Fingerprints of the Gods
When was Fingerprints of the Gods published?
Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock was first published in 1995.
Was Fingerprints of the Gods one of the best books of 1995?
Fingerprints of the Gods is #17 on BookWard's Best Books of 1995, out of 28 1995 books that cleared our data bar. 207 readers have shelved it on Open Library.
Why is Fingerprints of the Gods on the Best Books of 1995 list?
207 readers have shelved it on Open Library.
More of the best books of 1995
- The Lost World Michael Crichton, #1
- Emotional Intelligence Daniel Goleman, #2
- Northern Lights Philip Pullman, #3
- Mindhunter John E. Douglas, #4
- Rose Madder Stephen King, #5
- Wicked Gregory Maguire, #6
See the full Best Books of 1995, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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