The best books on Atlantis if you love adventure

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a novelis who's had a lifelong fascination with travel, lost civilizations, aquariums, swashbuckling stories (both true and fictional), dancing, dusty old bookstores and libraries, sangria, and sunny beaches. I grew up in beautiful south Louisiana and my earliest memories were in New Orleans. Living in “America's first melting pot” taught me to appreciate cultures, languages, cuisine, and music from a young age. Ancient and Medieval history and folklore remain major influences on my writing.


I wrote...

Atlantis On the Shores of Forever

By Jennifer McKeithen,

Book cover of Atlantis On the Shores of Forever

What is my book about?

A princess seeking to balance duty and her tempestuous heart... A wanderer searching for a purpose... A soldier destined for glory... A doomed civilization. The princess of an exiled kingdom, Gwenwhyfar's marriage was decided at birth. Enter Marcus Duilius, a career soldier with an eye for beauty. Although drawn to his fatal charms, she knows this son of a Roman naval hero will never allow a woman to stand in the way of his ambition. With her husband's untimely death, she discovers a freedom she never imagined possible. Ready to make her own destiny, Gwenwhyfar finds she must put aside her desires once more and reforge ties with the mighty Atlantis. Mysterious ships have arrived from the east, leaving destruction in their wake. The known world is threatened. To complicate matters, her former Norse bodyguard has suddenly returned to claim her for his own. Can she uphold her duty, save her world, and still find true love?

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Meet Me in Atlantis: My Obsessive Quest to Find the Sunken City

Jennifer McKeithen Why did I love this book?

Mark Adams is simply a delightful writer. In this book, he dares to ask the age-old question: did Atlantis actually exist? He sifts through the facts and the fiction, taking the reader with him in his traipse across the globe to find answers. Like his other books, Meet Me in Atlantis is a fun read, where you’ll learn a lot and have some laughs along way.

By Mark Adams,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Meet Me in Atlantis as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The New York Times Bestselling Travel Memoir! 

The author of Turn Right at Machu Picchu travels the globe in search of the world’s most famous lost city. 

“Adventurous, inquisitive and mirthful, Mark Adams gamely sifts through the eons of rumor, science, and lore to find a place that, in the end, seems startlingly real indeed.”—Hampton Sides

A few years ago, Mark Adams made a strange discovery: Far from alien conspiracy theories and other pop culture myths, everything we know about the legendary lost city of Atlantis comes from the work of one man, the Greek philosopher Plato. Stranger still: Adams…


Book cover of Atlantis: The Antediluvian World

Jennifer McKeithen Why did I love this book?

Though this is a pseudo archaeological work, Donnelly's theories remain the source of many of our modern-day ideas about Atlantis. Written in 1882, at a time when much of the world was still mysterious to Westerners, Donnelly proposed an argument that all cultures and peoples originated from Atlantis, which he claimed was destroyed during the Great Deluge described in the Book of Genesis. Today, in the 21st century, experts have debunked most of his theories. However, many of the questions he raised remain unanswered. Despite its many flaws, it’s an interesting glimpse into Western thought during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

By Ignatius Donnelly,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Atlantis as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This edition of Atlantis: The Antediluvian World contains every vital illustration and table from the original, 1882 edition.

This text represents the sum of Senator Ignatius Donnelly's attempts to prove, through numerous sources, the existence of the lost city of Atlantis beneath the Atlantic Ocean. Numerous pieces of evidence are cited, with Donnelly's central thesis being that there was certain cross-migration between the Europe, North Africa and the American continent via the city whilst it was afloat in ancient times.

To this end, Donnelly demonstrates similarities in the architectural styles, writing, art and cultures of civilisations either side of the…


Book cover of The Maracot Deep

Jennifer McKeithen Why did I love this book?

Master storyteller Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had a few things to say about Atlantis. In The Maracot Deep, young zoologist Cyrus Headley travels to the edge of a deep ocean trench with a team of explorers. Suddenly, a giant sea monster attacks them and hurls them down into the trench. The explorers are rescued by the survivors of the destroyed Atlantis, who have dwelled on the seafloor for the past 8,000 years. Will Headley and his companions ever return to the surface again, or will they remain trapped for the rest of their lives like the Atlanteans? Readers expecting this novel to be like his earlier Sherlock Holms stories are in for a surprise, as it explores the spiritual and occult ideas he pondered later in his life.

By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Maracot Deep as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Maracot Deep is one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's less known works that definitely deserves major recognition for its craft and originality. One of the first works of literature since the ancient historians, it explores the theme of the lost city of Atlantis in an enchanting tale about the expedition of Professor Maracot and his team of explorers to the bottom of the ocean.


Book cover of Ascension

Jennifer McKeithen Why did I love this book?

Nia's lifelong dream is to become an avatar, one of the ruling mermaids of Atlantis. But when she is passed over for the opportunity, she must embark on a quest to prove herself. This journey takes her far beyond the sea and everything she knows to the world of dry land. Arthurian legends, mermaids, magic, Atlantis, a heroine’s journey – how can you go wrong?

By Kara Dalkey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ascension as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

The sea is the birthplace of legends.

Nia, a young mermyd of the Bluefin clan, has had one wish all her life - to be an Avatar in her beloved home of Atlantis.

The ten Avatars rule the beautiful and peaceful undersea city alongside the ancient Farworlders, whose magic keeps their world alive. To be an Avatar is an honour and a great responsibility, and Nia dreams of taking her place among the noble ten.

Now, at sixteen, Nia has a chance to see her dream come true. Atlantis is choosing its next Avatar, and Nia knows she is supremely…


Book cover of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Jennifer McKeithen Why did I love this book?

Probably my favorite part of this book is the gorgeous and amazing descriptions (it was originally written in French, after all). It truly is like a journey to another world! The reader experiences the sheer wonder along with Professor Aronnax as Captain Nemo reveals to him the mysteries of the seas and the alien denizens who dwell there. Verne describes an expedition when Nemo and the Professor visit an underwater civilization - which turns out to be none other than Atlantis. Seriously, if you didn’t read this book in high school or college, you have to read it now.

By Jules Verne,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 11, 12, 13, and 14.

What is this book about?

First serialized in a French magazine from 1869-1870, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is an incredible adventure story that popularized science fiction throughout the world.

Professor Aronnax, a marine biologist, joins harpoonist Ned Land in search of a mysterious sea creature in the open ocean, only to discover that the beast is actually a submarine piloted by the enigmatic Captain Nemo. They are taken captive, thus beginning a strange undersea voyage from Antarctic ice shelves to the subterranean city of Atlantis, hunting sharks along the way.

With its sprawling, exotic plot and vivid descriptions, Jules Verne's epic underwater adventure…


You might also like...

American Flygirl

By Susan Tate Ankeny,

Book cover of American Flygirl

Susan Tate Ankeny Author Of The Girl and the Bombardier: A True Story of Resistance and Rescue in Nazi-Occupied France

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Susan Tate Ankeny left a career in teaching to write the story of her father’s escape from Nazi-occupied France. In 2011, after being led on his path through France by the same Resistance fighters who guided him in 1944, she felt inspired to tell the story of these brave French patriots, especially the 17-year-old- girl who risked her own life to save her father’s. Susan is a member of the 8th Air Force Historical Society, the Air Force Escape and Evasion Society, and the Association des Sauveteurs d’Aviateurs Alliés. 

Susan's book list on women during WW2

What is my book about?

The first and only full-length biography of Hazel Ying Lee, an unrecognized pioneer and unsung World War II hero who fought for a country that actively discriminated against her gender, race, and ambition.

This unique hidden figure defied countless stereotypes to become the first Asian American woman in United States history to earn a pilot's license, and the first female Asian American pilot to fly for the military.

Her achievements, passionate drive, and resistance in the face of oppression as a daughter of Chinese immigrants and a female aviator changed the course of history. Now the remarkable story of a fearless underdog finally surfaces to inspire anyone to reach toward the sky.

American Flygirl

By Susan Tate Ankeny,

What is this book about?

One of WWII’s most uniquely hidden figures, Hazel Ying Lee was the first Asian American woman to earn a pilot’s license, join the WASPs, and fly for the United States military amid widespread anti-Asian sentiment and policies.

Her singular story of patriotism, barrier breaking, and fearless sacrifice is told for the first time in full for readers of The Women with Silver Wings by Katherine Sharp Landdeck, A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell, The Last Boat Out of Shanghai by Helen Zia, Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown and all Asian American, women’s and WWII history books.…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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