David Hatcher Childress (born June 1, 1957) is an American
author
In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
, and the owner of Adventures Unlimited Press, a publishing house established in 1984 specializing in books on unusual topics such as ancient mysteries, unexplained phenomena,
pseudohistory
Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseud ...
, and
historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) scholarly views or narratives regarding a historical event, timespa ...
. His own works primarily concentrate on
pseudoarchaeological
Pseudoarchaeology (sometimes called fringe or alternative archaeology) consists of attempts to study, interpret, or teach about the subject-matter of archaeology while rejecting, ignoring, or misunderstanding the accepted Scientific method, data ...
and
pseudoscientific
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...
topics such as "
UFOs
An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...
, secret societies, suppressed technology,
cryptozoology
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...
ndconspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources:
* ...
." Childress, having no degree, refers to himself as a "rogue archaeologist".
Biography
Born in France to American parents, and raised in
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
and Montana, United States, Childress went to
University of Montana–Missoula
The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marking ...
to study archaeology, but left college in 1976 at 19 to begin travelling in pursuit of his archaeological interests.
After several years in Asia and then Africa, Childress moved in 1983 to
Stelle, Illinois, a community founded by
New Age
New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
writer Richard Kieninger; Childress had been given one of Kieninger's books while touring Africa.
[ Childress chronicled his explorations in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in his ''Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries'' series of books.
Childress's first book, ''A Hitchhikers Guide to Africa and Arabia'', was published in 1983 by ]Chicago Review Press
Chicago Review Press, or CRP, is a U.S. book publisher and an independent company founded in 1973. Chicago Review Press publishes approximately 60 new titles yearly under eight imprints: Chicago Review Press, Lawrence Hill Books, Academy Chicago, ...
. In 1984, Childress moved to Kempton, Illinois, and established a publishing company named Adventures Unlimited Press,[World is a stage for David, Adventurer's exploits rival Indiana Jones', anon. staff, '' Daily Mirror of Sydney'', Australia, December 11, 1985] which is a sole proprietorship. His company published his own works and then those of other authors, presenting fringe-scientific theories
A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...
regarding ancient civilizations
A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of the state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond signed or spoken languag ...
, cryptozoology
Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that searches for and studies unknown, legendary, or extinct animals whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated, particularly those popular in folklore, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness ...
, and little-known technologies. In 1992, Childress founded the ''World Explorers Club'', which occasionally runs tours to places he writes about, and publishes a magazine called ''World Explorer''.[
]
Reception
Patrick D. Nunn, a professor of geography at the University of the Sunshine Coast
The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC; formerly abbreviated as USC until 2022) is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. After opening with 524 students in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College, it ...
has noted that Childress is a proponent of pseudoscientific claims such as the lost continent Mu and megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...
s on the Pacific islands built by levitation
Levitation, Levitate, or Levitating may refer to:
Concepts
*Levitation (illusion), an illusion where a magician appears to levitate a person or object
*Levitation (paranormal), the claimed paranormal phenomenon of levitation, occurring without an ...
. Nunn wrote that "the disappearance of Mu is very convenient because it means that theorists like Childress can say what they like and appear convincing to people who are comparatively uninformed, as many naturally are, of the huge body of scientific information on Pacific geology and cultures."[Nunn, Patrick D. (2008). ''Vanished Islands And Hidden Continents Of The Pacific''. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 123-124. ]
Historical archaeologist Charles E. Orser (editor of ''International Journal of Historical Archaeology
The ''International Journal of Historical Archaeology'' is an academic journal devoted to the archaeology of historical sites.
Historical archaeology
Historical archaeology is a form of archaeology dealing with places, things, and issues from t ...
'') has criticized Childress's writings:
Publications
Childress's company has published nearly 200 books (many translated into foreign languages) over the course of two dozen years. Childress himself has authored and co-authored over a dozen books, from his first in 1983 to his most recent in 2013. His influences include Erich von Däniken
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (; ; born 14 April 1935) is a Swiss author of several pseudoscientific books which make claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling '' Chariots of the Gods?'', publis ...
, Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and Ethnography, ethnographer with a background in biology with specialization in zoology, botany and geography.
Heyerdahl is notable for his Kon-Tiki expediti ...
, and Charles Berlitz
Charles Frambach Berlitz (November 22, 1914 – December 18, 2003) was an American polyglot, language teacher and writer, known for his language-learning courses and his books on paranormal phenomena.
Life
Berlitz was born in New York City. He w ...
.
Author or co-author
* '' A Hitchhikers Guide to Africa and Arabia'', 1984,
* '' Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of Africa and Arabia'', 1984,
* '' Lost Cities of China, Central Asia and India'', 1984,
* '' Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of South America'',
* ''Lost Cities of Ancient Lemuria and the Pacific'',
* ''Lost Cities of North and Central America'',
* ''Lost Cities of Atlantis, Ancient Europe and the Mediterranean'',
* ''Extraterrestrial Archeology''
* ''Vimana Aircraft of Ancient India and Atlantis'',
* ''Man-Made UFOs 1944-1994'' (with Renato Vesco)
* ''The Time Travel Handbook''
* ''Pirates and the Lost Templar Fleet''
* ''Technology of the Gods, The Incredible Science of the Ancients'',
* ''Lost Continents and the Hollow Earth''
* ''A Hitchhikers Guide to Armageddon''
* ''Mystery of the Olmecs''
* ''Inside the Gemstone File'' (with Kenn Thomas
Kenn Thomas (June 12, 1958 – September 22, 2023) was a conspiracy writer, archivist, and editor and publisher of '' Steamshovel Press'', a parapolitical conspiracy magazine.
Thomas, who was born in St. Louis, Missouri, wrote over a dozen books o ...
)
* ''Lost Cities and Ancient Mysteries of the American Southwest''
* ''Yetis, Sasquatch and Hairy Giants''
* ''Ancient Micronesia and the Lost City of Nan Modal'' (1998)
* ''The Enigma of Cranial Deformation: Elongated Skulls of the Ancients'' (with Brien Foerster) (2012)
* ''Vimana : Flying Machines of the Ancients'' (2013)
* ''The Lost World of Cham: The TransPacific Voyages of the Champa'' (2017)
* ''Haunebu- the Secret Files: The Greatest Ufo Secret of All Time'' (2021)
Editor
* ''The Anti-Gravity Handbook'' 3rd ed (edited)
* ''Anti-Gravity and the World Grid'' (edited)
* ''Anti-Gravity and the Unified Field'' (edited)
* ''The Free-Energy Device Handbook'' (edited)
* ''The Tesla Papers''
Contributor
* ''Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America: Lost History And Legends, Unearthed And Explored''
* ''Unearthing Ancient America: The Lost Sagas of Conquerors, Castaways, and Scoundrels''
* ''The Fantastic Inventions of Nikola Tesla''
Notes
External links
*
Adventures Unlimited Press, official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Childress, David Hatcher
1957 births
Living people
Cryptozoologists
Pseudohistorians
American pseudoarchaeologists
Atlantis proponents
Ancient astronauts proponents
People from Ford County, Illinois
American male writers
Free energy conspiracy theorists
American conspiracy theorists
Pseudoscience