This absorbing book explores the possibility that the Atlantis story represents a distortion of a number of myths and legends already present in the ancient Greece and Egypt of the time. Putting more emphasis on Diodorus Siculus' account of the Atlantians, who places this people somewhere in Africa, is it possible that the island Plato spoke of was actually present in a lake not far from a large mountain? Piecing together the key details given in Diodorus, is it possible to identify these features in the Africa of today? In a fascinating piece of historical detective work, the author is able to reveal to the reader precisely how a legend was born.