Book excerpt: Monstrous beasts, lost worlds, vanished civilizations, Amazon warriors, even Atlantis and Noahs ark figure in this wondrous and rare book. Hard to find in print before now, this obscure 1952 work is an artifact itself, of the postwar fascination with all things mysterious, from flying saucers to ancient astronauts to the third eye. In this wildly entertainingand more than a little bit preposterousdocument, Wilkins takes us from mountain jungles to unexplored swamps on a search for the hidden secrets of old South America. Seekers after the arcane and fans of the paranormal will delight in this odd and extraordinary volume. British journalist and historian HAROLD T. WILKINS (18911960) is also the author of Mysteries of Ancient South America (1945) and Mysteries of Time and Space (1958).