Book info

• Title The Drowned Places
• Author Damian Le Bas
• Year 2025
• Genre Non-Fiction

Thousands of years ago, an island off the Straits of Gibraltar went to war with ancient Athens. The battle was lost, and an earthquake cleaved the land in two. Overnight the island sank beneath the waves – or so legend tells. As a young boy, Damian Le Bas was captivated by the story of the lost city of Atlantis. As an adult, he dreams of diving to discover its ruins. After the death of his father, torn between his lifelong desire and the taboo his Romany culture places on the ocean, he comes by chance across a dive shop. He can’t help but go in. Under the waves, Damian enters a breathtaking world. As he masters the skills of this exhilarating sport, diving with seals in the Farne Islands, exploring submerged Roman ruins in Naples and mapping the sunken city of Port Royal in Jamaica, he is entranced anew, by wonders both man-made and natural. Plato's writings on Atlantis were a parable about the hubris of humankind; in witnessing our effects on oceans and ocean communities, Damian finds echoes of this in the modern world.

Thoughts

I have to admit to being tempted by this book simply because of the gorgeously bright cover, but actually it was a fascinating read. The author went on a journey to discover lost cities, ultimately interested in the truth behind the myth of Atlantis. Along the way, and somewhat in grief, he learns to dive and travels the world growing in confidence and ability and discovering these cities and their histories. The chapters sort of alternate between following the author’s diving journey and the history and evolution of lost city myths… and I came away with a long list of things to research, as it was all so interesting!

Rating: 4 / 5