David Hatcher Childress (born June 1, 1957) is a French-born American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, 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,

alternative history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, alte ...

, and

historical revisionism In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) views held by professional scholars about a historical event or times ...

. His own works primarily concentrate on

pseudoarchaeological Pseudoarchaeology—also known as alternative archaeology, fringe archaeology, fantastic archaeology, cult archaeology, and spooky archaeology—is the interpretation of the past from outside the archaeological science community, which rejects ...

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 claim ...

topics such as "

UFOs An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

, 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 ...

conspiracy theory A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

." Childress, having no degree, refers to himself as a "rogue archaeologist".

Biography

Born in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

to American parents, and raised in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

and Montana,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, Childress went to University of Montana–Missoula 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 spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

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 Kempton is a village in Ford County, Illinois, United States. The population was 231 at the 2010 census. History A post office was established at the site of Kempton in 1869 and called Sugar Loaf. The name of the post office was changed to Kempt ...

, 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 regarding

ancient civilizations A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Ci ...

, 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''. Childress has appeared on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

('' The Mysterious Origins of Man''),

Fox Network The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations ...

(''

Sightings Discovery is the act of detecting something new, or something previously unrecognized as meaningful. With reference to sciences and academic disciplines, discovery is the observation of new phenomena, new actions, or new events and providing ne ...

'' and ''

Encounters Encounter or Encounters may refer to: Film *''Encounter'', a 1997 Indian film by Nimmala Shankar *Encounter (2013 film), ''Encounter'' (2013 film), a Bengali film *Encounter (2018 film), ''Encounter'' (2018 film), an American sci-fi film *Encounte ...

''),

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

, A&E, and

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

(e.g. ''

Ancient Aliens ''Ancient Aliens'' is an American television series that explores the pseudohistorical and pseudoarchaeological ancient astronauts hypothesis, past human- extraterrestrial contact, UFOs, government conspiracies and related pseudoscientific topi ...

''), to comment on subjects such as the

Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is an urban legend focused on a loosely defined region in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean where a number of aircraft and ships are said to have disappeared under mysteri ...

Atlantis Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...

, and

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are ide ...

s. Since first entering the industry in 1984, Childress has been involved in two lawsuits regarding publishing; one, concerning the

Kennedy assassination John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. CST in Dallas, Texas, while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was in the vehicle with ...

, failed after expiry of a

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

and the other, involving an unpublished master's thesis about UFOs written in 1950, was settled out of court. Childress writes humorously about these suits in his 2000 autobiography ''A Hitchhiker's Guide to Armageddon''. Childress has been interviewed on several radio programs.

Reception

Patrick D. Nunn, a professor of geography at the

University of the Sunshine Coast The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) 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 was later renamed the University of the ...

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. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

s on the Pacific islands built by

levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteract ...

. Nunn has written 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. According to the definition of Historical archaeology Historical archaeology is a form of archaeology dealing with pla ...

'') 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 books which make claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling ''Chariots of the Gods?'', published in 1968. Von D ...

Thor Heyerdahl Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography. Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000& ...

, and

Charles Berlitz Charles Frambach Berlitz (November 22, 1913 – 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) * ''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

David Hatcher Childress, official website

Adventures Unlimited Press, official website

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Childress, David Hatcher 1957 births Living people Cryptozoologists Pseudohistorians French emigrants to the United States Pseudoarchaeologists Atlantis proponents Ancient astronauts proponents People from Ford County, Illinois American male writers Free energy conspiracy theorists American conspiracy theorists Pseudoscience