Greetings and welcome to the December 2012 newsletter!

We have had a busy few months since we were last in touch. Unfortunately, due to a reduced workforce and some budgeting constraints, we have had to cut back on the frequency of our newsletters. We are now hoping to get three out to you each year, and hope that we might be able to increase this number in due course.

"The Lost Empire of Atlantis" USA paperback edition
We are extremely pleased to announce the publication of the USA paperback edition of "The Lost Empire of Atlantis" which came out on the 13th of November. The UK edition will be published in January 2013.

Both paperbacks contain a "PS section" with 30 pages of new evidence that were collated since the book was first published back in 2011. The new content provides some thought-provoking evidence for the sun being in a binary system. This could have dramatic connotations for the human race in the future, and questions whether it was a series of cosmic events which brought about the fall of the Minoans, the plagues of Egypt and the Exodus, and the destruction of other civilisations before and after them.

You can buy the USA paperback here  

All three of Gavin's books are now available as e-books. Please let us know if you have any trouble tracking them down!

"Zheng He & the Afro-Asian World"
Two volumes of the recently published "Zheng He & the Afro-Asian World" book are now available. The volumes comprise selected papers presented at the First International Conference on Zheng He, "Zheng He & the Afro-Asian World", which was held in Melaka, Malaysia, in July 2010. It was organized by the Melaka Museums Corporation (PERZIM), the International Zheng He Society (Singapore), and the Cheng Ho Cultural Museum (Melaka) with support by the Melaka State Government. 

The citation for the English volume is: Chia Lin Sien & Sally K. Church (eds), "Zheng He & the Afro-Asian World", Melaka Museums Corporation (PERZIM) and International Zheng He Society (Melaka 2012). The citation for the Chinese volume is 寥健裕,柯木林,許福吉(主編),郑和与亞非世界, 馬六甲博物馆, 囯际郑和学会出版, (馬六甲 2012), 478页, [Leo Suryadinata, Kua Bak Lim & Koh Hock Kiat (eds)]

For those who wish to purchase copies of the book, the list price for each of the books is RM100/- and you may order copies from the Melaka Museums Corporation (PERZIM)  http://www.perzim.gov.my

Mark and Laurie Nickless : "Chasing Dragons - the true story of the Piasa"
Two of the speakers at the conference in Melaka mentioned above were Mark and Laurie Nickless. Their book "Chasing Dragons - the true story of the Piasa" has also recently been published. They say: "... The two greatest arguments against the great Ming treasure fleet having explored the entire world are  - one, why hasn't anyone found a written record of a visit to North America; two, where are physical artifacts from that visit?  In answer to these questions, "Chasing Dragons: the True History of the Piasa" includes eyewitness accounts of such an artifact, and the Chinese account of its construction, translated into English for the first time.  Here begins the revelation of the final and definitive proof of a mandate fulfilled..."  

You can buy their book here

 

A challenge to our readers!  "The Chinese Discovery of Australia" by Professor Wei Juxian
Lastly we would like to issue a challenge to you, our diligent readers! We have recently been given access to one of the few remaining copies of Professor Wei Juxian's book entitled "Zhongguo ren fa xian Aozhou" [The Chinese discovery of Australia] published in 1960. We would like to get this work translated into English, and then help disseminate the contents via our website. The book consists of 183 pages of Chinese characters and contains evidence that "the Chinese had discovered and circumnavigated Australia, travelling back and forth from 592 B.C. to 1432 A.D."  

We are challenging our readers to help us get this great work translated and are looking for volunteers. Do you think you can help?

As always, we would love to hear from you via email: zhenghe@gavinmenzies.net We would also be grateful if you could help us spread the word of our research by forwarding this email on to anyone who you think might find it of interest, and suggest that they please subscribe to our newsletter!

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy 2013, wherever you are in the world!

Best wishes,

Gavin, Ian and the team