Purchase: The Hollow Earth (Dr. Raymond Bernard)
Review
To the best of my recollection, I've read The Hollow Earth twice: once many years ago while researching The Mayan Field and today. My impression back then is the same as my impression today. This is a work of pure fiction. The author is not qualified to speak on the topic and presents nothing more than a book review of other people's theories. It reads like a collection of fairytales.
The author of The Hollow Earth is Walter Siegmeister writing under the pen name Dr. Raymond Bernard. There were many valid reasons why a man of Jewish descent at that point in time would change his public name. Many authors today write under a pseudonym. We cannot discount the information simply because he writes under a different name. What carries more weight for me is authentic experience.
Did Dr. Bernard have the knowledge, skills and abilities to write this book? There is no evidence of that. He had and MA and PhD in Education focused on Rudolph Steiner's theories rather than a background in math or Earth Science. He has no direct experience with the phenomenon. Rather, he has read books and heard rumours. So why is he writing THIS book?
Marketing. Bernard is a magician using his books as a prop to promote products. He was a salesman. That is not clear on the page but is super obvious if you look at the man behind the product. For that reason alone, many would consider ignoring the book completely.
There's just one problem: Bernard's fiction is remarkably similar to the stories of modern Experiencers.
Highlights
The science is bad but the story is good. Someone takes a boat out to the water and finds a mysterious land where it is always summer. They land and find hidden races who teach them ancient magics and gift them with technology.
Sometimes they find a mammoth of similar animal on the ice as if it had wandered out of the past. Then they sale towards a sun. Sometimes they head towards a rainbow. Sometimes it's towards the aurora borealis. It always ends on Summer Isle. Some call it Avalon. Some call it Shangri-La. Others call it Agartha. So if it's all made up, why do so many people have the same shared dream?
The Subterranean Origin of Flying Saucers
Bernard starts with a review of "From Subterranean World to Sky: Flying Saucers" by O.C. Huguenin who was inspired by Professor Henrique Jose de Souza (Theosophical Society). He states there are giant subterrean caverns, one featuring a landmass the size of North America. There are mountains and forests that stretch on forever. There are dwarfs and giants and impossible technology. These are the survivors of Atlantis, Bernard writes.
"The capital of Agharta (Shamballah) is surrounded by villas where live the Holy Sages. It reminds one of Lhasa,where the temple of the Dalai Lama rises on top of a mountain surrounded by temples and monasteries. ...If our cracy humanity will continue its wars, they may come to the surface and transform it into a desert. They can dry the oceans, transform continents into seas and cause the disappearance of mountains. In strange vehicles, unknown above, they travel at unbelievable speed through tunnels inside the earth."
CONCLUSION
Should you bother reading The Hollow Earth? The short answer is no. Firstly, it's not well-written. There is a LOT of stretching. The same evidence is repeated in full often turning what could have been a pamphlet into a book. The hardback edition has several photos; all are fabrications of the author yet presented as "evidence". Yet the fiction is consistent with stories currently presented as truth by experts who cannot be dismissed. More study is required.
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