The image on the cover of this book is an artist's rendering of a genuine Egyptian face, painstakingly reconstructed, through the techniques of forensic anthropology, from the skull of Natsef-Amun an Egyptian priest who died around 1100 B.C. When the reconstruction was completed in 1989, Natsef-Amun's distinctly Negroid features came as a surprise to some Egyptologists. Were the ancient Egyptians black? Some experts say yes. If so, then Western civilization may owe its existence to black Africans. InBlack Spark, White Fire, award-winning journalist Richard Poe explores new and controversial evidence from linguistics, archaeology, and anthropology, suggesting that Egyptian explorers may have landed in Greece 3 to 4,000 years ago, reared cities and pyramids, established cults, and founded royal dynasties. In the process, the spark they lit may have kindled the fire of Western Civilization. Black Spark, White Firesolves the riddles to these questions and more: Why do so many of the cities, mountains, and rivers in Greece have names that are not Greek, but Egyptian and Phoenician? Who were the mysterious "Minyans" who built pyramids in Greece, some 2,000 years before the Golden Age of classical Athens? Did an Egyptian army once march across Russia leaving colonists in the Caucasus? Did the first Egyptian pharaohs come from Nubia a lost civilization deep in the heart of Africa?With all the suspense of a mystery thriller,Black Spark, White Firefollows a slender trail of clues that leads from the highlands of Ethiopia to the barrows of the Russian steppes. It pieces together the forgotten story of an Age of Exploration that ended nearly 3,000 years before Columbus a time when Egypt ruled the waves, Africa was the seat of learning and power, and Europe a savage frontier.

Richard Poe is an award-winning journalist, a <I>New York Times</I>-bestselling author, and the editor of //Frontpagemag.com, a popular conservative Web site. In addition, his columns have appeared on //NewsMax.com, an online newspaper rated as the sixth most visited Web site on the Internet by the World Charts Foundation. Mr. Poe lives in New York City.