). Enjoying the privilege of unlimited access to the archives of the Library of Congress, Donnelly developed a novel thesis of breathtaking scope. He argued that the apparent similarities between cultures that were separated by vast oceans, and hence were isolated from each other throughout all of recorded history, could be explained by the influence of a worldwide civilization that had existed in remote antiquity and had spread its influence throughout the world before it met its demise. Donnelly's book, titled Atlantis: The Antediluvian World , found a receptive audience and became one of the best-selling books of its time. The Antediluvian World and Pyramid Civilizations