Deep in the heart of southern Africa, in present-day Zimbabwe, a great civilization rose and flourished in the 9th century A.D. Its magnificent walled city stood as testament to a thriving, sophisticated culture called Great Zimbabwe. But in the 14th century, this society abruptly passed into oblivion. Obsessed by rumors of mysterious ruins, German geologist Carl Mauch survived kidnapping and robbery to rediscover Great Zimbabwe in 1871.

Great cities in ruins, lost in the jungles of Central America and Mexico. Who would have built these cities? It would take more than a century and two extraordinary people to uncover the secrets of ancient Maya. The american John Lloyd Stephens, together with his english companion Frederick Catherwood, enbarked upon the first of two epic voyages to central america in 1839. Facing many dangers and illnesses, they returned from the mysterious land with extraordinary stories and breath taking images from a once great civilization of native americans. One hundread years later, Mayan archaeology had made enormous advances, although the inscriptions that adorn the Mayan ruins had not been completely decyphered. It would be the extraordinary studies of the russian Tatiana Proskouriakoff, a woman in a world of men, that would reveal the true lives of the Maya to the world.

Famed for its wealth, cultural treasures, and spirituality, India has beckoned the outsiders for centuries. Many have vied for control of this fabled and diverse land. Two great empires, one established by invading Moguls, the other by the British, flourished on this vast subcontinent.

In 1858, a young French naturalist, Henri Mouhot, set out to discover new animal species in Southeast Asia. Instead, he stumbled on the lost city of Angkor. Uncovering temple after temple hidden by jungle, Mouhot wrote a stirring account of Asia's most bewitching and romantic ruins, sparking an explosion of interest around the world.

Wealthier and more powerful than any other ancient civilization, the Roman Empire enjoyed a long period of prosperity. But perhaps the greatest treasure of this period was not its riches, but its myth. The image of this extraordinary empire has inspired dreamers and dictators throughout the ages, luring some to return to Rome to fuel their own dreams of power.