LOST CIVILIZATIONS

In the ``Fact or Fiction Files'' series, fascinating information about mysterious ancient civilizations, in a clumsy format but otherwise well presented and engagingly written. In the ``fact'' section, the authors describe archaeological evidence of Stonehenge, the Nazca lines and serpent mounds of ancient America, Atlantis, the Minoans, and the Easter Islanders. At the end of each brief chapter, readers must turn to a corresponding chapter in the flip-flop ``fiction'' section to find legendary, scientific, and scholarly interpretations. Still, though the ``back and forth'' layout is unnecessarily awkward, the natural attractiveness of the subject and the involving style and syntax may provide enough motivation for readers to plow on through. Bibliography; b&w photos and index not seen. (Nonfiction. 10-13)