ProvacativeAugust 17, 2008 1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Author presents some compelling arguements that deserve serious consideration by mainstream investegators. For a change this book contains pictures and illustrations that are clear and readable. It has always frustrated me that too many books use black and white, very faded illustrations leaving the reader pondering what is actually in the image. I found this book very interesting and easy to read.
Extremely Shocking InformationOctober 29, 2007 7 out of 9 found this review helpful
If you have already read other books that center around the question of who made the pyramids, and why, and so on, then this is the one to read next. I was profoundly shocked by this book. I have known about the "Chariots Of The Gods" idea, and other such bizarre speculations, for decades now - and could not be surprised by anything like that. Entertained, yes, but not surprised as I have already heard it all before. Or so I thought.
I already know that there are pyramids all over the world. Pyramids in Europe, in both North and South America, all over Asia, and so on. But just as a sort of "catalog of pyramids" alone (and there turns out to be MUCH more to it than only that) this book is stunning. The book is printed expensively on large (8 by 10 inch) glossy paper. There are photographs, aerial photographs, maps, pictures taken inside pyramids, reproductions of murals, and so on. What a treat. Somebody put an enormous amount of work into this.
But all of that is only the wrapping paper. What comes out of the box is REALLY something. You are in for a surprise even if you have already read Zecharia Sitchin, William Bramley, Graham Hancock, Colin Wilson, and so on. In fact, having already read those only sets you up for the really big wallop when you read this one. If you have already read this topic, but then miss this book, it would be such a sad irony. This is the one where it all finally comes spilling out. Surprised me. I figured this business was unknowable beyond a certain point, and it is - but that point is not located where I thought it was. I certainly did not expect this much would come out during my lifetime if ever.
I am curious that so many reviewers here gave the book such bad marks for supposedly being poorly written. Based on that information, I was expecting the book to be a horrible mess, but such was not the case at all. There are a few typos, and an informal English is used (about like what I am using here), but that is all. Wayne Herschel is from South Africa and he apparently speaks in a certain way because of that. If you and I disagree about something, I would say that your opinion is different from my opinion, but Wayne Herschel would say that your opinion is different to mine. So, he uses the word "to" in cases where we might expect the word "from" to be. And so on. There are a number of things like this in the book, but I found the book to be nicely written and in an enjoyable style - and even if this book was written in bad English I would by no means want to miss out on the information in it. Not for that or for any other reason.
I would give this book more than 5 stars if the system here allowed for it. On a scale of 1 to 10 I rate this book to be at maybe 15 or 20. Don't miss out. A great deal of seemingly unknowable information has come to be known. And so "off the scale" is not an unreasonable rating.
Rip off?September 30, 2007 2 out of 7 found this review helpful
It LOOKS nice...lots of big bright detailed pictures and it reads nice(the author's admits his 'girlfriend' practically wrote the book for him b/c he apparently had bad writing skills...). The information is practically a repeat of stuff found in other books like Robert Bauval's The Orion Mystery...the bibliography for the book is meager...but the author does add an interesting fresh new perspective to some of history's enigmas...he proposes that the Giza pyramids are only HALF of a bigger star map and he inclueds very convincing visuals to show it!
The only thing I found odd were the actual pictures of him and his co-author in Egypt...it looked so FAKE like they were standing in front of a bluescreen or their images were cropped out in photoshop and pasted onto some Egyptian scene. Kinda funny too because they are in this 'Indian Jones' garb with no sweat on them whatsoever...it's as if the author felt he had to sell an image of an 'adventuring archaeologist' in order to sell his book...CHEESY.
All in all beautiful thought provoking book; I had no problem putting down 20 dollars for it and can't wait for the other ones to come in the series...I'm taking it with a cautionary grain of salt though ofcourse ; )
Intriguing, thought provoking, and credible!April 13, 2007 6 out of 8 found this review helpful
I was simply amazed at the content that's in this book. It is very thought-provoking, and I find it entirely credible. Mr. Herschel has studied this out thoroughly and generously shares what he has found with each of us. The truths he has discovered will probably upset some, those who are used to thinking inside the box and don't like for their applecarts to be upset... but there is just too much evidence to ignore. He is definitely onto something, one of the major discoveries of our time. I would recommend it to anyone.
Fascinating info, poorly writtenFebruary 7, 2007 2 out of 6 found this review helpful
As intriguing as I find the information presented in this book, I cannot recommend actually READING the thing! I give it four stars for content and overall appearance. It's well-printed on glossy paper with beautiful photographs and great illustrations, but the authors' carelessness with regard to attribution makes me feel that many of the images were simply stolen. I'm not saying they were, but that is how it makes me feel: I was unable to find a single attribution, even when the text stated that some images were photocopied at a library or generated by an unnamed commercial computer program. There IS a fair-sized bibliography, but no indication of what came from where. Perhaps the law is different in South Africa.
As for the writing, it is redundant to the point of ennui, and full of . . . dramatic moments! If you only read the captions, you'll get almost all of the story; there's so much repetition that the body text is unnecessary until nearly the end of the book. A professional editing job--even a copy-edit--would improve the book tremendously. Also, the typeface and leading are atrocious...or am I just getting too old? :) The point size was so small I had to use reading glasses and much brighter light than I normally read by.
I find the main message of the book extremely feasible. Herr Herschel believes that pyramids and other monuments all over the Earth--and even Mars--indicate that intelligent life came from a particular star in the general direction of the Pleiades in the Taurus constellation. (Mr. Herschel believes this intelligent life was human, but I have seen a lot of evidence elsewhere that indicates otherwise. Still, it's plausible that they may have been the progenitors for humanity.)
This star is not nearly as far away as the Pleiades, and is thought to be less than 20 light years from Earth. Frankly, other than its similarity to our Sun, not much is known about it. Mr. Herschel identifies this star for us near the end of the book, showing its catalog number and path over the past 17,250 years or so.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who is open-minded enough to believe we might not be the only thing God created. :)
