Customer Reviews

The Five Thousand Year Leap - w/CD-Rom eBook and MP3 Audio - Foreword by Glenn Beck

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have heard about The 5000 Year Leap for several years. At first I did not give much thought to reading it. I mostly like fiction books, specifically classics and fantasy. Reading about America's founding never crossed my mind. However, as I delved deeper into the world of politics and current events, I felt a growing desire to learn more about the Constitution. The 5000 Year Leap now grabbed my attention.

I am legally blind and reading is a slow process for me. I searched on Amazon for this book over a period of six months to a year hoping to find an audio c.d. of The 5000 Year Leap. All that I saw was available was the paperback version. Then one day I found the paperback version with a c.d. attached to it. I am not sure if I missed this on my previous searches or if the c.d. was a new feature. Either way, there it was. The price was a bit high, but I felt the knowledge I might gain in this book was worth it. Without hesitation I purchased a copy. It was one of the best Amazon purchases to date.

The 5000 Year Leap is simply special. I learned more about America's founding in this 300+ page book than in 20 years of education. This is a sad testament to our supposed educational system. Students read, memorize and repeat, without much critical thought or creativity in the process. As students we learn much about the atrocities against indians and the inhuman slavery era. Schools are quick to point out America's evils, but slow to illustrate any of the positives, like the genius and miracle behind its creation. The 5000 Year Leap does the latter part eloquently and wonderfully. It is an unapologetic pro-America dive into what our country was meant to be and what should be today. The author W. Cleon Skousen put much research and effort into this book. Within it, he reveals through direct quotes of our Founders how America and the Constitution was viewed. The majority of the book contains 28 principles that the Founders had in common and which was put into The Constitution. What affected me most about The 5000 Year Leap, however, is its portrayal of how prophetic the authors of The Constitution were. These men of great vision gave warnings for future generations of America. None of these warnings do we heed or hear today. In this way, The 5000 Year Leap has angered and saddened me. It forces the reader to think "holy hell what have we done to our country?"

W. Cleon Skousen's The 5000 Year Leap is in my opinion one of the most important literary works about America. I feel so strongly about the latter statement that I have purchsed and will purchase more copies of this book to give to friends and family in hopes they will read it.

If you have not read this book, buy a copy. If you do not have the money, go to the library or borrow one from somebody you know. To anyone who has read The 5000 Year Leap, pass it on. The most dangerous entity to America is not terrorism or global warming, it is an ignorant, uninformed and passive American. The 5000 Year Leap could be a powerful weapon of enlightenment to those Americans who lack knowledge or understanding of our Constitution.

Pass it on.

Christopher

***C.D. Review****
After writing the above review I thought I should make a few points on the c.d. The 5000 Year Leap comes with a c.d. that contains an audio book and an e-book. The c.d. is easily installed on the computer via a setup file. After that you have access to the book. I have used both the audio version and the e-book. The audio version is split into thirty or so different mpeg files, each file acting like a chapter. The audio in these files is crisp and clear, except for one that skipped near the end. I believe Skousen himself reads the book aloud in these files. Its not fancy; there are no background music or effects, just a book being read to you. However Skousen is very articulate and clear in his reading. I am not sure since I have not tried it, but I assume the audio is also playable on a c.d. player. The e-book is formatted like any regular book, beginning with the book cover, title page and Table of Contents. The T.O.C is clickable with links leading to each chapter and section. Also available in this e-book are opportunities to purchase other e-books by Skousen. These audio and e-book features are fantastic for people who are visually impaired. For the rest of you, it is a nice bonus and alternative to reading the paperback copy.

This book very succinctly captures the core principles for human beings successfully governing themselves. In spite of having what I thought was a fairly decent education on the founding of our country, I was surprised by many of the things revealed by this book. This is a quick read and like some other great books I have read, it read it leaves me wanting more. To that end it inspires you to read even more and do more research.

very imformative as to the founding fathers and the constitution
Something every American should read / listen to.

fantastic book. not able to use cd-rom because I didn't understand that after downloading to computer that I couldn't transfer to mp3 audio. My intent was to listen during a long trip in car. The folks at Best Buy assured that I could transfer when I purchased mp3 player.

I learned so much from The Five Thousand Year Leap. I listened via MP3, and so much great information is there that I'm listening again to be sure I didn't miss anything. Understanding the Constitution and the founding of our nation is critical, and every American today should get this book. It is a wake-up call!

Everyone should have a copy of this book in your library, informative, a great view of world changing ideas as well as thought provoking. Refreshing thoughts, will bring out the patriot in you. Every American should read this book as well as those who want to become citizens of the US. This book is a great reference book of the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and Common Sense by Thomas Paine. A great educational tool to refer to.

It's a shame how our great nation has digressed since as recently as I was a child growing up in the 1960's, moreover since our forefathers. I beleive a rebellion is coming by our youth. I pray that we will get our act together and salvage this great nation.

An outstanding explanation of the founding process, what the founders had in mind, and how we have migrated away from the founders intent. The book is written in terms that the modern student can follow without learning the dialect of the era. For me it answered many questions and informed of events I was never taught in school. This is the stuff we all must have a firm basic grasp of and it simply has not been taught in schools for over 50 years.

The more crazy things we see around us, the more I have been reading, trying to find out what the founders originally had in mind for the United States. It is amazing how far from their original intent we have come. This book is a wonderful, easy-to-read analysis of the concepts behind the founding of our country.

It documents the roots of States' Rights, Freedom of Religion, Property Rights, Transfer Payments, Separation of Church and State, and a host of other concepts. I would recommend it for anyone who wonders about what the founding fathers thought when creating the pillars of the political and economic systems of the United States.

This book is one that should be read in public high schools. We must remember what principles our country was founded.