The GOLD OF EXODUS [Mass Market Paperback]

Howard Blum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1999

For centuries, mankind has disputed the exact location of Mount Sinai -- the site where God descended to give Moses the Ten Commandments and the ancient Hebrews buried a fabled fortune in gold. Now, award-winning journalist Howard Blum tells the heart-pounding true story of how Larry Williams, a two-time Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate from Montana and self-made millionaire, and Bob Cornuke, a retired policeman and former SWAT-team member, daringly infiltrated a top-secret Saudi Arabian military base to gain access to Jabal al Lawz, the mountain they discerned from the Old Testament to be the true Mount Sinai.

What Williams and Cornuke discovered will astonish the world -- the remains of the stone altar at which the Golden Calf was worshiped, the twelve pillars that Moses ordered to be erected, the cave where Moses slept, a landbridge across the Red Sea, and most sensationally, the unnaturally scorched spot on the mountaintop where God gave Moses the two stone tablets. This action-packed tale -- part high-tech treasure hunt, part modern-day spy thriller, and part biblical detective story -- is riveting. And it is all true.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When a millionaire adventurer goes in search of the true Mount Sinai, he gets more than he bargained for. Spies, missiles, and secret military installations are just some of the obstacles that Larry Williams and his sidekick Bob Cornuke must confront in their unprecedented journey to find the lost treasures of Moses. In The Gold of Exodus, award-winning journalist Howard Blum records a page-turning story of an adventure that makes history. While risking their necks by sneaking into the xenophobic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, amateur archaeologists Williams and Cornuke become pawns in a game of international espionage that eventually leads them to the top of the most sacred mountain in the world, and into the hands of shotgun-wielding Bedouins. The Gold of Exodus is a true story that is too unbelievable to be fiction, too suspenseful to be put down, and too significant to soon be forgotten. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

As recounted by best-selling journalist Blum, two men using the Old Testament as a guide set out to find the spot where God supposedy talked to Moses?and the gold the Hebrews brought with them from Egypt.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671027328
• ISBN-13: 978-0671027322
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (74 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #883,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Having started out my career as a reporter for the NY Times, I've moved on to being an author. And while I'm still writing non-fiction, I'm now more focused in writing books that are driven by characters and a sustained narrative. I live in Connecticut and am the father of 3 teenagers - one in college, one starting next year, and one still struggling through high school geometry. My tenth book will be published by Crown/Random House April 26. It's entitled THE FLOOR OF HEAVEN and its a true story about a cowboy turned Pinkerton detective who goes off to the Yukon Gold Rush to pursue a puzzling and suspenseful case. Twentieth Century Fox just bought the film rights, and I find the prospect of a movie based on the book to be exciting - as do the bursars at the colleges attended by my kids.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally Convincing..supports Bible's Authenticity, November 9, 1999

By 

Jon VanHemelryck ([e-mail]) (Hawaii) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Gold of Exodus (Hardcover)

I bought the book right after it was published. I couldn't put the book down....I read it all in just a few readings. I then recommended the book to others who were also fascinated after reading it It convinced me and others that the true Mt. Sinai is in Saudi Arabia.

Others who are giving it low ratings are probably looking for data to disprove the Bible. Now we have further archeological evidence supporting the reality of the Bible, the Exodus, the plagues of Egypt, etc., and of course the Ten Commandments and the supernatural parting of the Red Sea. Charleton Heston acted as Moses in the well known 10 Commandments movie based heavily on a historically true account, with help from this book.

I recently saw two documentary movies: One related to this book with videos and photos and interviews adding more evidence supporting the reality of both books, The Gold of Exodus and the Bible. The second was about the discovery of the likely location for the Ark of the Covenant which contains the 10 Commandments. Bob Cornuke, who was one of the treasure seekers in Gold of Exodus, traveled to Ethiopia to find its location, as well as author Graham Hancock, writer of the Sign & the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant. What exciting times. Noah's ark next?

I recommend reading the Gold of Exodus and the Sign and the Seal for awesome and true archeological adventure stories.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Provocative, October 31, 2001

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The GOLD OF EXODUS (Mass Market Paperback)

In this book, author Howard Blum chronicles the adventures of Larry Williams and Bob Cornuke, treasure hunters. When Larry receives a letter, which suggests that Mount Sinai is not actually in the Sinai Peninsula but in Saudi Arabia, he determines to go retrieve the treasure left there by the Israelites-the gold of Exodus. However, unknown to Larry and Bob, that same Arabian mountain is a main part of the Saudi "Operation Falcon," the Saudi building of a first-strike capable nuclear missile program.

This book is written like an adventure novel. Following a narrative, that includes numerous flashbacks, asides and sidebars, the story weaves together the treasure hunt of Larry and Bob with the espionage activities of the Mossad and Saudis. Overall, I am not at all certain what one can believe about this story; it includes in-depth reporting of meetings of the Saudi royal family, plus the secret working of the Mossad.

That said, though, I did find this an interesting book, with a provocative subject.

[If you are interested in similar archaeo-investigative stories, then I highly recommend Nicholas Clapp's The Road to Ubar and Sheba.]

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining "Indiana Jones" style adventure..., March 22, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Gold of Exodus (Hardcover)

Blum's dramatization of Williams and Cornuke's "rediscovery" of evidence for a non-traditional location of biblical Mt. Sinai. The discoveries point to Jebel al Lawz in Saudi Arabia rather than the traditional Jebel Musa in the Sinai peninsula as being the mountain where the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God. Actually, Ron Wyatt was the first to document the same evidence in the 70s and 80s so there are no new revelations or great discoveries revealed in this book.