Customer Reviews

The HAB Theory

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I first read The HAB Theory in 1977 at the age of 12. After about nine years of searching in vain, I finally found an out-of-print copy for sale on the Internet late in 2000 (this was prior to the novel's reprinting). My mission was to decide whether my favorite book could captivate me as an adult in the same way it did as a child. I was definitely not disappointed!

Not only are the characters depicted in fascinatingly vivid detail, the scientific theories presented still seem plausible to me a full 23 years after my first reading. Eckert slowly weaves the reader into a web of intriguing premises that are all eventually tied into a neat little apocalyptic bow. As key characters begin to accept the possibility of a cataclysmic earth event, so too does the reader. Most of the questions the skeptic in me privately asked throughout the novel were answered in great detail later on.

Some of the material is dated - cell phones or the Internet had not yet been invented at the time of the HAB Theory's writing - but what science fiction novel that takes place in the near future (15-20 years) can foresee every innovation? More to the point, the author's primary concern is with the past, not futuristic devices not central to the storyline.

While it is likely a scientist could refute most of Herbert Allen Boardman's postulates, one cannot help but wonder if there is perhaps a grain of truth to his overall theory. How would our current president handle a similar situation? I, for one, do not wish to find out.

Since I bought this book 23 years ago, I must have read it a couple dozens times. It gave us tons of verified ancient mysteries in virtually every fields of science relating to the history of the earth and its unexplained vanished civilizations. HAB Theory was a postulate which explained the majority of them. In a nutshell, the HAB Theory presented the fact that because of the eccentricity of the North and South Poles to the magnetic poles, it created an imbalance in the rotation of the earth. When this imbalance reached a stage where it overcame the gyroscopic effect of the earth's rotation, the earth would see a near 90 degree shift of its axis of rotation. The result of which would mean that the poles ended up in the equator and the result would be catastrophic to any life form. This phenomenon occured once every 3000 to 7000 years in the past. The last roll over occurred more than 7000 years ago. Unlike most other novels, one would find it very difficult to read HAB Theory just once or twice. I discovered some new evidence every time I re-read the book. Every time after re-reading the book, my question used to be: Why didn't it happen? Now, it is: When will it happen? It is that good!

Last winter my daughter phoned me and said,"Mom, you are a member of a cult, the HAB theory cult." She gave me a Web address, I went to the Internet,and read all the pages. I had purchased my first copy of The HAB Theory in 1977, in Singapore, (I lived there from 1975 to 1982). I read the book 3 times in the first month and the 3rd time through I listed all of the historic references (for further reading). I now own three copies of the book- the U.K. edition, pubished by Sphere, I lend to friends - a U.S. paperback is for my own use, and a "like-new" hardback is the only book in my bank vault. I have always been a science buff and this book answered so many "unexplainables". I recommend this book to everyone, it changed my thinking and it may change yours.

I've read every single End of the World book out there (at least I think I have - if you know of any I've missed on my "listmania" list, give a shout out), and this truly is the best.

The setting and dialog is a bit dated, and the background stories are extremely sappy and clich?d (hello love triangle), but the real meat of the story - and the reason for picking this book up - is pure gold. The book's scientific premise will have you questioning everything you learned in geology and earth science, and possibly anthropology and archaeology as well.

If you have any interest in reading an alternative perspective on how (and why) the modern world has developed over the past 5,000 years ... or if you've ever been curious about what sparked the technological advancements seen in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotania, etc ... of if you've wondered why humanity has been around for so many tens of thousands of years, yet only been culturally active in the past few thousands ... or if you're just interested in learning another way the world as we know it could end (other than the Avian Bird Flu), pick this one up.

I am completely BLOWN AWAY to see all the reviews for this book! I thought I was the only one who had ever heard of the HAB Theory, let alone been so affected and haunted by it's content. Now I see it seems to have a cult following and I'm not alone after all. I've also located a very good unofficial website devoted to the book and the science of the theories put forth. [...] Let the "HABBIES" of the world unite!

Superb book. First read it in 1976 and was blown away by the scientific facts in it & recently re-read it. Better second time round and has more of an impact. Full of scientific facts that can be independently verified after reading the book. The love story is necessary to carry the book through, otherwise it might be too intense to take in, but must admit, I jumped some of that bit just to get to the science bits !! - but the way it is written makes you never want to put the book down. Must be made into a film sometime...?

My husband received this book from his 8th grade English teacher in the late 70's. After we married, he suggested I read it. I did and found myself pacing the floor towards the end of the book. I felt as if the floor had literally 'dropped out from underneath me' at the end. Those of you who have read the book will understand what I mean. Unfortunately, I loaned the book to someone who never had the courtesy to return it. I'm very sorry for that, especially since it is out of print and obviously difficult to find. I strongly recommend that if you ever should stumble across a copy of this book you read it! I'm not the 'scientific' type, but even I could follow the theory. I'm not so sure that it isn't a theory that should be taken seriously and scare the hell out of us. It sure made me think hard and I haven't forgotten it since! I have recommended it to many people. If the publisher/author should be so kind as to re-print this book, I can promise that I will buy extra copies to loan out so that I never lose my own!

Most people who have read The HAB Theory remember it even years later. The reason most often given is its subject matter: that the earth is subject to a capsizing of the polar ice caps every six or seven thousand years. Such readers are entranced by the many loose historical, geological, and biblical ends that its author, Alan Eckert, has so convincingly tied up. Even I, when I first read it back in the 70's became a convert. I checked upon the historical references in the book, and found out that most of them were either literally true or close enough so that what I was reading seemed to be incontestably true. Eckert's description of the ancient maps which showed Antartica as ice-free, his mention of the Peruvian and Chinese oval discs which suggest the existence of a pair of antediluvian civilizations, his analysis of numerous Biblical events all lend credence to the core belief that this planet has been long overdue for a capsizing. Yet,I quibble. There is nothing concrete that I can bring forth to refute him, nor perhaps do I wish to. I might add though that the recent glacial warming that is currently reducing the sizes of the two polar ice caps (the caps must grow for the tipping to occur), seem to suggest that our planet must have had numerous warming periods lasting many millenia, thus negating the tipping factor.
I reread the book recently, and found it as gripping as ever. The love scenes between the hero John Grant and his wife and mistress were clumsy and irritating. Eckert is at his best when he sticks to the hard scientific give and go dialogue which really carries the book. If the earth ever really does tip over, I hope that when it does, I will be lucky enough to be at one of the two pivitol points. Probably not,though.

I read the HAB Theory shortly after it was published, in early 1977. I was pregnant at the time and reading the information contained in this book had a profound effect on the direction my life took from that point on. The first thing I did was talk with some engineers from Martin Marietta at a Conference I attended in Orlando. I asked them for their opinion on the possibilities/probabilities suggested by the book. Their answer, in combination with what I already believed to be true, set my feet on a journey of wisdom gathering for myself and my children and their children's children that will continue into the future. I have a profound sense of the importance of living a thoughtful and responsible life based on global accountability. This book is one reason why.

Most people who have read The HAB Theory remember it even years later. The reason most often given is its subject matter: that the earth is subject to a capsizing of the polar ice caps every six or seven thousand years. Such readers are entranced by the many loose historical, geological, and biblical ends that its author, Alan Eckert, has so convincingly tied up. Even I, when I first read it back in the 70's became a convert. I checked upon the historical references in the book, and found out that most of them were either literally true or close enough so that what I was reading seemed to be incontestably true. Eckert's description of the ancient maps which showed Antartica as ice-free, his mention of the Peruvian and Chinese oval discs which suggest the existence of a pair of antediluvian civilizations, his analysis of numerous Biblical events all lend credence to the core belief that this planet has been long overdue for a capsizing. Yet,I quibble. There is nothing concrete that I can bring forth to refute him, nor perhaps do I wish to. I might add though that the recent glacial warming that is currently reducing the sizes of the two polar ice caps (the caps must grow for the tipping to occur), seem to suggest that our planet must have had numerous warming periods lasting many millenia, thus negating the tipping factor.
I reread the book recently, and found it as gripping as ever. The love scenes between the hero John Grant and his wife and mistress were clumsy and irritating. Eckert is at his best when he sticks to the hard scientific give and go dialogue which really carries the book. If the earth ever really does tip over, I hope that when it does, I will be lucky enough to be at one of the two pivotal points. Probably not,though.