Customer Reviews

The Stairway to Heaven (Book II) (Earth Chronicles)

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In this second entry in the Earth Chronicles series, Sitchin focuses on man's eternal and perpetual search for immortality and ties his findings in with his theories of ancient Sumer and the Annunaki who originally colonized earth. In particular, he discusses Alexander the Great's desperate search for a way to escape an early death as well as Gilgamesh's epic search for everlasting life; more importantly, he provides a map of their quests, identifying their most important destinations with the ancient Sumerian sites he wrote about in The 12th Planet. Basically, the ultimate destinations of the men of legend corresponded to the areas from which the Annunaki journeyed back and forth between earth, their orbiting spacecraft, and their home planet. Having described an intricate grid system accounting for the specific locations of the ancient cities both before and after the Deluge, he makes some fascinating arguments. I was most struck by his conclusion that the new, post-Deluge space port was actually Jerusalem. As always, Sitchin incorporates Biblical texts into his story, revealing compelling connections between the books of the Bible and the ancient records of the earliest Middle Eastern cultures.

I found myself plodding to some degree through the first half of the book, even laying the book aside for a few days, but the latter sections here are quite interesting because they focus on ancient Egypt. Sitchin's discussions of the ancient Egyptian monuments, particularly the Great Pyramids at Giza are enlightening and fascinating. He forcibly argues that the pyramids were never meant to serve as burial places of ancient Egyptians and that the Great Pyramids and the majestic Sphinx were built long before Khufu, Chefren, and other pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty came to power. Egyptologists dispute this conclusion, of course, but the evidence as presented by Sitchin and other scholars is quite strong on this point. Sitchin lays waste to the only real evidence we have that Khufu built the Great Pyramid. The masons' markings found in the chambers above the King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid purportedly show that Khufu was the builder, but Sitchin puts forth a very convincing argument that those marks were forged (and rather unconvincingly in fact) by an unscrupulous pseudo-archaeologist.

I try to read these books with an open mind. I can't say if Sitchin is correct or not in his theories, but I can say that he breathes life into an ancient world I would otherwise know very little about, and he tells a fascinating story in a very engaging manner.

I have read all of Mr. Sitchin's books. They are an eye opening interpretation of Biblical events. I strongly recommend that you begin with The Twelth Planet and read them in sequence. It is much to easy to read one in the middle and get very confused. If they are read in order they are far easier to understand.

I have read the whole series of "The Earth Chronicles", which I think is marvelously written. It is neither fictional nor scientific, however, I would classify it as pseudo-scientific non-fiction. It is not really important whether Sitchin's writings are scientificly true, but it makes marvelous reading, nothing like I have ever read before. He masterfully creates an illusion of a scientific research, and in it he creates a new genre -- the Disneyland for science-oriented minds. For all that, even if one reads it with a sceptical smirk on one's face, there is always a thought frollicking somewhere in the backyard swimming pool of your mind, "What if some of this stuff is in fact true?" And that makes the whole series very attractive.

Mr. Sitchin has nothing to gain by espousing pseudoscience or pseudohistory. He would only stand to lose. Ancient History as a discipline has been proclaimed true to a great extent by proclamation that the "ancients"told us all. This is all well and good as a baseline. I have no quarrel with Herodotus or Tacitus.
Read the bibliographies in this series. These ARE NOT the idle ramblings of a 'crank". If you truly pay attention, you will see the obvious scholarly work that has been done. Only the intellectually insecure will be intimidated and resort to common mockery.

If nothing else, this should send you into deeper studies of the ancient Near East. You won't be sorry. This is thought provoking at the very least and definitely entertaining to the casual reader and the more imaginative history buffs.

Look at and think about civilization, pre-Egyptian, pre-Indus Valley(?) and you will learn quite a bit. Better yet, you will be driven to learn more by yourself!

Do not buy the mass market edition. Shame on Avon Publishing!!! The type is so small that it is virtually unreadable, and any graphics, maps or diagrams cannot be distinguished. Pay the extra money to buy the edition published for Earthlings, not for Lilliputians.
Most people will be drawn to the cheaper version offered by this on-line retailer, so shame on the on-line retailer for even carrying this edition. I am not exaggerating. The book is UNREADABLE.

Like ALL of his books, this one too is amazing, compelling, persuasive, enlightening, builds rationally and logically to each of its points BUT (there's alway a "but")is a bit difficult to read. Also, as with ALL his books, Zecharia draws his concise conclusions by bringing the knowledge of many sciences together. It is a must read for anyone with an open mind and thirst for knowledge.

As the chronicles tend to build on each other, the reader will find it more comfortable to read them in sequence: 12th Planet, Stairway to Heaven, Wars of Gods & Men, Lost Realms,When Time Began.

At the beginning of my quest for answers to the Universe, i found sitchin's books. they are all full of intriguing ideas and possible answers to the origins of humankind on earth. i see strong hints of his theories in X-Files and the Star Trek series. and i say this as a fan of these shows.

readers, keep this in mind, sitchin's works DO NOT complete your search for answers to The Origins of Life or the Universe. sitchin's works are truely interesting and can be exciting. BUT BEWARE: do not let your searchings and readings stop here with Sitchin. go ahead and read Sitchin, but continue to search for answers with more reading and research to satisfy your intellect and soul.

i would suggest other authors such as Peter Russell (White Hole in Time, Global Brain) for academic and philosophical theory on the evolution of life on earth. And Ken Carey(The Third Millenium) for further answers to the cosmic origins of mankind that comes with satisfying prose on the spiritual essence and the Universe's purpose in humans.

whether your try these authors and others, i hope you find other material to further your personal search for Answers.

The second offering of Sitchin's landmark Earth Chronicles series,this book offers more startling revelations than the initial spark of the "12th Planet".Here,discussed in the same scholarly & well researched way the author is known for,with a personal twist,are musings on the fountain & dates of life,the pharaoh's journey to the afterlife(with stunning ancient drawings to document it),the riddle of the sphinx,the forgeries commited on the pyramids & many more.This book also afforded me a diff. view & a rising interest on Alexander The Great.The faults are the same,including the author's exuberant generalizations,but nevertheless is still a mind-bending & probable life-changing read.

I might like this book, but I'll never know because it's in 4 point type--the size of footnotes. It's totally unreadable! Shame on Avon for cheaping out to cram this into 328 pages by making the type microscopic. Buy some more paper and print a readable book, people!!...

Sitchin's second effort is mainly an expansion on one of the central themes addressed in his first book, "The Twelfth Planet". A number of related subjects are discussed, the unifying theme being man's preoccupation with the concept of (and search for!) immortality. If you think about it, you have to wonder... where on EARTH could man have gotten the idea that such a thing as eternal youth could exist? Certainly there are no examples of immortality native to this planet. If you like Sitchin this book must not be missed...it is a prerequisite to thorough understanding of later volumes in the series. The print is rather small though, making the book a little more difficult to read.