80 of 83 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating new perspective on ancient warfare, July 4, 2002
This review is from: The Wars of Gods and Men: Book III of the Earth Chronicles (Mass Market Paperback)
This third entry in the Earth Chronicles series contains some of Sitchin's most interesting theories as to the history of mankind. Building upon his reconstruction of ancient history as espoused in the previous two books, the author now sets out to describe the evolution on warfare on earth. First, he restates his earlier theories which, in a nutshell, is that the Anunnaki, inhabitants of a 10th planet now on the far side of our sun, came to earth millennia ago and eventually created modern man by means of genetic manipulation. These "gods" were anything but divine, constantly fighting amongst themselves for power and prestige. Inevitably, the warring gods turned to man as new instruments of warfare against their enemies. Men such as Sargon the Great were granted kingship in Mesopotamia and surrounding areas and encouraged to wage war on whomever their gods commanded them to fight. With gods often fighting alongside men, brandishing powerful weapons of destruction, warfare became a common, increasingly destructive way of life.
Sitchin presents some eye-raising theories in these pages which bear mentioning. First, he virtually rewrites the history of the pyramids of Giza in terms of the construction and usage of the monuments, the sentence of a god to imprisonment in the Great Pyramid, and new thoughts on the real purposes behind the baffling shafts, rooms, and plugs found therein. Part of Sitchin's argument about the creation of the pyramids revolves around mathematics, and this part of the book does temporarily bog the reader down a bit. Next, he identifies Abraham of the Bible as the noble son of a Sumerian priest and not a Semite at all; more incredibly, he argues that the real purpose of Abraham's ordained trip to Canaan was to stop an invading army of eastern kings from capturing the Anunnaki control center and spaceport in the Sinai peninsula. Finally, Sitchin argues that Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as the Sinai space port, were actually destroyed by nuclear weapons and that the tragic disappearance of the ancient Sumerians is to be explained by the radioactive fallout of the explosions drifting over the area.
True or not, Sitchin's theories are fascinating. His ideas are not his own, they are his interpretation of the ancient writings of the Sumerians, Egyptians, Israelites, and succeeding thinkers and historians. While many would condemn Sitchin for challenging the truth of the Bible, he actually helps support the history of that document--much of the information he has discovered from Sumerian, Akkadian, Egyptian, and other ancient sources actually matches remarkably well the facts presented in the Bible. Of course, one is hard pressed to trust Sitchin's data implicitly (unless one can translate diverse ancient writings), but he does succeed in presenting a unified, linear chronology of events. Whether his interpretation is correct or not, it does serve to explain a number of unsolved mysteries from man's past and makes for fascinating reading.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
73 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
IMHO, The Best of the Earth Chronicles Series, December 12, 1999
This book is the one that best answered the questions that came to mind after I first began reading the Earth Chronicles. After some independent study I had voiced an opinion online that I was convinced we were descendents of an angelic race, to which someone had queried, You've been reading Sitchin? Who? I asked. I did a web-search and found some critiques of Sitchin's reasearch, read them, and promptly went out and bought 12th Planet . Sitchin's scholarship and translation of the clay tablets provided the background and filled in the holes of my theory of man's origins. Like Sitchin, I too began my quest after pondering over the begining of the Noah chapter of Genesis that tells of the Sons of gods taking the daughters of man for their wives. Sitchin was way ahead of me, though. All of the Earth Chronicles provided new insights, with plenty of documentation to back up his theories. The Wars of Gods and Men was, to me, the most relevant for opinions to answers I was seeking. I have continued to read every other author I can find that tackles these subjects and have refined my own opinions about them. Zecharia Sitchin remains the vanguard in this quest, and I find his scholarship indispensible. For several years now I have been trying to find holes in his basic premise, only to find slight differences of opinions as regards minor points. Applying his translations of ancient wisdom, I invariably arrive at the most plausible answers to questions that seem to still evade modern scientists. When I read about a new scientific theory it is often laughable when I consider the most plausible answers can be found if only modern science and religion would shake their dogma and realize man has been in possesion of those answers for some 6,000 years. After Sitchin, I never feel I am any longer blind. He has assisted me in gaining my sight. If only the rest of the world could see so clearly.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
46 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The war against dogma and narrowmindedness, January 18, 2003
This review is from: The Wars of Gods and Men: Book III of the Earth Chronicles (Mass Market Paperback)
Before i go on to state what i think of this book let me say what i generally think of Sitchin's books: they are so controversial and dogma-shattering that simply on the premise that one should challenge his mind by putting it against the "unthinkable" can one ensure that his mind is what is called an "open mind". This, after all, is the greatest of the Socratean principles.
Dont expect from this review, or from any review, or from anybody, to "push" you to read books like the "Wars of Gods...".Consider it your...obligation to your mind to be allowed to be challenged by books like this. This is my suggestion/proposition.
Now to the book itself: what you get here is first of all a rather brief recapitulation of what Sitchin has already proposed in the first 2 books of the "chronicles". Then, he develops his incredible theory(?) further by stating the following:
Internal rivalries amongst the aliens that had inhabited this planet 100s of millenia ago (these were the "gods") led to brutal and merciless wars for supremacy. Humans -who for the uninitiated, were the result of genetic cloning of these aliens- were eventually also entered into the picture to either fight the wars for their "gods" or in many instances to fight alongside them.
While Sitchin is narrating all this he inevitably comes upon ancient architectural mysteries like the pyramids and he offers a stunning theory for their purpose: the pyramids were space centers equipped with high technology and were vital for the control of space activity above this planet. They became main targets in certain wars between "gods and men" and much of what they contained was either destroyed or looted.
As any serious professional or amateur pyramid researcher knows, the mainstream explanations offered about how they were built and why are laughable. Sitchin's theory on them makes sense if, of course, you come to accept his overall picture. But I'll get to that a bit further on.
This book is concluded in a booming close-out as the author professes that the space facilities in the Sinai peninsula were destroyed in an ancient nuclear war and that there are deep geographical "scars" to attest to this, visible even today!
This is a very strict summary of what you will encounter in the "Wars of gods and men". There are other equally engaging issues that Sitchin tackles here but the aforementioned ones are of higher significance.
It goes without saying that you should actually read Sitchin in the chronological and logical order of his books. Start from the fascinating "Twelfth planet" first before you venture onto this book here.
Sitchin, as those who have read him, know, is no great writer. As an author he is actually tiring, not that he can help it much considering the task he lays to himself, but he obviously lacks the talent for narration. He compensates for that by being a tremendous researcher and a fearless mind. You can be great at researching but if your mind is too dogmatic it wont allow you to arrive at the right conclusions anyway. Sitchin is a totally daring mind though. I'm not sure that any researcher with his knowledge and talent would dare go against what is considered sacred dogma about our species: that we originate from apes (by the way: so how come some apes developed into humans and some didnt? and what keeps the rest of the apes all these millenia from also developing into humans???).
Anyhow, critics will say that it's extremely difficult to verify Sitchin's translations as one would first have to learn Avyssynian and Sumerian. Well, yes, one would, but you see, the problem is that the people who have offered you the theories you learned about the ancient world at school had not learned those languages. Yet you accept their theories without much questioning. How come? Wouldn't it be absolutely essential to be able to read the scripts in the original before you even attempt any theorising?
This is a tremendous idea that this author offers and is in my opinion recquired reading considering the massive bulk of unanswered questions concerning where we come from , what we are, and what our past is. The most serious reason i can provide you with for reading this is out of respect to your very own mind. Keep it open.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
