The Stairway to Heaven: Book II of the Earth Chronicles (The Earth Chronicles)

Since earliest times, human beings have pondered the incomprehensible questions of the universe, life . . . and the afterlife. Where did mortal man go to join the immortal Gods? Was the immense and complex structure at Giza an Egyptian Pharaoh's portal to immortality? Or a pulsating beacon built by extraterrestrials for landing on Earth?

In this second volume of his trailblazing series The Earth Chronicles, Zecharia Sitchin unveils secrets of the pyramids and hidden clues from ancient times to reveal a grand forgery on which established Egyptology is founded, and takes the reader to the Spaceport and Landing Place of the Anunnaki gods—"Those Who from Heaven to Earth Came."

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.


going beyond sitchin   June 24, 2000
perla (Austin, TX USA)
45 out of 55 found this review helpful

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.


Shame on Avon and Amazon.com   February 7, 2004
33 out of 39 found this review helpful

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.


A Genre is Born   August 25, 1999
Pavel Stetsenko (Washington DC)
25 out of 27 found this review helpful

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.


If only I could read it....   April 5, 2003
24 out of 29 found this review helpful

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!!...