Rating: 
Summary: Links between European & American Universities...
Review: I think each reader can take out several different interesting tidbits for rumination from this book.I personally found interesting the good detail outlining the historical links and relationships between European and American Universities. Yes it is common knowlege that John Harvard went to Oxford and that the residence halls at the Ivies are modeled after the traditions of Oxbridge (Oxford + Cambridge). However, other less well known facts were quite interestingly presented. My little brother in law school saw an interview with the author on the Today Show, picked up the book afterwards, read it and then recommended it to me. I am sure there are probably other books out there that discuss the topic of secret societies at elite American academic institutions. That said, the writing was easy to digest and the black and white pictures included in the book added color (so to speak) to the entire piece.
Rating: 
Summary: Bad, empty and misguided.
Review: Arrogant and clueless pseudojournalist embarks on an "adventure" and ends up being led by the nose and fed misinformation by "good ole' frat boys" - one could sum up this bad, poorly written (with some truly atrocious sins against syntax) "book" thusly...
As for factual *information* about the Skulls, one can find more for free even at Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skull_and_Bones - where there are links to *real* journalists' investigations of the "Boners", as I prefer to call the S&Bs. For instance - http://www.observer.com/pages/story.asp?ID=6085
Rating: 
Summary: Performs an important public service
Review: Paradoxically, SECRETS OF THE TOMB performs an important service by being only marginally interesting. How is this possible? Over the years many conspiracy theorists have seen in any of a number of organizations a devious nefariousness that threatens the commonweal and the basis for society. Many have spoken of the Yale secret society Skull and Bones in the same way they have of the Illuminati or the Trilateral Commission, as a group that has conspired to enrich themselves by coordinating the efforts of the group's members. In this, which is by far the best-researched, most sober book that has appeared on the subject, Skull and Bones emerges as a moderately interesting organization that taps many of Yale's more promising students for what is essentially a networking outfit. Perhaps it is better funded than other clubs, and it certainly has a more impressive roster of members than perhaps any other organization, but in the end it is simply a club: it is not a cabal.
Unfortunately, deflating the myth about Skull and Bones makes for surprisingly flat and uninteresting reading. I attended grad school at Yale, so I perhaps found many part centered on aspects of life at Yale more interesting to some, but I think most will find this book to be a bit on the dull side. Writing of a conspiracy among the rich and powerful would have been more interesting, but it would have promoted a bad myth. The sections dealing with the rituals that take place in the crypt are, I suppose, important in detailing what happens there and refuting many of the myths, but personally I find it not of much moment to read of a new recruit bending on his knee and kissing a foot that is resting on a skull, or learning that a bell is rung twice rather than once or thrice.
The sections dealing with the rituals of Skull and Bones are the least interesting parts of the book, those dealing with the network of members the most interesting. I also benefited from reading the early sections of the book, which cover the history of secret societies at Yale. And who isn't interested in discovering who is a member.
So, in the end do I recommend this? I suppose it depends. It is not really of great general interest. Someone who is interested in the history of secret organizations will find it required reading. Those interested in conspiracy theories, especially in debunking conspiracy theories, will find it necessary. Also, those concerned with the history of the most influential Americans of the twentieth century will find it of more than peripheral interest. It can serve as a useful adjunct to books such as Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas's THE WISE MEN: SIX FRIENDS AND THE WORLD THEY MADE.
On a purely personal note, I did find myself constantly remembering the tomb in which Skull and Bones meets from the day I had a traffic accident on the corner where it is situated when another car ran a red light in the rather confusing traffic signal arrangement they had in the 1980s (and perhaps even now). But I'm afraid that is the extent of my own association with Skull and Bones.
Rating: 
Summary: Skull and Bones ala Peggy Lee : Is That All There Is?
Review: If Skull and Bones is truly THAT anti-climactic a triumph, why do students want to join? The Club seems a big elite snooze,complete with intellectual hijincks and hi-brow cutting up that only those in-the-know could relish. Even Eulogia would fall asleep enduring the banal revels of the "Future Stuffed Shirts of America Club." I finished the book feeling that a lot of REAL inside information MUST have been omitted.I ask you---of Skull and Bones,is that truly ALL THERE IS??????
Rating:
Summary: Trash, verbose trash at that.
Review: I think each reader can take out several different interesting tidbits for rumination from this book.
I personally found interesting the good detail outlining the historical links and relationships between European and American Universities.
Yes it is common knowlege that John Harvard went to Cambridge and that the residence halls at the Ivies are modeled after the traditions of Oxbridge (Oxford + Cambridge). However, other less well known facts were quite interestingly presented.
My little brother in law school saw an interview with the author on the Today Show, picked up the book afterwards, read it and then recommended it to me.
I am sure there are probably other books out there that discuss the topic of secret societies at elite American academic institutions. That said, the writing was easy to digest and the black and white pictures included in the book added color (so to speak) to the entire piece.
Rating:
Summary: Save your money.
Review: The book is incredibly dry, seems she spends more time cutting and pasting sources than actually putting any of her own thoughts into the book. If you want to get the good stuff out of this book, go to the library and read chapters four and five. Avoid reading anything else unless you have nothing but time on your hands. I was very upset that she fails to turn an accusing eye on her own secret society - hypocrite. You can thank me for saving you 15 bucks now.
Rating:
Summary: The Hidden Power of a Secret Society
Review: "Skull and Bones" was founded in the early 1830s by the wealthy son of a powerful drug dealer. With popular resentment against secret societies (the Anti-Masonic Party) at its height, William H. Russell created a secret society that was to "dominate the world" (p.4). This New World Order will eliminate personal freedom for all but a few wealthy families. Skull and Bones has been running the United States for years. Page 5 tells of this feudal society: members get honors and rewards, important jobs and the wealth that goes with it; they must leave part of their estates to this society. Skull and Bones controls Yale's' teachers and publications, its real estate, and most of the land in Connecticut. Skull and Bones follows neo-Nazi doctrines. Their controlling powers are noted on page 7. The author is a member of a kindred secret society, and discusses these legends. Early in the 18th century Yale was started to preserve Congregationalist orthodoxy. It took its name from a wealthy benefactor (East India Company). About half of its graduates became ministers of churches (1702-39). Some of those who protested Yale's orthodoxy went on to found Princeton. Yale, like Harvard, ranked students by social standing, rather than academic standing (p.23). Hazing was part of this class system. These chapters tell a lot about the history of Yale's societies, but I think its just surface details. It does tell how censorship worked (pp.150-1). Chapter 6 deals with the network. George W. Bush has done a great job in distancing himself from his "elite Northeastern connections" (p.162). Its who you get to know, the talented with great family connections. Every President who attended Yale was a member of Skull and Bones. And so will the next President elected in 2004! The connections involved in passing Bush Sr.'s banking deregulation bill is on page 169. Where did the looted billions wind up? "The Network" is the most important chapter of this book. [But could you find similar networks in most states?] There is the example of loans to Saddam Hussein (p.174). Overall, they seem to be part of a self-selected aristocracy. "The Order" (Chapter 7) seems similar to one of those small-town clubs formed by people with similar affinities. Except it has both a wider and more limited audience. It also provides a "family" for those in college. Forming self-selected groups starts in grammar school, but without the formality. The legends about Bonesmen were created to enhance their prestige (p.200). Some of the things that make Yale different from Harvard or Princeton are noted on pages 202-3. Page 205 imagines "conspiracy theory" as an explanation for the causality for "seemingly random events". Does Alexandra Robbins deny the reality of "underground control"? Or is this just a slight attempt at a whitewash? I found it very disappointing and a way to negate the preceding chapter. This book ends with Acknowledgments, a Bibliography, and the Index. Is this an expanded version of the article in the May 2000 'Atlantic Monthly'?
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