Rating: 
Summary: Steven Sora turns on the light
Review: For readers content with superficial, sanitized renditions of the past, this book is not for them. Others awake to the undercurrents in human events, however, will embrace Steven Sora's work as a rich source of information even seasoned investigators will find eye-opening.
The story he relates is not a dispirate collection of juicy, unrelated documentation, but a tapestry of deception spread over the last few centuries. A great many Americans harbor similarly logical, though unformed suspicions about all the areas Sora exposes with an interconnecting approach, convincing as it is engaging. But few other investigators have been able to stand back far enough to objectively take in the broader scope of conspiracy, which seems endemic to human nature. Perhaps that is why we suspect it everywhere, all the time. The limits of paranoia are bounded by the facts of Real History.
Of course a Great Conspiracy exists! Government-by-conspiracy has been the norm for at least the last 300 years. It is in the nature of men that they must conceal the vile means by which they rise to dominate others. If you imagine otherwise, snap out of it! Who do you think has been running the dog-and-pony show all these years? The voters? Congress? Only the most naive, blind-sided fools, hypnotized by their television sets, uncritically gulp down everything they are offered. Sora is not one of them.
As a sample of his probe behind the disinformation facade, he writes that Lee Harvey Oswald was in contact with the Office of U.S. Naval Intelligence while stationed at a high-security base in Japan just before his defection to the USSR. Even though he was suspected of passing information about America's U-2 spy-flights to the Soviets, Oswald was welcomed back to the US, where he hooked up with a CIA front, the "United World Federalists". Sora quotes Robert Kennedy, who confronted CIA Director, John McCone, with: "Did the CIA kill my brother?" Obviously, he had his suspicions. So should we.
But the Kennedy assasination is hardly more than the tip of the conspiracy iceberg, which has been steadily building with few serious interruptions for a long time. It is to Steven Sora's credit that he has defined and exposed it so credibly in his book, which has all the fascination of a serpent's gaze.
Rating:
Summary: PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE SHEEPLE
Review: GOOD BOOK ,AMERICA NEEDS TO KNOW THAT MOBSTERS LIKE GEORGE BUSH AND JOHN KERRY ARE MEMBERS OF THE SKULL AND BONES SOCIETY.. AND THEY SHOULD ALSO KNOW THEY SWEAR ALLIGIANCE TO THEIR SOCIETY NOT TO AMERICA .. READ THE BOOK.AND DONT VOTE FOR THOSE CROANIES
Rating: 
Summary: BE CAREFUL OF THIS ONE
Review: I am fearful that the historical accuracy of some of the statements made by this author are in question. I found the work to be rather poorly footnoted and some of the author's conclusions quite questionable. I also found that the work was quite repetative and that much of what the author had to tell us could have been presented in about one fourth of the pages actually used. After reading the book, I certainly would not try passing myself off as an expert on "secret societies" and their impact on our present time. Do some home work on your own before reading this one, and as I said, becareful of this one!
Rating: 
Summary: The essential message is the worth the read
Review: I have seen a variety of negative and positive reviews, and I tend to agree with Jed Schlackman's assessment. But I am giving it a higher rating because of the essential message that I got from reading this book: The elites who built this nation were nothing more than an extension of the ruthless, genocidal, avatars of avarice and greed from early European times to the establishment of the colonies and on through the expansion of the nation state of America. As colonists, they achieved enormous wealth and power by driving off native Americans through genocidal terrorism and warfare, stealing their land, controlling a large share of the slave trade, dealing drugs internationally (opium), and privateering aka pirating. All of those activities involved extremely low overhead and investment. So the accumulation of vast wealth was rapid. With wealth comes political power. The American "revolution" was incited by and for the elites merely to keep the English Monarchy from getting a piece of the action and giving the noveau riche elites their opportunity to build their own empire. Most of the colonial family names behind the killing, plundering, and illicit, criminal activities for wealth and power are still among the wealthy elite families who have control and power over American policy today. Our accepted historical mythology is bogus. To paraphrase Rousseau, law and order is the effort of the elites to ensure that others do not take away their wealth by the same means from which it was obtained. So, though not perfect, and not an easy read, anyone who does not have a vested interest in maintaining the lies, propaganda, and factual exclusions of our written history, i.e., a real truth seeker, will benefit from reading this book and keeping it as a reference.
Rating:
Summary: The essential message is the worth the read
Review: I have seen a variety of negative and positive reviews, and I tend to agree with Jed Schlackman's assessment. But I am giving it a higher rating because of the essential message that I got from reading this book: The elites who built this nation were nothing more than an extension of the ruthless, genocidal, avatars of avarice and greed from early European times to the establishment of the colonies and on through the expansion of the nation state of America. As colonists, they achieved enormous wealth and power by driving off native Americans through genocidal terrorism and warfare, stealing their land, controlling a large share of the slave trade, dealing drugs internationally (opium), and privateering aka pirating. All of those activities involved extremely low overhead and investment. So the accumulation of vast wealth was rapid. With wealth comes political power. The American "revolution" was incited by and for the elites merely to keep the English Monarchy from getting a piece of the action and giving the noveau riche elites their opportunity to build their own empire. Most of the colonial family names behind the killing, plundering, and illicit, criminal activities for wealth and power are still among the wealthy elite families who have control and power over American policy today. Our accepted historical mythology is bogus. To paraphrase Rousseau, law and order is the effort of the elites to ensure that others do not take away their wealth by the same means from which it was obtained. So, though not perfect, and not an easy read, anyone who does not have a vested interest in maintaining the lies, propaganda, and factual exclusions of our written history, i.e., a real truth seeker, will benefit from reading this book and keeping it as a reference.
Rating: 
Summary: Full of errors: stay away from this sloppy book !
Review: I started reading this book with great interest but when I was told on page 42 that England was Protestant at the time of Joan of Arc and that Louis XVI was Napoleon's archenemy on page 46, I just put it aside...
Joan of Arc: 1412-1431
Hundred Years War: 1337-1453
Martin Luther: 1483-1546
Henry VIII: 1491-1547 Napoleon's enemy was Louis XVIII and Malta was taken by him in 1798 and not in 1789, as the author claims on page 46. 1789 is the year when the French revolution broke out. If Mr.Sora can't his facts right on matters everybody knows about how can we trust him when he writes about secret dealings and societies? One wonders how this book could get the green light.Shameful...
Rating:
Summary: Another very interesting book from Steve Sora.
Review: I was anxious to get my copy of this, as I completely enjoyed his last book, Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar.
This one begins rather similarly to the last, there's a decent portion on the origins of the Knights Templar, their rise to power and eventual downfall. It also then documents the beginning of Freemasonry from the remnants of the Knights. This is where the two seperate, with this one following the Masons and their web from old Europe to the new world, and shows how a web of conspiracies all seem to, at times, point back to master plans laid out. Secret Societies also delves into the way America's wealthiest elite seem to have formed a somewhat closed circle, not all that different from the aristocracy of old.
The book shows us how many of these familes and many of our modern corporations have their beginning in such things as the slave trade and the opium trade, and how history has, at times, been selectivly re-written to remove some of that stain from the past of our wealthiest. Since I'm not a student of history, there are times in this book where the pace slows down and the geneaologies are laid out, however, it definatly goes much quicker and easier at certain points, most notably the major influences secret societies and the Freemasons had on the birth of the United States and the Revolutionary War, and then especially at the end as modern history proves its not immune to the touch of these groups, as well. I have to say that I think this book fufilled one of its author's goals when I picked up a newspaper the day after finishing it and began to notice many names, all in positions of power, that I'd only just been familarized with from this book.
This is a book that will definatly pique the interest of those who are historians as well as the conspiracy minded.
1/30/05 Update: In our current times of trouble, when so many people are wondering about the state of our country, our adminstration, and corruption that this book should be given another glance... It definatly helps place some of the current goings-on into a historical perspective, and allows one to gain additiona insight to the people who are in some of the most powerful positions in America, the boardroom, and indeed the world.
Rating:
Summary: Another very interesting book from Steve Sora.
Review: I was anxious to get my copy of this, as I completely enjoyed his last book, Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar.
This one begins rather similarly to the last, there's a decent portion on the origins of the Knights Templar, their rise to power and eventual downfall. It also then documents the beginning of Freemasonry from the remnants of the Knights. This is where the two seperate, with this one following the Masons and their web from old Europe to the new world, and shows how a web of conspiracies all seem to, at times, point back to master plans laid out. Secret Societies also delves into the way America's wealthiest elite seem to have formed a somewhat closed circle, not all that different from the aristocracy of old.
The book shows us how many of these familes and many of our modern corporations have their beginning in such things as the slave trade and the opium trade, and how history has, at times, been selectivly re-written to remove some of that stain from the past of our wealthiest. Since I'm not a student of history, there are times in this book where the pace slows down and the geneaologies are laid out, however, it definatly goes much quicker and easier at certain points, most notably the major influences secret societies and the Freemasons had on the birth of the United States and the Revolutionary War, and then especially at the end as modern history proves its not immune to the touch of these groups, as well. I have to say that I think this book fufilled one of its author's goals when I picked up a newspaper the day after finishing it and began to notice many names, all in positions of power, that I'd only just been familarized with from this book. This is a book that will definatly pique the interest of those who are historians as well as the conspiracy minded.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting Look At Secret Societies & Elite Intrigues
Review: In this book, which examines the historical period ranging from the medieval beginnings of the Templars to the present occupant of America's White House, the author looks at how elite families, secret societies, and corrupt business activities (piracy, drug trade, slavery, smuggling, etc.) have intertwined in guiding political affairs. His research is broad but careless in places, and there are relatively few footnotes and citations for the many pieces of information that Sora presents. This book covers details of history that have been skipped by most other authors who examine similar topics, while Sora does an excellent job at presenting general themes of how secret societies have functioned and the importance of illicit business and financial activities in building the power of the elite families in our civilization. This book is a valuable read for history buffs seeking out suppressed themes and facts, but may be tedious in places for people who are bored by details. The author has tackled a large topic in a medium sized text, which leaves certain flaws evident in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Same stuff, different day & dust jacket
Review: Mr. Sora's "Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar" was tedious and speculation filled with little primary evidence other than historical curiosities & anomalies, which like statistics can be manipulated to the compilers whim.
Now in "Secret Societies of America's Elite" we encounter more of the same literary techniques of Mr. Sora making his case. Which as an old debate instructor of mine characterized as the "shotgun" approach to a presentation, a lot of points scattered here & there, but no internal cohesion. There is little new here that can't be discovered in other much better works of the same genre.
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