Rating: 
Summary: This is nuts.
Review: "The 12th Planet" is at first an interesting read about the ancient Sumerian religion and the possibility that homo sapiens owe our ancestry to interference from visitors from another planet-a planet that enters our solar system every 3600 years. There is no doubt that Sitchin is a Sumerian scholar, and the idea that we might trace the sudden rise of human civilization to assistance from space is interesting. However, there are problems here sufficient to put this book completely in the Looney Tunes category. 1) Sitchin ignores all the 9th grade science that discredits his ideas. a) A planet suddenly entering our solar system even thousands of years ago would produce major disruptions in the rock steady orbits of the other planets. Such disruptions in speed and orbit would still be detectable. When this planet supposedly returns, the earth would get pulled way out of orbit. That means we are in big trouble. b) A planet (the 12th planet) orbiting the sun at the huge distances he suggests would have no photosynthesis---nothing green would grow. No plants, no food for any sort for carbon-based life, and no one has yet imagined how you can have non-carbon-based life--life without cells or DNA. No plants means no oxygen in the air. c) for a planet to give off enough internal heat to keep an atmosphere warm, the ground would be too hot to stand on. And what would be the source of the heat? Can't be volcanoes because that much volcanic activity would have those beings living in a sulfur and poison gas environment. You'd think if a guy writes a book that overturns the laws of physics he'd, you know, address this issue in passing. Perhaps suggest that these beings breathe sulfur, eat dirt and have bodies made of aluminum. Something. 2) Sitchin does not seem to understand metaphysics and the need for the greatest spiritual writers to use symbolic language to attempt to convey religious or mystical experiences that are all but impossible to understand (unless you are having the experience yourself). Understanding God(s) means understanding Beings that transcend our notions of space and time, and the normal use of language. That is why such writings tend to use symbolism and metaphorical language. Sitchin translates this sort of language from Sumerian religious writings literally to produce people going to and from spaceships. 3) He ignores other more commonly accepted explanations for the birth of civilization. For example, Atlantis is generally accepted by non-scientists as the great civilization before the flood that gave rise to Egypt. Many believe that Lemuria in the Pacific gave rise to the Incan and Myan civilizations, the Hindu Indian civilization traces its ancestry back tens of thousands of years to a great, previous age. Are all these groups from Edgar Cayce to the Vedas mistaken, and the real truth is that aliens from space started it all? He does not attempt to reconcile what he writes with the esoteric writings of so many others about mankind's hidden history. The book is cheaply priced, and some of Sitchin's ideas are interesting on the surface. Certainly it is possible that some of his ideas about the ancients and aliens could be true--space visitors might have come from Sirius, not some invented planet, for example. And this may be the value of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: If man were meant to fly, God would have given him wings.
Review: Mr. Sitchin is one of the few people on the planet who can read ancient Sumerian Cunieform tablets. I have always tended to admire those who rebel at the status quo when asking why, how and not liking the answers, "That's the way it's always been," or, "It is written." The 12th Planet and all the others of Zecharia Sitchin's books are quite controversial, but this does not mean without merit. If true, they would provide us with the means and understanding needed to make sure that we "adams'" are not re-enslaved by our "creators" the Annunaki. The information supplied with these books tells a more sobering story of a man who has come to be used to being disbelieved. His work represents over 40 years of study over such diverse areas as archeology, biology, medicine, space flight, astronomy, myth, legend and history. In all these areas, there rings the peal of logical truth. Mr. Sitchin's hard effort tells an incredible yet apparently logically tight and factually correct story of how humanity can tie together evolutionary thought with religious tenets. Many view this work as fictional or delusional, but to those who can read with an open mind, the implications are truly Earth Shattering. If true, and I believe it to be so, then we, as a race, need to rethink our near future plans to ensure that, as a race, we remain free from slavery and free to claim our place in the heavens.
Rating:
Summary: Great research and information!
Review: I have been a fan of Sitchin for years and have read most of his books, but "The Twelfth Planet is my favorite of all. He lays it all out; from Bibical text, ancient Sumerian writings and obscure writings, to reveal that in ancient times UFOnauts from other worlds did indead visit and influence our ancient civilizations greatly. Having read the TOP books in the UFO/Alien/ Government Cover-up Genre; "Unconventional Flying Objects" (NASA UFO Investigator for 30 years) by the scientist Dr. Paul Hill; my FAVORITE is "Alien Rapture" by Edgar Fouche (Top Secret Black Programs Insider) and Brad Steiger (Great fiction-soon to be a movie); "Alien Agenda" by the best selling author of 'Crossfire' Jim Marrs (Best reference on UFOlogy); and "The Day After Roswell," by Colonel Corso - I'd say this book is a MUST READ also! Why would a respected, decorated, connected Military Officer (Corso) swear in a Court of Law that the UFO Conspiracy is real and that the facts and agenda in these books ARE TRUE? Why did NASA try to ban Dr. Paul Hill's book? Why were Fouche's home, car, and hotel rooms broken into? Why did he go underground after delivering his 'insider presentation to the International UFO Congress? Why has the great researcher and bestseller, Jim Marrs, been slandered? Why are there still questions about the deaths of Corso and Hill? Were their sudden demise a product of this conspiracy? Why? If you read this excellent book and the others, you will know that they are indeed true. Two well-respected American Astronauts have come forward to proclaim they had seen evidence of the Roswell UFO crash and stated they know the cover-up is real. You be the judge. Read this book and check out the reviews of the other TOP books I have mentioned.
Rating:
Summary: A Reader
Review: This is the most incredible book I have ever read. It started the process of completely and permanently changing my view of human origins and human history. In the 12th Planet, Zecharia Sitchin has presented an astoundingly strong case for ET intervention in the creation of the human race. This version positively rocks both evolutionism and biblical creation to their core! An astute reader will supplement this book with others by Sitchin, Graham Hancock and related authors. One should also investigate the current state of evolutionary "science". Having taken the time to read the material, I can only conclude that everything we know is wrong from both religious and mainstream academic sources. A "god" did create man in his own image, only he was a flesh and blood resident of our own solar system who looks just like us. Many people will be disturbed to find that humans are merely a genetically engineered hybrid race of primitive workers. I certainly was when I first realized it was true. However, the story of our origins is a fascinating and humbling one which I believe is required reading. Especially when you realize that our creators will be back.
Rating:
Summary: Ultra important book even if 50% of it is wrong...
Review: Sitchin, if you didn't know it already, is one of the leading figures in alternative archaelogy and science in general.
These days, and especially the last 30-40 years, a "new wave" of scientists and non scientists alike has risen with the intention of re-examining what we as a species consider "knowledge", knowledge about what we are, and where we come from.
Sitchin, being one of the few people in the world who can actually read Sumerian, has spent his life examining our origins, and his conclusions have little to do with apes descending trees and miraculously evolving into humans.
In the "12th planet", his most famous of his alltogether 9 books, he suggests that we are actually the creation of an alien race which landed on earth more than 450 millenia ago, and who created us as slave labor for their purposes on this planet back then. From then on, and through a myriad interdevelopments and influences, we developed to what we are today.
Sure, this sounds controversial, and to most people content with swallowing mainstream teachings for "facts" this might seem as pure science fiction. You would have to read this book before you term it as such though.
It is an exhausting book too, as the author needs to use literally 100s of quotes on original translations he's made in order to make his argument and this isn't just any argument, you understand...
Exhausting as this book might then be at times, the reward is immense, to put it very mildly. Even if Sitchin happens to be wrong on half of his conclusions what he suggests is mind blowing and shatters to bits most of our current beliefs.
More importantly, Sitchin can serve you as a gateway to new paths of thinking. It is impossible -i would think- to read the "12th planet" and emerge the same person afterwards, providing of course that you read it with an open mind. All new knowledge recquires an open mind to begin with. This does not mean that you will necessarily agree with Sitchin if you do read it with an open mind, but the evidence he offers is important and solid enough to make you think in a way you've never thought before.
You ever wondered why we are the only species on this planet that definately does not fit in with its environment? Or why we have so many grey areas and disagreements about where we originate from and how? Or why the word "anthropos" (a greek word) means "the creature that always looks up"? Or even why the root word of the word "earth" comes from the ancient Sumerian (the word e.ri.du) and means "a home far away"?
The "12th planet" will provide you with some spectacular answers.
Rating:
Summary: An awesome theory, a greater controversy
Review: I really enjoyed this book, as well as others in this series. Some of it got to be a bit of a tedious read, but I found it wholly interesting.
By far, this book explains ancient UFOs the most subjectively. Many say that the Sumerian texts should not be taken literally. I ask them, WHY NOT? Those texts are the first written history of mankind - why should they be classified as anything but just that. On a personal level, this book filled in some of the blanks that many modern ideologies and theologies left in my mind.
Whether you think this is all a bunch of hooey, or solid fact, or you fall somewhere in between the two - Sitchin's theories are undeniably powerful and intriuging.
Rating:
Summary: Great research and information!
Review: I have been a fan of Sitchin for years and have read most of his books, but "The Twelfth Planet is my favorite of all. He lays it all out; from Bibical text, ancient Sumerian writings and obscure writings, to reveal that in ancient times UFOnauts from other worlds did indead visit and influence our ancient civilizations greatly. Having read the TOP books in the UFO/Alien/ Government Cover-up Genre; "Unconventional Flying Objects" (NASA UFO Investigator for 30 years) by the scientist Dr. Paul Hill; my FAVORITE is "Alien Rapture" by Edgar Fouche (Top Secret Black Programs Insider) and Brad Steiger (Great fiction-soon to be a movie); "Alien Agenda" by the best selling author of 'Crossfire' Jim Marrs (Best reference on UFOlogy); and "The Day After Roswell," by Colonel Corso - I'd say this book is a MUST READ also! Why would a respected, decorated, connected Military Officer (Corso) swear in a Court of Law that the UFO Conspiracy is real and that the facts and agenda in these books ARE TRUE? Why did NASA try to ban Dr. Paul Hill's book? Why were Fouche's home, car, and hotel rooms broken into? Why did he go underground after delivering his 'insider presentation to the International UFO Congress? Why has the great researcher and bestseller, Jim Marrs, been slandered? Why are there still questions about the deaths of Corso and Hill? Were their sudden demise a product of this conspiracy? Why? If you read this excellent book and the others, you will know that they are indeed true. Two well-respected American Astronauts have come forward to proclaim they had seen evidence of the Roswell UFO crash and stated they know the cover-up is real. You be the judge. Read this book and check out the reviews of the other TOP books I have mentioned.
Rating: 
Summary: An interesting but badly flawed premise
Review: Okay, I can buy the idea that the Earth might have been visited by alien cultures in the distant past (in fact, considering what a fascinating species we obviously are, I'd be surprised if they hadn't.) I can also buy off on the idea that these ancient visitors might have been worked into the mythology of many cultures. I'm even open to the idea that life was 'seeded' on this planet and that homo sapiens may be the result of some ancient genetic engineering. My problem is I can't buy off that all this occurred via a rogue planet that is in orbit around our own sun and that passes by every three-and-a-half millennias to 'help us along' the evolutionary path. I have great respect for Sitchin as a researcher and expert in ancient manuscripts, and I found much in this book to ponder. However, he makes the mistake most ufologists do in taking ancient texts as literal historical documents about real people and events rather than as fictionalized epics of antiquity. While he does at points recognize the metaphorical nature of some of their writings, he takes the ancient Sumerians far too literally, and strikes me as a man espousing a theory in search of evidence. His theory is simply too fantastic to be taken seriously and, while he makes a far more sophisticated attempt at demonstrating his thesis than Von Daniken, he makes many of the same mistakes Chariots of the Gods makes. For example, he has the residents of this twelfth planet (actually, the tenth, for he counts the moon and the sun as planets as well) fly to earth in spacecraft and have the means to genetically alter early primates, but then they travel about by means of paddle boats and utilize 19th century extraction techniques to pull gold from mines in Africa. He also stresses that the Mesopotamian region was chosen by the ancient astronauts-in part-because of its vast petroleum reserves (implying the ancients were using fossil fuels) yet there is no discussion of things like cars or trains or other types of technology these fuels might have been used for (unless we are to assume they were to be used somehow in propelling their spacecraft. Imagine, gasoline/oil powered rocket ships; what will they think of next?) He also pulls a 'Von Daniken' by suggesting the ancients needed large expanses of flat ground to land their ships, giving one the impression of space shuttles and hyperjet transports, yet it would seem any technology sophisticated enough to maintain an interplanetary spacefaring capability should have figured out how to make space craft land and take off vertically (just as our own Apollo landers did on the moon.) In other words, their technology is inconsistent. What's especially difficult to understand is why these beings don't seem to advance technologically themselves. Sitchin states they could only make the transit from their planet to our own when it swung into range every 3,600 years, but wouldn't any civilization have advanced considerably in such a vast amount of time? Consider how far we've come in just the last century; shouldn't these ancient peoples have developed an interstellar (or even intergalactic) capability over such a lengthy time? As such, there is much about these beings that appear inconsistent and inexplicable. Finally, my biggest complaint with this book is the preposterous idea that a planet exists within our solar system that possesses such an elliptical orbit that it appears only once every 3,600 years and, more so, that this planet is teeming with beings similar enough to ourselves that they are capable of interbreeding with humans. First, if this is the case, why wasn't this planet reported during it's last pass through by ancient astrologers? Sitchin maintains this planet last made an appearance in 3,800 B.C. (just in time to get civilization kick started) yet if it has an orbit of 3,600 years, shouldn't it have shown up again around 200 B.C.? That's not all that long ago, historically speaking, and should have been quite a notable event (even if it's residents chose not to visit that time); one would assume someone-and astrology was a fairly well developed science back then-would have noted such a spectacular visitation from an unknown planet. Yet not a word exists in any ancient texts that even hint at such a remarkable event taking place. Curious. The bigger problem, however, lies with the idea that such a planet could sustain human-like beings, despite being in complete darkness for 99% of the time. Even if it was massive enough to maintain it's own atmosphere and generated enough internal heat to prevent it from being a giant ball of ice in space, how does photosynthesis and, with it, the production of oxygen, take place? Clearly, for life to have evolved on such a planet conditions should be, at least to some degree, comparable to those on Earth. How anything more sophisticated than single cell organisms and fungus could exist on such a planet is scientifically inexplicable. There are other problems with the book as well, but this should be enough to at least give the reader some idea of what they're getting into here. I appreciate Sitchin's scholarship and thoroughness (perhaps a little too thorough-the book is ponderous and a tedious read at times) but I can't say much for his science. An interesting book if you're into ancient civilizations and ufos and such (one might consider Sitchin the thinking man's Von Daniken) but nothing to be taken too seriously. In fact, it might have been better if Sitchin didn't take his own theory so deadly seriously; at least then he could have had some fun with it.
Rating: 
Summary: sons of gods...
Review: Reading Sitchin is more than worthwhile because he presents mankind's "history" in a way that forces the reader to ask important questions, re-examine conventional doctrines, and begin redrawing his map of reality. One can begin with Sitchin, but he should not end there, else he conclude that the truth about our place in the universe is far simpler than it actually is. The evidence that earth was visited and periodically colonized by "gods" is overwhelming. (They continue to visit - who knows, maybe they do R&R here as well.) That they bio-engineered "man" in their image to serve their purposes, more than plausible. Likewise their being responsible for megalithic monuments, numerous myths, etc. But Nibiru - a 12th Planet in our solar system - being their home - seems the least plausible and overly simplistic.
Rating: 
Summary: "Rebelling against the status quo..."
Review: Right. Fully half of the people who posted positive reviews mentioned the fact that Sitchin can read Ancient Sumerian, and that he is one of the few people who can. And half of the 'proof' he offers up in his book concern quotes from translations he's done of Sumerian tablets. But any translation is, by it's very nature, uncertain. Translating from Spanish to English, or even Spanish to Italian (which are extremely similar) always is made difficult by the prescence of words that have different connotations in different languages. If these problems can arise in translating two fairly common modern languages, they will occur twice as often in translating a language like Sumerian! How many translations of the Bible are there, and plenty of people can read Latin, even high school kids get taught Latin. Translations, espeically translations such as these, are not 'proof,' and neither is accepting these documents at face value. You can't argue that there is a hidden meaning in the Bible while saying that these ancient documents are literal truth. This is a good book of idle, possible speculation, a good 'well, it's possible,' book. But by no means is this scientific proof.
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