Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good
Review: The Message of the Sphinx was a great book that opened my mind. BUT SKIP SECTION 3! The author uses double and triple meanings of words, then states that the Egyptians were saying something significant by that. However, the other sections were intriguing and well thought out. Hancock made me believe that Egypt was a legacy, and anyone who reads this book will likely consider that fact. And by the way, I never found out what the message of the Sphinx was.
Rating:
Summary: Controversial and thought-provoking
Review: This is a controversial yet thought-provoking book in which the authors put forward a theory, based primarily on archeo-astronomy, which suggests that certain man-made structures at the Giza necropolis (e.g. the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the temples nearby) may have had their origin traced back to around 10,500BC, making them vastly more ancient than most orthodox Egyptologists would have us believe. While it is difficult at this stage to prove conclusively whether or not such a provocative theory is correct (although, as this work has become a best-seller, it would hopefully lead to more transparency in future excavation work at Giza, which, after all, houses one of the greatest heritage of human civilisation), the arguments put forward in support of the authors' views are very interesting and, at times, even enlightening. In particular, with the aid of well-produced diagrams, the authors have successfully led the reader step by step through a historical and astronomical minefield towards the startling revelation that the heaven (as represented by the stars) and the earth (as represented by the mega-structures at Giza) actually mirrored each other to an astonishing extent in that mysterious early epoch and that such heaven-earth symmetry appears to be consistent with the ideas apparently expressed in certain ancient Egyptian texts, leaving the reader wondering whether it is all mere coincidence or whether there has indeed been some clever planning by our forebears which is now lost in the mist of time. It is evident that the authors have put in much effort in explaining their propositions clearly from basic principles and thus knowledge in astronomy or Egyptololgy is not a prerequisite before one can follow their train of reasoning. Nevertheless, this is bascially a one-sided analysis where those who have opposed to the theory and some others in the orthodox academia are often portrayed as narrow-minded bigots or are having a secret agenda of their own. The style of writing is not that remarkable and there is a fair amount of repetition and some not too judiciously considered section divisions, which sometimes impede the flow of argument. Nevertheless, this is one of the books which have opened up an entirely new dimension in a much debated and researched field and those who like subject matters relating to mysteries of ancient civilisation will certainly find it indispensible. Personally, I would hope that, whatever the merits of the arguments contained therein, it will encourage everybody, including orthodox archeologists, to examine the Giza necropolis more thoroughly so that one day, we can unravel all the mysteries (if any) which the Sphinx has been guarding throughout the ages.
Rating:
Summary: The Riddle of the Sphinx Hearkens Back to Plato's Atlantis
Review: The argument that the Sphinx and the three pyramids at Giza are mucholder than Egyptologists and academic archaeologists have admittedgoes back to Rene Aor Schwaller de Lubicz and to John AnthonyWest. Both recognized that the weathering of these megalithicstructures was the result of vertical rainfall thousands of yearsbefore dynastic Egypt, not floods nor wind erosion. Using the newlyfounded science of archaeoastronomy Bauval has wound the clock backand has successfully argued that the lion body of the Sphinx oncefaced the constellation Leo with a similar face, a stone fulfillmentof man's repeated urge to re-create the heavens on Earth, but at atime when Leo was the rising constellation -- 12,000 years ago. Indoing so they have helped open the door to marvelous discoveries aboutall the great star-oriented megaliths on Earth. These discoverieshearken back to a rediscovery of Plato's Atlantis, and the descriptionof a civilization destroyed at about the same time as the constructionof the megaliths of ancient Egypt, on a true island-continent.
Rating: 
Summary: Ancient Civilisations revealed
Review: This is a fantasic and incredible treatise on the mystery of the Sphinx. It provides solid evidence for the case that the Sphinx was built in 10,500 B.C., the historical implications of which are staggering. I had to read a chapter for an anthropology paper, wound up reading the whole book, and have read several more books on the subject since. And isn't that the best review, that it makes you want to learn more?Great for anyone who accepts - and is fascinated by - the possibility that records of great civilizations could have been lost in time.
Rating:
Summary: Exciting and thought-provoking
Review: The author's arguments, though a little out there, made logical steps using alternative views and acurate information. You might not agree with the conclusions of the author, but it will get you thinking about your own convictions regarding this subject.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Masterpiece!
Review: This book is a must, for anyone with an open mind. I have always believed that there is more to human life than what our governmentwants us to know. Graham Hancock is a genius, who goes against the grain. He takes you on a time-travel, where you can get a glimpse of the ancient skies. The precise alignments of the heavens (duat region), and the Giza area are astounding. There are so many interesting facts that he brings up. He also points out that the Egyptian authorities have always put up so much red-tape that he andvarious organizations have been trying desperately to cut through for years. Why? Will they feel ata loss if someone was to prove that everything that we have been taught in textbooks about ancient Egypt is not so accurate? Thanks Mr. Hancock for enlightening me. There is no proof that the Egyptians were responsible for our most ancient monuments. On the other hand, they don't want people like Mr. Hancock to obtain his proof that shows otherwise.
Rating: 
Summary: The Sphinx for people who don't care about the Sphinx
Review: After I first read this book, I was inclined to give Hancock and Bauval at least some benefit of the doubt. I believed that at minimum they had succeeded in raising some interesting questions that _might_ suggest an origin for the Great Sphinx some 3000-8000 years before most historians and archaeologists believe it was carved (about 2500 BCE). Hancock and Bauval tell an interesting yarn, with hints of lost civilizations of startling technological and scientific prowess, and of hidden chambers waiting beneath the sands of Giza for a daring Indiana Jones to unearth. As I read more on the subject of the Sphinx, the pyramids and other great structures of antiquity, however, I am less inclined to view Hancock and Bauval as anything more than incompetent cranks. Their yarn is just that, a yarn and nothing more. Their edifice of "archaeo-astronomical" reasoning is built on extremely shaky grounds, and in arriving at 10,500 BCE as the date of the Sphinx's origin, and as the apex of some great lost civilization, they must ignore a truly enormous amount of careful scientific reasoning. The reader of this book will not be provided with any real feeling for the rationale behind the "conventional" Egyptological views, for if he/she was to have such an understanding, Hancock and Bauval would be revealed for the sad pseudoscientists they are. In point of fact, the polemic of "Message of the Sphinx" is less about a rational basis for reevaluating everything we know of ancient Egypt than it is a retrospective justification for the pre-formed idea that there must be a lost, highly advanced Atlantis-like civilization in the distant past. To Hancock and his ilk, the ends justify the means. If read by itself, this book will doubtlessly persuade you that what the authors claim has some basis in fact, since it is written so one-sidedly and so deceptively. If you read this book, then, you owe it to yourself and to anyone you foist it on to also read Paul Jordan's recent "Riddles of the Sphinx," which provides a well-written counterpoint to the wild claims of Hancock and Bauval. If all you read is this book, and others by these authors, then you really aren't interested in the Sphinx at all.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant alternative theory!!!!
Review: A very intersting twist on what we have been taught about the pyramids. The book brings together the facts that are right in front of us, but since they don't fit into the established view of ancient Egypt are not common knowledge. The theory about the alignment of the pyramids of Giza matching the alignment of the three stars is Orion's belt may be the find of the century! The mystery of the ancient Egyptians, and the ancient structures of Egypt is yet to be understood by modern man, but this book opens our minds to a whole new way of looking at what is right in front of us.
Rating:
Summary: A great read for those already familiar with this subject!
Review: The authors are devoted and committed researchers who have sacrificed years of their lives to bring this story to us. Because the mysteries of Giza are in such a state of flux, as new discoveries are being made daily, this book, which attempts to bring this subject up to the minute, may seem to the uninitiated to have no beginning and no end. In reality, the authors have been very generous by not rehashing pages of material covered in previous books. They assume that the reader has been following this subject for some time, but thoughtfully point out where the reader can look for more background if needed. For those of us who believe this subject is one of the most important of our lifetimes, this book achieves it's purpose masterfully by addressing the latest discoveries and further unravelling astronomical clues left by the Giza builders. I, for one, devoured the book greedily, and look forward, as always, with great anticipation to the next "chapter" in this saga...one the authors seem to hint may blow the lid off established doctrine concerning world history and Egyptology. Signed: a grateful reader in Southern California!
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary, fascinating
Review: I am an avid reader of Scientific American--and this is an extraordinarily interesting book. Intelligently written, well-researched, each chapter presents new discoveries and surprises--some of which are astonishing for their implications. Here, perhaps for the first time in a single reference, is a recounting of all the remarkable achievements of the pyramid builders with ample evidence to document just how fantastic those achievements were. The scientific community's notion of people putting 200 ton blocks of stone in place with precision by sliding them up long ramps of mud is preposterous--now here is the engineering to prove it. The book argues that the pyramids were built by a much older civilization of great wisdom and practical knowledge. The book also provides an intelligent account of the importance of eastern (Vedic) astrology in the spiritual journey of mankind, at least as accepted by the ancients. One caveat: The book is an easy read--an exciting book--and I sent it to five friends, four of whom couldn't get through it. The fifth loved it. You will need to have an interest in the subject manner and scientific detail. This is not a book that replaces scientific reasoning with easily rebuked, flaky theories so popular with the Atlantis/Aliens crowd.
|
