Phi Beta Iota: Rarely, if ever, do we find a book reviewed by someone we know, and in this instance, two someone's we know. It is for that reason we are ranking the book as 6 Star and Beyond.
By | Michael C. Ruppert – See all my reviews |
Steve Alten clearly states that many of the factual threads running throughout “The Shell Game” were based upon the extensive research found in my book, “Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil”. I actually didn't know about Shell Game until after it had been written, when Steve offered to send me a review copy. I am so glad he did.
My book is 600 pages of non-fiction with a thousand footnotes. It is in the Harvard Business School Library.
Steve's book is a gripping, fire-breathing, page-turning novel that the great Robert Ludlum would envy. Both books convey exactly the same message: that the world is running out of oil fast; that human civilization hangs in the balance; and that the US government used this crisis as a rationale for perpetrating the attacks of 9-11 and (very likely) attacks yet to come.
Why? The American people would never allow their sons and daughters to be used and sacrificed as bloody oil conquistadors unless we could call ourselves victims.– We are victims, but not that kind.
Steve's absolute genius is in his ability to make the unpalatable irresistible. It lies also in his ability to separate research “ice cream” from research “bs”. “Children”, hucksters and some with more sinister motives have hijacked the so-called 9-11 “truth movement.” That clear thinking is what makes “The Shell Game” slice through consciousness and reach the soul like a hot scalpel through butter. Steve takes us into a terrifying future as though he were reading a military GPS locator.
“The Shell Game” is a novel and a ticking time bomb for the psyche. It is the red pill from “The Matrix”. Steve has brilliantly created a masterpiece that is going to rock the planet while entertaining and teaching millions at the same time. I applaud both his genius and also what I see as his divine inspiration.
Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at the End of the Age of Oil
and also:
By | Carol Liane Brouillet “9-11 activist” (Palo Alto, CA, USA) – See all my reviews |
I had a stack of books to read over the holidays and the most irresistable was The Shell Game by Steve Alten. While some might dismiss the book as a political fantasy, the drama struck me as painfully real, vital, urgent, and timely, given our current reality.
The book is laced with quotes from sources which question the official story of 9/11, and the action casts light on “the next 9/11, a nuclear 9/11,” how to stop it, and and how to stop World War IV. There are villains and heroes, lovers, lies, children, insights into the mindset of the Neo-Cons who have been trying to dominate the planet for these past decades.
There are surprises, too. It is one of those very hard to put down sort of books, as you want to know – what will happen next, will the protagonist succeeed in the impossible task, who will live, who will die, and what will be humanity's fate.
The political becomes personal, and the personal political, and the stakes grow higher and higher. Whether a person lives or dies, their intentions and actions have tremendous consequences in The Shell Game, and I think in the current world that we live in. One person, waking up spiritually, politically, intellectually to the profound reality of the moment, and taking action can make a tremendous difference.
What I love about The Shell Game is the evolution of the main characters who are transformed by their own very personal understanding of political events, events which they themselves participated in. Not all the “evil villains” become “good guys” and there are those who steadfastedly continue to lie to themselves and others. The book delves into the extraordinary complexities of human understanding, the modern political system, and the mega-mainstream communications system which shapes human understanding, and can be used to seize and manipulate political power.
For those who have struggled against the machine, the book holds some precious nuggets of truth, hope, and insight. For those seeking to stop the next 9/11 and World War IV, the book is a great opening for a dialogue on the painful truths and realities that most journalists and politicians do not dare to speak about. For those who dismiss the news and focus on their personal realities, and feel insulated from the struggles of the majority of people, this book will challenge their perception of reality, and perhaps inspire them to stop being a spectator and recognize their own power and responsibility to shape the future.
I highly recommend it as a first choice on what to read, and hope that readers follow up on the source books, and give the author a hand in preventing “the next 9/11.”