This is a conspiracy theory book that puts forth convincing and coherent evidence for the existence of a power structure in the United States and the World that operates out of the light of the mainstream media to influence world events and status quo. Don't take everything that Marrs says as truth, he draws a lot of his own conclusions and is skillful at convincing the unwary reader of his anti-establishment beliefs. This book follows the influence of secret organizations throughout history and Marrs has a linear story about their connection. By the end of the book his argument is almost entirely hypothetical and hard to believe at best. His warning in the forward is very apt, however, 'If you are happy with your current world view and understanding of world events, do not read this book.' I have a major concern with current affairs and decided to take a look. I am glad I did, but be careful.

This book was interesting and entertaining. Jim Marrs offers a detailed look at many theories behind secret societies and how these societies may or may not have manipulated history. He even goes deep into the past and touches upon Zecheriah Sitchin's theories of aliens tampering with DNA to create the first humans in ancient Sumer. Lots of info on Freemasons, Illuminati, European Bankers.

"Jim Marrs," I love your work and enjoy your interviews on Coast to Coast, BUT! I got so bogged down by all the names (and more names) and historical data in Ruled by Secrecy that I lost sight of what the book was telling me. Too, I wanted something to "happen," some intent to keep me interested in the book, but all I got was more documentation. I lay the book down on page 50 to use as reference material.

I have never written a review on a book before. But this book has me feeling so enlightened I felt I needed to share. I've never had a book make me think and rethink everything I've ever learned about history. THis book is a MUST READ for everyone, not just in America, but the entire world. Marrs sites authors, controversial and not, leaving his personal opinion on the backburner. This book pulls together our present view of history and religion, states it as we know it, then proves through historical texts, that it's all wrong. I've gone to read some of his sited authors to try and prove to myself that everything Marrs presents is false (although some of it made so much sense to me) but have found that I can't disprove any of it. I've always been someone who found gaps in the history books and religious texts, I've always thought that there was something "missed" ,if you will, in all of my studies of history and religion (and I've done my share of research on these subjects). Marrs completely put it all into perspective for me and now I know I'm not so alone in the things I've always felt. Knowledge is power and I definitely feel enlightened. WOW.

I'm in the process of finishing up this book, but it has blown my mind even more than Richard C. Hoagland's Dark Mission. This book is fantastic and I have the Terror Conspiracy en route! A must-read!

Lots of stage props, also lots of facts and substance. An inquisitive analysis of powerful secret societies and tycoons in commerce, finance, banking and politics that rule our world. The book is build upon a pyramid of events caused by makers and breakers. Its historical value is to be debated. Its socio-political importance is major. Great book by all means. The author knows his craft and researches his field.

An excellent overview of secret societies and their historical influence on western civilization. An example of his astute and honest research is his inconclusive view regarding the Priory of Sion story (Magdalene/Merovingian myth). He leans toward it being true but doesn't sell it as gospel truth (forgive the pun). Complementary reads: 'The Christ Conspiracy' and 'Brotherhood of the Sun.'

i strongly would recommend this book to anyone new to the whole secret society genre. it does a great job of covering everything historically and the commentaries at the end of each chapter present some interesting opinions. however, my only concern is about the credibility of such information. Marrs loosely throws around the words "researchers say..." or "an renouned writer wrote..." these types of ambiguities raise eye brows about the actual legitimacy of such profound truths. i guess one really has to read these things wih a grain of salt though. despite that, this is a very good book, a quick read, and a gateway book for getting into taboo-esque conspiracy theory literature.

This book is one of the best ever written on the subject of the NWO.I only give it four stars because of the "annunaki extraterrestrials" nonsense in the last chapter.
But, if u forget that chapter it is worth 5 stars.

I highly recomend also "treason: the new world order" by Gurudas. The last time i checked this book on amazon the readers comments were no longer there...Buy this one also before all copies are destroyed.

I was very surprised by the manyfold 'secret societies' there are. I thing the author did quite a good job in, sort of, putting them in chronological order! The information was detailed enough with many cross references if one wishes to pursue a certain chapter! It is amazing to find out that since the beginning of society, there has always someone been in the shadows trying to influence certain events! And one wonders why certain things have never been revealed and how much we are really controlled by the invisibles!

THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE BOOK - I ORDERED IT FOR FRIENDS! EVERY NEW CHAPTER IS MORE INTERESTING (AND QUITE FRIGHTENING) THAN THE PREVIOUS ONE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE A 'FREE THINKER' AND OPEN TO VERY DIFFERENT CONCEPTS ABOUT THE HISTORY OF MANKIND!

`Rule By Secrecy' is a detailed expose`of secret societies and the conspiracies that surround them. Author Jim Marrs sets out to prove that these secret societies possess hidden knowledge of mankind's origins and that virtually all of the major events (wars, revolutions, depressions, etc.) of modern human history have been engineered and/or financed by these groups in order to maintain control of these secrets. He attempts to link such organizations such as the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission to secret societies such as the Freemasons and the Illuminati. Banking giants such as the Rothschilds, Rockefellers, and Morgans are also covered in detail for their government connections and enormous power and influence. The common denominator between these seemingly dissimilar groups appears to be world domination and the possession of spiritual secrets, or better described as the "Ancient Mysteries." Marrs touches on numerous secret societies-the Knights Templar, Priory of Sion, Rosicrucians, Skull & Bones etc.-and assigns them all a place in this "far-reaching web" of conspiracies. One of the more interesting concepts argued by Marrs is that of the "Hegelian dialectic" which he argues has been used time and again by such groups as the Illuminati, Freemasons, etc. This concept (thesis+antithesis=synthesis) is where a group incites a conflict and then plays both sides of the fence. On page 202, Marrs writes: "It is evident that, to whatever degree, individuals connected by blood, titles, marriage, or membership in secret societies have manipulated and controlled the destinies of entire nations through the fomentation and funding of war. These people....obviously look to some higher purpose-whether that be sheer wealth and power or perhaps some hidden agenda concerning mankind's origin, destiny, and spirituality."

While most of the subject matter is indeed fascinating, much of it was just not convincing to me. His sources are very suspect (he frequently quotes authors like David Icke) and some of the links between these aforementioned groups are tenuous at best. With that said, I did find certain aspects of the book to be more plausible than others. Like many of the previous reviewers, I also have trouble accepting Marrs' conclusions concerning the origins of mankind. Nevertheless, I found the book to be a very enjoyable and compelling read and would venture that if even half of what Marrs asserts is true, mankind has had the wool pulled over it's eyes for way too long.

Look at a map of Iraq with Kuwait carved out, and you'll see how England pre-wired it for conflict. Who can deny the hair triggers that were set after WW2, for Eastern Europe, Korea, and Vietnam? This great book was published in 2000 - I submit that the past six years only serve to provide further validation of the author's premise.

In the past six years, the existance of the PSYCHOPS group within the government has come to light. Its sole purpose is to issue statements diverting attention away from the groups and businesses that are running the country and world. It has been responsible for "debunking" conspiracy theories, like the 9/11 articles by leading scientists. The articles written by the scientists show that many events described by the media and government are physically impossible. The free fall of Building 7 from a jet fuel fire and a 757 penetrating 6 ten foot thick concrete walls at the Pentagon and leaving the front lawn untouched defy logic and science. U.S. media bought it.
The initial published review of this books is pure PSYCHOPS. Jim Marrs continues the money trail and keeps the light on corporations manipulating world politics. Read the book, do your own research using international sources, and watch how everything around us becomes logical, especially the past six years in the White House. For anyone who relies on American media for news, this will seem like another book full of speculation. For those of us who get the world news from the outside, it is an excellent history book.

This book is extraordinarily interesting, broad, and paradigm-altering.

The table of contents provided enough detail to be an executive summary. The book is somewhat deficient on sources (heavily reliant on superficial "encyclopedic" references) but the alternative explanation of history and reality is not to be missed.

I bought the book thinking it was about government secrecy. Not so. Much more importantly, this book is about the secret societies used by the 300-500 wealthiest individuals in the world, the ones that own the central banks that can cause financial panics, move inflation or deflation, all to the end of profiting, while "exploding the client," the individual "patsy" whose hard-earned wages are nothing more than a supermarket shelf from which these elites pluck extra funds to buy another castle. See my review of Mark Lewis's "Liar's Poker" to understand Wall Street use of individuals as *disposable* sources of cash, and my review of John Perkin's "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" to get a sense of the larger global methods being used to loot the commonwealths. Also relevant is Jeff Faux, "The Global Class War : How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win it Back" and many of my other reviews of books by others on the loss of government legitimacy and credibility with the people, combined with the predatory immorality of corporations that now own government.

Much of what the author attributes to a grand master plan can also be explained by the natural tendency of wealth to create wealth (compound interest) and for wealth to influence politics, but this book is deeper than that.

The author begins with an introduction of the Rothchilds, and gradually builds up a detailed picture of how they funded "barons" around the world, and in America, where the Morgans and the Rockefellers were their chosen instruments. The Bush family is second tier but right up there. Special attention is given to the Federal Reserve, which is NOT controlled by the government and has NEVER been audited in its history, and to the ease with which bankers make money from advance knowledge of changes in domestic and foreign policies that they often simply mandate.

The USA was until around 1837 a "value-based" economy in which real assets--gold, silver, land, labor--paid in full. There was no debt, no interest. From Thomas Jefferson to Andrew Jackson, bankers from Europe were rejected and considered "more dangerous than armies, swindling the future." Jefferson also believed central banks to be unconstitutional, since the right to create a national currency is reserved to the U.S. Treasury. The author notes that both Lincoln and Kennedy were unique for issuing debt-free currency, and for being assassinated. Reagan was shot by Hinkley, whose relative was dining with a prominent member of the Bush family the night before, and he suggests this was intended to move Bush, a member of the secret society world and leading pawn, into power years sooner.

An extensive discussion is provided of bankers themselves causing financial panics, wars, and other confrontations. The author refers to the Rothschild Formula as being to spawn wars and finance both sides. The book discusses the bank-rolling of Hitler, Trotsky, the US Civil War, the French Revolution, the Boar War, and on and on.

Credible evidence is provided that the terrorism in Italy, as part of a "Strategy of Tension" described in a captured document, was intended to create enough of a perception of leftist terrorism to justify a shift in the government toward fascism. The P2 Lodge behind the terrorism was a secret society on the right, not the left, and is said to have been guided by the Alpine Lodge in Switzerland, the "Gnomes of Zurich." George Bush senior is alleged to have been an honorary member of this lodge, while Henry Kissinger is said later in the book to be a member of the Alpine Lodge. Most interesting for me is the CIA connection. The "Strategy of Tension" was first devised by James Angleton to prevent a communist take-over in Italy following WWII, and is STRICKINGLY apt in considering the allegations that 9/11 was allowed to happen if not made to happen. See my review of "Crossing the Rubicon," of "9/11: Synthetic Terror Made in the USA," among other books (use my lists).

Summing up this book early on, I found it to be 1/3 wealth begets wealth; 1/3 corruption begets wealth, and 1/3 conspiracy begets wealth. However, once I entered the secret society segment of the book, I reverse the above order.

This book gave me a completely new perspective on Cheney and Rove as front men rather than the prime movers, intended to take the heat and be "sacrificed" without the public every realizing that it is Citi-Bank (the same bank said to have secretly received Yamashita's Gold from Douglas McArthur, as told in "Gold Warriors" by Sterling and Peggy Seagrave), and Chase Manhattan, the two owned sufficiently by the Morgan and Rockefeller families to be the hubs for their power. The author also discusses the 40,000 tax exempt organizations that serve as fronts for banks and foundations and corporations, all manipulating the individual citizen-voter without paying a cent in taxes.

On page 408 the author says "Whatever the truth may be, we must be wary of leaders who attempt--whether by force, manipulation, or deceit--to move whole populations in directions they may not wish to go and might not be beneficial to all."

On page 409 the author says "Knowledge is indeed power. It is time for those who desire true freedom to exert themselves--to fight back against the forces who desire domination through fear and disunity [enabled by secrecy." The author notes that there are more of us than of them (see my review of Jonathan Schell's "Unconquerable World.")

I have one word for what I plan to work toward: TRANSPARENCY. Collective public intelligence is going to survive and prosper. The times, they are a'changing.

He starts off talking about secret societies, with some interesting but dubious ideas. Then he goes into conspiracy theories trying to link Rockefellers and Rothchilds to everything. This takes many pages of useless backstory to set up.

But by far the worst part of the book is the rant made about alien establishment of humanity. I get the feeling most reviewers didn't finish the book or didn't notice it slipping from historical analysis and links to secret socitietes to the recitation of the Alien-Earth Theory, with no links made at all. It is bizarre beyond belief, and the assurances of 'scientists' and 'experts' in this section makes it clear the other sections are most likely made up as well.

Should be on the "public" high school required reading list so those may set up a lifes plan of action --- yeah, right - like that's going to happen.

Wake Up America!

A fascinating, impeccably sourced examination of the secretive cabals, family bloodlines, corporate offshoots and "alphabet" government organizations which perhaps serve as ideological 'hidden hand' thinktanks determining and shaping the course of global and cultural shifts. If one world government is to be an inevitable step to bring humanity together, why the secrecy, the grand deceptions, the calculated slaughters and blatant discrepancies of power between haves and have-nots? Did the devil indeed make them do it?

The fact that such secret societies with uncanny, ancient connections exist is easily provable, the real mystery is just how much influence and impact do they have on foreign and domestic policy making? Which is to ask, is the bulk of our perceptions regarding government, its public relations media apparatus and deregulation policies, banking and the private Federal Reserve System, international corporations [military industrial complex], that is, the daily round of life as we know it, truly, as the reputable analysis of Establishment dissidents Chomsky and Zinn have demonstrated, a "necessary illusion," a form of what early twentieth century planners saw as the "manufacture of consent," and if so, to what extent? What's familiar is a smokescreen, so, what's behind it?

Marrs' book digs in and lays it all out, much like the exhaustive earlier research of David Icke's books {"...And The Truth Shall Set You Free"}, sans the spiritual meditations that color Icke's views -- which I enjoy and believe to be central to what's taking place, but realize some don't and just prefer the facts. Also, Marrs likewise presents the evidence without the familiar tone of fist waving evocation and urgency of fearless NWO crier, Alex Jones. That's not to criticize Jones, because I understand his perspective and agree. It's just that comparatively, Marrs appears somewhat less caustic in how he presents his rationale in these quite irrational times we're existing in.

There are most certainly conspiracies in the world. United States foreign policy has frequently been influenced by large multinational corporations. There are Christian fundamentalists trying to spur on the end of days and politicians attempting to end the two party system in the United States with schemes like the K-Street Project. The question is does a small elite group control the wheels and levers of the world and if so who are they? The author points to three groups include the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations and the Bilderbergers. The implementations of control include the IMF, World Bank and the United Nations.

My first worry that the author might not have both oars firmly in the water was when he quoted Gary Allen writing about political decision making saying, "If we were dealing with mere incompetence, our leaders should occasionally make a mistake in our favor... We are not really dealing with coincidence or stupidity, but with planning and brilliance." This reminded me of a headline on the Onion about the Republican Party's disastrous 2005 year saying, "Everything Proceeding According To Bizarre Right-Wing Plan" If there's one thing I've learned it's that decision makers can be as dumb if not dumber than the average person on the street. The author blames everything including both World Wars, the Civil War the French Revolution, the Russian Revolution on wealthy families like the Rothschild's, Morgan's and Rockefellers. These individuals along with secret societies have worked using hidden knowledge to keep the world in chaos for their own ends.

The author occasionally makes some astute observation such as when he mentions that one of the first things the Nazi's did during their rise to power was purchase a newspaper called the Voelkischer Boebachter (Racial Observer) and discovered that "it was only necessary to purchase the control of 25 of the greatest papers." to control information. We see that now in the United States where the number of media outlets continues to dwindle while influence by the government continues to increase. Fox News in particular is practically a branch of the Republican Party while huge media companies like Clear Channel have an uncomfortably cozy relationship with those in power.

The final chapter is where things get really out there. The author starts to relate theories about aliens seeding the earth and genetically creating human beings (and the Sumerian civilization) in test tubes in order to create slaves to mine gold. He includes very specific facts including names, locations, details of the cloning processes and a chronology of events. This he ties in with stories from the bible. He issues an impassioned plea to readers to question conventional thinking writing, "It is time for those who desire true freedom to exert themselves - to fight back against the forces who desire domination through fear and disunity". Mind you the awareness he appears to be promoting is that aliens from Neptune may well be using secret societies to manipulate mankind. It's all rather absurd and really throws a bucket of cold water over the rest of the book. I would have to put this book into the category of fun fiction but it's likely filled with far more disinformation than actually useful information. If you're reading the book to be informed you'll likely finish it dumber than when you started.

This is a wonderful book! It covers a lot of ground which is necessary for one to comprehend what is happening in our country and world today, and is going to happen in the next 15 years.

This book is a stable entry point for the material of David Icke, Alex Jones, Rense.com, etc. What Marrs has done is find much of the material that would take a lifetime to find and read. He has then put the pieces together for those who don't have the time or unique ability to do this type of research.

It isn't necessary that every small piece of info is exactly accurate (e.g. a Greek name) - it is necessary that you see more clearly and be less of a sheep. The subjects Marrs opens the door to will make you upset if you pursue these subjects - you must be able to "confront evil" and that your truths may not be true. Marrs has limited the upset in this book.

I am indebted to Jim Marrs. This book would greatly be enhanced with an org chart of the reporting structure of the governmental bodies, intelligence agencies, private foundations and medical, education and industry organizations back up to the secret societies controlling them, the society controlling them and the entity controlling it. A picture is worth a thousand words.

In researching my own web book, Outrageous Truth: A Mystical Paradigm, I have read and studied thousands of manuscripts of books, journals, research reports, newspaper accounts, newsletters, articles, and web pages. There have only been two books that have impressed me to the extent as this one, both of which are metaphysical, The Secret Doctrine, by H.P. Blavatsky, and The Secret Wisdom of All Ages, by Manley P. Hall. They share in common a quality that I can only label "Inspired."

By "Inspired," I do not mean the definition that is overused to describe creative novelty, excitement and intensity. By "Inspired" I mean other worldly, that the writer had to have been informed from sources well beyond the material elements and limits of this earth and the human intellect. The indications of this special status include: awesome meticulous and exhausting detail, consistent and extensive cross references to other valid and credible works, the impression that he has remembered every detail of everything he has ever read or contacted. There is an impeccable logic of the story line's themes and contextual development. There is consistent validation among the book's information with credible links to widely documented real world events and sources descriptive of them. The esoteric elements of his book are firmly connected to ancient evidence whose validity is confirmed by multiple credible sources. These qualities well transcend the limited capacities of even pure genius

This book transcends the politics of any party or religion. The author begins with an accounting of those secret societies that operate today, and who the public figures are that, unknown to the general public, are linked to them. He then develops the antecedents of these societies and links them to world figures and events, Hitler, the Nazis, the wars of the 19th and 20th century, and the corporate holders of economic and political control of all sides of conflict who manipulate world events. The chilling links behind why and who orchestrated the Kennedy assassinations become stunningly clear. He identifies the foundation Principles that created their modern expressions from their earlier forms: the Alchemists, Freemasons, Rosicrucian's, and the Illuminati. He then traces the origins of these earlier secret societies back to the most ancient human societies and cultures, and their first written documents, particularly in Egypt, the Middle east, and especially Samaria. He shows how these links from the dawn of human consciousness have evolved to their current expressions today.

Major insight is provided regarding the placement of Christianity in world events and the activities that nurtured its growth and contributions to world events. Some of this information will shock many of today's Christian believers. I find that this information is consistent with other credible sources that address that topic. Across the ages, Marrs links every historical figure of prominence to their role in the evolution of secret power and control to their contemporary secret manifestations today, e.g., the Skull and Bones Society (Yale University), The Trilateral Commission, and CFR (Council on Foreign Relations,) and the German society, the Bilderburgers, and the Priory of Sion.

Few persons today can imagine the mystical connections of these worldly groups to their guiding principles that extend back before the pyramids. But from this book you will learn how and why the persons behind these groups arranged to profit from both sides of the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, and how they now instigate to promote world wide violence to create a single world order controlled entirely by them. In pursuit of this goal they are completely ruthless and unprincipled. They cultivate and use support from any source that will help them achieve their goals, including the naive support of gullible religionists. You can come to recognize their skill at creating "plausible deniability" which are the watchwords that protect their identity and roles behind the success of all their actions when taken.

Here is a passage from the Introduction to Marr's book:
"Be forewarned. If you are perfectly comfortable and satisfied with you own particular view of humankind, religion, history, and the world, read no further.

If you truly believe that humanity has reached the peak of its scientific and spiritual fulfillment, and the corporate owned mass media is keeping you well enough informed, stop here.

But if you are one of those millions who look at the daily news, scratch you head in wonder, and ask, "What in the world is going on?" or if you entertain questions of who we are, where we came from, and where we're going, you are in for a joy ride."

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"Joy ride" or not, the book is a demanding read. The fire hose torrent of information, of names alone, can be daunting even to an experienced reader conversant with many of the names and events of today and recent history going back to the 19th and 18th Centuries. I encourage you to simply skim over those parts of the book that cause you to glaze over. There are rewards for getting any part of this book that is accessible to you, and that will be most of it. That is why the rewards for reading it will be unsurpassed. For example, the election struggles leading to November this year, and in 2008, will be understood from an incredible fresh perspective that you cannot now imagine.

This book is such a stunning indictment of current politics and American social values, it is a wonder that Marrs has not already been murdered by the same corporate power structure that is largely in control of all of today's major social decisions. I believe that Marrs is alive because the power elite who own this country quake in their boots and fear that any such drastic act on their part will cause the book to become more widely visible. Because while it was published by HarperCollins, it was never seriously marketed. But in spite of being panned by other corporate controlled editorial reviews, it became a quiet best seller nevertheless. Should the book become publicly visible by an act of violence so as to make Marrs a martyr, then it would become sensational, then widely read by many audiences, and finally, acted upon. They must desperately hope and expect that this book and Jim Marrs will quietly fade away without any major social or political impact. I hope you will help to not let that happen. I have begun to read this amazing book a second time, and I will continue to study it and selected references in it that I am not already familiar with. I find, as they say, it's easier the second time around.

I will admit, if one is unfamiliar with books on the subject of conspiracy, this is a good starter book. If you want an intro to how the Templars, freemasons, illuminati and Federal Reserve Bank. This is a good starting point. It not an opinion piece, but the author really packs in a lot of fascinating but quesionable theories on the powers that be in this world. If you can take a lot of the material with a grain of salt then it can be quite an entertaining read. It's almost an encyclopedia of who is who in the world or corrupt governance.

Let's take for example the author's ideas on naziism and the rise to Hitler. He makes some good points about how this group was funded by international banks. I think this is a good eye-opener for the simple fact that Germany, an indebted, poor nation of Europe rose to become a super-power machine. It's true they didn't do it on there own. They had international support from bank loans. However, he delves in to the concepts of Hitler being a satan-worshiper who may be related to the Rothschilds, and experimented with mind altering drugs. I am not saying these absolutely are not legitimate fact, who am I? Although, the author gives equal analysis to such wacky theories.

Let's put it this way, one of this author's prior books is called Alien Agenda and yes, he is talking about the kinds of aliens from outer space. Until I am abducted and sexualy violated by aliens, I'll chose not to continue reading such dubious material.

No doubt it was fun, and fascinating to read, but if one were to take all of this for fact, he may find himself considering re-evaluating his sanity. I think that fora person who is naive, this could be potentially damaging, psychologically. Especially the last chapter on the origin of man, being from outer space and using the great pyrimids as landing beacons, messes with your head. This book borders upon schizophrenia.

I give it 2 stars. It was fun to read, but it is very much trash for your mind.

See my other reviews to see what I do like.

(I also want to say, that The Hiram Key by Knight and Lomas is utter garbage....oh they are British...utter rubbish!)

As other reviewers have noted, this book starts out pretty well, giving a useful overview of secret societies and their aims. Secret societies have existed from the earliest times--but the farther back in history that Marrs goes, the weaker his work becomes.

Nevertheless, this is a good introduction to the topic. If you keep a good search engine handy, particularly Wikipedia, you can glean much useful information about what goes on behind the scenes of historical events, particularly in the 20th century.

As I read somewhere, if you are driving down the highway and see a turtle on a fence post, you may not know how it got there, but you know it didn't get there by itself. Marrs tries to answer such questions--you may not agree with his answers, but the reality is hard to deny.

But, by the latter 1/3 of the book, I tended to lose interest, as his ignorance of orthodox Christian theology starts to grate. Gnosticism, or salvation by "secret" knowledge, has been around since time began, but he acts like the Dead Sea Scrolls revealed new information about the birth of Christianity. The birth and death of Christ described in the Scriptures is an anvil that has worn out a thousand hammers, including Jim Marr's and Dan Brown's (Da Vinci Code). "Sinai spaceports" and the like are just goofy, IMHO. The writers of Scripture were well aware of gnostic gospels in their day, yet Marrs writes as if they were ignorant of them, which only reveals his ignorance.

Yet, looking past the weaknesses, he does a decent job of opening up the topic to enquiring minds.

I have to agree with other reviewers who said that this book lacks a clear concise thesis. It seems to wander thither and yon looking under rocks and in dark corners for signs left behind by secret societies and aliens. Marrs mangages to squeeze in everyone from Skull and Bones to the secret of the Holy Grail(Christ and Mary Magadelene had a child...)While Marrs makes some interesting links (the Rothschilds and J. P. Morgan, for example) his grasp of Greek and Roman mythology is remakrably shoddy--he ties the wrong Roman name to the Greek name and often has to the provinces of these gods all wrong. I'll admit that the classical Greek gods were often amalgamations of local village gods, but Marrs is just plain mistaken in most cases. I don't even want to touch the Sitchin material...Overall, the book had me more convinced at the beginning, but by the end I was quite dubious.

def one of the best. rule by secrecy is a perfect book

I read a good portion (about 30%) of this book. Jim throws many details at you, with not enough summarizing. I am a fan of Alex Jones and his work, and thought this book would give some good backround information. Which it did, but not in a clear way. I will be moving on to some of Icke's books.

A weak hypothesis, backed by weak research and furthered along by weak circular logic leads to a weak, week-long read. Unless you're given to intellectual buffoonery or are a collector (or promulgator) of absurd conspiracy theories, run-- don't walk-- away.

Jim Marrs give an outline of the developement of what is happing in the present.The New World Order.No rules on trade,unlimited immigration,multiculturealism,government financing of illegal immigrants,education,housing,medical,and protection from US law.Outsourcing,cheap imports.Denial of our culture.Be ashame to be of western european decent.Give Mexico the western states.Why did we fight Santa Anna.Why was the CAFTA passed,and the other trade agreements.We have to trade with asia,even if it cost you your job.You have to become third world for the corporations.The Federal Reserve is a private institution which collects interest from the government for lones which you have to pay.Why did congress give it to the private sector.Who did the elites kid.

The French and Dutch voted no to the EU because of immigration,outsourcing,and imports,causing lost of jobs.According to the governments you have to accept less government benefits,because of competition.In the US social Security needs to be cut,but illegals okay.Whos kiding who.

The elitest both gentile and Zionist,are they tryig to kill us.Is it just greed at any cost,maybe both.Why are they doing it?Could it be to make us slaves.Facist corporations and communist of a totalitarian type in the US government.A king again.Have we forgot our history.

Read the Declaration of Independence,you have the right to change your government.When the government no longer can protect you.Read Hobb and Jefferson.Treason is against the law.The US government is not enforcing US law.immigration policy for example,and is in defiance of the US constitution.They are above the law regardless of the outcome.

The minutemen are trying to protect our boarders,yet the government is opposed.Jews are assisting the illegals and are opposed to any real restriction on immigration,Zionist included.They are racist.Why do they not go to Israel and open the boarder to palestine and give back the land that they occupy,whicn means they stole.The westbank,still building settlement on stolen land.It is time to stop giving Isreal 3 billion or more a year.Their Pollard the saint in jail,please let him out.Ask the CIA or FBI, and they do not like other.Spying on the US.AIPAC,ACLU,your getting old.

Zionist and cororates are entergrated.Why do the jews not enter marry as a majority.If they would merry the africans we could make Africa a paradise.They are the select of GOD.

.The enclosure acts in England and the stealing of Hawaii by the US are examples of the elitist,and what they will do.A sheep could be worth more than you.The queen of Hawaii thought the president would help her, but he was stopped by business interest.NWO.Banks control shares in the corporate state.Banks control governments.World bank,wonld you like to barrow from them and become their slave. A ZIONIST is the head of the world bank.Homeland security,Cheroff,or whatever his name is,is a Zionist.You know you will be saved.State Department,Zionist,we must be safe.News media,etc.

The key to taking back the constitution is the stopping of immigration.They cannot expand business without growth.Keep in mind the global warning was cause by the corporates failure to lisen to the environmentist over 40 years ago.Business said you could not prove it.If we expand what happens to limited resourses.Sustainable growth should be 2 billion population.Read Malthus why do we allow over population.Why is poverty still here.War is for profit and population control.It also keeps the class structure in place.The powers that be want to stay that way.There is no enegy shortage,Hydrogen has been perfected.60 minutes had segment in 60ties or 70ties.Man had contract with post office in US for HYDROGEN fuel.His life was threatened.A scientist on that program or another segment said it was fesible, but not now.Economics,oil,etc.Renewable low cost enegy would change the world and the power of the world,it would have to be done slowly.Corporates buy inventions,and store them.Not for your use.Maybe you are considered less than human.Slave boy.

I would say to save your self.Vote the supreme court and the senate,congress out.A new change.Do not let them trick you again.You always forget,that is why the rule,and they think you are a sheep.Maybe this time they will be the sheep.They have no martial ability,they buy power but they are weak.You have been taking care of them while they exploit you,it is funny,that is why they may think you are less.History says they fail,just when they thought they had won.

Do not let jews or gentiles fool you on immigration.Make employers who hire illegals go to jail.Have full employment,before immigrants are allowed, Prosecute people asssisting illegals.Throw them out of the country when they come in as ilegals.Vote your repersentives out who support immigration.NO more yes no votes,CAFTA,most of the congress are criminalsMake sure every american has a job.Have a draft,make everyone serve in some way.Help America
Marrs gave you what you need to save America.Vote the criminal out.America is of western european decent.There is no reason for us to be a monority.We fought for this country,are we going to give it away.God whoever you are,or nature bless us.

You can be an atheist and believe in the ten commandments,merry christmas,Who says we cannot say these things.The Zionist need to stay in Isarel,and their gentile elite should go with them.They have intermarried,but a zionost is a zionist.The jews IQ on adverge is higher than none jews.This is because they only merry zionist.Maybe we should do the same.They are the people of God,God help us,or we can help ourselves.

This is the best one volume treatment on the subject of world conspiracy I have found. Granted, there will be comments and observations and opinions in the book that cross your (it did mine) beliefs and convictions, but it is not done in an offensive way. The style is engaging, interesting, convincing and thorough. This book reveals years of interest and involvement in the subject by the author and a writing ability that is exceptional. He reports what he has found, and in little time shows the reader he is no newcomer to the subject. My only reservation about the book is the treatment on Biblical history which (for me anyway) is a rehash of theories that don't hold water. But other than that, the rest of the book is a page turner and never dry or uninteresting. If anything, it makes you think. For those bibliophiles out there, Dake's Annotated Reference Bible treats and answers much of what Marrs says in his book. I would recommend Dake for any conspiracy buffs if you are looking for a controversial Biblical explanation for much of what is happening in the world.

If you're going to write a book purporting to reveal the key to the understanding of history, you should at least have a basic grasp of historical events and chronology. Jim Marrs commits numerous howlers, such as claiming that a Trilateral Commission member wrote a 1975 paper referring to the Three Mile Island disaster. The problem: TMI occurred in 1979. Also, he mentions that Mayer Amschel Rothschild grew up in Frankfort, Germany during the 1740s in an environment poisoned by the antisemitism of the philosophers Kant and Fichte. This would be possible *if* Fichte had been born yet (he was born in 1762) and if Immanuel Kant (1724) had been particularly interested in antisemitism. It might have been even more helpful if antisemitism in a modern sense had been formulated--it was a ninteenth century idea.

I would like to give _Rule by Secrecy_ one star, but I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt. The parts I read were so stupid and ill-informed that I couldn't stand to finish it.

This book traces the connections between the worlds most powerful families to reveal who really runs the world and what their agenda really is. Marrs has done a lot of research (as usual) and documents everything. He reveals the secrets of the Federal Reserve System, the Freemasons and gives a wonderful commentary at the end of the book. For anyone who wants to know the despicable workings of world politics, this is your book.

Once again we have another author who uses the "associate outlandish theories with a select choice of facts" approach to conspiracy theory exposition. From this flawed premise one notices that this screed is no different to the many other "out there" conspiracy books yet this one is written by an author who should know better.

Not worth your time or money.

Jim Marrs is quite an intelligent, honest commentator on conspiracy theories and he attempts to uncover esoteric knowledge via various sources. I had time to read 'Rule by Secrecy' cover to cover - it is difficult to do so. The book provides an extensive overview of secret societies and attempts to give an alternative view of history. The problem is that this is impossible to do in one book, combined with the fact that solid proof backing up Marrs' theories is not often forthcoming or can be disputed. That said, I admire the tenacity, excellent organization, and cogently presented topics of the book. Marrs provides food for thought and even occasionally hints that the truth is yet to be discovered.

One of the premises of 'Rule by Secrecy' is that an accidental view of history, taught to everyone and accepted by most without having critically thought of the implications, is wrong. Marrs proposes a conspiratorial view of history (perfectly valid, by the way) to explain world history and our planet's present course. He weaves together a big picture, conspiratorial view of history by explaining the actions and structure of secret societies, past and present economic systems, past wars and past actions of key political figures, and other tidbits such as "Ancient Mysteries" (a revealing section at the end of the book).

Marrs makes a reasonable case that "a few people run everything". Uttering this type of phrase usually causes a person to be branded as paranoid or worse. Read this book - then see if you still agree that such a phrase is paranoid. Given our system of mass media, capitalistic socialism that hints at an ultimate goal of globalism, dynasties passed on from the robber barons with an interest in retaining power and wealth, and two dominant political parties in the United States that always seem to happen to produce candidates and Presidents from secret societies, the book tends to be more believable than one might suspect.

I particularly like the way Marrs ends 'Rule by Secrecy'. Even if the accidental view of history paradigm is the truth, he encourages the reader to be open minded and become more educated. No matter what conclusions you reach at the end of the book, the enormous effort and prodigious amount of research and work Marrs gave to the book makes it worth reading.

To be brief: After having read dozens and dozens of books on the various subjects that this book touches upon...books like, Report from Iron Mountain, 12th planet, You are being lied to, Gods of the new millenium (a good book that the author later thought was not a good book...very strange), Forbidden Archeology, Flying Serpents and Dragons, and UFO Books, and Books on the illiminati, the Knights Templar and on and on and on....It was nice to read a book that managed to encapsulate all of the stuff that I had been reading for years, put it in some kind of order and present it. If this is your first book on this subject, you will get a full shot of information, but you will not have had the pleasure of building up your knowledge base first and deciding for yourself through your readings what might be true, sort of true or not true. It would be like seeing a sequel to a movie before you have seen or even heard about the first movie.
But, I give it 5 stars for the excellent manner that Mr. Marrs used to gather all the information out there and condense it into a readable, logical format. It should belong in any conspiracy buff's, 'someone-was-here-before-us' buff's and the truth is out there buff's library.

The first 3 sections of the book are great. The author presents plenty of documented facts about the events of the last century, as well as some interesting speculation. If you have not been exposed to much of the historical information which lies below the surface of what is popularly presented, then this book will be an eye opener, and will probably leave you more interested in current events than ever before.

However, the last 2 sections, about the elder secret societies and ancient mysteries, is so full of speculation that it has no place in this book... These sections tend to have the effect of calling into question the credibility of the earlier sections. The topics these sections cover are very interesting, but they are composed of almost pure speculation.

However, if you are an intelligent reader you will be able to discern this on your own.

This book has a lot of good stuff in it. The problem is the author also wrote a book called 'alien agenda'. That pretty much sums up what people think of the whole CFR conspiracy. Right on the front of the book it says, "from the author of alien agenda". I'm sorry, but I think this book does more harm than good on convincing anybody to look into it themselves.

I suggest reading James Perloff's Shadows of Power.

Everything you have come to know about the world will be called into question by reading this book. Marrs begins in 2000 and works backwards, letting us know who really was pulling the strings in world affairs. It seems that money talks, and Marrs is happy to tell us who the moneymen are. It's a bit depressing to know that multinational bankers use war and debt to keep nations sparring and citizens enslaved.

Marrs takes us all the way back to Ancient Sumeria, where he drops the mother of all whammies, leaving us questioning his judgment as an investigative journalist. He comes up with some startling reads on history, which may be true, but are buffeted only by the cuneiform translation services of one maverick historian.

RULE BY SECRECY is an enjoyable and eye-opening read, but the entire book is so heavily footnoted that I couldn't shake the notion that I should be reading the other books instead. Marrs constantly quotes the findings of other researchers, while skimming the surface of each topic, and never really speaking with authority concerning any angle. It doesn't feel so much like new information as a glossary of better researched information from the vaults of history. That said, I am still glad I read it. It was a great preamble to THE DA VINCI CODE, which was the very next book I read.

It presents a good overview of the various conspiracy theories and elite organizations, but I think it tries to crunch on too many at the same time and falls a little short of the mark in wrapping it all up in the end. I don't think anybody could wrap it all up at the end because it is just too big. But that doesn't detract from the individual sections before that. Jim Marrs is one of the best writers in the genre, and this another good read from the author.

"Rule by Secrecy," by Jim Marrs, is for truth-seekers. As the introduction to the book says, if you are satisfied with believing what you know, this book is not for you. I believe that if you are interested in taking a few steps closer to the truth, then you will enjoy this book.

The book is large (over 400 pages) and covers so much information that it is like reading 2 or 3 books in one. The author takes a lot of conspiracy theory literature and sums it up in a way that is a great introduction to the subject for those who have not read much on the topic.

"Rule by Secrecy" covers various secret political organizations, Freemasons, banking, and how these groups dramatically influence our world. The common thread of these groups is woven together and traced back to ancient Egypt and Sumer. The amount of material is quite lengthy, and you are in for a great review of many topics and issues.

I found most of the criticism this book received was distorting what was said in the book and purely pro-establishment typical rhetoric (viz., what they want you to believe). But one would expect this as "Rule by Secrecy" exposes such seedy public manipulation that, if known, would cause mass public outcry. This is not to say some of the criticism of the book is totally off-base. For instance, although the book has a "sources" section in the back, some of the quotes and references I looked for in the "sources" section were not there.

If you are a "truth-seeker," Jim Marrs' book "Rule by Secrecy" is probably worth reading. As the book quotes and mentions many other books and authors, it will serve as a good starting place for a deeper look into these issues.

There are some silly or distorted conspiracy theories books, there are thought-provoking books on the same subject. This book offered more than that. it's compelling, fascinating, absurd, intriguing and somewhat dubious. Well-researched and factual, the author just presented what he had learned, researched and assembled from various sources, weeding out fiction from truth and let the readers decide for themselves. The history of the origin of the Federal Reserve will surprise you: its very existence will serve a greater purpose with the world in the 21st century.

The only faults with the author tended to inject controversial pieces from the crazy crackpot theorists like David Icke as well as the author mixing up few erroneous facts in the wrong places or times. However, considering the huge amount of sources he compiled and put together, it can be daunting to any author to carefully construct a secret history based on facts, not based on biased opinions or junk theories. David Icke constructed a secret history based on his distorted views, biased researches and junk theories.

Not Jim Marrs. The man did his homework well. He deserved an A for such a daunting, if courageous, effort! The UFO/alien involvement in the ancient past at the end of this book is somewhat dubious and need to be treated with benign prejudice. Unless compelling evidence support that theory.

Highly recommended to read. Great if you read Dan Brown's novel, "Angels and Demons" or "The Da Vinci Code".

The first 2/3 of this book is stunning and enormously revealing and I would advise every American to read it!
Unfortunately, the last 1/3 of the book, the author gets into pure speculative alien garbage which goes a long way towards undermining what he'd already written. You may as well tear that last part out, it's so bad.
He's brilliant as long as he sticks to the secular stuff he can prove; he's embarrasses himself and those who might otherwise be solidly in his corner when he veers off into reckless Art Bell alien sensationalism.

Poorly written, amazingly contrite and if you like to leap, this book will be great for you because you are required to make so many leaps you'll need to give your legs a rest. I can't believe I wasted time reading this garbage.

This is a fabulous Book which everybody should read. I have been reading and re-reading this book for weeks, checking the sources it cites and using it as a basis for a more in-depth study of the REAL HISTORY of POWER IN THE UNITED STATES and around the globe. Highly detailed historical facts which can all be confirmed in other sources.....put the history of the USA and the world into an entirely different light than we were all taught in school. Read this book and become informed of REAL HISTORY and how REAL POWER works in the world today. THIS INFORMATION IS RIVITING AND INVALUABLE! A manual for life! After reading this book, you will never again see the world around you in the same way.

I grant this book two stars for the following reasons: the author made an effort to write this book and the book has a number of interesting facts. Unfortunately, the book is not well supported and it is a rather scrambled and jumbled hodgepodge of assertions and facts. Somehow, one could take seriously the contents of this book because of its matter-of-fact tone and the serious nature of its message, that of a conspiracy against an entire nation (perhaps the world). I picked this book up in the hopes that it would lay this idea of a NWO and secret societies involved in government and present it in a realistic fashion. I gravitated to this book because it did not get too in depth about UFOs or how our government officials are actually aliens or whatever other strange assertions many of these conspiracy theorists concoct. The book alludes to a believable motive behind the Kennedy assassination and talks a great deal about wealth and its influence on government. That information was a big plus. I was not at all convinced about the information that was used to tie religion and secret societies. A church is not a religion as well as a religion does not make a church. Such claims that Jesus Christ was somehow affiliated with a secret society and was privy to mystical, or magical, knowledge is nonsensical and created to deceive. It is true that Roman christianity was a creation prepetuated by Constantine and the Roman Empire, but to downplay and discredit Jesus and his apostles is in itself a heresy of incredible proportion. For you must ask yourself: What is Christianity without Christ? The Christian faith does not thrive now because of secret societies--because it is not a secret. The miracles of Jesus are not remembered today because they sounded great in the written word--they are remembered because they actually happened. This book does not do justice to its message of the power of secrecy and it does a complete injustice to Christianity by binding masonic philosophy and beliefs with religion. The distinction is made: occult versus religion. This book did not reach my expectations. Reference William Cooper for a better understanding of this topic and refer to David Icke for the most bizarre approach to the perpetuation of this topic.

Jim Marrs's book, Rule by Secrecy, is certainly ambitious. It is no less than a compendium of more than 20 major conspiracies into a grand unified theory of conspiracy. The book is certainly a good one for conspiracy buffs to have in their bookcase, because it summarizes all the major conspiracies pretty well, from the Baigent and Leigh "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" theories on the Knights Templar and the Merovingians to the manipulations of the Federal Reserve.

Marrs is particularly strong on the financial conspiracies (House of Rothschild, Morgans, Rockefellers, the Fed) and on the CFR/Trilateral/Bilderberger family of foreign policy conspiracies. I found the book somewhat weak in handling the Roswell/Area 51/Greys/Abduction family of conspiracies -- (although the aliens certainly have their place in Marrs's scheme of things), and was disappointed that he did not provide a more thorough Kennedy assassination scenario.

The book is well written and methodically researched -- a tour through the authors in its bibliography would keep a good psychoanalyst busy for years -- but like all conspiracy works, it does suffer from leaps of faith, and enough logical sophistry to choke a pony.

This being said, the book did not fail to entertain, and I spent about a week with it. It is a good reference work to have if you are a student of conspiracy because of its broad nature. It is also a good introductory work to studying conspiracies because it covers so much ground.

RULE BY SECRECY is a somewhat loose synchonization of various conspiracy researchers that makes an attempt to bring the whole Master Plan of the ages to light. Author Jim Marrs fails in this. Marrs takes his main themes and ideas from David Icke, Zecharia Sitchin, and the authors of HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL. There is a lot of great information, and speculation, as to who actually controls the world and the methods by which they exercise control. Since RULE BY SECRECY is published by a major company, Harper Collins, and IS in mainstream circulation unlike most other conspiracy books, it functions in its purpose of revealing some pertinient knowledge, but not the real thing. I recommend reading up to page 360, because after that Marrs goes off "the establishment" deep end with ancient astronauts and visitors from outer space rather than focusing on the ancient war between revealed truth and esoteric doctrines.

Marrs' book traces its history backward, from events as recent as the election 2000 canidates Bush and Gore and the Persian Gulf war in 1991 to ancient Greece and the Middle East. The histories and formations of many secret societies are given, and especially their interest in starting and manipulating the outcomes of wars to serve their goals. Marrs goes to great length to avoid being 'anti-Semitic' in his theories, but looking between the lines, Jews are more than proportionately named in this book as being bankers and conspiracy masterminds. RULE BY SECRECY is far from perfect; it attempts too much in too short of space, but is still a great source of insight on how secret societies covertly exercise control of the world's affairs.

If only this concise, well-written, beautifully organized book had been published 20 years ago! I have long searched for a book to recommended to sqeaumish readers. This work represents the most thorough and "digestable" synopsis of what is happening in the world. If only booksellers would take it out of the occult section and place it in current affairs and government sections, more readers might be exposed to it. My favorite reads in the last year have been 'Alien Rapture' by Brad Steiger and 'Unconventional Flying Objects' by Dr. Paul Hill. Really worth checking out.

"You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free!" If you consider yourself a thinking person, set your religion and your politics aside and BUY IT IMMEDIATELY! I highly recommend this book as well as "Alien Agenda," also by Marrs.

In case you haven't grasped it yet, books like this one (which are in m