Dark Mission: The Secret History of NASA Reviews

• Key Findings

  
  By AG4BP8IVE4K03 on 2007-12-12
  Dark Mission by Richard C. Hoagland
  Book Review by Dr. Ali Fant, WB5WAF, 12DE2007
  
  This review is from the perspective of a former NASA Manned Spaceflight Controller, so it is more technical than expository. I first encountered Hoagland's claims through the NASA Technical Alert Briefing viewed by many controllers at the Johnson Space Center in 1989-90, found his claims creditable, and then discovered the briefing tape "disappeared" from the closed JSC Technical Library - from both the open card catalog and the closed shelf listing catalog. As a former university library page, I was shocked to find all references to the briefing tape we controllers viewed were gone two years later. When I began investigating the matter, I was told in no uncertain terms to cease any search for the missing library records.
  
  Key Findings from Dark Mission:
  
  1. NASA is a defense agency of the US Government per the original agency charter.
  
  2. NASA withholds data of non-human intelligence for the good of human society per "Brookings."
  
  3. Brookings Institution advised US in 1959 report "Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs" to beware social-economic chaos resulting from alien artifacts found on the Moon or Mars as the 1938 "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast traumatized America.
  
  4. Arthur C. Clarke based the 1968 novel/film "2001: A Space Odyssey" on the Brookings Report.
  
  5. According to Clarke's 1968 Playboy Magazine interview, Stanley Kubrick quoted from Brookings in the film. The following movie dialog being based upon the "Brookings Report":
  "I'm sure you're aware of the extremely grave potential for cultural shock and social disorientation contained in the present situation, if the facts were prematurely and suddenly made public without adequate preparation and conditioning. Anyway, this is the view of the [Space] Council... there must be adequate time for a full study to be made of the situation before any thought can be given to making a public announcement. Oh yes ... as some of you know, the Council has requested that formal security oaths be obtained in writing from everyone who has any knowledge of this event." -- Dr. Heywood Floyd, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
  
  6. As a Manned Spaceflight Controller for NASA's last publicly acknowledged military shuttle mission, I remember taking this formal security oath to safeguard information on such flights. However, unlike all other US Government security oaths I have had in my lifetime, the NASA oath was never "terminated." That is, I never went through a formal debriefing. I questioned this lack of a debrief with NASA Security at the time and was told the Security office was already disbanded and no debriefing would be held.
  
  7. Hoagland's retelling of the "Monuments of Mars" matches the NASA Alert Briefing the controllers and I saw in 1989-90 in the now "non-existent" tape from the JSC Technical Library.
  
  8. Hoagland's explanation of "hyperdimensional physics" is too complex to be included here. Suffice it to say that I have studied the data, examined the historical connections between Oliver Heaviside (1850-1925), James Maxwell (1831-1879), Nikola Tesla (1856-1943), Thomas E. Bearden (1930-), Bruce DePalma (1935-1997), and Harold E Puthoff (1936-); and found the evidence convincing.
  
  9. The multiple-sourced, publicly available NASA photographs of the pyramids, buildings, and connecting roads between the structures on Mars demonstrate the presence of ancient peoples on the planet. This is old news to most space news junkies. Second Astronaut on the Moon, Buzz Aldrin even released a "fiction" book Encounter With Tiber (1996) incorporating many of these Mars details. Aldrin's book had a storyline about ancient lunar structures being discovered by Apollo Astronauts. Arthur C. Clarke (surprise!) even wrote the foreword to Aldrin's book. Because the story line is fiction, any revealed details would not violate Aldrin's formal security oath. This was the same approach Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) took with his book "proving" the revolution of the planets - the book was originally written as a work of fiction. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church did not appreciate the humor of Galileo putting the words of the Pope into the mouth of Simplico (the fool).
  
  10. And, just in case you missed it, there is a connection between NASA's Werner Von Braun and the Disney World "Mission to the Moon" (later restaged as "Mission to Mars," and featured in the excellent Disney produced films "Forbidden Planet" and "Mission to Mars." The latter film's climax is the "Face On Mars." However, coincidences do not make conspiracies.
  
  11. Hoagland does an excellent job detailing the "Operation Paper Clip" removal of Nazi Germany rocket scientists to Texas as detailed in the James Michener's book and 1985 mini-TV series "SPACE" - even including National Archives photographs of Von Braun in his black SS uniform alongside Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler. The occult history of Hitler is well documented by other authors, but Hoagland claims the occult influence extended from the SS to Von Braun to even the selection of NASA Mission Patches.
  
  12. Hoagland sees a connection between Freemasonry (33rd degree), Von Braun\Disney production film "Man in Space," and the "fiction" film's representation of an alien base on the farside of the Moon. It is just another coincidence that CIA Remote Viewer Ingo Swann saw an operational alien base in the same location prior to 1998.
  
  13. The spiritual aspects of UFOlogy, Adolf Hitler's birthday (April 20), 19.5 degrees location of planetary "hotspots" (on the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter, etc), the number 33 (Launch Complex 33, Shuttle Runway 33, 333 degrees from Egypt's Great Pyramid at Giza leads to JPL in California), and more and more numbers are overwhelmingly discussed by Hoagland in detail.
  
  14. Finally, the greatest surprises in Hoagland's book are in the last ninety pages. These last few pages contain the explosive description of Lunar ruins, mechanical artifacts, and even an (I kid you not) ancient robot head not unlike the one shown in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Mark Twain episode of "Time's Arrow" when Data discovers his death lies in the past of San Francisco. The color photographs Apollo 17 Astronauts Eugene Cernan (1934-) and Harrison Schmitt (1936-) took of the robot head in Crater Shorty have recently been released to Italian websites by NASA. Italy? Hey, the Catholic Church is headquartered in that nation ... just another coincidence. Hoagland postulates that the mechanical head could have easily been transported back to Earth.
  
  15. Other NASA photographs show crystal domes once covered many of the Maria on the Moon. Apollo 10 photographed at least one unbroken crystal dome, blacked-out in the official NASA print catalog, but if ordered by anyone today shows the intact dome. Since the 1990s, many researchers are specifically ordering these "black-out" lunar catalog prints to be stunned by what actually arrives in the mail. Hoagland publishes many of the photographs.
  
  16. Remember when Apollo 17 deliberately crashed the ascent stage into the Moon to measure the moonquakes using previously implanted seismic monitors? Such a moonquake map would show the placement of the newly revealed structures on the NASA photographs. However, after more than thirty years, the results still remain classified - on a civilian scientific Moon mission.
  
  17. Hoagland's book is having an effect on NASA today. Last year, NASA engineers suddenly "found" high-quality TV recordings of the Apollo 11 mission in Australia. Then, high quality "close-to-the-original" Apollo photographs were released to international public websites detailing the shattered crystal domes on the Moon. Next, NASA began posting thousands of never-before-seen "best" scanned pictures. This year (2007), NASA released for the first time the truly spy-camera quality photographs of the "Face on Mars" - showing details down to 11 inches. The vehicle and wheel tracks of the Opportunity Rover are clearly visible, as is the Face.
  
  18. Living astronauts refuse to comment on much of Hoagland's expose citing various reasons. Apparently, even the Coast-to-Coast Radio Show scheduled a "debate" between Hoagland and an astronaut, but the astronaut cancelled the engagement at the last minute.
  
  19. Twice flown astronaut, war hero, and Senator John Glenn requested a March 2001 appearance on the television NBC comedy Frasier. In the unusual episode, Glenn makes some very-unfunny comments directly to the viewing audience (out of earshot of Frasier and Roz) that are significance enough to repeat here: "Back in those glory days, I was very uncomfortable when they asked, you know, were you alone out there? We never gave the real answer, and yet we see things out there, strange things, but we know what we saw out there. And we couldn't really say anything. The bosses were really afraid of this, they were afraid of the `War of the Worlds' type stuff, and about panic in the streets. So, we had to keep quiet. And now we only see these things in our nightmares, or maybe in the movies, and some of them are pretty close to being the truth."
  
  20. Astronaut Neil Armstrong began his highly emotional address on 20JL1994 at the White House with the statement that he compared himself to a parrot - saying only what he had been told to say. Armstrong ended his strange remarks with the phrase "truth's protective layers."
  
  21. Astronaut Alan Bean draws his colorful Moonscapes paintings with diagonal markings perhaps to show the presence of shattered glass domes fragments.
  
  22. Don't be too hard on the astronauts. I know former NASA employees who have had their lives thrown into turmoil by losing retirement pensions or having unexpected deaths.
  
  23. Dark Mission lacks an index and perhaps the second edition will include one. I am reminded of the United States Central Intelligence Agency selling their entire data collection on Remote Viewing (on CD-ROMS) without an index. An index would have made it too easy for someone, somewhere to censor Hoagland's book.
  
  24. Recent Moon News: Japan SELENE arrived Moon 05OC2007, China CHANGLE arrived Moon 27NV2007, India CHANDRAAYAN to arrive Moon 2008, US LRO to arrive Moon 2008, Russia Lunar Rover to arrive Moon 2010, and US GRAIL to arrive Moon 2011.
  
  25. After thirty years of no manned missions to the Moon, why the sudden race for governments to return there? Even in the midst of a major war in the Middle East, governments are making a decision to return to the Moon as soon as possible. Check out the recently released Apollo photographs on the web and decide for yourself.
  
  
  

• Excellent Book

  
  By A1DCOTF5ISKC55 on 2007-12-24
  I find the conspiracy reviews that say this book has no proof to be absurd. This is an excellent book with examples to back up the theories and problems concerning Nasa secrecy and the mars missions in particular. The physics of Hoagland makes more sense than what was taught in all my college physics courses. Anyone who says there is no proof in this book either didn't read or didn't understand the book. Just the Brookings Institute report and the way Nasa stonewalled on Cydonia proves they are hiding something. If there is a possibility that there are structures on Mars then why would Nasa not want to take better pictures of the area. If nothing else, you would think they would like to disprove all the scientists who propose that these are not natural formations.
  
  The photos we do have are directly from Nasa and even they admitted (finally) that they had lied when saying they had later photos of Cydonia which did not show the structures. If it's a conspiracy to think the government or defense agencies might hide something, then so be it. Anyone who believes the government does not keep secrets from the people has not studied history. Just look to Gulf of Tonkin, Nixon, Iran-Contra, Operation Northwoods, etc. A conspiracy is just a secret plan between 2 or more people. To say this never happens is ridiculous.
  
  

• Glass Domes on the Moon & Who Murdered JFK? A feast of Conspiracies!

  
  By AMFIHLW5HTUCZ on 2008-02-26
  Has the American space agency, with its fine legacy of putting a man on the moon, been lying to us? Does its mission have a darker purpose than pure science and has it made potentially explosive discoveries in its exploration of the solar system?
  
  I've been interested in Richard Hoagland's work for a number of years, since he took on the cause of the "Face on Mars" and I've enjoyed exploring his website (enterprisemission.com), with its fascinating theory of hyperdimensional physics and his evidence that there are ruins of a civilization in the Cydonia region of Mars. Hoagland may sound like a nut but he puts forth an interesting and at times, convincing, case. Along with colleague Mike Bara, he has finally put it all together in this book, which persuasively argues that NASA is not quite what it seems to be. The book is liberally illustrated, with NASA's own photos along with others.
  
  Let's get right to what Hoagland alleges in this book. While he's best known for his theories about Mars, Hoagland also tackles NASA's missions to the moon. He claims that the astronauts found ruins on the moon, specifically evidence of domes that once covered large portions of the surface. He backs this up with photos showing strange lines and markings in the sky over portions of the moon. Some of these photos come from a former NASA employee, Ken Johnston, who had worked at NASA as a test pilot and later was in charge of cataloging and storing photos from the moon flights. Johnston was shocked to be told one day by his superiors to destroy "all the copies of the original lunar photography" from the Apollo program. Instead, Johnston kept a set of the photos. He later contacted Hoagland and showed him the prints (mostly taken by the astronauts with a Hasselblad camera). Many of the other images (all of the Mars pictures) are digital, and the arguments about the "raw data" are highly technical. The arguments as to the validity of these photos relates to the types of processes and manipulation you can perform with digital images, but it comes down to this: it is fairly easy, with the aid of good photo editing software, to alter images to remove anything you don't want anyone to see. Is that what NASA has done with its Mars images?
  
  I kept thinking that if our astronauts had found evidence of previous visitations and habitation on the moon, wouldn't someone eventually say something? Hoagland contends that there have been hints from the men who went to the moon, but that NASA would have many means of keeping them loyal - and quiet. He cites the Brookings Report, written in 1959 to comment on the implications of exploring space, which reported that there was a near-certainty that such exploration would find intelligent life. The report recommended that such findings should be kept from the public, to avoid disruption to society, and Hoagland contends that that is what NASA has done. He even states that the astronauts were hypnotized when they got back to earth to help erase the memory of some of what they saw on the moon.
  
  What about Mars? Hoagland believes the Cydonia region is full of artificial constructions, and he provides photo evidence. The Face is the best-known of the constructions, but is certainly not the only piece of evidence. And, of course, NASA has done everything it can to dissuade the public from the idea that it is actually a face. They have always dismissed it as "a trick of light and shadow." We now have pictures of Mars from a number of successful robot journeys to the Red Planet, and we have more photos of Cydonia and the Face, and the newer pictures tend to confirm the earlier hypotheses that these constructions are artificial. Many of the shapes, and the geometry of their placement, mimic monuments on Earth; pyramids, for example. This book does not get into speculation as to who built the Martian monuments or how long ago that might have been. But Hoagland's earlier book, Monuments of Mars, does speculate about connections between those monuments and ancient ruins on Earth. Another excellent book about Mars that examines the possibility of a Mars-Earth link is Graham Hancock's book, The Mars Mystery: The Secret Connection Between Earth and the Red Planet Could the ancient Martians have been us - could human beings have come to Earth from a dying planet, Mars? Could they have left messages in the monuments they constructed on Mars about our human ancestry?
  
  Dark Mission provides us with yet another theory about the assasination of President John F. Kennedy, who initiated the program to send men to the moon. There is solid evidence that Kennedy wanted to work with the Soviets on a space program. While the popular story is that the "space race" pitted the US against our cold war enemy, the Soviet Union, that may not have been what Kennedy intended. JFK did not live to see his dream fulfilled, and the US won the race to the moon, but could the idea of working with what President Reagan years later called "the evil empire" have been sufficient motivation for someone to kill JFK? Perhaps the inclusion of this material on the Kennedy assasination will simply lead to more ridicule for Hoagland's overall theories, but it seems to me to be at least as good a motive as the others that have been suggested (the Mafia, the Cubans, the CIA, etc).
  
  I was a huge JFK fan, so I am not offended by Hoagland's picture of him as the inspiring leader who wanted peace, not war. But I have a little more trouble with his notion that NASA is obsessed with rituals dating back to ancient civilizations and kept alive by secret societies. Are we really to make something out of the fact that many top NASA officials have been Masons (as were many astronauts, including Buzz Aldrin who brought a masonic flag to the moon)? How about the influence of Nazis, people like Werner Von Braun (and the book builds a case that he WAS a Nazi)? Does NASA really time its launches to coincide with ritual dates? I can't say they don't, but it does sound a bit crazy.
  
  I enjoyed reading this book, even though it left me back where I started from - thinking Richard Hoagland has some interesting ideas that are worth a serious look, but not being totally convinced either. I wish the book had an index so I could quickly find information I want to check with other sources.
  
  It is very sad to me that people are questioning whether the moon landings ever actually happened. That is sheer ignorance, but might serve NASA's purposes as disinformation in case too much comes out about what they really found on the lunar surface. Denying we went to the moon is like denying the Holocaust. As a generation that has no memory of those events take their place as world leaders, such ignorance can be easily spread. It totally stops the REAL questions we should be asking. Like these: Why haven't we gone back to the moon? What did NASA really find there? And if we do go back (as NASA is planning), will they start telling us the truth about what they find?
  
  
  

• My Stars !!

  
  By A2BPFPVOWCTKDJ on 2007-10-28
  Richard Hoagland has written a fascinating book, that dispels the image of NASA as a buttoned-up organization, and provides a lot of evidence that a mystical, even occult orientation drives the NASA organization. Full of geo-dynamic physics, documentation for what many people would dismiss as tall tales, Richard hits hard and true as he reshapes our thinking about NASA. Once you have taken in the new view of NASA, you'd better hold onto your seat, because there's more and more information that will really surprise you.
  
  If you're a person who enjoys his belief that our media keeps us fully informed, and that the government is paternal in nature, you may well find this book jarring, and a bit too informative for your taste. If, however, you believe that the public is privy to only a percentage of what's really going on out there, you will certainly find that this book validates that belief AND you will probably find this revealing and well-documented book, an enjoyable read. This book is highly recommended.
  
  

• Simply a must read for those who wish to take their heads out of the sand

  
  By A1JVXDE190BCXF on 2007-11-12
  "Dark Mission, The Secret History Of NASA" should be required reading for all high school honors students. It provides priceless illlumination about what has been hidden for so long by NASA. What does Nazi scientists, The Freemasons, L. Ron Hubbard, Aliester Crowley, Jack Parsons, the assination of John F. Kennedy, Heinrich Himmler, misinformation and disinformation from NASA, the Moon and Mars all have in common? Read the book to find the answer to that question --and others. It will knock your socks off and you will be glad for it. As an afterthought, don't just buy one. Buy two and give one as a Holiday gift.
  
  
• Mission Accomplished
  By A2IDWYWQADW150 on 2007-10-26
  Dark Mission immerses the reader in a reality where an extremely advanced ancient civilization left its remains on earth, the moon, and mars. High level initiates of secret societies operate through the highest levels of NASA and other U.S. and world organizations to fill in the gaps of their partial knowledge of humanity's true heritage. By ritually utilizing the ancient's message of hyperdimensional physics, they aim to resurrect the ancient link between the stellar and the terrestrial.
  
  "Chapter 5: A Conspiracy Unfolds" is one of the highlights of the book. Well-written and perfectly paced, an adventure begins with the ancient Egyptian concepts of Osiris, Isis, Set, and Horus. This serves as a background strand that continually links the various developments of the entire space program. The roles of Aleister Crowley, Jack Parsons, Buzz Aldrin, Vannevar Bush, Wernher Von Braun, Adolf Hitler, Farouk El-Baz, Walt Disney, L. Ron Hubbard, and many others are presented with twists and turns that edify the reader at every junction. Freemasons, Rosicruicians, Nazis, and the OTO host this cast of characters as NASA is born and bred from the combination of occult wisdom, arcane knowledge, scientific development, and a host of bizarre actions. This chapter has something to offer everyone, and is alone worth the price of the book.
  
  The book does have some shortcomings. Readers without a technical background must strap themselves in for a tour through hyperdimensional physics, torsion fields, and the J.F.K. mystery before getting to the artifacts on the moon and the insightful chapter 5.
  
  The book's ensuing thorough coverage of the details is perhaps a necessary distraction. Hoagland has a point to prove, and drives it home with conviction and evidence. The book could perhaps have been presented in a different order where the climactic conclusions in the epilogue were presented first, then followed by the formation of NASA, and finally by the other elements that the book presents. A lot of the technical details regarding image processing could have been relegated to an appendix chapter.
  
  The book sometimes loses focus as to whether it is written for readers that have an intricate knowledge of the subject material, or whether it is aiming for the person who is unfamiliar with the controversies and has never visited Hoagland's website at www.enterprisemission.com. This is understandable, though, given the depth, complexity, and sheer variety of the material.
  
  If the reader is not familiar with terms such as the D & M Pyramid, the tetrahedral latitude of 19.5 degrees, the 33rd degree, and glass structures on the moon, then this book will introduce the reader to the subject. The text also has many new details to offer those who are already familiar with the authors' work. They show how NASA has intentionally shifted the color of the Martian sky to appear red instead of blue, and that is just the beginning of the revelations contained in this volume that is full of both color and black and white photos.
  
  Anyone who reads this book will, at the very least, look up at the sky and wonder if there really are the remains of an ancient, hi-tech base up there on the moon. And even more mysteriously, are there really vast remains, including a face monument on mars starring down at them, that some insiders have long since known about and concealed for reasons that the authors can only speculate.
  
  
  
• almost at the level of self parody of the conspiracy mindset
  By A2D37EP9KT2E3D on 2007-11-21
  This book is like a giant collection of different conspiracy theories all rolled up into one. Its so weird that its unintentionally funny. Its got a little bit of everything from crackpot pseudo-science to masonic conspiracies to occult groups to secret civilizations on the moon and mars. All thats missing is the hollow earth theory and the Florida Skunk Ape.
  
  I give the author lots of credit for being able to combine so many different theories and ideas. A weirder book you will not find.
  
  
• The Outcasts of Mainstream science are always vindicated
  By A1Q58F6T2P2DAK on 2007-10-10
  Just as Galileo was mocked by religious AND dogmatic scientists of his day and then vindicated by the cleansing currents of history- so will Richard Hoagland. Do we REALLY doubt NASA - GOVERNMENT AGENCY- would lie??? People - where have you been the last 7 years????? Open the mind. And he is so much much to listen to. As enjoyable as MY favorite SF novel- Milky Way Marmalade!
  
  
• Paranoid rambling by pseudoscientist(s)
  By AY8F16B0VP6JI on 2007-11-23
  This paranoid rambling is so difficult to read, it is very easy to put down. The convoluted "logic" and "facts" described in this book are classic Hoagland, who never fails to create conspiracy out of an atomic element. This guy has never had a scientific thought let alone have a scientific background. This is pure pseudoscientific rambling babble that could never be published in any scientific journal.
  
  Aside from all of the conjured conspiracies, the run on sentences and writing style are an insult to the English language. How this book was published is the real mystery.
  
  Save your money, this is another doorstop.
  
  
• Has ANY news media member reviewed this book AT ALL?
  By A2U2K43KPCAUDD on 2007-11-11
  Despite the lively discussion in the member review section, and a vigorous give-and-take on Mr. Bara's own blog, so far I've been unable to find a single newspaper or other periodical that has even bothered to review this book (aside from the Russian tabloid press and their ever-faithful Bulgarians). Is the media consensus that unanimous, or have the Dark Forces hit all favorably-minded editorial staffers with that little flashy-thing that Will Smith was concerned about in the MIB movies?
  
  The one that Hoagland seems to say really exists, and was used on the returning astronauts. THAT little flashy thing.
  
  What's the explanation for the overwhelming YAWN this book has so far, it seems, received? I am very reluctant to attribute it to a really unlikely widespread occurrence of sound judgment and rationality to the Fourth Estate -- there MUST be some other explanation, worthy of hyperdimensionality.
  
  Something is bound to show up. Maybe in 'Eastern Onion'.
  
  
• A Conspiracy!
  By A2E9D04B8MTJAP on 2007-11-29
  A conspiracy so vast, at such a high level that the simple fact that there is no evidence at all is all the proof an open mind needs.
  
  
• Fun Read as long as you don't take it too seriously!
  By A2C3PQZOCL1UA1 on 2007-10-19
  Good to see that Amazon classified this book in the proper category: Fiction. In that way it is very similar to Whitley Strieber Communion: A True Story - Encounters with the Unknown, a preposterous story presented as fact but still a rollicking good read! Here the author presents a fascinating case that NASA, from its very beginnings, has been run by a secrete ancient society. The author does a great job of pulling you in and making you believe this is all very possible. But once you take a step back you realize how silly his theories really are. Like I said, A fun read as long as you don't take it seriously!
  
  
• We Have Been Lied To
  By A2BS2FUA8ALLI2 on 2007-12-06
  As with the entire subject of UFOs and Extraterrestrial Intelligence, I believe it is the responsibility of the interested party to read as much as possible and to make up their own minds (if possible) from what they have distilled. To paraphrase Stanton T. Friedman, one has the responsibility to know what they are talking about or to shut up.
  
  And so it is that I apparently ignored my own advice. I fell for the "Catbox" images and believed there was no more to the Mars anomalies. I was wrong!
  
  Despite its length, "Dark Mission" is an absolute page-turner. Stick with the theoretical physics and you will be rewarded with what is a shocking, illuminating, and revealing experience. At the very least you will be left without a shadow of a doubt that "something is up" as NASA.
  
  Whatever you may know of the subject and the science and expertise at hand, whatever you think of the subject as a whole, Hoagland and Bara take their findings to the source and meet them head-on. The deception and arrogance they have encountered and suffered is beyond doubt. That NASA is hiding something is beyond doubt.
  
  Believe what you will of the minutiae but at least educate yourself as to the overall message. We have been lied to time and time again. Hoagland, Bara, et al are about the only people out there who have what it takes to stand up and be counted.
  
  "Dark Mission" is an exceptional tour de force that deserves you undivided attention.
  
  
• Beam me up, Scotty
  By A2VP7JOT3K7PFM on 2008-09-01
  XXXXX
  
  Consider the following:
  
  (1) The "Face" on planet Mars is an artificial structure and the "face" is part of a city on Cydonia Planitia (a region of Mars) .
  (2) Numerous objects surrounding the landing sites of the Mars Exploratory Rovers (called Spirit and Opportunity that are still exploring Mars) are, in fact, pieces of Martian machinery.
  (3) There are large semi-transparent structures constructed of glass on the moon's surface.
  (4) The twelve moon-walkers "have had their memories selectively edited" so that they no longer remember seeing evidence of a lunar civilization.
  (5) The evidence of a advanced civilization that once existed on the moon and Mars is being suppressed by NASA.
  
  The above five claims are just some of the tamer claims (there are many, some of which really (I mean really) become outlandish) that you will find in this book, authored by Richard Hoagland (perhaps best known as "principal investigator" of the Internet site called the "Enterprise Mission", an organization that examines NASA data for the "possibility of archaeological ruins on Mars and the Moon") and Michael Bara (an aerospace structural engineer).
  
  (For those that don't know, the name "Enterprise" was used for the name of the spaceship or "star ship" in the 1960's science fiction television show "Star Trek." The title of this review is actually a popular phrase from that TV show. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott was the Enterprise's Chief Engineer.)
  
  Each chapter of this book has black and white images or pictures at the end of the chapter. The chapter's narrative indicates when the reader is to look at a particular picture. I counted over 200 captioned images.
  
  As well, in the middle of the book are nearly thirty color captioned images.
  
  As far as the pictures go, I had trouble seeing what the authors saw unless I used a heavy dose of imagination. These pictures reminded me of a Rorschach test (after the psychiatrist who had this last name) or more generally an inkblot test where the person looking at the blot states freely what he or she sees. I predict that hardcore science fiction readers and/or those that cannot distinguish between science and science fiction will adore reading this book.
  
  I also noticed that all the images were manipulated (enhanced, filtered, etc.) in some way. If you manipulate photos enough, you're bound to come up with something interesting.
  
  With respect to the main narrative, I noticed that it was filled with assumptions, beliefs, a jumping to conclusions, etc. Conspiracy theories abound in this book. Thus, conspiracy addicts should also enjoy reading it.
  
  It also seems to me that Hoagland "lost it" in the last few pages of the book's epilogue. To see why, you're going to have to read the book. (Hint: the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter probe with its high resolution camera did not reveal in images released in April 2007 what Hoagland expected.)
  
  Finally, before I even began reading the main narrative of this book, I first read Hoagland's brief biography on the last page. (Hoagland seems to be the principal author.) There were things that I read in it that didn't seem right. I checked his credentials on the Internet. My suspicions were confirmed!! There are significant problems with his credentials.
  
  In conclusion, if you are either a conspiracy addict and/or a hardcore science fiction reader, then you should thoroughly enjoy this book.
  
  Review written star date 21831.8
  
  (first published 2007; introduction; 12 chapters; epilogue; main narrative 540 pages; endnotes; acknowledgements; about the authors)
  
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• Well worth the reading!
  By A12LE0U5JUYLYA on 2007-10-25
  Whether you are a fanatical fan, or you think he's completely confused, this book needs to be read. Leave your mind open long enough to hear his arguments, see his evidence, and follow his trail. You will find the bread-crumbs fresh, and flavorful. Yes, he has an agenda...but, who doesn't? Decide - for yourself - whether you are a blind sheep, or a cranky conspiratorialist. Afterwards, read, The Sion Revelation, by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince...just for more puzzle pieces!
  
  
• So Flaky I Gave Up Reading It
  By A2S5L7CFGRUA78 on 2008-01-07
  I bought this book with some Christmas money. Well, Merry Christmas to Richard Hoagland. He got more out my money than I ever will.
  
  I don't disagree with lots of the things Hoagland points out -- wrong catalog numbers, NASA destroying photos (assuming these to be true, they're moronic). But I really doubt that fragments of old structures are really sticking up five or more miles above the lunar surface.
  
  The photos included that "show" things are showing negative scratches and creases where the film or negatives were mishandled, in my opinion.
  
  I own several hundred books on mysteries and conspiracies, from John Keel to Brad Steiger to Hilary Evans to Bill Marrs to (etc etc etc). But this is just SILLY.
  
  Overall I equate the likelihood of this book's general truthfulness right up there with the likelihood that Osama bin Laden will suffer a change of heart and turn himself in tomorrow.
  
  
• This book is absolute garbage
  By A2T2ENF8E9FX68 on 2008-05-20
  Filled with conspiracy theories that make absolutely no sense and a whole pile of junk science. Don't waste your money on this complete nonsense. Plus, it's very poorly written on top of that!
  
  
• Freedom of speech is a wonderful thing
  By AVKDAK1QFL7I9 on 2007-11-01
  Since I purchased this book through my wife's account, I'm required to write my review here, and my opinion does not necessarily represent hers. First of all I'm impressed with the restraint shown by the authors in the face of the magnitude of what is revealed in this book. They simply allow the facts to speak for themselves, and do a great job of keeping speculation to a minimum and their integrity intact. I'm sure there is a great deal more that they suspect or have knowledge of that was ommitted because they have respect for the scientific method. They don't allow what I would consider genuine righteous indignation to color the presentation and do an admirable job of keeping things professional. I personally felt a lot of anger and frustration regarding the practices of NASA, JPL, (and others), and the lengths to which they will go to hide the truth. In fact, after reading this book, I am convinced that the whole thing is about to come unraveled for them, and when it does they will suffer the consequences in spades. I find it interesting that those who attempt to "debunk" their work speak in generalities and never offer any substantial evidence to refute anything in the authors' work. The truth is the truth... it may be ugly, but it's time we moved out of the dark ages and embraced it. BUY THIS BOOK. It is a significant historical document. Thanks Richard and Mike for all of your work.
  
  Sincerely,
  Dr. William "Doc" Holladay
  
  
  
• Blocked
  By A3IE0P2JMWW0H7 on 2007-11-26
  I was being blocked from reviewing this book, which is a total waste of paper. It has taken me several complaints to Amazon to give this trash a negative review. The only plot is that 10 of the 20 positive (5 star) reviews are one-time ONLY, which has given this junk an artifical rating. Add the 5 others who have only 2 reviews and you have the legal difinition of a CONSPIRACY. The point I am making is that the author had to employ his followers to artificially inflate this psuedoscience nonsense.
  
  Wikipedia defines pseudoscience as any subject that appears superficially to be scientific or whose proponents state is scientific but nevertheless contravenes the testability requirement, or substantially deviates from other fundamental aspects of the scientific method.
  
  trash
  * noun. 1 waste material; refuse. 2 worthless writing, art, etc. 3 a person or people regarded as being of very low social standing.
  
  
  
  
• Richard Hoagland is really David Hemmings!!!
  By A1GHO6BR5J0NHX on 2007-12-23
  This book is as jumbled and tumbled as the great film of the Sixties - "Blow Up" with David Hemmings...only instead of a possible murder in a park being possibly photographed by a photographer who himself might be possibly off-his-rocker or on-the-money, we are here dealing with lunar and Martian mysteries. Did the authors watch this cult classic one too many times? I must begin, after my preamble, by saying that I do believe there are artifacts of AIs on the moon and Mars and all over Creation. But the authors deal a severe blow to their theories set forth in this book...and fairly early on. There is a picture of LBJ taken right after being sworn in as President after JFK's murder. Now - this book unhesitatingly points out that the picture shows LBJ smiling at a conspiratorial congressman who is winking back at him. This claim is outrageous. We see the back of Johnson's head mostly and cannot tell if he is smiling or not! (If anything, Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Bird are the ones that have slight smiles on their faces in this same picture.) The winking Congressman is NOT looking at LBJ with his other eye: so the notion that this is a conspiratorial wink between two men who helped kill Kennedy is utterly ridiculous. But to have Hoagland and Bara so unquestionably offer this to us as unquestionable proof of conspirary - along with the far-from-proven Mary Moorman "badgeman" photo - makes ALL of the rest of their photographic interpretation of anomalies extremely suspect! This is highly unfortunate....because, as I have said, I believe there is much more than meets the eye as far as NASA and the moon and Mars are all concerned. But the authors hamstring all of their photo-analysis by blindly seeing a smile in Johnson's back-viewed face...when there may be NO smile whatsoever on his face at all. Just like - truth be told - there may not be a Face on Mars afterall. Are we all David Hemmings in the character from "Blow Up"? All we all just trying to seeing giants in the clouds to make the clouds more interesting and our lives more extraordinary than....ordinary? Sometimes a rock is just a rock. And as an afterthought: if there were once upon a time giant glass domes upon the moon and their fragments now hang miles high above the surface.....what did the domes cover and where is there anything in the moon photos to show what the domes truly covered? Why has the glass survived, but not what the glass covered....except for the Data's Head and some possible mechanical junk? The book is also overly written and needlessly obscure on several points. (The hyperdimensional chapter is totally confusing unless the reader knows something about this topic - and even then, I'm not so sure of its validity.) The details in several of the photos are also not clearly pointed out to the reader. Oh, well....I think I'll go watch "Blow Up". Great film!!! Reveals MUCH about....human nature and the need to create realities that might not even exist! As a postscript, I am now about to write a book proving without a shadow of a doubt that Richard Hoagland is ACTUALLY.....David Hemmings from "Blow Up". The evidence is mounting daily and overwhelming!
  
  
• Interesting science-fiction
  By A36LBJ3L503JGA on 2008-04-17
  This book would be an interesting science-fiction item if it were billed as such.
  This book is for:
  a) those very attracted to conspiracy theories
  b) those that have a lot of fun reading how wacky are some ideas floating around about even pretty straightforward subjects
  
  This book is not for:
  a) those that will be revolted by the fallacies of the book
  b) researchers that expect to find more information about the incidents listed but will be led to a completely irrelevant track
  
  As for me, I feel sorry I wasted those hours reading this piece of fiction
  
  
• Waste of time and money
  By A34UV765Y0NCN5 on 2008-08-18
  Poorly written, and the book is of poor quality, with dubious and biased opinions. The endnotes are inferior, and obviously the book is an exercise in self-aggrandization for the author.
  
  
• Mainstream "Science" Once Thought the World was Flat
  By A2BQV0WPX43F7A on 2007-10-28
  Decide for yourself after reading this book! History shows us that contemporary outrageous views such as "the world isn't flat" or "sickness can be caused by unseen germs", and perhaps now "ancient architecture exists in other areas of our solar system" are proven one day to be correct. Richard shows us how thinking outside the box can lead to great discoveries. Highly recommended reading!
  
  
• " Data's Head"
  By A2M4K8ZWH8C7C8 on 2007-11-20
  On the photographic evidence alone....I am absolutely amazed! I have no doubt that the authors clearly exposed that there was/is intelligent life on Mars and our Moon and that NASA and our government have been disingenuous in revealing the truth. Additional verification will be soon coming from the Chinese and Indians as they reach the moon. Although I knew Nazis worked at NASA, the info about Masonic connections was a bit distracting....but was presented in a logical way.
  I have the sense that the authors know more...much more, but are being cautious to tip their hands at this time. I heartily recommend this book to anyone intrigued with ancient earth cultures and the pursuit of what Graham Hancock calls "the lost civilization". Maybe Plato had it right when he described an island (in space?) hosting a large highly advanced civilization that was destroyed in a night. Could Atlantis have been located on Mars....a moon whose culture and atmosphere was "shotgunned" away" when Planet V suddenly exploded, leaving only the asteroid belt as evidence of it's former existence? Could this explosion of Planet V triggered a sudden polar shift, the ice ages, a worldwide flood, or the extinction of the dinosaurs here on earth? I'd like to see Hoagland and Graham Hancock write a sequel to this book. Things that haunt me?...."Data's head" at Shorty Crater,, John Glenn's statements, Eugene Cernan's comments, and the high resolution close-up photos of the ruins integral to the Cydonia face.,.and the Egyptian connection. Were these inhabitants the Titans and the Nephilim? Buy it...read it, and read it again. The authors did their homework on this one.
  
  
• Sorry, just plain unconvincing.
  By A2SBVIRZ24X8JS on 2008-06-23
  I picked up this book solely to see the much touted pictoral "evidence" of structures on the moon, etc.... and I have to say, the bulk of the images (as with other books on this topic I've seen in the past) are still very unconvincing. A few of the images are marginally interesting, but it's hard to say if what you're seeing is 'something' or just image compression/wishful thinking/the standard digital artifacts you get when messing with filters and contrast in photoshop, etc.
  
  Don't get me wrong - I find this genre vastly entertaining, own a large library of similar titles, and I enjoyed some of the other material in the book (notably the improbably hysterical level of animosity aimed at NASA - very funny stuff)... but the images in this volume do not make it worth the price of purchase, in my opinion. I gave my copy away immediately... deemed not keepable as a reference.
  
  Of disappointing note was how much time was wasted playing the martyr card and slagging other writers in this field... a common trait in alternative literature, unfortunately. This comes off as mean-spirited and nakedly paranoid. Note to authors - just resist that temptation. It doesn't help your case. Ever.
  
  Overall, I'd advise anyone who is not already convinced on this topic to get this one from a library.
  
  
• DANGEROUS SICK RABBLE-ROUSERS
  By A29H1W5BGY5ARQ on 2007-11-13
  In this book, Mr. Hoagland and Mr. Baras put forward the extrodinary claim that THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT actually participates in actively lieing to the AMERICAN public! That NASA has knowledge of past alien activity on the moon and on Mars! They even say that the atmpsphere and the soil on Mars is NOT red, and that all the NASA photos showing this redness have been DOCTORED BY NASA!!! They claim that there are alien artifacts ALL OVER the moon, and that the remains of an entire alien city complex exists on Mars!!! Sex and Rockets: The Occult World of Jack Parsons
  
  Perhaps the most laughable part of this book is chapter two, titled "Hyperdimensional Physics. They tie this into something called "torsion physics", developed by and currently all the rage in the Soviet Union but totaly discredited (or, to use the authors' ludicrus word, "ignored" in the West). AS IF THE COMMUNISTS' SCIENTISTS COULD KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT WHICH OURS DONT!!! If this were the case then they would still be on top and neither the Iron Curtian nor the Great Wall would have fallen when they did! GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!! Sinister Forces-The Nine: A Grimoire of American Political Witchcraft (Sinister Forces)
  
  I took maths in college, and they did not tell us anything about the universe being FOUR DIMENSIONS, as the book claims. The universe has THREE dimensions plus TIME, PERIOD! Like all these conspiracy nuts who dont believe in swamp gas or weather ballons and would rather think that aliens crash landed in New Mexico in the 1950's, the writers are grasping at straws. JUST LIKE SOME SCIENTIST TRYING TO MAKE A CASE FOR EVOLUTION!!!! But I dont see in THE BIBLE where it talks about aliens or EVOLUTION or swamp gas and weather ballons. THEY DONT EXIST!!!! Deluxe Miracle Jesus - Action Figure Has Glow in the Dark hands - Comes with 5 Loaves of Bread, 2 Fish, 1 Water into Wine Jug)
  
  I dont know what the writers' agenda is but the writers seem to think that AMERICANS are DUPES. (Jr. Astronaut Helmet with sounds). I have some news for them though. The majority of AMERICANS ARE RIGHT THINKING CHRISTIANS, and it is only a very small "MINORITY" (in the wrong, as most "minorities" usualy are) who are LIBERAL NON-BELIEVERS, no matter what the LIBERAL, so-called "mainstream" MEDIA, of which the writers are firmly a part of, would have you believe. We are not that stupid, and you can proove it to them like I did by not reading this book.
  
  
• Sheer paranoid junk!!!
  By A33TUAIFPLDLJ1 on 2008-05-13
  As an amateur astronomer and a professional scientist, I can only say this book really is sheer junk. From the cover in which the actual flag (not the one described) is an American flag (note the visor reflection) to the absurdity that says in an organization as large as NASA a conspiracy of this type is possible, this is sheer junk! The moon has been an object of careful study by many for many years. If there were any evidence of crystal domes, large objects of any description, they would have been confirmed in many ways long since. The blurry photographs the authors display certainly are not convincing. It seems, for a buck, anything is possible, For the more skeptical this book is hardly plausible no less convincing. Save your money. Read carefully; this books absurdity is obvious except to the truly naive..
  
  
• Now I know who killed Kennedy
  By A34V32DY4MEA0Q on 2007-10-28
  Sounds like an unrelated subject? Not really, it is an integral part of the space race, sharing of the state secrets and cooperation with the "ruskies". This book not only tells about the unknown ambitions and the far reaching hands of human idiocy, but it also shows how recent events unfolded in the most logical and evidence supported way. A much needed book for all history enthusiasts. Some chapters are scientifically loaded, but you can skip past the equations and calculations easily. An amazing memoir and research.
  
  
• Dark Mission: An important milestone in ending NASA coverups
  By AYGM3JV48N10U on 2007-11-08
  Even though NASA has sent forth its usual disinformation specialists to discredit Hoagland's assertions, it won't work anymore. There are now too many informed citizens for NASA coverups and deceptions to succeed any longer. The jig is about up for these artists of deception, and they deserve everything that's coming to them. Hoagland will be numbered among the great men of history who dared to challenge the prevailing evil powers of their time. If you read no other book for the rest of your lifetime, read this one...........and learn.
  
  
• All that was Expected and More
  By A131FKY4YD43CC on 2007-12-27
  Well could not get any better with Hoagland, Bara and Torun and other
  who have contributed to the Enterprise Mission over the years. No wonder
  this book was abest seller form day one.
  
  I think times are changing and "Brilliant Idiots with PHDs" like Mr. Brilliant Greenburg are falling out of phase with the reality around them.
  
  It is just a matter of time.
  
  

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