Rating: 
Summary: Raiders of the lost Ark?
Review: "Hey, Indy I've found something", Oh, wait, that's a line from the movie 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' isn't it? and 'The Sign & the Seal' is a serious historical, archaelogical account of the search for, and supposed discovery of the biblical Ark of the Covenant. Yes, one is fantasy and the other non-fiction, although after reading some parts of the book, don't be surprised if you find yourself flipping to the backcover to check on the publishing category. For your reference it's 'history/religion/archaeology' That the book reads like a great adventure novel makes it enjoyable. That it purports to have solved the mystery of not only what happened to the Ark, but also that Hancock says that he knows where it is, makes this a book that deserves serious attention. The author spent considerable time researching this subject and his quest took him to Jerusalem, Egypt, the Chartres Cathedral in France and finally Ethiopia. He read widely and interviewed many people and discusses a wide variety of topics. The Kebra Nagast (the ancient Ethiopian history of the Queen of Sheba), the Templars, the Holy Grail, the biblical story of Solomon and the Babylonian Exile of the Jews all have some bearing on the wherabouts of the Ark. Hancock weaves it all together with style. Research, genuine interest, enthusiasm and writing style however are insufficient in overcoming the critical flaw of the book. Unlike a movie which can end however it chooses, an investigative history book must prove it's thesis. Hancock neatly dodges producing proof by telling us that the guardian of the Ark won't let anyone see it. In recalling the conversation Hancock remembers saying 'this is a great disappointment for me', to which the guardian philosophically replied 'there are worse things in life than disappointment', to which I say, there are many movies that could use good endings like this but a history book should not be allowed to get away with it.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Biblical Journey
Review: ...is when people say it's "unlikely" that the Ark is in Ethiopian or that "it's just not" the same as the Holy Grail simply because they BELIEVE it's not. Hancock went through a lot of trouble to research this thing (whether you find his methods thorough or not) and he has basically "thrown down the gauntlet." If you think he's wrong, take up the challenge and do your own research to SHOW where he's wrong; it makes you look like an idiot when you say he's wrong just based on the power that you BELIEVE it's so. ("Myths aren't based on any kind of reality, not because I've done extensive research to prove that this is ridicuous, but because I BELIEVE it's ridiculous and I said so. That should satisfy anyone that this is an impressive rebuttal to Hancock's thorough research.") Who are YOU?!? No, your mere belief that Hancock is wrong is not enough for me to take your review seriously. Try actually pointing out a fact or two that makes me think, so that I can investigate and SEE that he's wrong. Thanks.
Rating: 
Summary: The book SIGN AND THE SEAL : THE QUEST... is a good read
Review: A good book, but Graham Hancock failed to mention the gold ark (2.5c-1.5c-1.5c), gold table (2c-1c-1.5c), gold altar (1c-1c-2c), gold candlestick, gold breastplate, gold ephod, gold censer, and brass laver; stored inside the brass altar (5c-5c-3c), located beneath Lieutenant-Colonel William Hawley's "Helestone [Heelstone] lion head, calf head, man face, eagle wings", at the bottom of Inigo Jones' "Stone-Heng [Stonehenge] Restored trench", described in Hawley's Diary at Stonehenge on 24th May 1923; the same located at Easternmost bottom of WA3607 broad cut (9ft wide) trench: BEGINNING at mapped WA3606 (Stonehole "B"); THENCE deepening Northeast; THENCE crossing Easternmost Posthole "A", cross-section C6 right triangle, and Heel Stone 96 circular ditch (containing the twenty-four elder Carboniferous Limestone fossils; Aclisina, Aviculopecten, Bellerophon, Caninia cornucopiae, Chondrites, Cleiothyridina roissyi, Composita, Conocardium, Delepinea (Daviesiella) destinezi, Euphemites, Girvanella, Hapsiphyllum (Zaphrentis) konincki, Linoproductus, Megachonetes papilionaceous, Michelina grandis, Mourlonia, Murchisonia, Palaeosmilia, Plicochonetes, Rhipidomella michelini, Schellwienella cf. S. crenistria, Straparollus, Syringopora, Zoophycos); THENCE East to below Hawley's "Helestone [Heelstone] lion head, calf head, man face, eagle wings", at DI's refraction seismic station 96 (sledgehammer source) of 1st April 1985. Other than Graham Hancock not mentioning the gold ark, gold table, gold altar, gold candlestick, gold breastplate, gold ephod, gold censer, and brass laver, stored inside the brass altar, located beneath Lieutenant-Colonel William Hawley's "Helestone [Heelstone] lion head, calf head, man face, eagle wings", at Easternmost bottom of Inigo Jones' "Stone-Heng [Stonehenge] Restored trench", described in Hawley's Diary at Stonehenge on 24th May 1923, the book "SIGN AND THE SEAL : THE QUEST FOR THE LOST ARK OF THE COVENANT" is a good read about one replica (Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Axum, Ethiopia) of the twenty-four replicas circulating round about the world.
Rating:
Summary: A very interesting read.
Review: After reading through some of the other reviews of this book I question whether any of the poor reviews even finished reading this book. It is an excellent read and seems to have exhausted every clue given about the Ark and its whereabouts. He takes you on an adventure while presenting the facts which gives you a sense of "being there". Take this book on its own merits. Many call Graham Hancock a "pseudo-scientist" which is a typical respite for someone who trys to present a view directly in contrast to their agenda or beliefs. Let us remember that Some times "The Majority" only means all the fools are on the same side". Secondly this book is NOT science. There are no experiments to be performed only historical data to be collected, and he does so in a very exhaustive way. This author has come a long way from his first books in presenting his information. I highly recommended this book as well as The Fingerprints Of The Gods by the same author.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting insight into the history of the Ark
Review: Graham Hancock postulates that the Ark is a divine tool. What kind of tool can cut stone, elevate the stone slabs into a 70 foot monument with a massive weight over 500 tons; collapse of the walls of Jericho; spread cancerous tumors to the Philistines; strike unrighteous men dead (Nadab and Abihu and 256 princes of Israel), and give King Uzziah leprosy? The Ark has intelligence. Cancer can be caused from Gamma radiation. The gamma particles destroy DNA sequence in the chromosomes causing mutation, leading to cancer. Nuclear generators can cause water to boil and turn turbines generating vast amounts of electric current. Man has never created a device that can reduce the effects of gravity. To what purpose would God place such a powerful tool within the hands of man? Could the Ark kill from a great distance? If it could, they didn't know how to make it do that. They always brought the ark to the battlefield within close proximity of the threat. They marched it around Jerico for it to have effect. If the power is due to radioactive materials inside, then lead would stop emminations. If "sparks" got through anyway, it would mean imperfections in the lead box allowed the sparks to come out. However, if God wanted to use the ark to cut the Dome of the Rock mosque off of the temple hill, he probably knows how to make it reach out to that location. Why did Nadab and Abihu die? Nadab and Abihu died for disobedience. God told them not to touch the ark. They touched it. If they couldn't obey that simple commandment, then their lives were forfeit. What was the strange light they offered to the Lord? I didn't read about the strange light, so I'm not familiar with this gift. Could it be refilling the radioactive material inside the ark? We all know that radiation can cause cancerous tumors. Why didn't the Ark always protect the House of Israel from its enemies in battle? Did the Lord direct the commands of war from the Ark? The inconsistency of the Ark to protect the armies of Israel lead Hancock to believe the Ark was a tool not the visage of a divine personage.
Rating:
Summary: Yes Virginia the Ark is in Ethiopia
Review: Grahm Hancock is a modern investigative journalist/author that is in a class all by himself. So you didn't know there were black Jews in Ethiopia since the time of Solomon. You didn't know the Templar's found these 'lost jews'. You didn't know 'til this day the 'church of Ethiopia' which is a misture of Old Temple Jewish customs and early Coptic Christian customs actual has a temple dedicated to housing THE ARK taken from Solomon's Temple. If you like religious works this is one you will love. BUY IT NOW
Rating:
Summary: A great ride through time
Review: Hancock takes you on a ride of a lifetime through the history of the grail legend, from Chartes to Scotland to the Holy Land to Ethiopia. This is a fast read for those interested in this subject. I read this book in three weeks. I could not put it down. Hancock connects the dots. If this is true, then a question of the ages may very well have been answered. This book makes sense. It is well researched, and Hancock actually travelled to these many places for research.
Rating:
Summary: 10 Years in the reading
Review: I started reading this book just after it was first published, in 1992 I trudged on for a hundred or so pages, and then put it down. For 10 years. Heavy reading indeed. Every year or so I would pass by the book on my shelf, and it would glare back at me, calling out "Unbeliever!" "Backslider!" I would respond (silently for the most part) "Oh yeah, if the Ark of the Covenant really is in a Church in Axum, then I think, given the importance and power of the Ark, that it might have been subjected to well publicized, widespread, and modern analysis and study by not only religious scholars, but historical scholars as well. Well, at least an article in Time or Newsweek. But I digress. Most useful part of book: Hancock's historical research is very interesting. He made the Bible become an historical record, as opposed to the Holy Book. I had never really though of the Bible as an attempt to lay out a historical narrative, and this book really made it easy to see the Bible in that light. He did a lot of research in a lot of areas for this book. But, I would be really interested in seeing what true scholars make of his sources and conclusions. I don't think many people have the depth of knowledge to truly assess the credibility of those sources and his conclusions. For all we know, the people and sources in his footnotes might be considered a little "wacky" by scholars. I picked the book up again a few months ago, determined to finish what I started, and finally solve the great Mystery of the Ages (and I don't mean the location of Atlantis, or that Isis and Thoth and Moses were Masons). I got very close to putting it down for another 10 years during Part IV. But I am determined to finish it yet. I feel that I might get in trouble, in a religious sense, if I don't.
Rating:
Summary: Good read, but where's the beef??
Review: I tend to be fairly skeptical but enjoy history, especially when written by someone who knows how to keep the reader's interest. I think Hancock makes a very good case for the Ark being in Ethiopia...in fact, just to be sure he wasn't 'sandbaggin' me, I even bothered to check some of the authorities he quotes as "scholars" and indeed he was scrupitiously honest.
I agree with another reviewer here that the ending was more than a small disappointment but the trip was overall worth it. Well-written, and recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK was more believable
Review: This book was a chore to get through. Hancock conures up a wild theory, does nothing to prove it, then treats it as an established fact in the next chapter. (Try reading a book called THE GOLD OF EXODUS instead, much better written and infinitely more fun.)
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