Rating: 
Summary: True? Partially, maybe. Well-written? No.
Review: This book is a hodge podge of conspiracy theories about everything that has happened in the world since the dawn of time. It is somewhat interesting, but I was constantly annoyed by his references to other conspiracy writers as sources. I laughed out loud at his constant reference to The Encyclopaedia Brittanica as a source. Finally, Marrs lost a lot of credibility with me with how poorly edited the book is. There are typos, grammatical errors and usage errors sprinkled throughout the book (e.g., proceeding instead of preceding). Intriguing idea for a book, but very poorly executed.
Rating:
Summary: "How much are you going to pay me for my dignity?"
Review: Jim, Jim, Jim, we hardly knew ye. Ok. His first book, JFK, is excellent. Its practically a textbook of the Kennedy Assasination. It was a book to be taken seriously by any student of the 1963 coup. Then I think the trouble started. He writes this excellent book, and it leads to not one whit of change. Disillusionment sets in. He writes 'Alien Agenda'. Now, I read that, and I thought 'Oh god. Say goodbye to your dignity, Jim.' And I was being forgiving. You could tell he tried with that one...tried to be serious and objective but still ended up talking about little green men with a fetish for abducting people from trailer parks. Now his soul is totally sold to the devil. He writes (sorta) "Rule by Secrecy". I say sort of because 90% of the book is cribbed from other loony bin authors. "According to Icke..." "Such and such says...". He didnt do his own research. He went out to the loony bin press and bought a bunch of wacko books, then regurgitates it back up at us. Nowhere is the careful research that went into Crossfire. To add insult to injury his big relevation at the end is that everything goes back to those little green men and trailer parks, and, oh yeah, if you want to know more buy Alien Agenda. Shameless. He doesnt write more than half the book, offers no real information himself, then turns his conclusion into a plug for his earlier work. I had *respect* for this author once, folks. Crossfire was and still is an excellent book. But he just blew a kneecap or two off of anyone who dares care the Kennedy assasination a conspiracy. Because of the 'silly' factor of those little green men. If I want utter lunacy, if I want to be entertained by the wild yarns of a paranoid wacko writer, I'll read David Icke for a laugh. But out of Jim I expected more. I expected the truth. But you're not going to get it here, folks.
Rating:
Summary: Laughable Research by a Discredited "Journalist"
Review: I bought this book because it touched on one of my favorite subjects, Masonry. Touched on is a good phrase, because this book is really a hodgepodge of "resources" taken out of context (context, Mr. Marrs, look it up!) to support some very silly ideas. The final chapters dealing with the true "Ancient Mysteries" are laughable, and would make a very bad piece of fiction, even. This is not journalism, by any stretch, but, if truly believed by the author, a sign of encroaching dementia. The only reason I give this two stars is it is entertaining in stretches.
Rating: 
Summary: Question on Sources, p. 411
Review: I am writing because I am wondering if there is a publisher's error in crediting the sources back to the proper pages. The numbers seem to be off. Is it just my book or do others notice this problem, too? For example "Floods and Wars" is 390 in the book but 424 in the sources. Do I have a rare misprint?
Rating:
Summary: Rule By Secrecy
Review: I'm not sure I believe it all, but what an intriguing book! Marrs has treated the "global conspiracy" topic in a serious and scholarly manner, citing from a variety of primary and secondary sources, and generating a very large book! Much of what he says is believable. Much of it is quite disturbing. For anyone who has ever wondered what is really going on in this world, why some people have power and others don't, why the economy works the way it does, why we can't seem to solve our global problems, this book will offer information, insight, and speculation about the true state of things on planet earth.
Rating: 
Summary: Save Your Money, Or at Least Wait till Paperback.
Review: Luckily my library got this book, so I'm not paying a dime for it. It's only value is as a compendium of all the-usual-suspects theorizing that's been around for years. It is basically a resource for all of the Internet inanities in one place; in that respect it is useful. In an unwitting parody of the secret societies the author constructs, it is a superficially authoritative and scholarly work that barely obscures its own fatuousness. The author lazilly cites random authors which presents a sentence or two as legitimizing pseudo-reasoning. Saying, "So-and-So says..." with no explanation of who So-and-So is or their work is a shoddy technique to create an illusion of support for self-serving reasoning. There are no direct footnotes, so you have to waste five minutes in the useless bibliography in order to find out what work is being cited. This creates the appearance of knowledgability but really demonstrates a poor foundation for arguments. The nice thing about his topic is that there are so many blank/gray areas that anything can be filled into them; that does not, however, make them any more or less true. It was almost painful reading the self-righteous confirmation of the reality of "Report From Iron Mountain," when everyone knows Leonard Lewin wrote it. Read, "Trading With the Enemy" if you want solid authorship, instead of embarrassing straw-grasping.
Rating:
Summary: Good Intro to Conspiracy view of history
Review: Jim Marrs' excellent work on the Kennedy assasination, CROSSFIRE, is a better researched and written book than this one, but that notwithstanding, Rule By Secrecy is a good introduction to the reality behind the events of world history. I wish that he had consulted more reputable and scholarly works for his sections on Freemasonry in this book, but that shortcoming does not detract from the overall value of this very good work. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating...Scary in Its Accuracy
Review: Since receiving this book from Amazon, I have had trouble putting it down. I'm particularly impressed with Marr's support of what he's written with (at times, little known) facts. For example, Marrs reveals that Joseph Kennedy, patriarch and father of John F. Kennedy, Robert, and Ted Kennedy, was a supporter of Naziism. This seems astounding but I recently saw a documentary on the Kennedys that backs this up. Joseph Kennedy was impeded in his quest for the presidency or at least a high U.S. government office because of his unpopular and scandalous support of the Nazi regime, so he dedicated himself to putting one of his sons in the White House. Also, while reading Marrs's history of Hitler's rise to power in Germany, I am impressed that Marrs has his facts right. The most fascinating book I've read in ages!
Rating:
Summary: I like Lollypops too but...
Review: Ah Jim Marrs. Perhaps the JFK assassination is the "gateway drug" towards belief in just about anything. His UFO book was marred (natch) by his credulity and selective use of sources. Much the same goes here. It sounds great until you take a breath and realize that this is a guy who believes in the physical reality of the Easter Bunny. I used to think this sort of thing was progressive, as it got people to think critically about the world around them. Unfortunately it seems more like it leads people to the occult, the last stamping ground of those who have given up on the real world.
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Summary: A WHO'S WHO OF THE INVISIBLE GLOBAL GOVERNMENT
Review: If you want to know the who, how, and why of current events, you must read this book. Pages 26-27 alone, lists 29 public figures and their titles, all of which are involved in the secret societies which dictate our governments policies. The ultimate goal of this global conspiracy,(beyond the creation of mega wealth and power,) is one world government. Marrs takes us on a journey backward in time from our modern secret societies, such as the Trilateral Commission, the CFR, and Federal Reserve System, to the evolution of century old organizations. His fact laden commentary on the hidden agenda's of the elite, makes futurist authors such as Furland all the more credible. This is the best and most thoroughly researched book on the subject I have found. Do your own due diligence. Read this book. I would also recommend Icke, whitaker, and Furland.
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