Above Top Secret: Uncover The Mysteries of The Digital Age -- ON SALE NOW!

Buy Direct From ATS Now: $19.95

UPDATE: The Book Is Now For Sale!

We're proud to introduce the international release of the first book based on AboveTopSecret.com content. Written by best-selling author, Jim Marrs, the book features nineteen chapters pulled directly from the threads of ATS, with expert commentary and additional research from the esteemed Mr. Marrs.

Provided below are some teaser excerpts to give everyone a taste of what's coming, as well as a list of the chapters.



Foreword by Bill Irvine (me)


The last century witnessed the rise of what is popularly known as the "conspiracy theorist," a subculture of like-minded people who have become concerned that major contemporary and historical events were not caused by "what we've been told" through mainstream media or our history books. Often misunderstood as "those crazy conspiracy nuts," these people are passionately concerned about society, have a deep affection for their country, and are driven by a strong sense of ethics and justice.

The tipping point that can inspire someone to begin asking the questions that will transform them into a conspiracy theorist are as diverse as the conspira- cies they theorize about. Some have looked as far back as the time leading up to World War I and have noticed the oddities surrounding the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Many have become doubtful of the official story surrounding the events in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947 and the resulting broad spectrum of UFO cover-up questions. The rise of the Federal Reserve and contemporary economic troubles have provided a fountain spring of stimuli for questions related to financial conspiracies. In fact, if you've ever watched the evening news and wondered to yourself, "that can't be right," you have taken your first tentative step into the world of conspiracy theory.

For years, conspiracy theorists belonged to a soft-spoken subculture relegat- ed to perusing a limited selection of small-press books in the dark, unvisited corners of bookstores, searching out hard-to-find independent newspapers, and mail-order VHS tapes of difficult-to-watch production quality. Even with the relatively robust categories of UFO-conspiracy aficionados and JFK assassination theorists, it was difficult to fathom how many of "us" there really were. Then came the Internet, and everything changed.

Starting first via uncertain voices on early bulletin board systems in the 1980s, conspiracy theorists from an abundance of diverse topic areas found each other online. As additional channels for collaboration grew through IRC, Usenet, and CompuServe, more and more like-minded people with troubling questions found answers in their online conversations. The advent of the web and ubiquitous easy Internet access sparked a startling societal explosion that brought conspiracy theories from the dark corners of bookstores to the forefront of popular culture. In fact, the wildly popular phrase of 2007, "Don't taze me bro," was a plea from a conspiracy theorist that exploded into the pop-culture lexicon because of the Internet.

Today, the web has given birth to what is nothing short of a renaissance of conspiracy theory. The zero-cost of entry and easy access to blogging has inspired a significant portion of the "blogosphere" to focus on a myriad of conspiracy topics. For better or worse, untold millions of pages examine hundreds of variations on thousands of conspiracy theories. Some are superlative examples of relentless research, others push the speculative envelope with magnificence, and many more are dubious flights of fancy. But no matter the accuracy or veracity of these millions of thoughts, the sheer volume bears witness to the tremendous number of people with provocative questions in search of answers.

The evolution of the Internet has given birth to another cultural phenomenon, one that has its roots in the core essence of how the medium was birthed. While the technological underpinnings were created via a military mandate, the users of the Internet directed its evolution as a culture of collaboration, driven by the ethics of sharing. Despite all the billions of dollars invested in e-commerce and Internet advertising, the essence of the medium is driven by the share-and-share-alike ideology of its users. From hyperlinking to Facebook, every important advance in core online usefulness has its roots in the need for the users to share information, and nowhere has the urge to learn through sharing been more readily apparent than in the birth of online communities devoted to conspiracy theories.

AboveTopSecret.com began in 1997 as the hobby of an inquisitive teenager named Simon Gray of Swindon, England. Over the years, user demand dictated the inclusion of a discussion board section of the site so that like-minded conspiracy theorists could share information and collaboratively speculate on what they learn. In 2003, the demand imposed on Mr. Gray's original hobby became so great that the site outgrew its humble beginnings and dedicated hardware was urgently required. Over the next four years, demand continued to grow at a pace that required additional investments in technology every nine months on average. The "perfect storm" explosion of Internet accessibility, online conspiracy theory topics, and the urge to share has grown the humble hobby into a stunning Internet phenomenon with over 2.4 million pages of content and more than two million visitors each month, making it the largest and most-popular website dealing with conspiracy theories.

Regular users of AboveTopSecret.com will be eager to tell you that such growth and success is no surprise. The heart and soul of our website is an inspiring social content community that is often referred to as the best in class of any topical genre. Discussion boards, forums and blogs have rightfully earned negative reputations for an often overly free-form environment of juvenile behavior, questionable content, personal attacks, and insults. Five years ago, the users of AboveTopSecret.com decided that they wanted none of that. A motto of "Deny Ignorance" was adopted as a rallying cry that not only spoke to the need to be civil with one another, but also stated the clear desire to understand the truths behind difficult questions. This unique civil environment of AboveTopSecret.com is credited with its rapid rise to success. Participants are able to focus on whatever they feel are important issues and provocative questions, with complete confidence that those responding will do so out of a desire to aid in collaborative learning.

While the civil environment has attracted a humbling number of intelligent people asking important questions, the real magic of AboveTopSecret.com is that it is a true user defined media vehicle. Complete editorial control is in the hands of the "wisdom of the crowds" as more than 1,200 new topics every day are ranked and prioritized by the participants. The staff and management have no ability to influence editorial decisions or the positioning of topics on any of the site's pages (with exception of removing occasional inappropriate items). The result is an ever-evolving ecosystem of content that represents a stream of consciousness from an enormous collaboration of intelligent people who want nothing more than answers that make sense.

No contemporary author is better prepared to provide you with a summary of AboveTopSecret.com's unique and collaborative stream of consciousness than Jim Marrs. He's a superlative writer, a brilliant conspiracy theorist, and most importantly, a firm believer in the notion that "together we are smarter than any one of us." Jim has selected a collection of topics that represent some of the most stunning and imaginative works in recent memory on AboveTopSecret.com. No matter what conspiracy theories hold your interest, there's something for you in this book. And if you don't believe yourself to be a conspiracy theorist now, you're not being honest with yourself. After all, you picked up a book entitled, Above Top Secret: Uncovering the Mysteries of the Digital Age, and read the entire foreword.

Jim, I leave our reader in your capable hands.



Introduction by Jim Marrs


Contrary to an old adage, what you don't know CAN harm you. One may be the most highly intelligent person in the world, but if he or she is operating on erroneous or incomplete information, a truthful and correct conclusion on any issue is impossible.

Additionally, a person is at a distinct disadvantage when confronted with new and unfamiliar information in any situation. So, you want to know all you can about a wide variety of topics. And none are more fascinating than the subjects being tossed about on the Internet in the Digital Age.

You say you want to know all about those mysteries and conspiracies you hear about but you don't want to spend your life digging through old dusty books or hours surfing the Net?

Here's the book for you.

In one beautifully designed package, compliments of an inspired linkup between AboveTopSecret.com and The Disinformation Company, you can find answers - or at least understand the questions -to such wild topics as "Did John Titor come from the future?" and "Who parked the Moon?"

Some of these sections deal with mysteries that may involve science of which we are not yet aware. In the primitive past, such things would have been called magic. Today, they are more likely to be called extraterrestrial. Some of the issues here are concerned with conspiracy, a term formerly disparaged by the corporate-controlled mass media. However, since the attacks of Sep-
tember 11, 2001, were obviously the result of someone's conspiracy, the term has been somewhat rehabilitated. My motto - "If it's not an act of God, it's a conspiracy" - still stands. Sure, accidents happen. Cars crash, ships sink and airplanes crash. But if an event is not an accident and more than one person is involved, by the dictionary definition, you have a conspiracy.

Conspiracies are not all bad. If you throw your friend a surprise birthday party, that's a conspiracy, but it's not a bad one. However, if people conspire to break the law or harm someone else, that's certainly not good.

The Internet is chock-full of conspiracies and mysteries. The Net is a conun- drum within itself because the upside of the Internet is that everyone and anyone has access to this modern phenomenon. The downside is that everyone and anyone has access. The problem is separating the wheat from the chaff, distinguishing between good information and bad.

How does one find the truth behind any conspiracy? Take a lesson from the great detectives and journalists of the past.

Don't settle for superficial and facile explanations. Dig past the obvious evidence - which can be fabricated or planted - and look for finer facts. Go past the headlines and seek evidence in the small print deep within a news story. Carefully look at the source of a story. If you read an article about the safeness of nuclear power and note that the story is based on information from the Atomic Industrial Forum, an industry organization promoting the commercial use of nuclear power, you will know that you are not getting both sides of the story. Likewise, a piece raising alarm over land use citing the Earth Liberation Front as its source most probably is not a fair and balanced account of the issue.

Study all sides of an issue. Don't allow partisan politics or an ingrained belief system to influence what you read and hear. Visit www.AboveTopSecret.com, seek out alternative publications and prowl used bookstores for information you may have missed or never knew. And double check all sources. For example, in the case of the JFK assassination, do you believe a politically-motivated commission that concluded Kennedy was shot through the neck or do you believe the official autopsy report and doctors (supported by the hole in his coat and shirt) which stated he was struck in the back below the shoulder blade? Do you trust government pronouncements on the 1947 Roswell crash that have been changed four times or do you believe several hundred fellow citizens who tell a different story? Sometimes the Devil is in the details.

Don't trust polls and statistics; it has been repeatedly proven that these can be manipulated by loaded questions and misleading arithmetic. For example, did you know that 82.4 percent of all statistics are just made up on the spot? See what I mean?

Don't put your trust in media personalities. In Great Britain, they have it right. Instead of "news anchors," media talking heads there are called "presenters," a more appropriate description. Most news presenters are fine folks but let's face it, they "rip and read," that is, they read news stories right off the wire that are placed before them. They simply do not have the time or inclination to verify all the stories they must deal with on a daily basis. Additionally, they rarely have the background knowledge or leniency from management to pass judgment on the truth of any given story. After all, the sins of the corporate-controlled mass media are primarily those of omission rather than commission.

Most importantly, begin to think for yourself rather than putting your trust in persons and pronouncements in the media. This does not mean that any old idea that pops into your head is as valid as those of conventional thinking. Davy Crockett once said, "Be always sure you're right and then go ahead." The key here is to make certain you know what you are talking about. Just because you learned something in Sunday school, public school or from your parents does not necessarily mean that you got correct information.

When you tackle a controversial issue, start out with the fundamental questions that were once taught to beginning journalism students - Who, What, When, Where and Why.

Armed with these basics and hopefully a dash of deductive reasoning, you are now ready to take on the world of mystery and conspiracy. While the evidence for some of these conspiracies presented here admittedly may be dubious, many have an impressive amount of narrative and documentation to back them up. Study this material carefully. "I don't believe that!" is not a convincing argument.

The cases here have been selected based on the broad appeal they seem to hold for the more than two million monthly visitors to the Above Top Secret website, which in 2007 celebrated its tenth anniversary. The material presented here leans toward the conspiratorial because the corporate mass media leans the other way. If you want the "other side," just watch TV. They will tell you there is nothing to any of the topics presented here. They don't want you to see the little man behind the green curtain.

The world of modern America is very much like that portrayed in The Matrix movie trilogy. Today, instead of everyone physically hooked up to some machine that runs a virtual reality program through their brains, everyone is wrapped inside an electromagnetic matrix woven by corporate-controlled radio and TV. A close study will reveal that almost everything you read, see or hear is controlled by six multinational corporations. That's a tremendous concentration of power.

While this media matrix cannot (yet) tell you how to think, it can certainly tell you what to think about and to a large extent, how to view both the news and world events. It sets the agenda and usually presents only one viewpoint. It is not easy to break away from an electronic media that has been conditioning us all since birth. But it can be done.

Deny ignorance. Break loose from the media matrix. Think for yourself. Question authority.

The following mysteries and conspiracies are a good starting point.

Jim Marrs, October 2008



List Of Chapters

Was 9/11 an inside job?

Is the supply of oil peaking?

Why did the airforce change its story on Stephenville?

Do road signs contain hidden codes?

Is free/alternative energy being kept from the public?

Is the Federal Reserve a scam?

Are chemtrails for real?

Is there a Nazi base in Antarctica?

Who killed JFK?

Did John Titor come from the future?

Who built the spidery drones?

What passed by the space shuttle Atlantis?

What hovered over O'Hare gate 17c?

What flew over Phoenix?

Were the moon landings faked?

Who parked the moon?

What crashed at Roswell?

Is God an alien?

What will happen in 2012?




Visit the official book page for more information and links to our online store



[edit on 10-9-2008 by SkepticOverlord]

Is this only purchasable online? Or will I see it in book stores?

Can not wait to see it in the books stores, it will be in the book stores right?

Well it doesn't matter as long as I can get a copy of it, reserve me one please!!!!!!!!!!.

Will Mr. Jim Marrs sign the book?

Originally posted by LetsPlayFeedTheGater
Is this only purchasable online? Or will I see it in book stores?

Both online and in bookstores.

You'll be able to purchase it from all online book retailers, as well as directly from us here at AboveTopSecret.com.

While all major bookstores will carry the book... some smaller stores (such as airport bookstores) probably won't have it in stock.

Originally posted by marg6043


Will Mr. Jim Marrs sign the book?

That's what I would like to know as well.

IS there a possibility that we might be able to get a signed copy, or is this unfeasible?

Can't wait. It's like watching a baby grow up and graduate!

As soon as it gets released I'm buying. Thanks for the update S.O. It will be an honor to read this book and all the content in it. It will be like going back in time and reading up on good ole' topics that has mystery and facts.

We're in the process of getting a number of signed copies and, for those of you who want a true collectors item, there might be a copy signed by Mr. Marrs and the three amigos.

I will love to hear more about the signed copies as well.

What a treasure will be to have the one signed by the three amigos.

reply to post by marg6043


the book signed by the amigos and Mr. Marrs will be a very exclusive edition. We will need to ship the book to Mr. Marrs, and then to each amigo before shipping it out to the buyer. We haven't figured out how much this will cost yet but we will in due time.

I see a lot of questions in the contents, but will there be any answers?

Oh wait, I have to pay for them.

Don't exploit me and line your pockets with your Amero's.

Good Luck, but I'm not buying.

Seawolf197, while I see your opinion in the matter as personal, in my case as a member that as been here for quite some time I can not wait to read this first ATS book.

I think I have been waiting long enough.

Thanks for the update SO! Looking forward to reading the book.

Just an FYI - you have a typo in your tag line under the image of the book:

SEVENTY-SEVEN THOUSAD PEOPLE

This is so awesome! Finally a book that encompasses so much of what we talk about on here. I can't wait to buy it and share it with others

when i saw in my U2U box a message header reading " the wait is almost over ", i thought it was an update to the " Team ATS" theread ". I got all excited..........

its good to have a book to distribute to the masses. it will get a larger demo thinking about our everyday conversations. for that i say....good job

wish the "Team ATS" thread was resolved though........

Originally posted by seawolf197
Don't exploit me and line your pockets with your Amero's.

So you've never bought a book?

reply to post by marg6043

Good. Jim Marrs writes well and has a way of getting non tin foil hat wearers to examine the info. I gave Rule By Secrecy to many friends who were not inclined to take it very seriously. They are always blown away. ATS topics do need reputable writers sometimes. Dunno if Ill be able to find the book where i live, but I'll look foward to seeing how it is accepted.

Originally posted by SkepticOverlord

Originally posted by seawolf197
Don't exploit me and line your pockets with your Amero's.

So you've never bought a book?

I'll take a stab at it and guess "no"......

Do you know if any of my insightful witticisms are quoted in the book? It would be nice......'cause not only would I be a curmudgeon...but I'd be a published curmudgeon.

An edited curmudgeon, to be exact.



[edit on 28-10-2008 by MrPenny]

reply to post by serpentine


the book will be available online (here) as well as at most of the larger online book stores.

you can already find it on borders, amazon, barnes and noble etc. pre-order but it's there.

Well I am a newby compared to you 2, am trying to make up for it in logged in time though.

Have not bought a book in years, this one will break the streak.

Congrats ATS.

Milestones, so many milestones.

[edit on 28/10/08 by Rhain]