The Hab Theory

I first read The Hab Theory back in 1981. This was a book that was split in our reading group. One half said they "couldn't get into it," but the rest of us agreed that we "couldn't put it down." For me, it grabbed me on the first page and didn't let go until the end.. even then I wanted more. Back then, I loved the love story best and the facts second. Now, all these years later, I am in awe of the entire book. The science and the discoveries are interwoven into a not only plausible scenario, but one that seems like it is probable. The love aspect holds it together and fleshes the story out even more. I passed this onto my son, and I know he will pass it on to his children. This is a keeper in hardbound, if you can find it.

Superb book. First read it in 1976 and was blown away by the scientific facts in it & recently re-read it. Better second time round and has more of an impact. Full of scientific facts that can be independently verified after reading the book. The love story is necessary to carry the book through, otherwise it might be too intense to take in, but must admit, I jumped some of that bit just to get to the science bits !! - but the way it is written makes you never want to put the book down. Must be made into a film sometime...?

I first read The HAB Theory in 1977 at the age of 12. After about nine years of searching in vain, I finally found an out-of-print copy for sale on the Internet late in 2000 (this was prior to the novel's reprinting). My mission was to decide whether my favorite book could captivate me as an adult in the same way it did as a child. I was definitely not disappointed! Not only are the characters depicted in fascinatingly vivid detail, the scientific theories presented still seem plausible to me a full 23 years after my first reading. Eckert slowly weaves the reader into a web of intriguing premises that are all eventually tied into a neat little apocalyptic bow. As key characters begin to accept the possibility of a cataclysmic earth event, so too does the reader. Most of the questions the skeptic in me privately asked throughout the novel were answered in great detail later on.Some of the material is dated - cell phones or the Internet had not yet been invented at the time of the HAB Theory's writing - but what science fiction novel that takes place in the near future (15-20 years) can foresee every innovation? More to the point, the author's primary concern is with the past, not futuristic devices not central to the storyline.While it is likely a scientist could refute most of Herbert Allen Boardman's postulates, one cannot help but wonder if there is perhaps a grain of truth to his overall theory. How would our current president handle a similar situation? I, for one, do not wish to find out.

Since I bought this book 23 years ago, I must have read it a couple dozens times. It gave us tons of verified ancient mysteries in virtually every fields of science relating to the history of the earth and its unexplained vanished civilizations. HAB Theory was a postulate which explained the majority of them. In a nutshell, the HAB Theory presented the fact that because of the eccentricity of the North and South Poles to the magnetic poles, it created an imbalance in the rotation of the earth. When this imbalance reached a stage where it overcame the gyroscopic effect of the earth's rotation, the earth would see a near 90 degree shift of its axis of rotation. The result of which would mean that the poles ended up in the equator and the result would be catastrophic to any life form. This phenomenon occured once every 3000 to 7000 years in the past. The last roll over occurred more than 7000 years ago. Unlike most other novels, one would find it very difficult to read HAB Theory just once or twice. I discovered some new evidence every time I re-read the book. Every time after re-reading the book, my question used to be: Why didn't it happen? Now, it is: When will it happen? It is that good!

Last winter my daughter phoned me and said,"Mom, you are a member of a cult, the HAB theory cult." She gave me a Web address, I went to the Internet,and read all the pages. I had purchased my first copy of The HAB Theory in 1977, in Singapore, (I lived there from 1975 to 1982). I read the book 3 times in the first month and the 3rd time through I listed all of the historic references (for further reading). I now own three copies of the book- the U.K. edition, pubished by Sphere, I lend to friends - a U.S. paperback is for my own use, and a "like-new" hardback is the only book in my bank vault. I have always been a science buff and this book answered so many "unexplainables". I recommend this book to everyone, it changed my thinking and it may change yours.

One of the earlier reviewers made the statement that "Nobody who has read this book seems to be able to forget it." (or words to that effect). How true. I've been an avid reader for over 45 years and of the literally thousands of books I've read in my lifetime, this is one of the few that I have never shelved memory-wise. I remember it today as if it hasn't been over 20 years since I read it! One must read it and give little thought to the love interest plots within -- the main purpose of the book was to espouse theories regarding the earth and explains the unexplainable. Those who wonder about the many inconsistencies that modern man has discovered about our earth will know what I mean. Eckert produces enough pure thought provoking, tantalizing facts about earth's history (and possible future?) -- (facts that throughout time man seems desperate to sweep under the carpet) -- within this book that anyone with any sort of curiousity can't possibly forget what he/she reads. If you can get a copy, DO SO! Months ago, on my personal page at my website, I listed this book as one of my ALL TIME favorites (we're talking for the last 45 years here). It is gratifying to know that I'm not the only one who still remembers this work as being unforgettable due to its plethora of fascinating earth-linked mysteries, explanations and theories.