Stichin's book, The End of Days, is the last of his The Earth Chronicles series. Some of you know his work. Others, like me, have never read any of the previous six books.

Sitchin's extensive research into our ancient past includes study of the Sumerian cuneiform tablets, other ancient texts, the Bible and current scientific data. He provides further answers to the questions of our past that may lead to some insight into our future. This is not an easy read because of the detailed names, places and history.

This book focuses on the 21st century BCE in Mesopotamia, the current Iraq. Earth was visited by the Anunnaki, beings from the planet of Nibiru, a planet that orbits the earth every 3600 years. The Anunnaki came to Earth to mine gold dust that they needed for their planet and created humans to perform that work.

Two Anunnaki brothers, Enki and Enlil, disagreed over the fate of the humans and fought for control of Jerusalem, their main mission control. Enlil caused a major flood, purposely destroying many of the humans and much of the land. The Anunnaki then left Earth. After their departure, however, mankind felt abandoned and clung to the hope and expectation that these "gods" would return.

Sitchin compares that time of the 21st century BCE to our 21st century. The main similarities are the expectation of a returning messiah and a focus on Jerusalem, two ideas that are evident today. The "end of times" is when the Anunnaki return, not a disastrous end to our planet or people. Sitchin does not think these beings need to wait for their planet to orbit close to earth again to do that, since he claims they have ports on other planets, such as Mars, from which to arrive.

When the "end of days" will occur is vague. Sitchin does not believe it is 2012, the common end date of the Mayan Calendar. His information supports a return before the end of the Age of Pisces. As he points out, however, that might be any time now or it may be hundreds of years away, depending on the data one uses. There is little agreement in any research about the final date of this Age, but Sitchin claims the Anunnaki will show up before the beginning of the new Age of Aquarius.

The importance of this work is not when the Anunnaki return or if they do. Time will provide more information to us when we need it. What is important is that we begin to delve into the ancient past and see our origins, our world, and our universe differently.