The Georgia Guidestones

Book excerpt: The remarkable true story of the gigantic granite slabs, engraved with messages, that appeared in 1980 and still puzzle the public to this day. The Georgia Guidestones are a collection of standing stones near Elberton, Georgia. Built in 1980 by an unknown party, they are primarily composed of six slabs of granite: one central pillar, four “major” stones that fan out from the center, and a capstone. The capstone has engravings on all four of its sides in four different ancient languages, all of which translate to “Let these be guidestones to an Age of Reason.” Also engraved is a set of ten guidelines that have provoked controversy, speculation, and rumors of conspiracies stretching far beyond northeast Georgia. Conspiracy theorists surmise a global plot on the part of a group of shadowy men to subjugate and oppress the world's population and create a “new world order.” Others believe that the man behind the monument was a Rosicrucian, and that the stones are representative of that group’s magical manifesto. Some people even believe that it is a landing site for an alien spacecraft of some kind. At the heart of this confusion is the missing piece of the puzzle: who was the mystery man who started the entire chain of events? This fascinating book explores the whole story, examining what we know—and what we don’t.