FICTION / MYTHOLOGY Will the past become our future? Is humankind destined to repeat the events that occurred on another planet, far away from Earth? Zecharia Sitchin's bestselling series, The Earth Chronicles, provided humanity's side of the story--as recorded on ancient clay tablets and other Sumerian artifacts--concerning our origins at the hands of the Anunnaki, "those who from heaven to earth came." In The Lost Book of Enki, we can view this saga from a different perspective through this richly conceived autobiographical account of Lord Enki, an Anunnaki god, who tells the story of these extraterrestrials' arrival on Earth from the 12th planet, Nibiru. The object of their colonization: gold to replenish the dying atmosphere of their home planet. Finding this precious metal results in the Anunnaki creation of homo sapiens--the human race--to mine this important resource. In his previous works, Sitchin compiled the complete story of the Anunnaki's impact on human civilization in peacetime and in war from the fragments scattered throughout Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Hittite, Egyptian, Canaanite, and Hebrew sources--the "myths" of all ancient peoples in the old world as well as the new. Missing from these accounts, however, was the perspective of the Anunnaki themselves. What was life like on their own planet? What motives propelled them to settle on Earth--and what drove them from their new home? Convinced of the existence of a now lost book that formed the basis of ancient Sumerian texts holding the answers to these questions, the author began his search for evidence. Through exhaustive research of primary sources, he has here re-created tales as the memoirs of Enki, the leader of these first "astronauts." What takes shape is the story of a world of mounting tensions, deep rivalries, and sophisticated scientific knowledge that is only today being confirmed. An epic tale of gods and men unfolds, challenging every assumption we hold about our creation, our past, and our future. An eminent Orientalist and Biblical scholar, ZECHARIA SITCHIN (1920-2010) was distinguished by his ability to translate ancient Sumerian and other ancient texts. He was a graduate of the University of London and worked as a journalist and editor in Israel for many years before making his home in New York City.