Cynthia McKinney - Six-term Congresswoman & 2008 Green Party Presidential nominee

"Steve Alten proves his versatility in his latest thriller THE SHELL GAME, a tour-de-force thriller tackling oil, politics, and the state of the world. Controversial, shocking, meticulously researched, and sure to raise many eyebrows in Washington, Alten has produced both a dazzling political thriller and a cautionary tale for our times. Anyone interested in the labyrinthine world of politics, international gamesmanship, and the control of oil in society needs to read this book."
--James Rollins, New York Times bestseller of The Judas Strain

"Whether you embrace it or refute it, 'The Shell Game' cannot, and should not, be easily dismissed. This is Steve Alten's boldest, bravest book to date. He's fearless, in fact, and his skills as a storyteller have not dulled. 'The Shell Game' leaves you shattered, angry and demanding change."

--Andrew Tallackson, Michigan City (Ind.) News-Dispatch entertainment editor

“Action packed, intense and politically probing, "The Shell Game" is an intriguing blend of fiction and non-fiction that will most certainly disturb the practitioners of the game, because it will make readers stop and think about American foreign policy in the oil-rich Middle East.”

--Richard Folsom, Washington Daily News

“A nerve-wracking thriller about America’s addiction to Middle-Eastern sweet crude and the network of enablers who keep our dependent nation away from detox.”

--Kirkus Review

Steve Alten was more alert than the media. Realizing that fantasy is one route by which Americans can be brought to face the facts, and hoping to preclude any such real world event, Alten wrote a thriller predictive of our future between now and 2012.” --Paul Craig Roberts, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan Administration, former editor and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and Scripps Howard News Service.

"For those who have struggled against the machine, the book holds some precious nuggets of truth, hope, and insight. For those seeking to stop the next 9/11 and World War IV, the book is a great opening for a dialogue on the painful truths and realities that most journalists and politicians do not dare to speak about. For those who dismiss the news and focus on their personal realities, and feel insulated from the struggles of the majority of people, this book will challenge their perception of reality, and perhaps inspire them to stop being a spectator and recognize their own power and responsibility to shape the future. I highly recommend it as a first choice on what to read, and hope that readers follow up on the source books, and give the author a hand in preventing "the next 9/11." --Carol Liane Brouillet, 9/11 activist

“What if, the oil reserves we thought were so plentiful, were on the verge of running dry? What if, a secret group of government officials formed a plan to allow terrorists to detonate a w.m.d. on American soil, giving us a reason to launch a full scale invasion of the middle east (under the guise of retaliation) to secure the last remaining oil fields and end the threat of radical Islam once and for all? What if, the salvation of America and possibly much of the civilized world lay in the hands of one man, whose life has suddenly been turned upside down with this devastating knowledge? All this sounds like a great conspiracy thriller, something that was dreamed up by people who see secrets and shadows where none exist, where paranoia reigns and no one can be trusted, least of all the government. In fact, Steve Alten's "The Shell Game" is a superb thriller that does indeed ring of all these elements, but the thing that sets this book apart from similar works is this story is actually very believable. Which is what makes is so frightening.”

--Craig Harvey, Movement Magazine