Apparently iBooks (who now own the rights to The Secret ) think there is going to be enough demand that they are reprinting the book in hard copy, not just e-book format. You can get a copy for about $20 plus shipping from several on-line retailers. Interestingly, people who show an interest in this book are being directed to this website, at least according to the nice person I just spoke with on the phone. Quaint, I know. This should liven up the place a little bit. Let the speculation begin.

I never knew it was ever a hard-cover book. Mine is a paperback. I didn't look for a link to whatever site might be selling this, so forgive my questions. Could this be a book-on-demand printing? Did you see something which said this would appear on book store shelves? Will the new imprint contain any updated information about the two treasures already recovered? (A link would be helpful.)

Unknown: Mine is a paperback Unknown: Could this be a book-on-demand printing? Did you see something which said this would appear on book store shelves? Unknown: Will the new imprint contain any updated information about the two treasures already recovered? Unknown: (A link would be helpful.) So is the re-print (large format paperback, same as the original). I said hard copy to distinguish this version from the e-book which came out over a month ago. No. There are actual copies for sale from the publisher. I was told that if I am not happy with the purchase, I can return it for a full refund, which is usually not an option for on-demand printing. The book will probably not appear in local bookstores (unless sales really take off), so if you want another copy, your best bet is probably on-line. No way to know until I receive my copy. As I said, interested purchasers are being directed to this website, and to date, there is no new information here. I certainly don't have anything more than I already posted. We will just have to wait and see what changes and new information the re-printed book contains. Since it is available from several on-line retailers, I didn't provide a link so as not to appear to be favoring one site over another.

Erpobdelliforme wrote:: Since it is available from several on-line retailers, I didn't provide a link so as not to appear to be favoring one site over another. I meant a link to either iBooks (the publisher?) or the site where you read this announcement about a re-release. The fact that multiple retailers will be selling it sounds rather optimistic to me, and I just wanted to see the source of your information. I also feel it is irresponsible of anyone to republish an obscure bit of fluff with an (essentially) obsolete contest in it without including an update of said contest. I hope they have their own landing page online for information about the book, with more info about its history at the very least.

Unknown: I meant a link to either iBooks (the publisher?) or the site where you read this announcement about a re-release. The fact that multiple retailers will be selling it sounds rather optimistic to me, and I just wanted to see the source of your information. Unknown: I also feel it is irresponsible of anyone to republish an obscure bit of fluff with an (essentially) obsolete contest in it without including an update of said contest. Unknown: I hope they have their own landing page online for information about the book, with more info about its history at the very least. There was no announcement, at least not one that I am aware of. I have been looking for a relatively inexpensive copy of the book, and was surprised to suddenly find several copies available, from several different retailers. So I picked one, and made a phone call to verify what I was paying for, before I placed my order. Almost any book retailer (net or bricks and mortar) will probably be able to obtain a copy for a customer from iBooks. For anyone interested, the title is ISBN-10: 1596874015 or ISBN-13: 978-1596874015. I suspect the book with contain an editor's note of some sort, and will comment on that once I have received my copy. That might in fact be part of the marketing plan, but as I said, for now, people interested in this book are being directed to this website.

Im going to guess that they are not going to guarantee the prizes or that they even have the solutions.

Unknown: Im going to guess that they are not going to guarantee the prizes or that they even have the solutions. You may be right, but at least part of what you guessing at is inconsistent with information that we already have. We've been told that the jewels are still in play, and I would imagine that iBooks is aware of this, and that is, in fact, one of the reasons they decided to republish the book in hard copy format.

Unknown: Most ones I see are severely lacking in detail/contrast or have the equivalent of a high ISO or 'noise' when scanned. The images in the original book were excellent. I can only hope that the images in the re-print are of similar high quality. Having said that, I have always found the high resolution scans Dan Amrich provided ( hxxp://www.bunnyears.net/misc/secret.zip ) to be more than adequate for my purposes.

MrSeabass wrote:: Ah thanks, was not aware of this package (sorry if I just made some DMCA violation!) as I was relying on low-rez screenshots scattered around. PNG images would rule but then I'd i'd just be greedy At the same time, curious about the actual images themselves and their existence. Does the author/artist/publishing company/anyone own the original drawings? I'd love to know whether they still exist, and would be more interested if the publishers would entertain the idea of offering prints/posters of the individual images. Having spent some time in Charleston and visiting friends that live there often, a large - official - print of the "Charleston/Lion" hanging up on the wall would be better than the Charleston staple "Calm Before the [Hurricane Hugo] Storm" that is required by state law to be hung in every household in South Carolina I think it was assumed (or said somewhere) that all of the materials used to create were destroyed. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone having access to any of the original material, but there are people on here longer than I have been. I would bet there is some remnants lying around in someone's house though. It's been 30 years. I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone that even cares (aside from us of course ), let alone remembers. Hah! That "Calm Before the Hugo"...along with Costa del Mar sunglasses and Sperrys!

Unknown: At the same time, curious about the actual images themselves and their existence. According to Sir Egbert (one of the finders of the Cleveland casque): "JJP offered to sell me the centaur pic, and he said that it was about 2 feet tall by 1 foot wide (approximately). Also, he said they are not paintings - they are drawings." Image 9 Thread, Page 62. JJP is now an internationally recognized artist, so I can only assume that he wanted more for the drawing than Sir Egbert was willing to spend. Something to keep in mind if you are looking seriously for one of the original drawings. To the best of my knowledge, there are no prints or posters available, but who knows, that may be part of the marketing plan as well.

Nice! I never knew that! I wonder how the original drawings looked (up close...on the finished level)...and if they would have revealed any clues in any of the "trouble spots" we have, like the lion's hair?

I received my copy of the book in the mail. It is a full color reprint, as advertised, but neither the illustrations, nor the images, are as sharp as they appeared in the original. I think that new readers who are interested in the treasure hunt aspect of the book will be better off using the images found on this web-site. The text remains the same (as far as I can tell since I don't have the original) with a few notable exceptions that I will get to next. I will keep my copy, as it is about what I expected, but will continue to try and find an original copy of the book. As it turns out, there is a website for iBooks ( hxxp://www.ibooksinc.com/index.php ), so I contacted the publisher, John Colby Jr.. I have reprinted our correspondence (edited slightly to remove personal details) for anyone who is interested. Mr Colby: I recently received my copy of The Secret (ISBN 978-1-59687-401-5) in the mail, and noticed that with regard to the treasure associated with this book, several things might have changed since the title was originally published in 1982, and more recently, with Byron Preiss' unfortunate death in 2005. Specifically, your email address in now given for inquiries, and it would appear that once again, options exist for claiming a jewel other than digging up one of the 10 remaining casques. As you may or may not know, you have a small, but highly dedicated group of individuals working on the puzzles, some of us for over 30 years since the book originally came out. I, along with my fellow treasure hunters on the Quest for Treasure Forum ( index.php ) would naturally be very interested in any additional information that could be provided about the hunt, and would welcome a chance for a dialogue. Thank you in advance for any consideration. I look forward to hearing back from you. His response: Hi---------- I worked with -------who illustrated one of our children's titles several years ago. Thank you of the email. I wanted to put The Secret back in print as a producer developed a documentary on the subject. I wanted to keep the book as-is except for contact information updates. Byron left a lot of clues behind not just about The Secret but many other projects he was working on before he died. Byron's wife mentioned the extraordinary interest in the book but at the time I didn't even know its publishing status. Unfortunately I do not know more than that but I will always welcome comments. Best, John My follow-up: Mr. Colby, Thank you for your prompt response. I certainly appreciate it. Please be assured that I an not looking for clues, back doors, or any inside information that isn't available to everyone else still working on these puzzles. I am simply trying to clarify the status of a few things, and assure you that whatever information I receive will be passed on directly to my fellow treasure hunters at the Quest for Treasure Forum. If you would prefer to communicate directly with them, you have the URL. The site requires registration, but that's just a formality that takes a day or two. To my knowledge, no one has ever been rejected. I am familiar with James Renner (the documentary producer), but did not participate in his project. People I know and communicate with who did participate however speak highly of him, so that bodes well for a professional and even handed treatment of the subject. My understanding is that the film is finished, but there has been very little information beyond that. We will all just have to wait until the film is released, and see for ourselves. As you may or may not know, Byron Preiss' position on the treasure hunt changed significantly over the years. For example, we know that he participated fully in the recovery of the first casque (Chicago), going so far as to send the group a picture of the precise dig spot. This was in 1983, so perhaps he reasoned that the attendant publicity would boost sales. However, by 2004, when the internet had significantly revived interest in the hunt, he made it clear that he would not be responding to email inquiries, did not have any further information that he was willing to provide, and that he would only honor casques that were unearthed for consideration of a jewel. It was under these conditions that the Cleveland casque was unearthed in 2004. The little information that Preiss did provide beyond that was cryptic, and often contradictory, which of course, was his right. I am not passing judgement here. Then of course, he passed away tragically in 2005, and we have been on our own ever since. Until now. As I said, it is not my intention to badger you with questions, or to try and obtain an advantage over my fellow treasure hunters. However, as it appears that the rules of the end game have changed once again, I think it would be fair to clarify them to make sure that the playing field remains level for those of us still actively searching for one or more of the casques. Some are no doubt gone, lost to time and remodel. Others are unrecoverable, owing to the dig spot markers being permanently altered (Preiss thought the treasure hunt would only last a few years, so didn't necessarily select objects with their longevity in mind). However, it is my opinion, and I think it is shared by many others, that at least 6 of the remaining 10 casques are in fact recoverable, in whole or in part. And that is what keeps us in the game. The satisfaction of solving in whole, or in part, a 30 year old mystery. Fairly. I have a few specific questions that I would like to ask, but wanted to make sure that you are clear on my intentions. If you are amenable, I will submit them and reprint your responses in their entirety. Of course, if you are willing to join the Forum and answer questions directly, that would certainly be preferable, but would completely understand if that was more time and effort than you care to devote to this one, very small, part of your business. Either way, your cooperation would be sincerely appreciated. I look forward to your response. This last email was sent a few days ago, and as of this morning, I have not had a response. There are a lot of possible reasons for this, so I'm not sure it makes any sense to speculate. I sincerely hope he will join the forum, as I think that would be the best way to disseminate new information impartially. But we will have to wait and see. I will certainly follow-up if he responds to my second email, but I have no intention of badgering the man. There are some changes to the Treasure Page, which I alluded to in my email above. I will address those changes in a subsequent post.

OK, here's where it gets a little tricky. Since the book is back in print, I would assume that the copyright laws about reproducing the book in whole, or in part are once again applicable. Having said that, I think I can safely make the following observations, based on the changes to the Treasure Page: 1) The jewels are back in play. It would appear that the publisher does not have them, but says (in writing) that they will make their "best efforts" to locate the jewels for you. I think we can take this information, along with other information we have, and safely assume that the jewels are being held, in whole or in part, by a third party. 2) The publisher will accept the form in the book (or a copy) in lieu of the casque, either by mail or email, if you think you have found it, but are unable to retrieve it. The reprinted form, just like the original, asks for a precise and exact description of the treasure site. So it would appear that in this regard, Preiss' original intentions are once again being honored, including the part where they get to keep the casque if they dig it up. The address has been updated as well, but without the publisher's consent, I do not think it would be appropriate for me to reprint it here. 3) The publisher makes note of Preiss' fatal auto accident in 2005, but provides no further details about the subsequent bankruptcy proceedings. 4) The publisher would like to hear from both the Chicago and Cleveland group. Hopefully more information will be forthcoming.

Seems to be a bit of a gimmick or elaborate means to promote the film project while padding someones pocket. I might go as far as to consider it fishing, not to sound accusatory. I'm good with it. Its all good fun.

Unknown: I might go as far as to consider it fishing This. A little more transparency couldn't hurt, that's for sure. Hopefully, that's the plan. We will just have to wait and see.