Award-Winning Whistleblower Warns of Threats in New Book, RETURN OF THE AEONS

One of the lead O-ring whistleblowers following the Challenger shuttle disaster, former NASA resource analyst Richard C. Cook has published a new book, "Return of the Aeons: The Planetary Spiritual Ascension" (www.richardccook.com), which says our society and our planet do still have a date with destiny.

"Scholars still debate the date the Roman Empire fell," says Cook, who won the Cavallo Foundation Award for Moral Courage in Business and Government for his work in the Challenger investigations.

It was Cook who had warned of a possible catastrophe before faulty O-ring joints in the Challenger caused the shuttle to break up 73 seconds into its 1986 flight, killing seven crew members.

Now the analyst, who worked with the Carter White House, warns of a looming societal disaster.

"The collapse has begun; it's picking up momentum and will reach us with incredible speed in a very short time."

In the book, Cook describes four threats to life as we know it:

• Economic - we face an endless recession where only the rich thrive
• U.S. military might - resembles the doomed Roman Empire
• Pollution and greenhouse gases
• Divisive religions - we need to unite

Cook, who teaches ascension meditation and healing at the Lifestream Center in Roanoke, Va., offers a spiritual solution: ascension.

"Cook provides a credible and well-rounded presentation of the ascension process ... and the history of civilization on Earth from ancient to modern times, as well as a look at what may lie ahead," writes reviewer Skylar Newman of the online publication Freedom Earth.

About Richard C. Cook

Richard Cook witnessed some of the formative moments of the late-20^th century. While working at NASA, he documented and warned of faulty O-ring joints in the Challenger's solid rocket boosters; following the shuttle disaster, he blew the whistle on a cover-up in the making. His participation in investigations led to his receiving the Cavallo Foundation Award for Moral Courage in Business and Government and his memoir, "Challenger Revealed." Cook was on the policy staff of the U.S. Civil Service Commission and the Food and Drug Administration. For two decades he was an analyst for the U.S. Treasury department, where he saw how electronic funds transfer created even more wealth for the banking system, laying the groundwork for the bubbles and crashes that have ruled the economy for a generation.