History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Average customer rating:

2000 Plus years old and still going strong
Caesar third person account of his conquest of the Gallia
Insights into a Brilliant Mind
For Miss Rogers who loved her Latin so much A note on the style of the work
The Greatest General - in his own words

The Conquest of Gaul (Penguin Classics)
Julius Caesar
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0140444335

Amazon.com

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres... It is, perhaps, the most famous opening line of any memoir in Western civilization. What Caesar and the Romans called "Gaul," although we usually think of it as France, also comprised Belgium, the German lands west of the Rhine, southern Holland, and much of Switzerland. This is the only military campaign of the ancient world for which we have a chronicle written by the general who conducted it, and Julius Caesar is an insightful historian, with a keen eye for detail, as in this scene from the repulsion of the forces of the German king Ariovistus:

Caesar placed each of his five generals ahead of a legion and detailed his quaestor to command the remaining legion, so that every soldier might know that there was a high officer in a position to observe the courage with which he conducted himself, and then led the right wing first into action, because he had noticed that the enemy's line was weakest on that side.

Customer Reviews:

2000 Plus years old and still going strong.......2007-01-10

If the pre-christian world is where your interests are this book belongs in your collection. The good old days when power and might formed and held together the greatest empire to ever rule the known world.

Caesar third person account of his conquest of the Gallia.......2006-12-22

De Bello Gallico - Julius Caesar third person account of his conquest of Gaul (modern day France, and large parts of Switzerland and Belgium, approximately) is well known for its opening line: Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres... This military chronicle brings us back to a time when rules of engagement were very different to our own: today, Caesar would be facing charges of genocide at the International Criminal Court for wiping out the Helvetii, for example. The book is fascinating at times but is also repetitive - so many tribes gets you confused. But it allows us to see a very different morality to our own - Caesar naturally thought nothing of killing, ethnically cleansing or enslaving his enemies, as well as a picture of the lives of the european tribes that lived outside the Roman empire. A must for Asterix fans.

Insights into a Brilliant Mind.......2006-12-01

I found this book very hard to put down once I finished the introduction. Caesar's writing style is crisp (and unique - he writes in the third person) and blatantly political. The best parts of the book are his descriptions of the customs and habits of the various peoples, and the self laudatory comments that pepper the narrative. An opportunity to see into the mind of one of history's most fantastic figures.

For Miss Rogers who loved her Latin so much A note on the style of the work .......2005-11-08

Miss Rogers was a Latin teacher in Troy, New York for many years. She loved Latin and had a pleasant and loving attitude to her students. It was from her that I first heard, "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est" She made us memorize certain passages in her beloved language.
So my first view of this ' classic' is not as a 'book to be read' but as a text to be studied in order to learn Latin grammar.
And what I felt in learning this is how logical, clear and straightforward it all seems to be. The style of the work as I understand it is a reflection of that strong, determined, clear, goal- oriented, straightforward moving Roman spirit that conquered a great part of the world.
As for the text itself, the character of Caesar, the military operations. Others more qualified than myself have already commented on this on the 'Amazon site'. I would just say that for some reason I had at that time years ago great sympathy for Vercingetorix, the defeated leader of the Gauls. I could not understand why he had to be defeated since he was in his own land fighting to defend his own people. I thought simple Justice would have him prevail. And as a young person I was dismayed at his despite his great courage being defeated.
As for the Romans even Caesar they inspire respect more than love, and admiration for their courage is balanced by a disdain for their appetite for conquest and domination.

The Greatest General - in his own words.......2005-10-28

This used to be the manual for every young noble going to war as an officer. Today it is a historical document showing the roman republic in war, and in particular a portrait of how the great Ceasar would like his friends, enemies and history to see him. This book has shaped the thinking of allmost every military commander for 2000 years, and it would be a shame not to read the words penned by the dictator himself.

Average customer rating:

CAESAR THE CONQUEST OF GAUL
Unknown
Manufacturer: PENGUIN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RZA55I

Average customer rating:

CAESAR THE CONQUEST OF GAUL
S A HANDFORD
Manufacturer: PENGUIN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S2KMAI

Average customer rating:

Caesar The Conquest Of Gaul
E V Rieu
Manufacturer: Penguin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MVVDYO

Average customer rating:

A master-piece in researching the Gallic Wars

Caesar's Conquest of Gaul
Thomas R. Holmes
Manufacturer: Ams Pr Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Ancient | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0404033172

Customer Reviews:

A master-piece in researching the Gallic Wars.......1998-12-20

Holmes gives great insight into the military organization of the Roman army in Caesar's time, including great depth into siege techniques and legion formations. Holmes also reveals an abundance of information of Gallic History, so that the reader can recieve a well-rounded account Caesar's campaign

Caesar's Conquest of Gaul (World History)

Average customer rating:

Well Written History

Caesar's Conquest of Gaul (World History)
Don Nardo
Manufacturer: Lucent Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Military & Wars | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Royalty | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Well Written History.......2002-07-12

As history books go this one is surprisingly well written and also quite detailed considering it is aimed at young people. The author covers the subject thoroughly and accurately. Unfortunately, though the book does have footnotes, they do have page numbers, which seems extremely odd. I thumbed through two other volumes by the same author and their notes did have page numbers, as they are supposed to. The reason for this is a mystery, however the book is well worth the read if you are interested in Caesar and his career.

Average customer rating:

caesar: The Conquest of Gaul
S.A. (translator) Handford
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000MVG1HI

Average customer rating:

CAESAR: THE CONQUEST OF GAUL.

Manufacturer: P/B
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HFUTZY

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THE CONQUEST OF GAUL
CAESAR
Manufacturer: PENGUIN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000S764TG

Average customer rating:

Very highly recommended

Global History: Cultural Encounters from Antiquity to the Present

Manufacturer: Sharpe Reference
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0765680432

Customer Reviews:

Very highly recommended.......2005-01-06

Outstanding in its scope and presentation the 4-volume set, Global History: Cultural Encounters From Antiquity To The Present, is divided by periods of time and covering world history from antiquity in 5000 B.C.E. to the present: if only one library reference on general global history were to be considered for either a high school or college-level collection, it should be this. Bright, inviting colorful covers led to volumes which pepper their pages with color maps, illustrations and detail - but the meat of each book lies in its articles and essays discussing significant historical events. Each article cites primary sources, includes extensive bibliographic references for further reading, and each book includes a timeline of events. Each book includes not only plenty of detail about significant events of the era covered; it includes discussions of scholarly challenges and issues involved in presenting a multifaceted history. Very highly recommended.

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Global History: Cultural Encounters from Antiquity to the Present
David W. Testa
Manufacturer: Sharpe, M.e., Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
ASIN: B000MBMPJQ

Average customer rating:

Misnamed or Misedited...be warned!

Interesting, but not "The Best"

A Very Mixed Bag

amusing, but very patchy writing skills

Terrific collection

The Best American Science Writing 2000 (Four Audiocassettes)
James Gleick
Manufacturer: HarperAudio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

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The Best American Science Writing 2004 (Best American Science Writing)

The Best American Science Writing 2005 (Best American Science Writing)

The Best American Science Writing 2003 (Best American Science Writing)

ASIN: 0694523992
Release Date: 2000-09-05

Amazon.com

Avid science readers know the value of good judgment. There's just too much out there to go through it all in one lifetime, so we learn to appreciate the recommendations of those we trust. Editors James Gleick and Jesse Cohen took it upon themselves to select 19 eclectic pieces for The Best American Science Writing 2000, resulting in a delicious, engrossing volume with something for nearly every reader. Whether relying on well-known authors like Stephen Jay Gould and Oliver Sacks or surprising us with a selection from humor publication The Onion ("Revolutionary New Insoles Combine Five Forms of Pseudoscience"), they choose works that combine the best of exposition and aesthetic delight. The scope of topics is broad: physician Atul Gawande reports on medical mistakes, Douglas R. Hofstadter ruminates on natural and artificial intelligence, and Deborah Gordon gives an inside look at southwestern American ant life. Though the editors cheerfully admit that they can't define science writing with any precision, they still please the reader with this important and enjoyable volume. --Rob Lightner

Book Description

Meticulously selected by bestselling author James Gleick, Harper Audio presents a steller collection of essays written by some of the most brilliant writers and thinkers of our time -- each one read by its creator.

Many of these cutting-edge essays offer glimpses of our new realms of discovery and thought, exploring territory that is unfimiliar to most of us or finding the unexpected in the midst of the familiar. This diverse, stimulating, and accessible collection is required for anyone who wants to travel to that frontier.

Customer Reviews:

Misnamed or Misedited...be warned!.......2002-07-22

I liked many of the pieces in this collection and detested just a few. But overall I was very disappointed since I expected essays about SCIENCE, not essays about science history, about preferring music to science, about doctors making mistakes. I'm not saying those types of essays are not interesting reading, but I am saying they're definitely not about real science. Very few of the essays would actually enhance a university science course, for instance.

Furthermore, there would seem to be a weird bias present in the selection of the essays. A lot of them are from the New Yorker or the New York Times, hardly the places to go for good science (even though I do acknowledge that when it comes to newspapers the New York Times does better than most...which are terrible in general). There are some from the Sciences, Nature, but not many from places where real science essays are published. I suspect the net was not cast far in a search. How about Science News, Discover, Analog, Scientific American? I am also sure there were more overlooked great science essays in books that were not read (a few such are included and tend to be among the best in the collection). There is even a farcical "essay" from The Onion here!

Gleick explains/justifies this in his introduction claiming to take a "big tent" approach. After reading the volume I think he failed. The tent wasn't big enough to retain enough science to validate the title.

The essays I like in particular included Lord of the Flies by Jonathan Weiner, Antarctic Dreams by Francis Halzen, Interstellar Spaceflight by Timothy Ferris, Einstein's Clocks by Peter Galison, and A Desinger Universe by Steven Weinberg.

Two stood out in my mind as particular poor examples of science writing mainly because they embrace "anti-science" in order to be "witty." Natalie Angier's New York Times article "Furs for Evening, but Cloth Was the Stone Age Standby" examines the recent realization that 20-30k year old fertility figures are shown wearing complex textiles. She may just be reporting the shoddy methodology of some current archeological practices, but she proudly announces that the old assumption that men created these statuettes is wrong based on the detailed textile carving that requires detailed knowledge of such and the cross-cultural studies of the present population of earth that indicates women create cloth, not men. I think the announcement is quite premature and just as big of an assumption. It feels like one of those essays that projects present-day sensibilities on past times, a form of political correctness that has no place in science.

Worse is "Must Dog Eat Dog" by Susan McCarthy from salon.com. McCarthy attacks sociobiological thought but displays an astounding level of ignorance about the details of the theories involved. She attacks a straw man of her own invention in which men must be homeless, starving, lecherous slobs in order to validate sociobiology. She simply cannot have read some of the thinkers she attacks and have written the piece she did. She argues from a political motivation, not from a scientific one, and I was quite shocked to see this essay included. "Witty" it may be, but science it ain't!

This is an interesting collection, but be aware of what is actually included here. Good science is going on in the world today, and people are writing about it, just usually not in the New Yorker.

Interesting, but not "The Best".......2001-02-06

Although I enjoyed most of the articles, this was not exactly what I was expecting. It appears as though many of the articles came out of popular non-scientific publications (many from the N.Y. Times) and were written for a mainstream audience. Too many of them were articles of the "I'm a scientist and here's my story . . ." genre. One story was about an author's "nervous breakdown" and his decision to pursue a career in music rather than chemistry. A few were about the practice of medicine or medical research. They were interesting articles but didn't contain as much scientific information as I expected - I didn't really learn that much. I don't want to sound overly negative. I did enjoy many of the selections. However, calling this "The Best" science writing of the year is a real stretch.

A Very Mixed Bag.......2000-11-26

The best essays were actually on the history of science. There were memoirs of very little scientific interest, some pop-observations of the field of science, some decent philosophy, some medical adventure stories. Not bad, but certainly not a general survey of good science writing spread over all the sciences, so not what I was hoping for at all. I would have to browse the 2001 edition before buying; certainly not an automatic purchase based on this edition.

amusing, but very patchy writing skills.......2000-11-22

There were well written articles by generalists, and good pices by the people who do the research they write about. It's also hard not to enjoy Douglas Hofstadter, even if this was a somewhat weak piece of his.

Mixed in are pieces like Susan McCarthy (from Salon) that use poor argumentative style (numerous ad hominem attacks, the use of Capital Letter sarcasm), poorly researched and develop no thesis of her own. Just scattershot bon mots and drive-by name dropping.

some good with the bad. worth an afternoon, the articles are light on actual content. pop-science.

Terrific collection.......2000-11-01

In general, the BEST collections are the best of the best. First, the essays or books have been chosen for publication and then a few are picked for the collection. These are well written and interesting, covering several areas of science. I especially liked Stephen S. Hall's "Journey to the Center of My Mind" where he describes his experience of an M.R.I. of his brain while being assigned specific mental tasks. Fascinating stuff. And I loved "Lord of the Flies," excerpted from Jonathan Weiner's terrific book, TIME, LOVE, MEMORY, on Seymour Benzer's mapping the genes of the fruit fly.

Each essay in this collection takes you into the world of a specific science and the scientists who are patient enough to stay with their explorations and articulate enough to describe them to others. Some of my favorite authors are in this collection: Stephen J. Gould, Susan McCarthy, and Oliver Sachs. A treat for the mind.

~~Joan Mazza, author of DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE; DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF; WHO'S CRAZY ANYWAY? and 3 books in The Guided Journal Series with Writer's Digest Books.

Average customer rating:

great collection

This is science AND nature writing

excellent reading

Good collection of eclectic science writing

Editorials not Science

The Best American Science & Nature Writing 2000

Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
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Nature Writing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0618082956

Amazon.com

Editor David Quammen's approach with The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2000 is broad. So broad that he juxtaposes Mormon archaeology with wild African dogs, computer science with the origins of HIV. As a whole, the collection should be awkward, but it's not. Quammen's insistence that nature is bigger than we think, that science rests within culture, which rests within nature, allows each of these pieces to fit. The focus is on good writing, writing that might change your mind, or make you shout "YES!" or even make you angry. In narrowing the field, Quammen considered straight science reporting, book reviews and excerpts, and articles published in 1999.

One of the best pieces in the book is Natalie Angier's essay "Men, Women, Sex, and Darwin"--which became Woman: An Intimate Geography--a lucid and sharp challenge to the prevailing notions of evolutionary psychologists about what women want. Wendell Berry's "Back to the Land" praises the notion of an agrarian mindset, in contrast to the prevailing industrialism, and urges no less than a consumer revolt. Atul Gawande addresses the myth of the cancer cluster, Anne Fadiman recalls her reaction to a young boy's drowning, and Edward Hoagland imagines life in the third millennium in his elegant piece, "That Sense of Falling:"

Science is not sluggardly yet seems devoid of grief, because this would be a life without Mozart or other succulent choices at our fingertips, but oddly truncated, with so little sky and green and random sound or scent blowing in. We may need to grow not only hydroponic vitamins, but also oxygen, if the forests and oceanic vegetation are mauled beyond resuscitation: breathing units, to complement what may be denoted as affection units once the components of a child's emotional needs have been mapped precisely.

Millennialism drives several of the works, as a testament to our 1999 obsession with Y2K. Brief chronicles of the year's scientific revolutions are here, like Paul Ewald's work on microbiological evolution, as are more personal accounts, like Peter Matthiessen's pure naturalist prose and Oliver Sacks's "Brilliant Light," telling of his childhood obsession with chemistry. Browsers will find wonderful excerpts from the two major schools of science and nature writing that Quammen calls "Stay Home and Observe with a Gentle Heart" and "Go Forth and Observe with a Probing Mind." This collection is a very worthy addition to Houghton Mifflin's Best American series, and a science reader's dream come true. --Therese Littleton

Book Description

With The Best American Science and Nature Writing, Houghton Mifflin expands its stellar Best American series with a volume that honors our long and distinguished history of publishing the best writers in these fields.
David Quammen, together with series editor Burkhard Bilger, has assembled a remarkable group of writers whose selections appeared in periodicals from NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, SCIENCE, and THE NEW YORKER to PUERTO DEL SOL and DOUBLETAKE. Among the acclaimed writers represented in this volume are Richard Preston on "The Demon in the Freezer," John McPhee bidding "Farewell to the Nineteeth Century," Oliver Sacks remembering the "Brilliant Light" of his boyhood, and Wendell Berry going "Back to the Land."
Also including such literary lights as Anne Fadiman, David Guterson, Edward Hoagland, Natalie Angier, and Peter Matthiessen, this new collection presents selections bound together by their timelessness.

Customer Reviews:

great collection.......2003-03-23

Of all the annual `best of' anthologies, Houghton Mifflin's Best American Science and Nature Writing has to be the best. I know it has only been out a few years, but in every anthology, 90% of the essays are phenomenal. In the 2000 edition I thought only Wendell Berry's and Wendy Johnson's essays didn't belong (I'm not sure that you could qualify Johnson's piece as science or nature writing). Otherwise you have great pieces by Natalie Angier, Richard Conniff, Paul de Palma, Helen Epstein, Anne Fadiman, Atul Gawande, Brian Hayes, Edward Hoagland, Judith Hooper, Ken Lamberton, Peter Matthiessen, Cullen Murphy, Richard Preston, Oliver Sacks, Hampton Sides, Craig B. Stanford, and Gary Taubes (most of them I had never heard of). And they range over all aspects of science, nature, and technology. Great collection.

This is science AND nature writing.......2002-09-05

It was an interesting choice to try and include the country's best science writing and its best nature writing in one volume. It, to me, was a mostly successful gambit; the writing in this anthology is top-notch.

Quality writing is one part of the story, though. Especially in science where content is king. How do the works here stack up? There are three main styles the entries take: literary journalism, persuasive advocacy, and reflective self-narrative.

Those pieces in the literary journalism category are by far my favorites. Helen Epstein's "Something Happened" is a penetrating look at the science behind the emergence of AIDS in Africa in the 1950s. Cullen Murphy takes us to the desert of Dubai in "Lulu, Queen of Camels", his fascinating vignette about British woman Lulu and the camel breeding-program she's begun. Richard Preston's "The Demon in the Freezer" post-"eradication" history of the smallpox virus is unquestionably the scariest thing I have ever read.

The persuasive advocacy pieces are sometimes ...failures, like Natalie Angier's "Men, Women, Sex, and Darwin" or Wendell Berry's "Back to the Land". Angier argues against evolutionary psychologists who claim that women are _biologically_ attracted to rich and influential men, but her piece is so long-winded and overblown the merits of her argument are easy to miss. Berry's piece is the kind of fact-free politicized "nature" writing whose prevalence is lamented by editor Quammen himself in his introduction.

The quality of the reflective self-narratives is high, if you like that sort of piece. In "Brilliant Light" Oliver Sacks offers a fond reminiscence of his boyhood love of chemistry, and in the process managed to stir my own sense of chemical wonder. And although it doesn't seem to really be nature or science writing, Ken Lamberton's "The Wisdom of Toads" is a sort of "mini-memoir" and look into the conscience and daily life of a convicted sex offender.

Biology and medicine are slightly overrepresented, which is par for the course here in America, but the styles and viewpoints of each of these pieces are unique enough that you don't get bored. The other contributions range in subject from particle physics to Mormon archaeology, a breadth perhaps unparalleled by any other contemporary outlet for science and nature writing. That is the real strength of this anthology. Of course all these writers can put together a few engaging sentences, but what makes this collection good is the diverse array of interesting and important topics the stories here present.

excellent reading.......2002-01-06

This is a fine read. Many great short articles and several longer ones. The book is written largely for the layman. If you have general science knowledge and are reasonably current with world events, you can enjoy this book. Two articles in particular are "must read" status: "African Wild Dogs," and "The Demon in the Freeze," which is a chilling account of the current status and history of smallpox. Hey, it costs 10 bucks...buy it.

Good collection of eclectic science writing.......2001-09-06

A good book with a fair mixture of diverse science topics. Some of the areas are very interesting, however some fail to interst me. I have read many other science writings that would beat many of the topics covered in this collection, but then my views are biased by my interest in certain fields of science.
Overall a good book. Definitely worth a read.

Editorials not Science.......2001-06-23

This is a deeply flawed and disappointing collection of polemics revealing the editor's "watermelon" politics, (green on the outside, red in the middle).

Compiling On.(Review): An article from: American Scientist

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Compiling On.(Review): An article from: American Scientist

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The Best American Science Writing 2000
James Gleick , and Jessie Cohen
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ASIN: B000H2MRY8

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Best American Science Writing 2000

Manufacturer: Tandem Library
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ASIN: 1417702281

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This digital document is an article from Parks & Recreation, published by National Recreation and Park Association on June 1, 2005. The length of the article is 2620 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: If you don't count, your park won't count: estimating the number of city park users can be difficult, but is important to receiving funding.(@ Issue)
Author: Peter Harnik
Publication: Parks & Recreation (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2005
Publisher: National Recreation and Park Association
Volume: 40 Issue: 6 Page: 8(4)

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