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.

Crossing the Next Meridian: Land, Water, and the Future of the West

Average customer rating:

Should be required reading in high school
Excellent and thought provoking
Excellent, thought-provoking
Links the past, present, and future of the American West
A great summury of Western Issues

Crossing the Next Meridian: Land, Water, and the Future of the West
Charles F. Wilkinson
Manufacturer: Island Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 155963149X

Book Description

In Crossing the Next Meridian, Charles F. Wilkinson, an expert on federal public lands, Native American issues, and the West's arcane water laws explains some of the core problems facing the American West now and in the years to come. He examines the outmoded ideas that pervade land use and resource allocation and argues that significant reform of Western law is needed to combat desertification and environmental decline, and to heal splintered communities.

Interweaving legal history with examples of preset-day consequences of the laws, both intended and unintended, Wilkinson traces the origins and development of the laws and regulations that govern mining, ranching, forestry, and water use. He relates stories of Westerners who face these issues on a day-to-day basis, and discusses what can and should be done to bring government policies in line with the reality of twentieth-century American life.

Customer Reviews:

Should be required reading in high school.......2003-08-12

Great and informative book. Puts a lot of the problems now faced in the west into their context. Covers a lot of land history in the west not generally covered in school, but definately not a dry read!

Excellent and thought provoking.......1999-12-01

An excellent rendition of how western law had transformend the American West into a land for humans, filled with dam after dam. Wild salmon have no where to go. Laws seem to be more powerful than Nature!

Excellent, thought-provoking.......1999-05-03

A very scholarly, but accessible, history of the development of the West and the social/political/economic structures that shaped land, water and resource rights there. In particular, Wilkinson is addressing the notorious Hardrock Mining Act of 1872 (still in effect), the distribution of land and grazing rights, the fisheries of the Pacific Northwest, and the timber industry. His analysis of the Lords of Yesterday - his term for the antiquated statutes that govern those industries - is very convincing. The book's only weakness is that this is a 1992 text (presumably researched in the decade previous) that doesn't reflect changes in the laws and political pressures over the past decade. It would benefit from a new edition.

Links the past, present, and future of the American West.......1999-03-05

Wilkinson offers a balanced account of the forces that created the law and policy of the American West, and also of the forces that keep those outdated policies active in a very different West. As a native of Colorado, it was apparent that Wilkenson has spent a great deal of time in the American West and truly understands the complex issues that the region faces today. Very well researched, very easy to read.

A great summury of Western Issues.......1997-12-17

A very though look at the major issues dividing westerners today. Looks at ranching, water, and logging in a very readable style. Do not loan this one out because it NEVER get returned. The only downfall is that this book is already dated because of the rise of the Wise Use movement.

The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert

Average customer rating:

A touch of Abbey
Desert solitaire . . .
One of the best books i've read, period.
The Fundamental Life Source of the "Wasteland."
very good

The Secret Knowledge of Water : Discovering the Essence of the American Desert
Craig Childs
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316610690

Amazon.com

The travels that Childs recounts in this vivid narrative take him from places sometimes parched, sometimes swimming, from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the dry limestone tanks of the lava-strewn Sonoran Desert. As he travels, Childs gives a close reading of the desert landscape ("the moral," he writes at one point, "is that if you know the land and its maps, you might live"), observing the rocks, plants, animals, and people that call it home. Some of his adventures will remind readers of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire--save that Childs writes without Abbey's bluster, and with a measured lyricism that well suits the achingly lovely back canyons and cactus forests of the Southwest. By turns travelogue, ecological treatise, and meditative essay, Childs's book will speak to anyone who has spent time under desert skies, wondering when the next drop of rain might fall. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The "essence of the American desert," as the subtitle of Craig Childs's book has it, is water. A desert, by definition, lacks it, but when water does come, it comes in torrential, sometimes devastating abundance. Childs, a thirtysomething desert rat with a vast knowledge of the Southwest's remote corners, knows this fact well. "Most rain falling anywhere but the desert comes slow enough that it is swallowed by the soil without comment," he observes. "Desert rains, powerful and sporadic, tend to hit the ground, gather into floods, and are gone before the water can sink five inches into the ground." The travels that Childs recounts in this vivid narrative take him from places sometimes parched, sometimes swimming, from the depths of the Grand Canyon to the dry limestone tanks of the lava-strewn Sonoran Desert. As he travels, Childs gives a close reading of the desert landscape ("the moral," he writes at one point, "is that if you know the land and its maps, you might live"), observing the rocks, plants, animals, and people that call it home. Some of his adventures will remind readers of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire--save that Childs writes without Abbey's bluster, and with a measured lyricism that well suits the achingly lovely back canyons and cactus forests of the Southwest. By turns travelogue, ecological treatise, and meditative essay, Childs's book will speak to anyone who has spent time under desert skies, wondering when the next drop of rain might fall. --Gregory McNamee

Customer Reviews:

A touch of Abbey.......2007-08-27

I would agree this has a touch of Ed Abbey in it. It is educational and hisorical intertwined with interesting stories and a touch of suspense. If you love and cherish the beauty and harshness of the desert, you will appreciate this book.

Desert solitaire . . ........2006-12-26

This book by naturalist Craig Childs belongs on any Edward Abbey bookshelf, where writers have fallen in love with the desert Southwest and portray it eloquently on the printed page. Childs is more scientist than environmentalist, but he has Abbey's fascination with wilderness adventure, which takes him in search of what he regards as the most elemental aspect of the desert - the water to be found there. These searches take him far into remote areas of the vast Colorado River watershed, mostly in Arizona, including the canyons that feed into the Grand Canyon.

The book is divided into three sections: still water, streams, and flood. We discover that if one knows how to search for it - and the first inhabitants of these areas did know - there is water to be found in plentiful supply. Likewise, there are spring-fed streams that flow during certain seasons, and in and along both kinds of water there is a host of different life forms, plants and animals, each place representing a specific and evolving ecosystem. Childs' eye and ear for detail and his scientific knowledge join to create vivid accounts of the discoveries he makes as he explores. We learn, for instance, how pools of rainwater in the desert wastes become populated with forms of aquatic life and how these survive, even through long periods of extreme drought.

For me, a particularly harrowing adventure was his exploration of a system of caves from which a stream of ice-cold water emerges high on a canyon wall near the Grand Canyon. Others include his pursuit of floods in the making in this same system of canyons following summer cloudbursts, and he underscores the perilousness of his curiosity by describing the deaths of other hikers and campers taken by surprise by flash floods. Often he travels alone for days and weeks at a time; sometimes he takes along a companion. What he writes of his experiences is consistently full of wonder, as well as a realization that human interference with the natural order (pumping from aquifers, as just one example) is rapidly and permanently altering ecosystems that have adapted to the desert environment over millennia.

One of the best books i've read, period........2006-08-02

gorgeous language and imagery. an amazing adventurer (but the adventures aren't really the point) and incredibly in tune with his foibles, strengths and desires. if i could follow in even 1/100th of his footsteps (literally and metaphorically)...

The Fundamental Life Source of the "Wasteland.".......2006-03-04

Although I had planned to do so, I had not gotten around to reading this wonderful book until I had some time while I was waiting in an airport recently. I immediately understood the author's reverence for the waters of the desert because I grew up in southwestern Arizona and intimately know some of the places he mentions, as well as others that he does not. The water tanks of the area near and on the Camino del Diablo and the life-giving stream called Sycamore Canyon are well known to me and I am very familiar with tadpole shrimp and some of the other smaller organisms of the tinajas, playa lakes and puddles. Indeed, Craig Childs has caught the not so easy to define wonder that one feels when seeing water in the desert. "The Secret Knowledge of Water: Discovering the Essence of the American Desert" voices what many desert rats (as I was when I was younger) would have difficulty saying- that water in the desert is almost a holy entity, a substance that defies definition (despite our knowledge of the chemical structure) because it is manifestly the material of life.

As a scientist I can find fascination with the multitude of creatures that live in the springs, creeks, rivers and tinajas, but the awe goes much deeper than just collecting facts, necessary and interesting as they are. It is, as Childs has so eloquently described, a visceral feeling that one gets- a deep satisfaction - when one sees the surface of deep and cool pools of water in hidden rocky tanks (such as Tinajas Altas, which I have not seen, but have been close to, or another group he does not mention, Cinco Tinajas in Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas, which I have seen), or of a stream flowing in a thin sheet over the bedrock of a desert canyon, as in Sycamore Canyon.

I have only one very minor bone to pick. He says his mother was born in the Sonoran Desert, but no part of that desert reaches the Texas-Mexico border. I think he means Sonoran Life Zone. But this is a minor quibble in a book that is a gem of writing about the natural world of the North American deserts.

Read this book if you would understand the reverence for water that is engendered by a life in the desert.

very good.......2004-12-03

I was surprised that I liked this book as it started out so slow. But stick with it. It's fascinating.

Handbook of Ancient Water Technology (Technology and Change in History)

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Handbook of Ancient Water Technology (Technology and Change in History)

Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004111239

Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource

Average customer rating:

Good, but fails about Brazil
A real eye opener
A Non-Fiction Page turner (!)
Lacks focus
Easy to Swallow, but with No Additives

Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource
Marq de Villiers
Manufacturer: Mariner Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0618127445

Amazon.com

Water is a curious thing, observed the economist Adam Smith: although it is vital to life, it costs almost nothing, whereas diamonds, which are useless for survival, cost a fortune. In Water, Canadian journalist de Villiers says the resource is still undervalued, but it is becoming more precious. It's not that the world is running out of water, he adds, but that "it's running out in places where it's needed most."

De Villiers examines the checkered history of humankind's management of water--which, he hastens to remind us, is not a renewable resource in many parts of the world. One of them is the Nile River region, burdened by overpopulation. Another is the Sahara, where Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi is pressing an ambitious, and potentially environmentally disastrous, campaign to mine deep underground aquifers to make the desert green. Another is northern China, where the damaging effects of irrigation have destroyed once-mighty rivers, and the Aral Sea of Central Asia, which was killed within a human lifetime. And still another is the American Southwest, where crops more fitting to a jungle than a dry land are nursed. De Villiers travels to all these places, reporting on what he sees and delivering news that is rarely good.

De Villiers has a keen eye for detail and a solid command of the scientific literature on which his argument is based. He's also a fine storyteller, and his wide-ranging book makes a useful companion to Marc Reisner's classic Cadillac Desert and other works that call our attention to a globally abused--and vital--resource. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

In his award-winning book WATER, Marq de Villiers provides an eye-opening account of how we are using, misusing, and abusing our planet's most vital resource. Encompassing ecological, historical, and cultural perspectives, de Villiers reports from hot spots as diverse as China, Las Vegas, and the Middle East, where swelling populations and unchecked development have stressed fresh water supplies nearly beyond remedy. Political struggles for control of water rage around the globe, and rampant pollution daily poses dire ecological theats. With one eye on these looming crises and the other on the history of our dependence on our planet's most precious commodity, de Villiers has crafted a powerful narrative about the lifeblood of civilizations that will be "a wake-up call for concerned citizens, environmentalists, policymakers, and water drinkers everywhere" (Publishers Weekly).

Customer Reviews:

Good, but fails about Brazil.......2006-06-21

I'm an agronomist and I live in Brazil.I read this book, translated to the portuguese, here in Brazil.This book really has many usefull informations, about water suplly in the world.
China, Israel, Africa, USA, Mexico, India are some of the nations who are with water's problems and are focused in this book.
About Brazil this book is a failure.Brazil export far less paper and wood than Canada or USA, but we have far more forests than Canada or USA.And our forests grow far more fast than an american or canadian forest.And this book talks about ecomyths about Brazil.
In fact, this book sometimes reproduces, the ridiculous lies from "green eugenicists" or ecologists.

A real eye opener.......2005-05-03

This is an excellent overview of the water problems plaguing the globe at the moment, as Marq de Villiers travels far and wide to show just how precious a resource water really is. Most importantly, he does so in a very accessible style of writing that personalizes so many of the issues surrounding the rapid depletion of aquifers by drawing on childhood memories of his home farm in South Africa and first hand sources in the current geopolitical battles.

Of note is the Middle East and North Africa where the battle over water is entertwined with the ongoing political disputes. He notes how carefully Israel has managed its water resources yet is heavily reliant on sources in the West Bank to sustain its agricultural industry. Needless to say this has made the issue of Palestinian statehood that much more difficult. He also explores the thorny relationships along the Nile where downstream Egypt has threatened to go to war with the Sudan and Ethiopia over any divergence attempts with this great river. And, Kaddafi's attempts to create a massive underground river from aquifers deep below the Sahara to coastal Libya, in order to restore badly depleted sources.

But, even in seemingly water rich nations like the US and Canada, water battles persist, mostly to do with the contamination of rivers and aquifers that are the result of industrial waste and poor farming practices. More thorny are precious water rights in dry states like Wyoming and Montana that often end up in court and sometimes settled using frontier justice.

For those not familiar with the looming water crisis, this book will be a real opener, for others it will provide valuable information regarding disputes from the Yellow River in China to the Colorado River, which has long since quit flowing to the Gulf of California. While de Villiers avoids being the doomsayer, he does make one exceedingly worried about the future of this most precious resource.

A Non-Fiction Page turner (!).......2005-03-21

This book is by far one of the most interesting, can't-put-it-down non-fictional books I've ever read. I know, I'm speaking in superlatives, but I can't say enough about this book.

I made my thesis topic water-related after I read Water. And yet Water reads like a novel, even though it's packed with information and statistics; de Villiers does an amazing job of making the scientific research information palatable to the average (non-science inclined) reader by weaving in his own experiences and stories.

You can feel his passion for this issue come through in his writing style. He integrates quotes very well and makes the subject come alive. For example, when writing about a severe chemical spill along the Rhine River, he quoted Bertram Muelle, saying: "The river ran red... Otherwise, it looked no different...But I knew that as I watched, its creatures were dying. It was the most terrible feeling. I was frozen, sickened..."He makes turns a very technical and scientific topic into a page-turner. A must-read! P.S. Pay attention to the Canada-US Great Lakes issue, along with the Rhine and Danube Rivers (the subject of my thesis!).

Lacks focus.......2004-04-03

This a fascinating book about a fascinating (and critical topic). But in appealling to the general reader, Mr. de Villiers inserts too much (for my taste) personal anecdote. A regrettable travelogue quality permeates the narrative.

This is unfortunate, because there is much of value here. In particular, the discussion about the sources and uses of the Jordan River, Isreali concern with controlling its water supply, and water problems of the immediate Arab neighorhood, opened my eyes to an aspect of the current intractable problems of the Middle East.

My advice is to read this with pleasure, but don't be afraid to skim if you find some portions of the narrative uninteresting.

Easy to Swallow, but with No Additives.......2002-09-12

This easy to read and conversational book can be used as an introduction to the fate of water supplies around the world and their impact on human societies. de Villiers takes us on a chapter-by-chapter dissertation first on the technical aspects of water issues, such as the mechanics of groundwater and dams. Then we proceed to selected examples of water crises around the globe, such as China's dilemma of having too much where it's not needed and too little where it is needed, or the hideous catastrophe of the Aral Sea in the former USSR.

The author takes an admirably middle-of-the-road stance here and usually lets the facts speak for themselves, with just a little bit of opinionating. But his opinions are still quite moderate and level-headed, as he doesn't align himself with either unyielding environmentalists or extreme free trade proponents, both of which he accurately condemns as having very narrow outlooks on the real world. Some of de Villiers' key observations concern the water wars that will probably start erupting in coming years in dry regions of the world. Two countries will probably spend more money in a single day of war than it takes to improve water supplies for both of them for decades to come. Also, de Villiers drives home the point that the worrisome decline of fresh water around the globe is not due to greedy businessmen, corrupt politicians, or greens who refuse to let it be used. It's just the natural outcome of humans living like humans. Therefore real human cooperation across all societies is necessary to address the problem.

Book Description

- New softcover format of a best-selling book. - New photos and an epilogue that illustrates and discusses the devastating summer wind storm that wreaked havoc on the locations photographed for the original project.

Customer Reviews:

Great Book!.......2007-08-31

If you haven't seen the DVD (Public TV?) program of this project, you should-great insights into what Brandenburg was after as a photographer-the great and the struggles. WOnderful book and photos!

A Nice Conceit.......2004-11-29

It's a nice conceit. A great outdoor photographer sets for himself the task to taking one, but only one, photograph each and every day for an entire season.

One can see all kinds of implications. Once the photographer finds a subject he must get it right the first time because he isn't allowed a second chance. Exposure, focus, composition - everything must be right and as good as he can get it. Moreover he is continually in peril. Should he pass by a good shot in the morning in expectation of a better shot in the afternoon? And what happens when no better shot is in the camera as sunset approaches? We can easily believe Jim Brandenburg when he says that the exercise was a transforming experience.

But the question for viewers of this book is whether the pictures are a transforming experience for us. Unfortunately, they were not for me.

I understand that some of the pictures were bound to be underexposed or out of focus. Plants blow in the wind; animals move. But while I examined the photographs in this book, I also looked at other work by Brandenburg. These other collections were always quite impressive, providing new ways of looking at the world. Many of the pictures in "Chased by the Light" showed a keen sensibility for the light. The silhouettes of loons and a small island with trees against the backlight of a clouded dawn were breathtaking. The photograph of a raven's feather against a lichen background with a few beaded drops of water on the feather caught my eye.

But for every great photograph, there was one that was pedestrian and one that was discardable. I certainly didn't need to see an out-of-focus mink or trees in the forest with no true subject.

To be fair to Brandenburg, this project was apparently not undertaken for publication but rather as an exercise for his own development. It was his editor who wanted to publish after seeing the photographs. To the editor's eye, at least, the pictures were enlightening and well worth the effort.

The greatest value of this book was not in the photographs but in the speculation in which I engaged about why this book was not outstanding. Is photography a stochastic process with each photograph taken possibly leading to an even greater photograph? Did forcing himself to elect when to take his daily picture cause Brandenburg to sacrifice opportunities, or even limit his willingness to take risks. Does the order of presentation of photographs have synergistic effects, which were lost, because this book almost demanded only chronological order? Does forcing the viewer to look at pictures that would otherwise be discards detract from the impact of good pictures?

For me this book was conceptual art. I found the idea of the task transformed my view of photography. The pictures themselves did not.

Challenge Achieved with Grace.......2004-05-17

I gave this book to my parents several years ago and still leaf slowly through its pages whenever visiting their home in northern Minnesota. For amateurs and professionals alike, his is a fascinating photographic concept: your own property? a favorite park? your family? or pet? a holiday?

I normally hesitate to use this word, but...profound........2002-07-09

I'm a verbal type; I'd rather read a beautifully written description of a frozen lake than stare at a picture of it anytime. Even knowing that, my mother gave me this book several years ago, and I fell in love. I sat with it for hours, seeing, dreaming, and I still take it down often to do the same again. The photographer, Jim Brandenburg, set himself the challenge of taking only one photograph each day for three months, in the boreal forest where he makes his home. The result is a portrait of life as many of us can never experience it: not just "calendar shots," but pictures that show the cruelty of man, the certainty of death, the very simple beauty of a single bright leaf burning on the dark, still waters of an evening pond. Some photos are amazing in themselves and some seem ordinary in the extreme, but it is important to take them as a whole, and see what you learn from the journey.

Old fashioned and wonderful.......2002-05-30

It's so more agreable to have this engagement calendar on your desk than a modern and dull looking electronic device. Use an old fountain pen to take your notes, and wait till the ink is dry before turning the page! Wonderful pictures under your eyes every day of the year! You can escape and image yourself so far from the busy and noisy modern world. I'm waiting for the 2003 edition.

Working With Water in Medieval Europe: Technology and Resource-Use (Technology and Change in History)

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Working With Water in Medieval Europe: Technology and Resource-Use (Technology and Change in History)

Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004106804

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Amazing Photos

Patterns Of The Earth
Bernhard Edmaier , and Angelika Jung-Huttl
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0714846791

Book Description

Aerial Photographs of the World's MostUntouched and Beautiful Places"Edmaier raises the art of aerial photography to new heights." -NaturalHistory Magazine"The abstract, painterly images show a shrinking national environment thatcries out for preservation." -Photo District News Science meets art in the new book PATTERNS OF THE EARTH by BernhardEdmaier, a fascinating exploration of the earth's surface by one of theworld's top aerial photographers.This compact collection featuresstunning pictures of natural phenomena such as volcanoes, glaciers, coralreefs, dunes, rivers, craters, canyons and salt flats, revealing the beautyof the dwindling unspoiled areas of our planet.PATTERNS OF THE EARTH features over 400 color photographs, many previouslyunpublished, of "off the beaten path" regions such as the Bahamas, Iceland,New Zealand, Ecuador, Greenland, Ethiopia, The Maldives, Canada andYellowstone National Park and Bryce Canyon in the USA.Grouped in chaptersaccording to pattern, the images make us look at the world in a new way, byshowing us surprising similarities and unexpected links between differentparts of the globe. Traveling to uninhabited and remote areas, Edmaier's photographs offer aunique view of these extraordinary locations.He takes his images from ashigh as 20,000 feet in the air, far higher than most aerial photographers,exposing natural patterns and documenting the geological processes at work. Originally a geologist and engineer before turning to photography, he hasa rare gift for catching the aesthetic side of our dynamic earth.PATTERNS OF THE EARTH quietly acknowledges the effects of global warming. With rising temperatures, areas of permafrost are melting as are someglaciers and ice sheets in Alaska, Canada and Siberia.The book providesamazing photographs of these locations and more, providing a newperspective from above revealing the effects of the natural and humanforces that shape our future. PATTERNS OF THE EARTH is divided into five chapters: Bands, Stripes,Ripples; Circles, Spots, Grains; Forks, Branches, Webs; Curves, Ribbons,Swirls; and Spikes, Grids and Cracks.Each image is accompanied by a briefcaption by science writer Dr. Angelika Jung-Huttl, describing the locationof the pattern depicted and where and why a variety of these formationsoccur in nature. This is Bernhard Edmaier's second book with Phaidon. His first book,EARTHSONG was an oversize collection of his aerial photographs, firstpublished to great acclaim in 2004, followed up by EARTHSONG POSTCARDS. PATTERNS OF THE EARTH is a fascinating source of inspiration for thoseworking in creative industries as well as environmentalists, scientists,photographers and armchair travelers who marvel at the world around them.

Customer Reviews:

Amazing Photos.......2007-05-10

It is hard to believe that the photos in this book are real earth photos and not paintings. My only regret is that the book is too small to really appreciate the incredible detail and massive scope of the pictures. It would be a good idea to list the overall size of books, espically art-type books such as this one.Patterns Of The Earth

Lines in the Water: Nature and Culture at Lake Titicaca

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Excellent
A gem of a cross-disciplinary book

Lines in the Water: Nature and Culture at Lake Titicaca
Ben Orlove
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520229592

Book Description

This beautifully written book weaves reflections on anthropological fieldwork together with evocative meditations on a spectacular landscape as it takes us to the remote indigenous villages on the shore of Lake Titicaca, high in the Peruvian Andes. Ben Orlove brings alive the fishermen, reed cutters, boat builders, and families of this isolated region, and describes the role that Lake Titicaca has played in their culture. He describes the landscapes and rhythms of life in the Andean highlands as he considers the intrusions of modern technology and economic demands in the region. Lines in the Water tells a local version of events that are taking place around the world, but with an unusual outcome: people here have found ways to maintain their cultural autonomy and to protect their fragile mountain environment.
The Peruvian highlanders have confronted the pressures of modern culture with remarkable vitality. They use improved boats and gear and sell fish to new markets but have fiercely opposed efforts to strip them of their indigenous traditions. They have retained their customary practice of limiting the amount of fishing and have continued to pass cultural knowledge from one generation to the next--practices that have prevented the ecological crises that have followed commercialization of small-scale fisheries around the world. This book--at once a memoir and an ethnography--is a personal and compelling account of a research experience as well as an elegantly written treatise on themes of global importance. Above all, Orlove reminds us that human relations with the environment, though constantly changing, can be sustainable.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2003-04-13

(Planeta.com Journal) -- Lines in the Water (University of California Press, 2002), a beautifully written ethnography of rural fishermen and their families. The book's subtitle "Nature and Culture at Lake Titicaca" specifies the center of action, but the scope is much broader and deeper. It's actually hard to find the words to say how delightful this book is. Author Ben Orlove is an environmental science professor at the University of California, Davis, and his book is based on three decades of trips to Peru and Bolivia. The book is a showcase of fresh writing and a major contribution to the literature about South America. Orlove provides a frank account of the role academics themselves play. He includes himself in this story and shares candid observations -- from his reactions to office politics to daydreaming about museums. This book is highly recommended. Eco travelers visiting Lake Titicaca would do well to read this book in advance.

A gem of a cross-disciplinary book.......2003-02-24

This is a gem, written with great respect for the indigenous people who live aound Lake Titicaca, well-annotated and with wonderful photographs by the author. Orlove has broad interests - anthropology, economics, natural history, environmental issues, to name a few, and a talent for accessing interesting memories. He conveys his astute observations in clear and vivid prose.The book is organized nicely - I especially liked the material in the final chapter, entitled "Paths", which offers an antidote to the sad fact that roads and highways are so often destructive to local people and to biodiversity. Paths, literal or metaphorical, also provide valuable linkages and essential connections among the various components of this remote but very interesting and community with ancient roots. Orlove provides the reader with a sense of having traveled those paths for a short while with him.

Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster

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This guy belongs on "IN LIVING COLOR"
A compelling and descriptive audio about Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath
Bad Planning; Worse Response
A message sure to resonate with readers of all races.
Another Rant from Dyson

Come Hell or High Water: Hurricane Katrina and the Color of Disaster
Michael Eric Dyson
Manufacturer: Basic Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0465017614

Book Description

What Hurricane Katrina reveals about the fault lines of race and poverty in America-and what lessons we must take from the flood-from best-selling "hip-hop intellectual" Michael Eric Dyson

Does George W. Bush care about black people?

Does the rest of America?

When Hurricane Katrina tore through New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, hundreds of thousands were left behind to suffer the ravages of destruction, disease, and even death. The majority of these people were black; nearly all were poor. The federal government's slow response to local appeals for help is by now notorious. Yet despite the cries of outrage that have mounted since the levees broke, we have failed to confront the disaster's true lesson: to be poor, or black, in today's ownership society, is to be left behind.

Displaying the intellectual rigor, political passion, and personal empathy that have won him fans across the color line, Michael Eric Dyson offers a searing assessment of the meaning of Hurricane Katrina. Combining interviews with survivors of the disaster with his deep knowledge of black migrations and government policy over decades, Dyson provides the historical context that has been sorely missing from public conversation. He explores the legacy of black suffering in America since slavery, including the shocking ways that black people are framed in the national consciousness even today.

With this call-to-action, Dyson warns us that we can only find redemption as a society if we acknowledge that Katrina was more than an engineering or emergency response failure. From the TV newsroom to the Capitol Building to the backyard, we must change the ways we relate to the black and the poor among us. What's at stake is no less than the future of democracy.

Customer Reviews:

This guy belongs on "IN LIVING COLOR".......2007-08-08

This author reminds of a character played on In Living Color where Damon Wayans is a convict that tries to use as many multi-syllabic words as he can so he can SOUND intelligent. This author is not.

This book is nothing more than an appeal to left-wing wackos suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome.

A compelling and descriptive audio about Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath.......2007-07-22

Here is a compelling and descriptive audio about Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. Professor Michael Eric Dyson points out that the majority of the people most affected were black and poor, and sees the problem as more than just a simple emergency response failure. He provides background information about the tense race relations in the city before the hurricane, along with the national media's response that may have contributed to racial bias in the United States.

Bad Planning; Worse Response.......2007-07-06

Hurricane Katrina was an event in which almost no one came away looking very good (OK, maybe forecasting chief at the National Hurricane Center, Max Mayfield; and the Coast Guard and Gen. Honore), and Dyson takes every level of government, particularly the federal government, to task, in this short but powerful book. About every five pages, you'll find yourself gasping "No!" and "They couldn't have done that!" but they did, exacerbating the suffering of the poor and forgotten, particularly in New Orleans.

Dyson lost me somewhat near the end with a fairly complicated theological discussion of the event and its aftermath. I don't think he endorses floodwater theology, the idea that God punishes the wicked with natural disasters, but I couldn't quite make out his point in this section (the Editorial Review above seems to have done a decent job on this point).

Overall, I recommend this book to those with interest in natural disasters and in the role of race in public policy. Based on Mike Tidwell's study of Katrina and global warming, "The Ravaging Tide", these are issues that everyone should be engaged in. My wife says Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City written by the New Orleans reporter who wrote Amazon's editorial review is an even better book.

A message sure to resonate with readers of all races........2007-06-10

Come Hell or High Water is a scathing audiobook indictment of the Bush administration's and FEMA's failures to sufficiently aid New Orleans' mostly poor, mostly black population in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Heavily researched, Come Hell or High Water explores Katrina as the latest link in a legacy of black suffering perpetuated by the apathy of middle and upper class Americans of all races. Above all, Come Hell or High Water charges that American society's destructive path toward its African-American poor can only be altered if the public acknowledges that the Katrina debacle was far more than simply an engineering or emergency response failure. The means by which America and its people relate to its poor must undergo a transformation; nothing less than the future of democracy is at stake - a message sure to resonate with readers of all races.

Another Rant from Dyson.......2007-01-20

If you liked Michael Eric Dyson's other works then you will love this. It is essentially his standard "blame Amerika" rant with the words New Orleans, and Hurricane Katrina thrown in to render the work germane. The interesting thing about this book is how quickly it was published after Katrina. Given the length of time required to get a manuscript onto bookshelves, I calculated that he must have written this in the two weeks following the storm. Given that some of the "facts" he cites about Katrina can be shown empirically to be false, perhaps he should have waited just a little longer before jumping into the fray.

Another blow to Dyson's neo-Marxist take on Katrina is the Knight Ridder news story released in December (2006) that showed the pattern of death and to a certain extent destruction did NOT occure on racial/class lines as Dyson would have us believe also casts doubt on his narrative (for example, as a percentage of population, there was a stronger correlation between age and death than race and death. If those found dead in nursing homes were factored out, as a percentage of population, more white people than black died. Can we then surmise that George Bush hates old white people? The main stream media, with few exceptions, did not pick up on this story because like Dyson, they had already decided the Katrina narrative and they are not about to let the facts ruin a juicy story.) Those of you who know Dyson's work of course will know that he was probably chomping at the bit from day one to throw his opinion into the mix.

Anyone who followed the coverage of Katrina probably heard various religious figures blaming the evil nature of New Orleans for incurring god's wrath. Offensive as these views may be, I was surprised that Dyson - a writer who is considered to be a first rate accademic by many - would wast a whole chapter refuting such arguments. In fact, by even arguing against these positions he is giving them more credence than they deserve. If any book about Katrina is to be taken seriously, it probably should not contain a whole chapter on the pros and cons of various theological interpretations of the disaster. True, the author is an ordained minister but perhaps he should leave his views on divine retribution in the pulpit where they belong (it is also ironic that given Dysons neo-Marxist critical approach to race, etc. that he would even counternance the notion of god. let alone engage in the arguments he does here.)

So, if you are a fan of Dyson's, buy this book - you will be neither disappointed nor challenged (because you already know what he is going to say.) If you are interested in the state of contemporary leftist "academic" thought then this is a good read because it is far more accessible than the works of many of Dyson's peers yet encapsulates the narrow race/class/power/gender optic through which they view capitalism in general and of course this most wicked of nations, Amerika.

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