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.

Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element

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The Physics, Chemistry and History of Plutonium
The Ninety-Fourth Element
Why can't everybody write like Bernstein ?

Plutonium: A History of the World's Most Dangerous Element
Jeremy Bernstein
Manufacturer: Joseph Henry Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0309102960

Customer Reviews:

The Physics, Chemistry and History of Plutonium.......2007-07-24

In this excellent book, the author pulls no punches in describing the science of plutonium. Starting with some relevant history, he zeroes in on this new element: its discovery, its nuclear properties and its unexpected physical and chemical ones. What makes this book particularly fascinating is the fact that the author has personally known many of the scientists involved. Consequently, the reader is treated to an intimate glimpse of what some of these people were like - something that one would be less likely to get in a standard history book. The writing style is friendly, authoritative, engaging and extremely clear - a trademark of this author. Because of the technical nature of much of its content this book would likely be most enjoyed by serious science buffs and those with a technical/scientific background.

The Ninety-Fourth Element.......2007-06-18

Jeremy Bernstein is a prolific writer on physics and physicists, and mountaineering. These interests coincide with my own. I like reading his essays and books because he knows how to tell a story. In this work, he covers the history of nuclear physics from the discovery of the periodic table through today. particularly as the events lead to the 94th element, plutonium. He tells the story of the people who developed the theory and practice of nuclear fission eventually resulting in the use of the mass-239 isotope of plutonium in nuclear weapons. If you think that science is without politics, you have to read this history.

I have worked with accelerators and reactors to transform elements from one into another, doing modern-day alchemy. I can give you a recipe for turning lead into gold. However, I never paid particular attention to the process of nuclear fission. Why are the isotopes uranium-235 and plutonium-239 suited for nuclear fission? Now, following Bernstein's explanation, I understand why. Simply, the even numbed isotopes of these elements are more stable. They have a lower energy than the odd isotopes. The addition of a single neutron to the odd-mass isotopes lowers the total energy of the nucleus. The excess energy liberated in the process induces the nucleus to fission. Bernstein explains this in clear language as he does for all of the chemistry, atomic, and nuclear physics in the book.

Others have suggested that the real threat of nuclear proliferation lies in the use of highly-enriched uranium. Uranium bombs may be easier for the amateur to construct than plutonium bombs. Bernstein notes that you can buy a gram of uranium-235 from Oak Ridge for $57. For $2.4 million you could buy enough to make a bomb. Of course, Oak Ridge will not sell you that much. The author is concerned with the world-wide total of about 155 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium. That much plutonium can make a lot of nuclear weapons. There is very little good use that this stockpile can be put to. Some of it may be used to fuel nuclear reactors. However, the chemistry of plutonium is difficult and the economic feasibility of plutonium reactors is not clear. There is a National Academy of Sciences report that you can read on-line: Management and Disposition of Excess Weapons Plutonium: Reactor-Related Options (1995). There is no easy solution to the problem of what do to with all this plutonium.

Why can't everybody write like Bernstein ?.......2007-05-23

We've all heard about plutonium - from its use in nuclear weapons to its use in generators for satellites. But what do we know about plutonium ? Surprisingly, almost nothing. This is where this book enters. It is written in a clear, simple way. It reads like a novel. Whenever a background explanation is necessary there are at most a couple of pages with the main concepts. Why can't everybody write like Bernstein ?

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A Scholarly Overview of Climatic Changes in Historical Times

Climate, History and the Modern World
Hubert H. Lamb
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0415127351

Book Description

In this internationally acclaimed book, Hubert Lamb explores what we know about climate, how the past record of climate can be reconstructed, the causes of climatic variation, and its impact on human affairs now and in the historical and prehistorical past.

This second edition incorporates important new material on recent advances in weather forecasting, global warming, the ozone layer, pollution and population growth. Providing a valuable introduction to the problems and results of the most recent research activity, this book extends our understanding of the interactions between climate and history and discusses implications for future climatic fluctuations and forecasting.

Customer Reviews:

A Scholarly Overview of Climatic Changes in Historical Times.......2000-10-08

I used this book as a reference to write a position paper on global warming for a graduate course in Environmental Science. Professor Lamb's book is a fascinating account of how climate has impacted human history. Originally published in 1982 the new edition (1995) includes material on global warming, atmospheric pollution, population growth, and implications for future climatic fluctuations. This is a one stop reference.

The World Revolution of Westernization: The Twentieth Century in Global Perspective

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The World Revolution of Westernization: The Twentieth Century in Global Perspective
Theodore H. Von Laue
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0195049071

Book Description

Theodore H. Von Laue's stunningly original and controversial book approaches the dynamics of twentieth-century history from an entirely new perspective by proposing that the little-understood historic process known as the world revolution of Westernization has caused the global violence and warfare of this century. Accounting for world wars, the rise of communism and fascism, decolonization, Third World dictatorships, and contemporary terrorism, Von Laue describes the twin processes of the expansion of Western power and the emergence of global interdependence. His journey through the twentieth century begins in the 1870s with the British raj in India; includes the colonization of Africa, the communist and fascist "counter-revolutions," the Great Depression, Stalinism and Hitler's unleashing of World War II, and the post-war emergence of the United States as the foremost superpower; and ends with the nuclear arms race, the most dangerous of all global tensions. As a challenging history of the contemporary age, this book will make readers think more globally and compassionately about the complex issues that threaten our peace and survival as we prepare to enter the twenty-first century.

Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World (Global Century Series)

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One of a kind book on environmental history
Easy to read and full of history everyone should know
Thomas Midgley's epitaph
complete
More People, Bigger Cities

Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World (Global Century Series)
J. R. McNeill , John Robert McNeill , and Paul Kennedy
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393321835

Amazon.com

J.R. McNeill, a professor of history at Georgetown University, visits the annals of the past century only to return to the present with bad news: in that 100-year span, he writes, the industrialized and developing nations of the world have wrought damage to nearly every part of the globe. That much seems obvious to even the most casual reader, but what emerges, and forcefully, from McNeill's pages is just how extensive that damage has been. For example, he writes, "soil degradation in one form or another now affects one-third of the world's land surface," larger by far than the world's cultivated areas. Things are worse in some places than in others; McNeill observes that Africa is "the only continent where food production per capita declined after 1960," due to the loss of productive soil. McNeill's litany continues: the air in most of the world's cities is perilously unhealthy; the drinking water across much of the planet is growing ever more polluted; the human species is increasingly locked "in a rigid and uneasy bond with modern agriculture," which trades the promise of abundant food for the use of carcinogenic pesticides and fossil fuels.

The environmental changes of the last century, McNeill closes by saying, are on an unprecedented scale, so much so that we can scarcely begin to fathom their implications. We can, however, start to think about them, and McNeill's book is a helpful primer. --Gregory McNamee

Customer Reviews:

One of a kind book on environmental history.......2007-06-04

I wrote my economics undergraduate thesis on development and environmental management back in 1976-77, and surely I would have enjoyed and valued to have Professor McNeill's book in my hands in those years.

His book is remarkable in many ways. It is a well written book, extraordinarly documented and well supported with eye opening statistical tables and illustrations. His material is useful for graduate and undergraduate students alike, and also for wider audiences interested on reviewing a different approach on history's complexities.

As the book front page indicates, the author centers his work on the 20th century's humankind events, termed by himself as the most influential on the process of ecology's evolution.

The book is very well organized so the reader keeps information organized in a properly way. At the end, Professor McNeill leaves many questions open that will be ample material enough to study in the years to come. Among those questions is the one concerned with society's will to deal seriously with environmental crises that have accumulated on the latest decades. We can have a readily answer to that subject if political leaders continue to privilege the narrow view of economic growth, instead of considering to seriously discuss the implementation of more integral strategies that would deliver environmental friendly sustainable economic development at the end.

Without question I recommend this book.

Easy to read and full of history everyone should know.......2006-12-13

This book may be the best historical survey I've ever read. (And with an M.A. in history, I've read a few!) I got this book to complement my hard science slogging on global warming, and found so much more than I hoped for or ever imagined! McNeil's book provides the historical background and the human context for all the graphs and numbers in the science texts. If you're looking for one book to give you a focused overview of just how much human civilization has accomplished, good and bad, in the last 100 years, this is it.

The organization of the book is excellent. McNeil sources everything, ends each chapter with an excellent summary, and wraps it all up with his own thoughtful commentary on climate change. He uses an inspired mix of the small detail (birds dying mid-flight) and the enormous concept (the Aswan dam affected the entire Mediterranean ecosystem). He describes chains of cause and effect and makes connections other historians and scientists seem to miss. The chapters dealing with agriculture are, I think, particularly relevant to our everyday lives; but students in nearly every subject will find this book useful. My husband is a family physician, and has read the sections on public health; my neighbor is a biologist with the USGS, and is reading the chapter on dams and irrigation.

Thomas Midgley's epitaph.......2006-11-11

Sub-titled "An Environmental History of the 20th Century", this is a sober and objective survey of environmental changes over the past 100 years. I was concerned this would be an emotional appeal or judgmental polemic from the left - but not the case, it is academic and professional history from an environmental perspective (the environment, not "environmental movement"). It's encyclopedic in scope and style.

I would not call this an "entertaining" read (although some of the facts really fire the synapses), but it is deeply rewarding as a broad survey of a very large and complex problem. The chapters and sub-sections are arranged in a logical outline making it possible to read the chapters in any order.

The main idea of the title "something new under the sun" is that humans have so fundamentally changed the environment that things really are very different now than they have ever been historically. To regard our current conditions of energy availability, access to water, unending economic growth - as enduring and normal appears to be an interesting gamble given the facts.

Some interesting trivia: humans did not become the dominate primate until about 8,000 BC with the rise of agriculture (baboons outnumbered humans before then). About one-fifth of all humans that ever lived did so in the 20th century. In sheer energy terms, if all modern technology and energy sources were not available, the average American would need about 70 human slaves to maintain the current standard of living (each American "directs" 70 energy-slave equivalents). Each year, humans move more earth and soil than glaciers, wind erosion, mountain building (plate tectonic uplift), and volcanoes combined. Probably the single most damaging biological organism in earths history was the human primate Thomas Midgley Jr from Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania born in 1889. He invented Freon (which destroys the Ozone layer), and also leaded gasoline, which has polluted most of the worlds soil lasting thousands of years (all of us carry elevated lead levels because of it and will continue to do so for centuries to come, leading to birth defects, lowered IQs, etc..). Midgley contracted Polio at age 51 and invented a system or ropes and pulleys to move his crippled body off the bed - he became tangled and was strangled to death in 1944 by his own invention, before learning how damaging his inventions were.

complete.......2006-11-08

This work is very comprehensive and easy to read. Lots of relevant information.

More People, Bigger Cities.......2006-07-20

The issues of population growth are politically charged and center on social forces behind environmental changes. Indians and Africans argue that population growth matters little; Americans and Europeans argue that it matters greatly. McNeil argues that population growth matters vary dependent on effective environmental management of resources.

Two forces were a part of the population surge and reached a crescendo in the 1950s: improved food supply and disease prevention. The improvements caused a decline in mortality. "By 1996 the total annual increment of population had peaked at about 92 million to 95 million more births than deaths". The demographic started first in Europe then in East Asia after 1950 and in progress, in Africa after 1990. "After 1950 the locus of fast growth changed. In the ensuing half century, Asian numbers more than doubled, Latin America population tripled, and African population quadrupled. Meanwhile Europe and North America grew more slowly, having completed the demographic transition by 1950".

Between 1890 and 1990, world population increased by a factor of 3.5 while CO2 climbed 17 fold, 31% associated with population growth; global emissions of sulfur increased 13 fold, ¼ associated with population. "One may safely suppose that population growth had a minimal role in releasing chlorofluorocarbons into the stratosphere". Pollution and combustion were loosely linked to population. In rich societies, such as the US and Germany, additional people raised pollution levels between 1900 to 1970 because they drove cars, heated with oil or coal, and in general increased combustion. In poor societies they had less of a contributing impact for combustion emission. Population growth without significant industry had must less impact on pollution levels except for human waste and domestic smoke.

Population growth both caused and prevented soil erosion. In places where population growth drove food production to steep hillsides, it quickened soil erosion. Elsewhere, population labor built and maintained soil conservation schemes. Soil Salinization caused from salt deposits moved more agricultural land into non-agricultural status. Food demand drove most of the centuries doubling of cropland.

Population growth accounts for much of the world increase use of water. Between 1900 and 1990 water use increased ninefold.

Deforestation is a murky conundrum of environmental issues and population growth. Deforestation occurred in Ethiopia even when population growth rates were lower. Deforestation can occur in conditions of population growth, population stagnation, and population decline. Population growth rarely acts alone causing deforestation.

"In sum, population growth accounted for a modest share of air pollution-related environmental changes and a large share of those pertaining to water and biota, especially those involved in food production."

Mass migrations from humid to dry lands repeatedly provoked desertification or the progress loss of vegetation. Migration into forest zones brought deforestation. Between 1830 to 1920, Europe alone sent 55 to 70 million emigrants to America, Australia, and Siberia. Large groups of Italians migrated to Brazil too work the coffee fields.

Large cities struggle against the costs of managing waste, garbage, and food supply chains. Consider the tempo of change. "A millennium ago China and the Islamic Middle East had the world's most urbanized populations, but even in these lands 90 to 95 percent of the people lived outside cities." In 1700, only five cities had populations exceeding half a million people. By 1900 there were 43 cities with over a half a million and by 1990 about 800 cities and 270 had populations over a million and 14 topped 10 million. England was the first country to have over half its population living in cities, US reached this level in 1920, Japan 1935, USSR and Mexico 1960, S Korea and S Africa 1985. In 1998, the whole world reached this level. The total number of urban dweller rose from 225 million in 1900 to 2.8 billion in 1998, a 13 fold increase.

Cities absorb large quantities of water; in exchange they pump out goods and services, as well as pollutants, garbage, and solid wastes. In the 19th cities with the exception of Japan reeked of garbage. In Surat, a city of 2.2 million in India, one fifth of the garbage went uncollected leading to the bubonic plague of 1994 causing 56 deaths. By 1997, Surat is the second cleanest city in India. "By in large cities did not address pollution that threatened only diffuse, disorganized, or powerless communities." Poor cities rapid acquired the pollution problems from industry and from fleets of cars, buses, and trucks. Only a few societies accumulated enough capital to invest in pollution abatement. Cities remained concentrated nodes of pollution. Growing cities also needed timber, cement, brick, food, and fuel. "Chicago by 1900 exerted a gravitational pull on timber, livestock, grain and other fruits of the land from a huge region in the heart of North America".

Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Modern Library Science)

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A masterpiece written by a superb scientist
Feels like it should required reading for everyone...
A must read for all educated people
The Dialogues of Galileo - with Modern Solutions

Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Modern Library Science)
Galileo
Manufacturer: Modern Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 037575766X
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Book Description

Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, published in Florence in 1632, was the most proximate cause of his being brought to trial before the Inquisition. Using the dialogue form, a genre common in classical philosophical works, Galileo masterfully demonstrates the truth of the Copernican system over the Ptolemaic one, proving, for the first time, that the earth revolves around the sun. Its influence is incalculable. The Dialogue is not only one of the most important scientific treatises ever written, but a work of supreme clarity and accessibility, remaining as readable now as when it was first published. This edition uses the definitive text established by the University of California Press, in Stillman Drake’s translation, and includes a Foreword by Albert Einstein and a new Introduction by J. L. Heilbron.

Customer Reviews:

A masterpiece written by a superb scientist.......2006-11-04

This is the famous book that got Galileo in trouble with the Inquisition. Galileo Galilei was one of the greatest scientists of all time. In Galileo's time the all powerful Catholic Church had decreed that the Earth was at the center of the Universe and that all celestial bodies orbited the Earth. The reasons given for this were Theological in nature, not scientific. According to the Church the Earth was a special place in the Universe, because God had chosen the Earth to be Man's home. By the sixteenth century Science had progressed to the point where this view of the Universe became increasingly untenable as it did not agree with observations about planetary motion. To resolve the difficulties created by these observations Copernicus had published from his deathbed a new theory proposing that the planets moved around the Sun in nearly circular orbits. Copernicus theory seemed to agree much better with what was known at the time about planetary motion. Galileo being perhaps the greatest scientist of his time immediately saw that the Copernican theory must be right, and debated the matter with people holding the opposite view at the University where he was a renowned professor, Mathematician and Scientist. For a while debates, arguments and counterarguments followed, until in July 1609 Galileo found the definitive proof that the Copernican theory was right. The story has been recounted in the "Starry Messenger" by Galileo. He had seen a toy sold by a Flemish spectacle maker in Venice which made distant objects look like they were near. Galileo bought the toy and did not rest until he had figured out how it worked. He then turned the toy into a scientific instrument, and the first telescope was born. Galileo soon turned his invention towards the heavens, and he almost immediately made a number of groundbreaking discoveries. When he observed Jupiter he noticed that Jupiter had Moons just like the Earth had, and by observing the Moons of Jupiter and Jupiter on successive nights he soon discovered that the Moons of Jupiter clearly orbited Jupiter, not the Earth, as they were supposed to by the Ptolomaic theory taught by the Church. This was the definitive proof that the Ptolomaic theory was just plain wrong. He started to teach this but trouble soon ensued. Galileo had been ordered by the Church that he could not discuss the Copernican theory except as a Hypothesis. When Pope Urban VIII became the Pope Galileo was greatly encouraged, because as Cardinal Maffeo Barberini prior to being elected Pope Urban VIII, he had been a great admirer of Galileo. When the new Pope was elected, Galileo had an interview with him and was told that he could teach the Copernican theory, but only as a Hypothesis, and he was not allowed to teach it as the "objective truth". In 1632 Galileo published this great book in which he debated the two systems between three protagonists. One of them called Simplicio (roughly simple-minded) was defending the Ptolomaic Theory and two others called Salviati and Sagredo defended the Copernican view. All the various arguments that had been offered by Simplicio for the Ptolomaic theory were demolished skillfully one by one by the clever Salviati and Sagredo. Unfortunately Urban VIII got furious, because some of his own arguments ended up in the mouth of Simplicio. He felt that Galileo had made a fool of him, and so he ordered the Inquisition to summon Galileo and he was tried and convicted of Heresy. Galileo protested that he followed the injunction he had been given, and only taught the Theory as a Hypothesis, but the Inquisition's powerful judges did not accept his argument and convicted him. He was placed under house arrest at his own home, and was forced under the threat of being burned alive, to renounce his theories, which he did. His book was banned, but it was too late. It had already become a best seller, and it soon would be published in translation in foreign lands where the Pope had no power. Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems thus changed History. It has also great relevance to today's World. The religious fanatics of today behave much the same way as the Inquisition had in Galileo's time. They bring forth Theological arguments where science is called for. An example of this is the debate about Darwin's theory of Evolution and natural Selection, the basis for most of modern Biology. In spite of absolutely overwhelming scientific evidence in favor of Darwin, ignorant people today still try to discredit Darwin's Theory on essentially Theological not scientific grounds. Evidently, just like the people opposing Galileo who did not succedd, similarly the ignorant Inquisitors of today will not succed. Another example in the modern World are the attempts of the Islamic fascists, who like the Inquisitors in Galileo's time try to force their despicable religious agenda on others by imposition and violence. They will not succeed either, for in the end Reason and Science always prevail.

Feels like it should required reading for everyone..........2005-05-02

During the [in]famous controversy of Galileo and the Church, the actual point of contention was this very work which Galileo published. In the Dialogue, he was supposed to set forth arguments for and agains the Ptolemaic worldview (the unmoving earth in the centre of the universe) and the Copernican (the earth and other planets going around the sun). This book does that, and brilliantly, showing Galileo's resourcefulness as a scientist, philosopher (at least to an extent!) and writer. The charge against him was that rather than being even-handed, the book was clear support of Copernicanism. This is a non-obvious topic but what is obvious is the importance and magnificence of the work in terms of both the subject matter (the importance of the structure of the universe) and method (a colourful dialogue containing heated debate which spans literally dozens of arguments for and against each system).

The work has 3 characters: Salviati who is a Copernican, Simplicio who is an Aristotelian and follower of the Ptolemaic system, and Sagredo, a non-affiliated but intelligent person. They meet and debate over 4 days. The first deals with the question of whether the substance of the heavens is fundamentally different to the earth as well as some other fundamental assertions of Aristotelianism. The second deals with the earth's daily rotation. The third is about the alleged yearly orbit of the earth around the sun. The fourth (considered by Galileo to be the crown of his argument - which is all the more endearing as it is wrong) is about the cause of the tides.

Reading this is especially interesting because [almost!] all of us believe that the earth goes around the sun, so it's easy to just approach this simplistically. But the reality is, it was an actual matter of debate, as the book shows. And no, Galileo does not *prove* the earth moves (contrary to the blurb at the back of the book), rather he proposes some very good arguments. Reading them critically was great at making me question things I consider fundamental.

As per the edition, it contains a very good, readable translation along with Galileo's margin notes and good footnotes which unfortunately aren't matched to the body text so you have to flip forward and back. The only other disappointment was Einstein's simplistic yay-Galileo-boo-obviously-stupid-Church-and-Aristotelianism introduction. Other than that, it's great great great! An absolute milestone in human thought.

A must read for all educated people.......2004-10-13

A scientist who can write! Galileo writes with the intent that his readers understand, he meets you more than half way. There is a wonderful forward by Albert Einstein that is worth the price of the book by itself. And the fascinating introduction places Galileo's writing in its historical context.

If you have any interest in the history of science, this is an essential book to read.

The Dialogues of Galileo - with Modern Solutions.......2000-03-06

This edition of the Dialogues of Galileo Galilei includes mathematical solutions to the problems Galileo treats in plain language and an introduction describing a new cannon-ball experiment of the type used by Galileo that may be used to distinguish between the predictions of General Relativity and the editor's unified field theory. The Dialogues are then more interesting to the modern physics student, as it begins to resemble a review of contemporary mechanics in addition to being a grand old piece of history. Additional forwarding material by Albert Einstein and historical background by translator Stillman Drake make this edition a supurb introduction to the history of physics in which now the correct solutions may be read from the margins in modern physical notation. In addition, a number of illustrations have been added to illustrate old terminology for describing heavenly bodies and to provide portraits of Copernicus, Galileo, and his contemporaries Tycho and Kepler.

Tensions of Empire: Colonial Cultures in a Bourgeois World

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A Multi-disciplinary Treatment of the Exclusionary "Other"

Tensions of Empire: Colonial Cultures in a Bourgeois World

Manufacturer: University of California Press
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ASIN: 0520206053

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Starting with the premise that Europe was made by its imperial projects as much as colonial encounters were shaped by events and conflicts in Europe, the contributors to Tensions of Empire investigate metropolitan-colonial relationships from a new perspective. The fifteen essays demonstrate various ways in which "civilizing missions" in both metropolis and colony provided new sites for clarifying a bourgeois order. Focusing on the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries, they show how new definitions of modernity and welfare were developed and how new discourses and practices of inclusion and exclusion were contested and worked out. The contributors argue that colonial studies can no longer be confined to the units of analysis on which it once relied; instead of being the study of "the colonized," it must account for the shifting political terrain on which the very categories of colonized and colonizer have been shaped and patterned at different times.

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A Multi-disciplinary Treatment of the Exclusionary "Other".......2005-01-14

In this collection of essays, Frederick Cooper and Ann Laura Stoler have attempted to shed light on an often overlooked aspect of European imperialism; the colonized. Specifically, the authors contend it is that gray area "between the public institutions of the colonial state and the intimate reaches of people's lives that seemed to us to demand more attention." Realizing the diversity of the European colonial experience, the authors wanted to examine whether or not there exists a correlation between the archival histories of the major European imperial powers-Germany, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands. Incorporating what some historians have referred to as "the holy trinity"-gender, race and class-Cooper and Stoler have collected an assemblage of scholarship that takes a look at the indigenous experience, or as the title suggests, tensions that existed within the exclusionary "Other" and their culture of colonization. In keeping with the French Annalist, Marxist tradition of social-economic historiography that had grown popular in the 1960's and 1970's, the essays not only reinforce the evils of capitalistic exploitation, but also incorporate to a large extent, the field of anthropology to the blurred genres of interdisciplinary scholarship. In a sense, the articles read like anthropological field studies in an historical setting. For example, in "Le Bebe en Brousse: European Women, African Birth Spacing, and Colonial Intervention in Breast Feeding in the Belgian Congo" (pp. 287-321), Nancy Rose Hunt, examines the affect colonial institutions had upon a natural birth control method common in many underdeveloped countries, prolonged breast feeding, or birth spacing. Birth spacing and the ethnographic cocoon in which it rests are usually the work of anthropologists not historians. But as we can see from Ms Hunt's argument, the combination of cultural and political studies makes for an interesting blend of social history. In a similar essay titled: "Sexual Affronts and Racial Frontiers: European Identities and the Cultural Politics of Exclusion in Colonial Southeast Asia" (pp.198-237), Ann Stoler examines the problem of colonial and indigenous union-"mixed bloods"-and the affects this relationship between inclusionary impulses and exclusionary practices has on French and Dutch nationalism. Here again, as her subtitle suggests, the blending of culture and politics, usually the stuff of varying floors of a Humanities building, has come together in a compatible marriage. This book might not appeal to those accustomed to the standard fair of colonial history. The editor's long and winded introduction does not fully prepare the reader for the interesting essays that follow. Had the editors added a conclusion tying the confusing section headings together, and concisely formulated their opening, the finished product would have been more easily digestible. Ending on a positive note, the lengthy bibliography at the end of each article provides the reader with ample fodder for further inquiry. Perhaps destined to never fine a home on an undergraduate syllabus, this work is, noneheless, a significant contribution to the interdisciplinary paradigm that has taken hold of the historical profession.

The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West

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The BEST Book Analyzing Western (Freethinking) and Sino/Islamic Prespectives Towards Science
Best on subject

The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West
Toby E. Huff
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521529948

Book Description

Toby Huff examines the long-standing question of why modern science arose only in the West and not in the civilizations of Islam and China, despite the fact that medieval Islam and China were more scientifically advanced. Huff explores the cultural contexts within which science was practiced in Islam, China, and the West. He finds major clues in the history of law and the European cultural revolution of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, as to why the ethos of science arose in the West and permitted the breakthrough to modern science that did not occur elsewhere. First Edition Hb (1993): 0-521-43496-3 First Edition Pb (1995): 0-521-49833-3

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The BEST Book Analyzing Western (Freethinking) and Sino/Islamic Prespectives Towards Science.......2005-09-25

I have read Dr. Huff's book, and also read the 1st edition. The 2nd edition is after 9/11. Dr. Huff's main thesis appeared to me very self-evident. Let's examine the crux of the case of Islam vs. Modern Science, as examined masterfully by Dr. Toby E. Huff, a Chancellor Professor of Sociology at University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.

Dr. Huff's latest edition, which is better referenced than his earlier (1st) edition, contains a total of NINE (9) chapters. For understanding the role of Islam in the development of Science, the casual reader at least needs to read thoroughly chapter 2 (Arabic Science and the Islamic World), chapter 3 (Reason and Rationality in Islam and the West), Chapter 5 (Madrassas, Universities and Science). These chapters help explain the most important theme: WHY ISLAM FAILED TO GIVE BIRTH TO MODERN SCIENCE, EVEN THOUGH IT HAD ONCE GENERATED THE BEST OF THE INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENTS IN SCIENCE.

The author has done a very masterful job in supporting his views by extensively citing noted researchers like Max Weber, Joseph Needham, George Makdisi, Ignaz Goldziher and others, in addition to referring to his own research papers and books about the comparative analysis of scientific development and its universal spread (globalization).

Going to chapter 5, the reader finds that the madrassas were aimed at teaching two classes of science(s),and legal systems (or jurisprudence with associated logic/analysis/metaphysics). There were "Prophetic sciences" and "foreign sciences". The former was actually based on logic systems whose boundaries were very clearly drawn: the prophetic sciences were in line with the concept of upholding "divinity" as revealed by the Quran. The foreign sciences, on the other hand, were those analytical body of knowledge that were at odds with the Quranic traditions and the theological propositions.

The bedrock reason that explains the failure of Islam to usher modern science is articulated very well by Dr. Huff in his book, page 158, that reads as follows:

"It was even essential to Islam, ..., because the 'method was part and parcel of the Islamic orthodox process for determining orthodoxy. Where it failed ws in the creation of a set of objective standards of law, against which all other laws and principles could be judged. Since the legal principles of Islamic law had been given once and for all, in the Quran and the sunna, and in the principles of fiqh worked out by al-Shafi'i, the only task left was to use logic in the narrow sense, to uncover faulty reasoning and thus preserve the doctrinal status quo...."

This explains clearly, as one finds that application "freethought" was arrested and persecuted by the dictates in the theological canons of Islam, why modern science did not take birth from the womb of Islam, but rather took firm foothold in the European rennaisance ushering the birth of quantum (wave) mechanics and modern science.

The book is a must reading simply because of sheer amount of research that has been done by Dr. Huff to explore this aspect. It would be an asset for anyone doing research and wishing to include comparative aspects of Islamic societal functions into the research.

This is a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED book for a serious reader.

Best on subject.......1999-01-09

Huff sees science as a social practice which cannot flourish without a social niche for the person who would investigate nature, and covers a long span of history looking at the ways societies create or fail to create those social roles. I have read a good many books on this subject, and Huff's is the most fair-minded, cogent and satisfying. Recommend highly.

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Past, Present and Future
Arthur N. Prior
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Modality and Tense: Philosophical Papers

ASIN: 0198243111

The Voyage of the Beagle: Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Round the World (Modern Library Classics)

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A sentimental scientists
Insight into the mind of Darwin
Charles Darwin-Naturalist, Poet, Adventurer
Charles Darwin as Indiana Jones
Darwin

The Voyage of the Beagle: Journal of Researches into the Natural History and Geology of the Countries Visited During the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle Round the World (Modern Library Classics)
Charles Darwin
Manufacturer: Modern Library
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0375756809
Release Date: 2001-03-13

Book Description

In 1831, Charles Darwin embarked on an expedition that, in his own words, determined my whole career. The Voyage of the Beagle chronicles his five-year journey around the world and especially the coastal waters of South America as a naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. While traveling through these unexplored countries collecting specimens, Darwin began to formulate the theories of evolution and natural selection realized in his master work, The Origin of Species. Travel memoir and scientific primer alike, The Voyage of the Beagle is a lively and accessible introduction to the mind of one of history's most influential thinkers.

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A sentimental scientists.......2007-05-09

The Voyage of the Beagle is filled with exquisite detail about the plants, insects, animals, and people that Darwin encountered during his journey. I was amazed at how much he had observed and compared/contrasted. My favorite parts, however, were for the most part not these descriptions. I most enjoyed the comments Darwin made that showed how he felt and what personal obstacles he encountered. Despite having the purpose of sharing his observations (which it most successful accomplishes), The Voyage showed a more personal side of Darwin. The personal comments that Darwin included and the poetic imagery he so often used gave the impression that Darwin had a sentimental side beyond the pure scientist. Even the depth of the many observations demonstrated his child-like curiosity and excitement about science, nature, and seeing the world.

If you were looking for a fast-paced plot, this is not your book. If you were looking for wonderful descriptions made by a keen observer and to gain a better understanding of the scientist, this book is definitely for you.

Insight into the mind of Darwin.......2007-05-06

This book is an excellent source of knowledge on Darwin's thought process. He describes everything in very exact detail, and in some cases the reader can see the beginnings of his ideas on evolution, such as when he compares the bird species of Argentina and Chile, or the variety of finches on the Galapagos. However, he did not pay as much attention to the importance of the finches as he did in later years. Some of his observations point to problems that only became apparent later- he describes in his visit to St. Helena how much of the flora and fauna was introduced from England, and the native plants only existed on high ridges. He also spends quite a bit of time describing the formation of coral reefs and a number of other things that after a page no longer seem interesting to most of us. However, these descriptions and his lists of species clearly show how much he valued precision and accuracy, and how deeply he became involved in his endeavors.

Another aspect that I liked about this book was his descriptions of various people and how they differed. He clearly thought very highly of the gauchos of Argentina, but found their Chilean counterparts to be decidedly less friendly. He admired the Tahitian men (not the women) and thought that the people of Tierra del Fuego, who were hardly any less "civilized" than many of the Tahitians, were quite inferior. His references to slavery are also interesting; he recounts stories of abuse of slaves, including that of a strong man who thought that Darwin was about to strike him and was too scared to do anything but turn away. He also described a situation in which a man whom he believed to be very kind sold apart members of a family.

While long and at times difficult to get through, this book is well worth reading for those who want to learn about Darwin, or who enjoy reading travelers' accounts. I found that while it did generally take several pages for me to become engaged in the book, that afterwards I was content to read several chapters in one sitting.

Charles Darwin-Naturalist, Poet, Adventurer.......2006-11-09

I learned a lot about Darwin in this book that I simply didn't know beforehand. The most important is what an exceptional writer he was. If he had never published his Origin of Species and become famous by it, this book would still be a classic, if not of science, than certainly of literature. His prose, while necessarily more pedestrian, reminds me more than anything of the prose of another famous naturalist, Thoreau (who actually quotes the "Naturalist Darwin" in Walden from this book regarding the natives of Tierra Del Fuego).

The "scientific detail" cited by another reviewer did not bog down the prose at all, a remarkable feat....a talent also found in Thoreau. The famed passage on The Galapagos was indeed interesting. But the most scientifically intriguing passages, I found, had to do with barrier reefs and atolls and how they come to be...I almost said "evolve"....But perhaps that would be premature for this book. In any event, I've never read a scientific account so riveting and fascinating as Darwin's on this subject given herein.

But, as I say, I learned quite a bit about Darwin as a young man, ready for adventure, risks, and brimming with curiosity. He is almost as much a poet as scientist in some passages, quoting Shelley at one point, and he fortifies his narrative with a poignancy absent in most scientific accounts. This stylistic flavour is evident in many passages, but I'll just proffer one from the end of the narrative:

"In my walk I stopped again and again to gaze upon these beauties, and endevoured to fix in my mind and for ever, an impression which at the time I knew sooner or later must fail. The form of the orange-tree, the cocoa-nut, the palm, the mango, the tree-fern, the banana, will remain clear and separate; but the thousand beauties which unite these into one perfect scene must fade away: yet they will leave, like a tale heard in childhood, a picture full of indistinct, but most beautiful figures." (P.444, in my edition)

Whether as poetic or scientific, this work is virtuosic and unsurpassed in its seamless melding of the two. I'll leave the reader to decide which s/he enjoys the most.

Charles Darwin as Indiana Jones.......2004-09-28

We all know Charles Darwin as a scholarly bearded old English gentleman, and like Leonardo da Vinci, Darwin has this image defining him for all future generations. Even though most everyone knows Darwin spent five years traveling the oceans on the HMS Beagle, the image of a young dynamic Darwin never takes over. Reading this book will change this.

Darwin sailed on the Beagle, a small three-mast sailing ship, and circumnavigated the globe. Over five years, he visited numerous islands in the Atlantic and Pacific and extensively surveyed the east and west coasts of South America. He hiked up and down mountains, traveled on horseback across the arid Argentinean plains, crossed the lonely Peruvian desert, and trekked the grandiose Chilean Cordilleras. He thought nothing of packing a train of mules for a two-month overland journey across the Andes going from Chile to Argentina and back again. On all his land expeditions he hired local guides, from Gauchos in Argentina to South Pacific islanders in Tahiti. Darwin's accounts of his expeditions are not only interesting adventures, they are also good portraits of the people he met. These include Latin American governors and generals, Argentinean ranchers, very primitive natives on Tierra del Fuego, and so on.

The journal begins with an account of Cape de Verd islands, then most of the book is spent on Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, and we have to wait until Chapter 17 before we get to what all Darwin fans really want to read, namely the account of his visit to the Galapagos. Though short, the account does not disappoint. We read of Darwin's finches, of two allied species of lizards, and of the giant turtles. Darwin also presents his great insight: that geographical isolation contributes to speciation. He came by this insight when it was pointed out to him that nearly identical species were seldom found on the same island. Another insight was that the fauna and flora an island depends more on that of the nearby mainland than on latitude. For example the plants of the Galapagos Islands were similar to those of the American west coast, while those of Cape de Verd, at the same latitude but in the Atlantic, resembled plants found in Africa. Darwin then continues with accounts of Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia, where we read how he thought coral reef islands were formed.

In the last chapter Darwin tells us of his visit to St-Helena and he does in fact mention its most famous resident, Napoleon Bonaparte. Though the French Emperor had already died, his remains had not yet been moved to Les Invalides in Paris. Darwin writes of the grave only in passing and is explicitly careful not too make too much of it. Apparently visitors in those days had a habit of overdoing their descriptions of Napoleon's rather simple headstone.

Travel notes like these and the descriptions of the people he met, were for me the most charming aspect of the book. The portraits Darwin paints are invariably sympathetic to human nature. Certainly Darwin was a man of his times and valued civilization very highly, but he was no racist and believed that all men could find happiness and enlightenment, and that all men had a right to be free. He despised slavery, and wrote eloquent passages attacking the prevalent institution. From this journal, we come to know a dynamic, adventurous young man, and a thoughtful liberal one who would only later shake our view of our place in the world.

Darwin.......2001-08-16

If you like science and the little details that go with it-you will really enjoy this book. It reads easily yet contains much detail.

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