Throwim' Way Leg: Tree-Kangaroos, Possums, and Penis Gourds

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In Throwim Way Leg, Australia-based mammologist-raconteur Tim Flannery recalls scientific expeditions in the wilds of New Guinea that convey both the thrill of discovery and the negotiations necessary to bridge huge clashes of cultures. A world expert on New Guinea's fauna, Flannery has discovered 20 new species during his two decades of research. Yet his ability to convey unalloyed adventure in his taletelling makes these scientific expeditions read more like hair-raising, funky Redmond O'Hanlon-style travels than disciplined, scholarly field trips. Energy and danger run high.

Terrific thunderstorms and aircraft mishaps rattle Flannery during his travels. Yet the most memorable quality of Throwim Way Leg is Flannery's incorporation of humans into the natural world he writes about, often contrasting the jungled New Guinea denizens with stark modern technologies. He writes rich profiles of those he has met, and his images are memorable and meaningful: crowds of people gaping at a single television set; the remote landscape of Mt. Albert Edward dotted with cattle, Swiss chalets, and the smoky fires of the Goilala people; the malnourished Yapsiei greeting him reeking of the "sweet, sickly smell" of grile, a form of ringworm.

Ultimately, Flannery looks ahead and sees that the age of discovery is not at all complete in New Guinea, as so much remains unknown. But, in an often-told tale, modern political forces are at work, reshaping those unique natural and cultural environments that Throwim Way Leg explores with such vigor. --Byron Ricks

Book Description

Flannery travels to the unexplored regions of New Guinea in search of species that science has yet to discover or classify. He finds many -- from a community of giant cave bats that were supposedly extinct to the elusive black-and-white tree-kangaroo -- and along the way has a wealth of unforgettable adventures. Flannery scales cliffs, descends into caverns, and cheats death, both from disease and at the hands of the local cannibals, who wish to take revenge on his "clan" of wildlife scientists. He eventually befriends the tribespeople, who become companions in his quest and whose contributions to his research prove invaluable. In New Guinea pidgin, throwim way leg means to take the first step of a long journey. The journey in this book is a wild ride full of natural wonders and Flannery's trademark wit, a tour de force of travelogue, anthropology, and natural history.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting story - biological and anthropological.......2006-08-20

Flannery is the Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Museum. This book recounts several of his expeditions in Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya in the 80s and 90s.

He's the opposite to Douglas Adams. In approaching some similar topics in his `Last Chance to See' Adams was primarily a writer. Flannery is primarily a biologist - the writing came second. Thus there's not the wit, and the style is often understated. In some cases this is quite charming as he pretty casually relates some harrowing incidents (such as getting stuck alone in an underground crevice). In contrast his vocabulary can get a bit ostentatious: he'll use always use a word like `ossuary', for example, rather than graveyard, and in one case he used a word I've forgotten now that from the context must mean something like overeating, but didn't even appear in my complete Macquarie dictionary. (Ah, another amazon reviewer had the same problem, although they were impressed by the obscure vocabulary, while I was unimpressed by same: 'farcarted' gets nothing from any online dictionaries - the only place it turns up in a google search is in these perplexed amazon reviews. Maybe it's an in-joke.)

These are exotic places and creatures, and Flannery capably recalls some real adventures. Part of the strange appeal of this book is shaking your head at some of the near-insane deprivations and risks his biological obsession has entailed (hence the insightful description of another reviewer, `bloody mad scientist'). Moreover half the fascination is anthropological. He generally does very well walking the line between eulogising and demonising the tribal Papuans. He ably conveys some of the dilemmas of contact between ancient and modern, such as the time when in all good faith he acceded to requests to sharpen all the knives in a village, but then was appalled to see several villagers accidentally cutting themselves deeply because they'd never had anything but blunt edges. He does tend towards the assumption that any loss of traditional culture is automatically bad, but honestly allows us to see some ugly things that challenge this assumption.

Towards the end of the book, as much to his chagrin as ours, we're not able to merely enjoy the excitement of discovery of species because of the context of ugly mistreatment of Irian nationals by their Indonesian conquerors. I got the feel that none of us wanted this to be a `political' book, particularly not a partisan one, but in telling his story it becomes unavoidable. Flannery again to his credit is very careful not to say `all Indonesians', or `all the mining company workers', but sadly his biological expeditions are somewhat overrun just at the end by encounters with some brutal racism, at times incidental, at others structural.

Amazing scientist, unexceptional writer........2006-05-16

Without a doubt Tim Flannery ranks with the world's greatest scientist/explorers. He has a wealth of fascinating and valuable tales to tell from his travels to New Guinea. However, the book has little coherent structure. It's just a series of (mostly) unrelated stories, like he might recount over dinner. The details of his trips are incredible, but by the time I was half way through, I began losing my interest and felt I was re-reading previous passages.

Breathtaking, humorous and poignant.......2004-09-09

Flannery is one of a kind. He is to New Guinea what Perry and Amundson are to the poles, a first-comer .... one of the first to explore and document the stone age peoples of the mysterious island wilderness in the last days of its age of innocence.

Yes, there are cannibals, with bones in their noses and gourds worn on their penis, yet Flannery somehow manages to get the reader to empathize with these people, to understand their foibles and traditions, and to feel regret that their ancient ways are going, going, gone ... forever. Take the chapter where he goes in pursuit of the Bulmer's Fruit Fly Bat -- you suffer with him the agonies of failure and the desperations of the search, and the exhilaration of success. Or follow along with his learning experiences among the native tribes and come to actually understand the hows and whys of the way the led their lives, even to discovering there were (to the natives) valid reasons for their rare acts of cannibalism.

Although he describes some of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world, the reader comes to know that Papua New Guinea will never rate very highly as a tourist destination, but you'll have to read this book to appreciate the reasons why.

Think you couldn't possibly be interested in such things? Try twenty pages of this charming book; the images will lived in your memory forever.

Hooroo, Tim! Bonzer yarn, mate!

Exciting and sometimes hilarous natural history book.......2003-05-26

I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful book! In it, mammalogist Tim Flannery regales us with tales from his many years in New Guinea, searching for new species of mammals on the island, the second largest in the world. A difficult island to work in - highly mountainous; extremely few roads, most villages so isolated that they can only be reached by small planes flying to landing strips hacked out of the jungle; parts of it some of the rainiest spots on earth, some areas receiving 11 meters or more of rain a year; possessing many dangerous animals ranging from crocodiles to snakes to huge spiders; tropical diseases and parasites a real problem in many areas (including malaria and scrub typhus, from which Flannery almost died from when bit by an infected tick) ý Flannery had his work cut out for them as he spent over two decades on the island, both in the eastern half, the independent nation of Papua New Guinea, and the western section, Irian Jaya, part of Indonesia.

Flannery is a highly accomplished scientist, having discovered 16 new species of mammals in Melanesia, many of them in New Guinea. Many of these and others are described in the book, and make for fascinating reading. We meet the Black-tailed Giant-rat, the bite from its two centimeter long razor sharp incisors much feared by the inhabitants of the island. The Three-striped Dasyure, a vividly marked rat-sized marsupial predator, one of New Guinea's few mammals active during daylight hours. The Snow Mountains Robin, one of the rarest birds in the world, found in the high alpine regions of the Meren Glacier in Irian Jaya, one of the very few equatorial glaciers in the world. _Antechinus, a small carnivorous marsupial notable in that the male only lives for 11 months, existing only to breed. The diminutive, dingo-like New Guinea singing dog, which arrived in the islands some 2,000 years ago. The six o'clock cicada, a tremendously loud insect that received its name from its trill it emits roughly 6am and 6pm daily. The famous Birds of Paradise, breathtaking in their beauty, several species of which are extremely rare. He also describes the Long-fingered Triok, a black and white skunk smelling possum with the fourth finger of each hand a great elongated probe for finding insect larvae; you never know what he is going to find next lurking in the barely explored misty peaks and dripping jungles of the island.

Three of the most remarkable animals are ones that Flannery discovered or in one case rediscovered. One is _Maokopia ronaldi_, an extinct marsupial herbivore that once dwelt in the high mountain forests. Panda-like in appearance, size, and probably habits, Flannery named this new genus and species from fossils he found in Irian Jaya. Bulmer's Fruit-bat, a bat though extinct for 12,000 years, the largest cave dwelling bat in the world, Flannery was elated to have found them alive in extremely rugged western Papua New Guinea. The one though that Flannery is the most proud of discovering was the Dingiso, a new species of tree-kangaroo he found in the alpine areas of Irian Jaya, a beautiful black and white animal, surprising tame, threatened but fortunately partially protected by native taboos against harming them.

However, as remarkable as all of that is, one could argue that the real stars of this book are the people of New Guinea, particularly the indigenous Melanesian peoples that Flannery spends a great deal of time with and clearly loves. Much of his time researching in the field he was based out of the villages of such people as the Wopkaimin, the Telefol, and the Goilala where he became fast friends with many throughout the island, in both countries, viewing them not as savage barbarians, but as noble, often quite kind people, their older generation vast repositories of cultural and natural history lore. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the books were the many stories about life in those villages, some of the tales tragic, others heartwarming, and many hilarious.

Particularly fascinating was what he wrote about the history of cannibalism on the island. Apparently it did exist in the not too distant past, actually in the living memory of some of the villagers he encountered. Though not an every day occurrence by any means, cannibalism was an important part of New Guinea life; indeed, one group Flannery spent some time with, the Miyanmin, were once avid raiders, and actually referred to the neighboring Atbalmin people as ýbokis es bilong miplea,ý which more or less translates into something like ýour refrigerator.ý Though cannibalism is now a thing of the past, its effects are still felt he writes, as villages once got some of their population from raids of other villages, the adults of that village were consumed and the children raised as their own; now, that is no longer a source of new people for villages and some are facing some depopulation as a result.

Flannery sounds several cautionary notes in his book. Several species of New Guinea mammals and birds are in serious danger of extinction from over hunting. Though New Guinea is still a land largely without roads, more and more appear all the time, opening up virgin lands for hunters, loggers, and miners. Indeed in Irian Jaya the latter two are devastating ever larger sections of the island; the massive Freeport mine, which exports over ten million dollars worth of minerals daily, has destroyed large sections of forest with waste mine tailings.

He also worries about the future of the people, particularly in Irian Jaya. He believes that in an attempt to make that land more like the rest of Indonesia it is causing not only environmental damage but also cultural damage. Indeed there are concerns over human rights abuses in Irian Jaya, of dissidents disappearing, of remote villagers forced to wear modern clothing and abandon their pig eating culture by distant Muslim politicians, who often find native culture abhorrent.

Recommended.

Heights of discovery.......2002-06-12

If Tim Flannery isn't the luckiest biologist in the world, then perhaps he's the hardest working. He possesses a spirit of adventure that may exceed both. His twenty years of exploring the mysteries of New Guinea are superbly outlined and related in this engaging account. Although a mammalogist by profession, his interests range far beyond any academic discipline. We follow his efforts to meet and gain acceptance by the remote peoples of the New Guinea highlands. They are a diverse lot, and every new contact is fraught with uncertainty. He introduces us to the teasing pleasures of New Guinea pidgin, a language adopted by indigineous peoples to cross the nearly 1 000 languages that exist on the island.

Throwim' Away Leg, New Guinean pidgin for a journey, is an appropriate title for this book. Flannery's 15 long-term expeditions took him over most of the island, meeting the people, tracking animals and assessing the changes in the ecology. It is difficult, in this jet travel age to comprehend the impact of "remote people," but Flannery has done it. He's adept at sharing the wonder he felt in his travels. We feel his fears, his joys of discovery, his sadness at the incursion of industrial civilization in an unprepared land. Flannery's account is given with an astonishing detachment. He recognizes the needs of both the indigenous people and the invaders. Cannibalism, so abhorrent to "civilized" readers, is placed in its true framework as viewed by the New Guinean mountain peoples. He's aware of the population pressures on local resources among the tribes, not excusing, but imparting rare understanding of the reality of life in wilderness.

The author's love of wildlife is made clear throughout the book. An encounter with three-metre-long python that tried desperately to throttle him is related with incredible compassion. One can only sympathize with the pilot and passengers who shared the cockpit of a small aircraft with it on its journey to Port Moresby. Flannery's real feelings, however, are for the varieties of tree kangaroos living on the island. He asserts the high point of his travels was the classification of a rare black and white species of this creature. High point, indeed! Three
thousand metres up in the New Guinean highlands, local hunters brought him the chewed remains of two "Dingisios" - enough to identify and describe this rare animal.

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Travel Down Under with Ron Fisher and delve into the coastal surprises of Australia:

A trip around Australia's coastal region is a ride on a splendid carousel. You can get off here and there--perhaps at a glittery surfer beach, or on a coast backed by endless miles of desolate bush, or at tropical rivers where the snouts of man-eating crocodiles break the muddy surface.

In first-person, anecdotal style, Fisher introduces the reader to the people of each area, bringing the photos alive with their stories.

From the Coral Sea to the Great Barrier Reef, Tasmania to the Golden West, mile after sandy mile is revealed with Fisher's keen eye and the trademark sensitivity of National Geographic's photographers Sam Abell and David Doubilet. More than 100 photos illustrate the diversity of the shores of this great continent: a foraging wombat, a mangrove forest-planting environmentalist, Tasmanian poppy fields, Aboriginal shell middens, a seaweed-mimicking sea dragon, Perth's skyscrapers, the vertical cliffs marking the abrupt end of the Nullarbor Plain, and the watery shadow of the elusive dugong--one of the only vegetarian marine mammals. And for the purist, the book does not omit that most famous of Australian symbols: the kangaroo. --Kathryn True

Book Description

A collage of images hints at the diversity and richness of Australia's coastal regions. Author Ron Fisher calls a trip around the country's coast "a ride on a splendid carousel" -- a journey that takes a reader from the steamy tropics of the north to the chill fogs of the south, past white-sand beaches thronged with vacationers or through the remote and lonely bush, to small towns and modern cities top-heavy with skyscrapers. Sam Abell's photographs bring to life both the rugged beauty and the subtle elegance of the Australian landscape. Birds fly through these pages, crocodiles slither down muddy banks, and sea lions frolic. Portfolios by photographer David Doubilet showcase the strange and colorful world beneath the waves that pound these wild shores.

Customer Reviews:

The destination and the photo's make the book!.......1999-10-10

Wild Shores of Australia is a nice book that is worth the money because of the destination itself (Australia) and the great pictures by several photographers.

The story of Ron Fishers journey along the Australian coast is a clean and sober guide, that gives you great ideas for your next visit down under, but it doesn't go any deeper than that. The historic details give lots of `nice-to-know' information about the coast that is traveled.

Book Description

Natural history down under.

Stretching from the equator to the sub-Antarctic, Wild Australasia is an illustrated tour of the Australian region's natural history and ecology. Australasia -- once a part of prehistoric supercontinents -- has been physically isolated from the rest of world for some 45 million years. As a result, it contains a breathtaking array of distinct and one-of-a-kind species.

Readers will discover that 90% of its reptiles and 70% of its birds are unique to this environment. Australasia is home to mammals that lay eggs, huge birds that can't fly, marsupials that can, and the world's highest concentration of deadly reptiles and venomous snakes. The landscape is also quite exceptional: Australia is the flattest and driest inhabited continent on earth. The surrounding seas contain dazzlingly colorful reefs and are dotted with exotic strings of islands. This book covers the main continent of Australasia and surrounding islands of New Zealand, New Guinea, New Britain, New Caledonia and Lord Howe Island.

Wild Australasia is filled with stunning color photographs, including unique aerial photos and groundbreaking images revealing locations and animal behavior never seen before.

The wild animals of Australasia,: Embracing the mammals of New Guinea & the nearer Pacific Islands,

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The wild animals of Australasia,: Embracing the mammals of New Guinea & the nearer Pacific Islands,
Albert Sherbourne Le Souef
Manufacturer: G. G. Harrap & company ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Book Description

One of the most romanticized and written-about regions of Europe, the South of France brings together ancient and modern history, stunning scenery, the unparalleled elegance of Cannes and Saint-Tropez, and the raw, energetic pulse of Marseille. There are remote villages, forgotten churches, and vast cloudless skies; there are legendary restaurants and blue-chip casinos; there are vibrant riverfronts and backstreet city bars; and no one can take travelers closer to the action than Time Out’s team of expert resident writers. Fluent in the language and tuned in to the people and politics of this sun-drenched region, they guide visitors across the map, from the Alps to sea level, not missing a sight along the way. This edition of Time Out South of France features new sidebars, photographs, and introductions, as well as updated listings and maps and a new chapter focusing on cultural background.

Customer Reviews:

South of France book.......2007-01-09

This book is OK; there is a lot on information in here.

Very up-to-date information.......2002-12-05

This guide has really up-to-date information. In addition to quoting all prices in Euros, it also has updated hours for major attractions. It's very useful when going to the Cote d'Azure in off-peak seasons, because you would want to know when the attractions are closed. This guide also has extensive public transportation information, so if you don't rent a car, you will want to have this guide in your hand. The only complaint I have is that the book could use more maps (I strongly recommend getting a comprehensive map for the region you are going). For example, it talks about the village Eze between Nice and Monaco, but then the train only stops at Eze-sur-Mer, which is not on any maps, so you don't know if the two places are close enough to walk or not. Or, it talks about tourist offices in the various towns, and lists the addresses, but there's no map of the town so you can't find those tourist offices. etc.
Overall, it's a good guidebook.

Time Out South of France 1 (Time Out South of France)

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Time Out South of France 1 (Time Out South of France)
Time Out
Manufacturer: Time Out
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | Travel | Subjects | Books

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books

General | Travel | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 014029077X

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South of France
Time Out
Manufacturer: Penguin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OWK3J2

Time Out South of France (Time Out Guides)

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Time Out South of France (Time Out Guides)
Time Out
Manufacturer: Time Out
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJ9530

Book Description

Conner seems more comfortable being Mr. Alanna Feldman than Tia Ramirez’s best friend–and that’ s got to change.

Tia’s so over this “Mr. Alanna Feldman” act.

She wants Conner to come to his senses, so she can have her best friend back.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty good.......2003-02-23

The book is mostly based on serious stuff. Conner breaks up with Alanna, plans to go to Seattle with Tia and all this other stuff. But over all you have got to read it with the others to fully understand the book. ENJOY.

Finally!!!!!!!!!!.......2002-11-24

I mean who thought it would last! They finally Broke up! Connor and Alanna in my opinion Liz is so much better for him. Though Tia should feel a little bad about helping to break them up! I mean just cus you don't like her doesn't mean you sabotage a relantionship! Am i right or am i right? So hurry get Liz and Connor back together Pronto!

SY's Getting Better Again!.......2002-09-14

Since the last few books haven't been very good I didnt have high expectations for this one either, but it was suprisingly good! Alanna gets rejected from a school in Boston, but when Conner gets his acceptance to the performing arts school there, Alanna decides she'll follow him there and get a job so they can stay together. I wont tell you what happens with them at the end, but trust me it's great! The second storyline is about Jeff. He has a DJ gig at a new club Liquid, but his partner, who was bringing all the records, gets stuck in a traffic jam and Jeff gets fired cuz he doesn't have any equipment. He was also rejected from NYU, so he figures he's not cut out for the music industry, and he gives himself a makeover and tries to be like the old Jeff (you know, from the old SVH books). There's a hilarious part of this storyline where Jeff and Liz are shopping for an outfit for his gig and end up finding the perfect shirt - in Jess's closet! The last storyline is a Jess and Jeremy one. Jess decides to go to a frat party at SVU to get a feel for the campus and while she's there she meets a cute guy. She gives him her number and sees him a few more times, and when Jeremy finds out he gets jealous and tells Jess he doesn't like her hanging out with this other guy. Everything works out for them in the end though :)

The Byzantine Lists: ERRORS OF THE LATINS (Illinois Medieval Studies)

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An Interesting Examination of Medieval Greek Attitudes
The Hate Literature of Medieval Byzantines

The Byzantine Lists: ERRORS OF THE LATINS (Illinois Medieval Studies)
Tia M. Kolbaba
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

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Renaissance | World | History | Subjects | Books

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Orthodoxy | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Greek Orthodox Patrology: An Introduction to the Study of the Church Fathers

ASIN: 025202558X

Customer Reviews:

An Interesting Examination of Medieval Greek Attitudes.......2006-07-26

Tia Kolbaba has written a fairly short, but very informative work regarding attitudes of the Greek Christians toward Latins. Beginning in the 11th century many Greek Religious authors composed lists of errors which the Western Church was guilty of. Among the errors listed are matters of foods eaten, religious rituals such as Lenten Fasting and Baptism, dress, behaviors such as marriage and a Latin addition to the Nicene Creed known as the Filioque (the addition of the words; "and the Son", to the procession of the Holy Spirit in the Creed - the Greeks retained the original "from the father", without this addition).

Kolbaba discusses which errors are listed and the frequency with which they are found in the various lists. This is a very interesting portion of the work; however those who have read one of the History's of the Byzantine Empire such as Vasiliev, Ostrogorsky or Treadgold will find later portions more valuable for it is here that she turns to a discussion of what these lists tell us - not about the Latins but about the Greeks themselves.

First Kolbaba discusses how many of the Greeks participate in the same errors as the Latins. She believes that many of these lists were not meant primarily to turn the Greeks against the Latins, but rather to argue that, by engaging in these behaviors, Greeks resembled them. While this is a form of demonization, it is more along the lines of, "You shouldn't be doing that - you behave like a barbarian!" For a society which prided itself on its perceived superiority to the West, this could be very powerful.

In later chapters Kolbaba discusses the general change in tone contained in these lists over time. Where earlier lists decry the Latin errors, they are less hostile and many state that almost all of the errors, with the exception of the Filioque, while wrong, may be forgiven as not reflecting a loss of truth regarding religion. However the later lists become progressively more hostile toward the Latins and tend to point out more negatives not related to religion, such as the barbarians being unreliable, uncouth, loud, violent, uneducated, etc. For obvious reasons, this becomes even more pronounced after 1204. At its extreme, these involve pure demonizing - priests use icons as toilet seats, bathe in urine and use the ashes of animals in rituals.

This also serves as a very interesting illustration of how societies, when threatened, become more conservative and tend to pull into themselves, battling mightily to preserve their sense of what they are and retain what makes their place in the world unique. As any Byzantine student knows, the last half century or so of the Byzantine Empire contained several instances of the olive branch from the West being dangled before them - resolve the schism and join your Church to ours and an Army will come to save you. Whether any army would have staved off the inevitable is arguable. What is not is that when Emperors such as Michael Palaiologos gave any indication that they might accept such an offer, the residents of what remained of the Empire rose powerfully against it.

This was a very enjoyable work. Kolbaba uses an interesting method to organize her work but one which works quite well. If I have a criticism, I believe a bit more time could have been spent on the Latin reaction to these Lists. Were they offended? How often did letters arrive from the West reacting to the latest slander - as they surely perceived it - against their religious practices? Or were they relatively uncaring? Certainly the West wrote their own lists of errors of the Byzantines, but what did they think of these lists written in the East?

In any case, this work will make valuable reading for anyone interested in what the Greeks thought of their Western contemporaries; as well as giving a great deal of insight into how their society defended itself culturally against the physically stronger west; and how the Eastern Empire responded to its approaching destruction.

The Hate Literature of Medieval Byzantines.......2001-06-15

This is a remarkable work by an eminent Byzantinist who has specialized in the anti-Latin polemical literature which was to have a profound effect in poisoning relations between medieval Latins and Byzantine Greeks and thereby impeding the union of the Churches.Such religious literature emanating largely from monastic circles and enumerating the abhorrent "errors" of the Latins proved to be far more influential in demonizing them than the works of professional theologians dealing with major dogmatic issues (such as the famous'Filioque'dispute) fueling the Schism between Rome and Constantinople. What were the "errors" which imbedded themselves so deeply in the Byzantine psyche that they caused such fanatical hostility towards Westerners and a massive resistance to the union of the Churches? The Latins were guilty of pillaging and looting during the first 3 Crusades and the horrific sacking of Constantinople, but pious Byzantines were further assured by religious propaganda that the Latin "heretics" were, in addition, vulgar barbarians, alien to refined manners, indecent, and "utterly filthy in their failure to distinguish between sacred things, people, actions, and profane ones". Byzantine grievances were many: Latins ate unclean foods, had contact with bodily excretions, spit near the altar, consecrated a new pope by laying the hands of a dead pope upon him, used icons for toilet seats, etc., etc. These Lists of Latin errors constituted a fascinating species of Hate-literature, but they had a special effect on the Byzantine masses in making them fear, despise, and contemn their conquerors as well as the Byzantine unionists seeking to overcome "cross-cultural misunderstandings" exacerbated by chauvinistic and xenophobic polemics. Not all Byzantines, of course, fell victim to such irrational propaganda but such Lists clearly manifested "the most extreme manifestation of anti-Latin sentiment in Byzantium". Interestingly, this scholarly study reveals that the Byzantine theologians who contributed to the Lists evidenced some serious confusion concerning doctrine and discipline and what constituted necessary and optional elements of the faith. Dr.Kolbaba utilizes the insights of cultural anthropologists and studies in the sociology of religion to analyze in some depth the psychology of medieval Greeks whose Byzantine orthodoxy and orthopraxis was fixated in liturgical and ritual forms regarded as sacred and immutable. Students of Byzantine history, and Catholics and Eastern Orthodox seeking to understand the dynamics of the Byzantine Greco-Slav Schism will find this an enlightening study that can only further genuine ecumenism.

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