Book Description
An unmatched reference work distinguished by its erudition and beauty, The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures is an illustrated who's who of prehistoric life, a Baedeker of more than 500 million years of evolution on Earth.
With entries for more than 600 species, each arranged in its evolutionary sequence, the book presents a panorama of enormous diversity, from predatory dinosaurs to primitive amphibians, from giant armored fish to woolly mammoths, saber-tooth tigers and dire wolves. Each entry features a specially commissioned full-color painting prepared according to the best research of today in close collaboration with world-renowned paleontologists. The records of the rocks -- fossil bones, teeth, skin, hair and even footprints and nests -- have been combined with knowledge of the anatomy and behavior of present-day descendants to arrive at informed judgments about posture, color and other aspects of appearance.
Lively and informative "biographies" of the creatures accompany these remarkable illustrations: how they moved, what they ate, where they ranged and the habitats and ecological niches they occupied. Comparisons are made wherever possible with familiar living animals, highlighting both the contrasts and similarities. Also included are articles on subjects such as the time scale of evolution, fossil formation and interpretation and convergent evolution.
Truly a magnificent sourcebook, The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures is both a triumph of scholarship and a work of art. It will stand as the best and most accurate presentation of the prehistoric animal world available.
Customer Reviews:
An engrossing and informative volume for laymen or experts.......2005-02-09
This volume is the best one I've found on prehistoric creatures. Having always been fascinated by them, I wanted as an adult to find something to broaden the base I'd built as a kid obsessed with Tyrannosaurus and trilobites. Though I'm far from a paleontologist or even a biologist (my own training is in anthropology and linguistics) I find this book a pleasure to browse and consult.
Beginning with the earliest worm-like organisms and evolving through the early fish, amphibians and armored sea creatures, the book continues on up through dinosaurs, Pleistocene megafauna and finally simians and hominids. The desciptions are brief but seem informative, but it is the quality of the artwork that I value most. I never tire of looking at the colorful depictions of the denizens of Devonian swamps, Ordovician seas and Jurassic forests.
So, while I cannot pretend to be an authority, and though I certainly must defer some credibility and ask that you look at my review in conjunction with those of my fellow critics who disagree, I offer my personal recommendation on this book to any person interested in prehistoric life and what it must have been like.
Engaging at first, but then the flaws ..........2000-07-04
This book looked great at first, but then, on closer inspection, the drawings are second-rate, the information is thin, and the inaccuracies mount. Yet, there are no real alternatives that seek to comprehensively catalogue ancient life. I'd still buy it, but my enthusiasm has waned.
On the second thought..........2000-02-24
Several months after acquiring the book I leaf through it and wonder how I could have given it such a high rating as I did. It has flaws throughout!
- The book appears to have a drastic shortage of species to list - it is only half as thick as Simon and Schuster's Encyclopedia of Animals - despite the fact that on numerous occasions they list but one or two species from a thirty-species family;
- The art is severely degraded from the above mentioned encyclopedia of animals. While I can see the puzzlement concerning the colors of the creatures' hides, there is no excuse for the the sloppy drawings of several of the animals! If you make a conjecture, please, be sure to follow through! On several of the animals the hair cover fails to obey the laws of physics, and most of the amphibians look like a horrid joke.
- The information is sketchy at best - on numerous occasions special biological mechanisms are mentioned (like a new jaw bone arrangement for the fishes, and the skull structures of the early land animals), yet are never explained in function. Almost all species are captioned with the basics like weight and dimensions followed with senseless filler.
- The between-section class summarizations and the cladistic graphs are also very, very basic. While I understand that the book was not intended for specialists, even the basic layman will find the charts a bit "dumbed down".
This book is flashy and artful, but lacking, lacking a great lot.
An incredible work.......1999-12-28
I have always longed for such a book. Probably it's a grave mistake on my part to make that the firt sentense of a review, but still. I daresay, anyone who has ever been in the very least intereste in paleontology has always longed for this sort of tome. The authors have satisfied both our love of visuals ( pictures are abundant - they accompiny every entry, in full blazing color by very trustworthy artists, generally sure to catch anyone's eye) and our love of the unknown ( this is the first non-specialist book that I have seen that goes beyond the everyday banal creatures like the pachycephalosaurus and the pterosaurids). This book is sheer pleasure while doing any sort of research, even for the specialists who need solid information. Perhaps there isn't quite enough data with every entry ( due to page limits), but the information that is included is accurate and up-to-date. This is a very good book.
Fascinating pictures and fascinating text !.......1999-11-10
I have been looked for such a book for a long time, and now I have it. Reading this book is delightful, as it gives you plenty of informations about prehistoric animals in a very attractive manner. You have very nice pictures of all animals, with a short explanation giving all essential data about them (size, anatomic singularities, food habits, ...). In addition, extremely interesting introducing sections give you a vision of each branch of animals, together with explanations on the evolutionary process concerning them.
This very up-to-date pictorial guide to now disappeared animals is a treasure for anybody interested in evolution and diversification of life. It gives you enough matter to become a specialist in this domain ! If you want to have one book on dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, make it be this one.
Average customer rating:
- Amazing
- A book to teach children to respect animals.
- good, but lacked regional information
- Excellent coverage, but taxa biased
- The advertisement should make clear geographic coverage.
|
The SIMON & SCHUSTER ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMALS: A VISUAL WHO'S WHO OF THE WORLD'S CREATURES
Philip Whitfield
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 Zoology
| Science, Nature & How It Works
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Nonfiction
| General
| Animals
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Veterinary
| Encyclopedias
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Animals
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Zoology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
Reference
| Outdoors & Nature
| Subjects
| Books
Similar Items:
-
Animal: The Definitive Visual Guide to the World's Wildlife
ASIN: 0684852373 |
Amazon.com
Dr. Philip Whitfield, lecturer in Zoology at King's College, London, has compiled this weighty, authoritative, and beautiful volume about the five classes of vertebrates: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes. An overview of each class serves as an introduction to its members and includes descriptions of the class's distinguishing features, history, and major families, plus cladograms showing the possible phylogenic relationships within the class. Because most readers are more comfortable with the traditional classifications of kingdom, phylum, order, etc., within the chapters themselves the families are arranged in accordance with that system. The section on each family, in turn, begins with a brief overview of the family, followed by representative examples of family members. Each included species is then described separately. The entry includes a full-color painting of the animal, the animal's common and scientific name, its size, breeding patterns, feeding habits, geographic range, and more. Relevant controversies of classification are also mentioned; for example, Whitfield notes that zoologists have recently decided to move the Lagomorpha (rabbits, hares, and pikas) out of the rodent order and grant them status as an order unto themselves. If you haven't been keeping track of who is related to whom, a detailed index with both common and scientific names alphabetized together can help you find the animals you seek. With its more than 2,000 beautiful illustrations and informative text on everything from Aardvark to Zosterops japonicus (a.k.a. the Japanese White-eye, a small green bird), The Encyclopedia of Animals is an excellent reference tool--and a browser's delight. --C.B. Delaney
Book Description
Authoritative and beautiful, written by expert zoologists and illustrated with nearly two thousand original full-color paintings by the world's finest wildlife artists, The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Animals is one of the most extraordinary references ever published. No other guide to the animal world combines such comprehensiveness, consistency of style, and elegance.
This catalogue of the animal world depicts species in detail -- mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish -- illustrating each in color, a stunning guide to the staggering diversity of vertebrate animals. Organized by the taxonomic categories of order, family, genus, and species, the text gives an overview of the characteristics shared by animals within each family. When a family's members are similar, the most typical and most interesting are depicted, with more species included for every dramatic visual variation. Each illustrated animal is described in detail, and every entry includes information on size, breeding patterns, feeding habits, intriguing adaptations and behaviors, common and scientific names, conservation status, geographic range, and habitat.
Written by leading scientists in each field, and incorporating innovative graphics -- cladograms -- in to illustrate the evolution and diversity of each class in the animal kingdom, this remarkable book is an essential reference for every home.
Customer Reviews:
Amazing.......2001-02-09
I love this book. I adore all animals, and I've wanted an encyclopedia of them for a long time. I finally bought this one, and I love it! The drawing are beautifull, and the information is very helpful. It has all the old favorites, like lions, zeberas,ducks, bullfrogs, etc., but it also has obscure animals, like piped currawongs, malleefowl, bandy-bandys, and cane rats. You can learn so much from this book. You can use it as a reference, or just read it straight through . Everyone who loves the animal kingdom should have this book.
A book to teach children to respect animals........2000-07-15
Have you ever seen an "okapi," a "serow," or a "hutia" ? Neither had I. This is a book for everyone. Children will be fascinated and adults enlightened. It is a heavy book you would not want to carry home from the library. I recommend you purchase your own copy. Once you see how beautiful this book is, you will also want to recommend it to your school librarian as a reference book. There is a classification section and a complete index which one would expect from such an encyclopedic work.
I was shocked to read in the foreword that within the next 80-100 years, many of the beautiful creatures described in this book would become extinct. This is definitely a book for all those who value our fascinating planet.
If you love animals, this is your ultimate guide to learning more. With over 2,000 illustrations of mammals, reptiles, fish, birds and amphibians, this is truly an incredible visual catalogue of who is who in the animal kingdom.
Each illustrated animal is described in detail. The feeding habits, behaviors, geographic range and habitat is also included. The publishing company also employed some of the world's finest wildlife artists to beautifully create each picture.
good, but lacked regional information.......1999-11-28
This book was good for a 'getting to know you' on certain types of animals, however, it lacked many specific regional animals and it didn't clearly state where the animals were located. This is definately a reference and not for someone looking to figure out what's lurking in their backyard.
Excellent coverage, but taxa biased.......1999-06-27
This book is monumental and for the price it is certainly a steal. Classification is current and coverage is amazing. As I mentioned, there certainly is a taxonomical bias in this book. The fish class is by far the largest vertebrate class; however, many more pages are spent on mammals and birds which when combined still have less species than the fish class. This is acceptable, considering many more people are interested in birds and mammals. However, this means that the coverage of the fish class is not as taxonomically specific. As such, most of the coverage of the fish class is only down to order, not family or subfamily as it sometimes is in the bird and mammal sections. Coverage of all the fish families would entail much more work and there is already an entire book (Fishes of the World by Joseph S. Nelson $125) written on this (but much poorer illustrations, just line drawings).
Overall an excellent book! It is a good starting book for the aspiring zoologist. After reading/looking at this book one will be interested in why there are so many different species out there, how they are different, and what path led to them becoming as they now are. After this book I would recommend additional books in Mammalogy (Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, and Ecology; by George Feldhamer), Ornithology (Ornithology; by Frank B. Gill), Herpetology (Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles; by George Zug), and Ichthyology (Biology of Fishes, Carl E. Bond). After these books one can always expand to the invertebrates (especially the insects) and even switch kingdoms to plant, fungi...
The advertisement should make clear geographic coverage........1998-11-11
Down in the South Hemisphere, we have a completely different fauna. Let alone Australia, which besides South has a fauna of its own. This book should specify, it is written only for Europe and North America? Are the South american and Australian animals included?
Customer Reviews:
Well Done Biography.......2005-04-23
This book tries to convey a more human Bruce Lee. It includes his triumphs and his mistakes and allows the reader to judge what kind of man Bruce Lee was. While not everything in this book can be verified as truth Bruce Lee's life is portrayed in a respectful but in my opinion honest manner. I must point out again that the so called facts in this book have not been verified but it what is told here seems to correlate well with what I have been told by meeting and training with people who knew and trained with Bruce. My only complaint is the authors obvious bias for chinese martial arts. He claims to be a Wing Chun Gung Fu student and in certain parts of the book it becomes clear that he feels that this method is superior to others. However this is still a good read and the author is not obnoxious with his opinions
Good book.......2005-03-02
A good book and a plesant reading by a good writer. There's not so much new information in this book, but it puts facts in perspective a gives a good general body of information for those wishing to begin to learn about Bruce Lee's life. And what a life...
Like Bon Scott of AC/DC, for example, Bruce died when he was starting to reach his full potential in movies. It was a shame.
Solid biography.......2005-02-28
This is far from an official biography. It has not the endorsement of Linda Lee, and it also lacks interviews with some key member of Bruce's life. Also, the excuse given for the total lack of photos was not convincing at all.
But you will soon forgive the author for these minor flaws, because once you begin to read this book you will not stop it. Bruce Thomas, a bass player with Elvis Costello's band, writes with passion, but without bias. He tries to be objective all the times, including the "conspiracy theories" surrounding Bruce's death.
This book has a serius side effect: after reading it, you will not watch ever again the movie DRAGON (1993). Although Jason Scott Lee gave a great performance, it is clear that the movie was a total absurd, it's amazing how Linda Lee gave her support to it.
Good, But Beware: The Enthusiast's Point-of-View.......2003-12-09
Generally speaking, this is a fair and somewhat gritty bio of Bruce Lee. There is much detail here on Bruce's disillusionment with fame, and also his health problems -- stunning to learn that he was taking back-pain injections while filming Big Boss, and had even sprained his ankle at one point. And the unpleasant details of the Enter the Dragon shoot were also somewhat shocking, especially the scriptwriter's obnoxious plan to make Bruce say the letter 'R' as much as possible. There is a lot of text on Bruce's early struggles, and then a way-too-quick zip through his first two movies.
But in some ways, this book falls in with the other Bruce Lee tributes. The author is a kung fu practicioner, and as such takes almost all pronouncements of Eastern-thinking or Chinese superstition as having complete validity -- so, for example, you'll be intellectually face-to-face with someone who is describing "chi" as if it actually physically exisits, as lungs do. So he hasn't the sceptic's eye for really talking about martial arts in an objective way, but this won't bother a lot of folks.
The best.......2003-01-28
Of all the many books I have read on Bruce Lee I think this biography is far and away the best. The previous reviewer reflected my thought exactly, that the author, Bruce Thomas, is "respectful but not caught up in hero worship". I would add that this is the only Bruce Lee book I have read that manages to walk that line. Bruce Thomas clearly has a personality and spirituality that is mature enough to have captured and integrated the essence of Bruce Lee. The biography is well-researched and detailed but this is more than a biography...it is a great book.
Book Description
Compact Haitian Creole, a stand-alone 10-lesson (5 hours) program, teaches beginning language strategies for essential communication and traveling needs, plus an introduction to reading.
HEAR IT, LEARN IT, SPEAK IT
What is the Pimsleur® difference?
The Pimsleur Method provides the most effective language-learning program ever developed. The Pimsleur Method gives you quick command of Haitian Creole structure without tedious drills. Learning to speak Haitian Creole can actually be enjoyable and rewarding.
The key reason most people struggle with new languages is that they aren't given proper instruction, only bits and pieces of a language. Other language programs sell only pieces -- dictionaries; grammar books and instructions; lists of hundreds or even thousands of words and definitions; audios containing useless drills. They leave it to you to assemble these pieces as you try to speak. Pimsleur enables you to spend your time learning to speak the language rather than just studying its parts.
When you were learning English, could you speak before you knew how to conjugate verbs? Of course you could. That same learning process is what Pimsleur replicates. Pimsleur presents the whole language as one integrated piece so you can succeed.
With Pimsleur you get:
• Grammar and vocabulary taught together in everyday conversation,
• Interactive audio-only instruction that teaches spoken language organically,
• The flexibility to learn anytime, anywhere,
• 30-minute lessons designed to optimize the amount of language you can learn in one sitting.
Millions of people have used Pimsleur to gain real conversational skills in new languages quickly and easily, wherever and whenever -- without books, written exercises, or drills.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty useless for someone who knows some French.......2007-10-09
I speak fairly good French and was looking for something to help me learn Kreyol. This program is useless for that - there is no grammatical information and a lot of time is spent teaching you that "ri" is street, etc. If you don't know any French or Kreyol and only want to learn a little "tourist Kreyol", it might be okay for that. If you are learning Kreyol to work there or to adopt a Haitian child, look elsewhere.
learning Creole.......2007-08-27
I have really enjoyed the language program. Have had to go over each lesson several times, but find that I can understand the conversations now, whereas in the beginning it was a jumble. I would benefit from being able to see the words, as a couple of them are hard to decipher.
Would recommend the program to anyone wanting to converse in Creole "toupiti".
wonderful preparation for my trip to Haiti.......2006-12-02
With the help of these 10 lessons and a (very) basic background in French, I found I was able to converse and understand a great deal of Creole in Haiti. And I was not there as a tourist, but for business, where I was speaking to people from different regions of the country and across the economic spectrum. I've never had a gift for languages (I did terribly in school with French class) but these CD's literally turned me into a Creole speaker. I was in Haiti for 8 days and at the end of it, I could have (basic) conversations on a variety of topics. Its amazing what you pick up once you are immersed; but to have the basic structure and some basic vocabulary under your belt before that immersion, is key. Personally, I would have loved more CD's, more lessons, a little more instruction (some of the basics like verbs like 'to have' were left out) and if Pimsleur released more lessons I would eagerly buy them. But bottom line, I was impressed with the instruction strategy and I really learned quickly; if they could get ME to learn a new language, anyone could learn.
Outstanding! Easy way to learn the basics in Haitian Creole........2006-08-09
The CD set is outstanding! After lesson one, I was able to have just a generic conversation and speak with an in-law that does speak any English at all.
I am now up to lesson 5 and can have a basic conversation when my in-laws are over for dinner. I recommend this product to anyone trying to learn Haitian Creole. Even though the lessons are short and you do not receive a lot of detail in other areas after you learn to ask for directions directions, say hello and goodbye, etc, this will teach you the basics and there are other products that can help further your knowledge of the lanquage.
I would recommend this very highly and wish anyone that is trying to learn this language, the best of luck.
Creole for Travel.......2006-08-01
This series would probably not be helpful to most people traveling to Haiti. The CD's do not cover enough vocabulary. Haiti is not exactly a place for tourists, which this series in various languages is intended for. Most people from the United States are going to this third world nation for humanitarian aid and could use something more along the lines of help phrases. However, the tapes have a lot of repitition and do provide a way to learn some simple phrases. I was very surprised how short each CD was. There is no written material to accompany the CD's for visual learners.
Book Description
Compact Haitian Creole, a stand-alone 10-lesson (5 hours) program, teaches beginning language strategies for essential communication and traveling needs, plus an introduction to reading.
Book Description
SPEAK HAITIAN TO LEARN HAITIAN
The Pimsleur Method will have you speaking Haitian in just a few short, easy-to-use lessons.
Learn at your own pace, comfortably and conveniently.
No books to study. No memorization drills.
LEARN HAITIAN AS YOU LEARNED ENGLISH
You learned English by listening. With Pimsleur, you listen to learn Haitian. This Language Program was developed by renowned memory expert, Dr. Paul Pimsleur. His research led him to the realization that the most important use of memory is in language learning. Based on this, Dr. Pimsleur designed a learning program that works for any language. The Pimsleur Language Program is an integrated system which immerses you in the language, encouraging you to hear, understand and use the language all at the same time.
Now you can take advantage of Dr. Pimsleur's research. At the completion of these eight lessons you will comfortably understand and speak at a beginner level.
Customer Reviews:
I love the courses - but I wouldn't pay this price... .......2006-02-16
I purchased this same program for less than $80 here on Amazon... The version I purchased was UNABRIDGED (this one says it's Abridged) and it included 10 lessons on CD...
I was able to rip the audio files to my Ipod and I am doing great with these easy to follow lessons. The pronunciations are above average. My husband is Haitian and speaks Creole. He guides me through these lessons thinks they're really good because the people speaking actually SOUND like they are Haitian. If you've found this listing - keep looking.
Here's the info on the one I purchased:
Product Details
* Audio CD
* Publisher: Pimsleur; Unabridged edition (October 1, 2004)
* Language: English
* ISBN: 0743538498
* Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8.1 x 2.1 inches
* Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
Try this link - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743538498/102-0318882-3618567?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155
Whatever you do - don't pay $300 bucks for these lessons...
A Good Start..........2002-07-09
Given the lack of available information on learning Haitian Creole, I was very happy when I found the Pimsleur tapes, and even happier when I was able to get them at a discount on Amazon.com. I agree with the other reviewers that the limited content is disappointing, but it's a good start and overall I'm happy with my purchase. My wife (who is Haitian) and her friends and family are amazed at the progress I've made in such a short period of time. Now the pressure is on to keep on improving. If Pimsleur made a second and third course, I'd buy them in a heartbeat.
Great starter but...........2002-03-29
The Pimsleur method is a great way to start, but the five tapes can quickly be mastered. It would be better with more content/more tapes. Obviously you're not going to learn the language and strike up a conversation after following this course...but that was never my intent.....I was looking for a starting point. All-in-all I satisfied with the course and think it worth the price.
With all that said, they could have hit a home run with 3 things. 1: more tapes, 2: a pronunciation key, 3: the reading guide for each unit should have covered the words used in the corresponding unit on tape.
If Pimsleur expanded the course (before I mastered the language through other means) I would purchase it.
There are better..........2001-07-12
Tapes are DEFINITELY the way forward - unless you're going to live and work in a country for a couple of years or more. Even then, a head start is worth something. You won't learn much language in a couple of months in a country starting from scratch (unless you stay with friends who have the patience to teach you in a structured way). Of course, if you can afford face-to-face tuition or learn it in college, nice. If not, then tapes will at least teach you how to pronounce things "properly" (which is not to say idiomatically). They will give you a basic vocabulary.
However, this course is so SLOW - the lessons are repetitious rather than allow the student to judge when to repeat something. One could get far more material into 5 tapes. I acquired them for my son and we were tempted to edit them into something compact. They do not equip you to hold a conversation but give you a basis.
The alternative is "Ann Pale Kreyol" (Valdeman) which costs three times the price but has about six times the material and would prepare you competently to strike up a simple converstaion from the word go.
The Pimsleur publishers might approach a full length course differently, but this abridged course is not good value for money. Students could make good the somewhat deficient volcabulary if they speak intermediate (or above) French because many French words have been drawn into the Kreyol vernacular - colours, for instance. The grammar is quite different and to be fair, the Pimsleur does drill many of its idioms into you. So, if you have six to eight months before you visit Haiti and can afford it, go for the "Ann Pale Kreyol" set. If not, this will do at a pinch. If you're a keen listener you'd soon start to pick the language up. It would also help to lay your hands on any easy books in Kreyol, even newspapers - and if you have a contact in Haiti, ask her/him to send you tapes of radio broadcasts.
Tapes are not the way.......2000-11-06
The best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. In other words- go to Haiti! Listen, make mistakes, try again and guess what, you'll soon speak this language of little to NO verb conjugation! Besides, you'll get something else that no tape can give you- an experience of wonderful, magical Haiti.
Product Description
Pimsleur has been a recognized name in language training for decades, and updated Audiofy audiobook chip editions of Pimsleur Compact courses combine a handful of cassettes or CDs onto a tiny memory card - yielding an affordable, durable, more portable product. Each Audiofy audiobook chip, hardly larger than a stamp, holds an unabridged Compact course with five hours of digital audio, and saves the last listening position automatically (unlike CDs).
Created for adult learners, this Pimsleur Compact Haitian Creole edition offers ten half-hour lessons, providing "meet and greet" conversation skills to enrich upcoming travel, begin adjusting as a new arrival, or surprise and bond a bit more closely with a foreign-born relative. Like all Pimsleur courses, the lessons emphasize good pronunciation and common courtesy, allowing practical interaction with native speakers.
This Audiofy audiobook chip edition can be played on Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh desktop computers or laptops (Microsoft Windows XP/2000/Me/98, or Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9 and above) using an SD memory card slot or adapter, like those for digital cameras. Audiobook chips also move seamlessly to most Palm OS and Pocket PC handheld PDAs with SD expansion slots, as well as Treo and Windows Mobile "smartphones" (Palm OS 5.2 or Windows Mobile 2002 and above).
Audiofy audiobook chips offer "no look" audio navigation, ideal for anyone hindered by the small displays on some devices. Since university linguist Dr. Paul Pimsleur designed courses that are almost entirely audio-based, they are suitable for traveling, commuting or exercising. With Audiofy audiobook chips, this proven technique is now more convenient than ever.
Book Description
Templars in America explodes the myth that Columbus was the first European to discover the Americas. Using archival and archaeological sources, Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marilyn Hopkins reveal the Venetian connection between the Knights Templar and pre-Columbian America and prove the continuous history of such exploration from the time of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, through the Viking explorations.
Told in fascinating detail, this story takes as many twists and turns as a historical mystery novel. Templars in America takes readers through the many possible early explorations of America, which set the stage for the real mystery: the tale of how various dealings between Venice and Normandy resulted in the Templars coming to America.
Two leading European Templar families, nearly 100 years before Columbus, combined forces to create a new commonwealth in America. This is the story of Henry St. Clair of the Orkney Islands, then part of Normandy, and Carlo Zeno, a Venetian trader. These early explorers made peaceful and mutually beneficial contact with the Canadian Mi'kmaq people.
Although the voyage had little immediate political or commercial impact, it acts as a signpost to a centuries-long process that culminates in the beliefs and traditions of the Templars and Freemasonry, shaping the thinking of the founding fathers of the United States—and the American Constitution.
Templars in Americais a wild ride through the golden age of exploration to the founding of the United States of America.
Customer Reviews:
Intriguing. Title is misleading. Info is very good........2007-06-04
The title is very misleading. Being a lover of all things Templar and assuming the book contained theories about Templars coming to America after their extermination by the Catholic church and Phillip the Fair of France, I was interested to see what proof was presented.
This book is a study of what has become known as THE ZENO NARRATIVE and everything surrounding it, written history, archaeology, oral traditions, etc.
To sum up, Earl (or Prince) Henry Sinclair of Orkney is purported to have visited and settled in the Americas with the assistance of legends and writings from his Nordic (Viking) heritage and a pair of Venetian mariners, Antonio and Nicolo Zeno. This was said to have happened around 1398, almost 100 years prior to Columbus. Enter the controversy.
The book presents a very sound case for this settlement, offering archaeological and historical documentation, some of which can be viewed by anyone that wants to make a trip to New England or Canada. I believed that the Americas were used in established trade for centuries before Columbus, and this book further supports that belief.
Well researched with an impressive bibliography and extensive footnotes and references, this book covers every base.
3 issues make me rate this historical study a 4 instead of a 5 and they are:
1) The authors reference and seem to have an agenda surrounding Rex Deus (I won't get in depth, but Rex Deus claim to be kin to the Old Testament Priests and therefore somehow historically desireable or even worthy of kingship?). They don't go in to great depth about this, but it stays on the periphery of the book throughout.
2) The title is very misleading, regardless of the factual basis or content of the book. I very much enjoyed this book and the historical assertions it makes, but it was not what the title suggests and that is a problem for me no matter how much I enjoy the work. THIS BOOK IS NOT A STUDY OF TEMPLARS IN AMERICA, rather it is a study of a possible descendent or relative of a Templar, that traveled to America.
3) The book makes reference to the connection between the Knights Templar and the Freemasons. This is just not so. I am a student of the Templars and know for a fact that these connections are based on conjecture and wishful thinking to support "Holy Grail" or "Mary Magdalene" type mysteries (which I enjoy as fiction, but none of the grail or mary magdalene stuff can be proven as fact). They suggest this tie with the usual association between the Sinclairs (St. Clairs) and the Freemasons. There is nothing to tie Freemasonry to Templars except that the Freemasons based their organization on some of the rules of the Templar order.
So, to sum up, this was a very good historical account of pre-Columbian voyages to the new world. Flawed only by the title, a questionable agenda regarding an ancient secret society and references to connections between the Templars and organizations of today.
STILL, A VERY GOOD HISTORICAL REFERENCE.
Excellent Book on Early America Explorations.......2006-12-09
Finally a book that dispenses with all the fabricated and wildly unproven Templar theories. This book is mainly, however, about the early Sinclair/Zeno trip(s) to America before Columbus. They did have Templar connections. One of the highlights of this book is the discussion on the Newport Tower in Rhode Island. There can be no doubt this predates Columbus. It's time for serious archaeological study of this structure. The only place that the authors get off topic is in chapter 12 where they try to be philosophical and make you feel bad about the America Indians. Sorry, but the population drop of the Indians wasn't "primarily due to genocide." The majority had died from disease between the initial European contacts and large scale colonization. I'm not saying they weren't persecuted, but they weren't as peace loving as the authors trying to make them out either. But the authors do make a good point about the natives not forgetting and ignoring nature around them. In any case, this book is a solid look at early American explorations.
for those with ears to hear, listen! .......2004-12-27
Disregard the flippant quote from the 1 star reviewer, who obviously is emotionally biased since they failed to even read it and instead found something canned on the web to post there to discredit it. Interestingly that negative reviewer has only reviewed two books ever, the one above rated negatively and another templar book rated entirely positively because it is called more "empirical". Well, on that criteria, the negative reviewer should love this book, if they ever read it instead of simply copy/paste something from the web ironically without any of the cherished evidence itself to back it up! Who's irrational, eh?
Anyway, I will let the authors of the book speak for themselves in this quote as a rebuttal to the ignorant reviewer above. At least the authors read their own book, relying on a great deal of emprical evidence, unlike the hotheaded negative reviewer:
The quote is:
"In various books, claims have been made for the date, itenarary, and duration of the voyages for which we can find no justification whatsoever. We have been careful to use the relevant passages from the Zeno Narrative where they are in accord with the geography, in conjunction with Henry's undoubted knowledge of previous Viking voyages to Vinland. We can also follow the trail of this considerable exploration through archaeological artifacts, which those interested can still view and assess for themselves. While we have made every attempt to keep speculation to a minimum, we consider the hypotheses we do put forward reasonable in the light of the evidence and dispassionate logic. We accept a priori that there is no way that even this rational methodology will convince those who hold the entrenched position that there was no European contact with America prior to 1492. [p.3]
. . .
A Rising Tide of Acceptance
Despite its long and troubled history, the authenticity of the Zeno Narrative is now well established and has been accepted by academics such as Hapgood and Hobbs, the American historian Ridpath, the Albany Herald of Scotland, the late Sir Ian Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Dr. Barbara Crawford, the chief archivist, Geltling, of Denmark, the Swedish archaeologist Rausing, the Danish scholar Aage Russell, Arlington Mallery, Johann Reinhold Forester, the Tudor naval historian Richard Hakluyt, the secretary to the State of Venice, Ramusio, Professor Taylor of London University, the Venetian historian Ruscelli, R.H. Major of the Royal Geographic Society, the American historian John Fiske, the British historian Andrew Sinclair, and, of course, the persistence student of pre-Columbian American exploration, Frederick Pohl.
The Zeno map, despite the fact that it was made 150 years after the event and drawn from information supplied by the Narrative, has now also been authenticated as an accurate chart of the voyage. The importance of the work done by Captain Arlington Mallery and Charles Hapgood in establishing a valid rationale for the seeming disappearance of the "Fly Away Island" of Icaria has defused many earlier criticisms, and the work of Paul-Emile Victor in restoring the Zeno map to its original reputation for authenticity has been vital.
The historical reality of the Zeno/St. Clair expedition to the New world does not simply depend upon the validity of the Zeno map and narrative, however. We also have the evidence of the Westford Knight in Massachusetts, the Newport Tower in Rhode Island, the carvings in Rosslyn Chapel, and the offical commemoration of the voyage on a plague at the Zeno Pallazo in Venice. . . . [p. 195]
So, understand all this evidence in this great textbook overview of the issues. Get this historical update and to open your minds to evidence--the only way to learn and to avoid the haughtiness of ignorance.
Books:
- The Story of Rats: Their Impact on Us, and Our Impact on Them
- The Undercliff: A Naturlist's Sketchbook of the Devon to Dorset Coast
- The World of the Polar Bear
- The World of the Polar Bear
- Through Glacier Park in 1915
- Throwim' Way Leg: Tree-Kangaroos, Possums, and Penis Gourds
- Tiger: The Ultimate Guide
- Toxic Contamination in Large Lakes/World Conference on Large Lakes Mackinac'86
- Tracks of the Unseen: Meditations on Alaska Wildlife, Landscape, and Photography
- Ty Beanies Tracker: The World's Most complete Ty Guide
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature
- The Garden Primer
- Property-Liability Insurance Accounting and Finance
- The Art of Digital Wedding Photography: Professional Techniques with Style
- The Johnstown Flood
- The Wizard of Oz and Other Narcissists: Coping with the One-Way Relationship in Work, Love, and Fami
- The Penumbra Fantasy Bestiary
- Full-Color Fruit Crate Labels CD-ROM and Book
- Selected International Investment Portfolios
- Education Directory of Public Schools of North Carolina 2002/2003
Simon & Schuster's Guide To Dinosaurs And Other Prehistoric Animals
The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life
National Geographic Dinosaurs
Walking with Monsters - Life Before Dinosaurs
