740 Park: The Story of the World's Richest Apartment Building

Book Description

For seventy-five years, it’s been Manhattan’s richest apartment building, and one of the most lusted-after addresses in the world. One apartment had 37 rooms, 14 bathrooms, 43 closets, 11 working fireplaces, a private elevator, and his-and-hers saunas; another at one time had a live-in service staff of 16. To this day, it is steeped in the purest luxury, the kind most of us could only imagine, until now.

The last great building to go up along New York’s Gold Coast, construction on 740 Park finished in 1930. Since then, 740 has been home to an ever-evolving cadre of our wealthiest and most powerful families, some of America’s (and the world’s) oldest money—the kind attached to names like Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Bouvier, Chrysler, Niarchos, Houghton, and Harkness—and some whose names evoke the excesses of today’s monied elite: Kravis, Koch, Bronfman, Perelman, Steinberg, and Schwarzman. All along, the building has housed titans of industry, political power brokers, international royalty, fabulous scam-artists, and even the lowest scoundrels.

The book begins with the tumultuous story of the building’s construction. Conceived in the bubbling financial, artistic, and social cauldron of 1920’s Manhattan, 740 Park rose to its dizzying heights as the stock market plunged in 1929—the building was in dire financial straits before the first apartments were sold. The builders include the architectural genius Rosario Candela, the scheming businessman James T. Lee (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’s grandfather), and a raft of financiers, many of whom were little more than white-collar crooks and grand-scale hustlers.

Once finished, 740 became a magnet for the richest, oldest families in the country: the Brewsters, descendents of the leader of the Plymouth Colony; the socially-registered Bordens, Hoppins, Scovilles, Thornes, and Schermerhorns; and top executives of the Chase Bank, American Express, and U.S. Rubber. Outside the walls of 740 Park, these were the people shaping America culturally and economically. Within those walls, they were indulging in all of the Seven Deadly Sins.

As the social climate evolved throughout the last century, so did 740 Park: after World War II, the building’s rulers eased their more restrictive policies and began allowing Jews (though not to this day African Americans) to reside within their hallowed walls. Nowadays, it is full to bursting with new money, people whose fortunes, though freshly-made, are large enough to buy their way in.

At its core this book is a social history of the American rich, and how the locus of power and influence has shifted haltingly from old bloodlines to new money. But it’s also much more than that: filled with meaty, startling, often tragic stories of the people who lived behind 740’s walls, the book gives us an unprecedented access to worlds of wealth, privilege, and extraordinary folly that are usually hidden behind a scrim of money and influence. This is, truly, how the other half—or at least the other one hundredth of one percent—lives.

Customer Reviews:

My head is spinning.......2007-06-27

I'm on pg 184, and vow to get to the end, but I don't expect it to be easy. Like the other comments, I agree that pictures would have been wonderful to include, just so I could attempt to keep some of these people straight. This book gets so weighed down with names, and they've become a blur. Junior Rockefeller was interesting, but all the names of each and every lawyer and law firm and decorators and whatnot it just bogs it all down.
I'm doing Google searches on the main people, just so I can try to paint a better mental picture.

**edited - I didn't make it through the book. It's not worth my time.

No One Does NY Dish Better.......2007-05-24

Michael Gross has been living in New York City his entire life. That's a nice way of saying that he comes by his real estate obsesssion naturally. All New Yorkers seem to talk about these days is where they live, where they want to live and how much it costs.

That makes 740 Park is a natural subject for Gross who's got a sharp wit and fine sense of what makes his native city's power brokers tick. 740 Park is a great read for anyone wanting a history of one of the city's big name building, one of those places that almost everyone in towns wants to own but only a few - very few - even get to visit.

I liked this book both for its dish and its perpective and that's a hard act to pull off successfully. Gross does a fine job.

When Does This End?.......2007-05-17

I lived in NY from 1989-1994, worked around the corner at Ralph Lauren and have always had a strong interest in architecture and New York history. I bought this book with enthusiasm.

I couldn't believe how much information is packed into it. There are over 500 pages! About page 20, I began to get lost. I simply couldn't read it. It is packed with so much minutae and tedious history of each and every tenant that it became absurd.

Here is what (my version) of his writing is. Imagine 500 pages of:

"Lucretia Davis was the widow of Malcom Dodge Davis, the same Dodges who came over on the Mayflower and began to buy up land outside of Dodgeville, MS. The old Mississippi Dodges met the Fish family when wintering in Jekyll Island and they began a friendship that cultimated in Betsy Fish's marriage to Dennis Davis and the birth of their daughter Emily Davis in 1911. In that year, the entire Davis clan, and the Fish family formed a corporation, known as Dodge Fish which eventually became the F. Dodge Fish Financial Bank. This bank began serving customers on July 21, 1921 but not before a terrible fire at 5 Wall Street which began on the night of July 20, 1921 and severely burned Mrs. Fish Davis so that she was forced to recuperate in Oyster Bay, NY where she met her next husband Dr. Leonard Foxhound Koop."

This book should not be read in bed or on a full stomach.

740 PARK.......2007-01-27

This book is the very definition of over rated..how on earth do you have a book like this and no images of these supposed fantastic apartments, I suggest a book on the architects of this building, Rosario Candela and James Carpenter, now that will show you the famous Rockefeller apartment, and fyi, it's a fantastic book, this book on the other hand is inane dribble...what a bore.

Amazing.......2007-01-10

One of the most fascinating and classy books I have ever read so far. Read it, you won't regret it.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

Average customer rating:

Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

The People Speak: American Voices, Some Famous, Some Little Known

Average customer rating:

Not the version I wanted
Howard Zinn - a true American

The People Speak: American Voices, Some Famous, Some Little Known

Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0060578262
Release Date: 2004-03-02

Book Description

To celebrate the millionth copy sold of Howard Zinn's great People's History of the United States, Zinn drew on the words of Americans -- some famous, some little known -- across the range of American history. These words were read by a remarkable cast at an event held at the 92nd Street YMHA in New York City that included James Earl Jones, Alice Walker, Jeff Zinn, Kurt Vonnegut, Alfre Woodard, Marisa Tomei, Danny Glover, Myla Pitt, Harris Yulin, and Andre Gregory.

From that celebration, this book was born. Collected here under one cover is a brief history of America told through dramatic readings applauding the enduring spirit of dissent.

Here in their own words, and interwoven with commentary by Zinn, are Columbus on the Arawaks; Plough Jogger, a farmer and participant in Shays' Rebellion; Harriet Hanson, a Lowell mill worker; Frederick Douglass; Mark Twain; Mother Jones; Emma Goldman; Helen Keller; Eugene V. Debs; Langston Hughes; Genova Johnson Dollinger on a sit-down strike at General Motors in Flint, Michigan; an interrogation from a 1953 HUAC hearing; Fannie Lou Hamer, a sharecropper and member of the Freedom Democratic Party; Malcolm X; and James Lawrence Harrington, a Gulf War resister, among others.

Customer Reviews:

Not the version I wanted.......2007-03-08

The excerpt from the Spanish priest on Santo Domingo does not contain the most powerful passage that I've heard read. It concerns the execution of an Indian chief who when asked if he wanted to convert to Christianity before his execution, asked if all Christians went to heaven. Told they did, he said he'd rather go to the other place.

Howard Zinn - a true American.......2006-11-10

Very interesting book, the variety of people is wonderful and well thought out. It takes someone special to look at their own country and not shy away from painful parts of our history. The only way to move forward is to learn from the real past not the rosy schoolbook history that been sanitized.

Geronimo: Young Warrior (Childhood of Famous Americans)

Average customer rating:

GREAT BOOK.
A must read!

Geronimo: Young Warrior (Childhood of Famous Americans)
George E. Stanley
Manufacturer: Aladdin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0689844557

Customer Reviews:

GREAT BOOK........2004-10-05

I am ten years old and my name is G/Dog. Geronimo is a one of a kind book. This is why I give it five stars. It's tells how about Geronimo's life and what he did. He had two names. I recommend this book from ages 7 through 15. It is medium length.

A must read!.......2003-05-17

This is a must read for young people. It gives an excellent picture of one of the most important Native Americans in American history. Stanley makes Geronimo come to life.

Average customer rating:

Good book, but get the new edition
A Must-Have, Quick Reference
Great Book

Chicago's Famous Buildings

Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Criticism | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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Chicago In and Around the Loop : Walking Tours of Architecture and History

ASIN: 0226740625

Book Description

Here is the thoroughly revised and updated edition of the leading
pocket guide to the greatest urban architecture in the United States.
Since its first appearance in 1965, this book has been the standard
guide to Chicago's best buildings. This new edition covers more than
a decade of extraordinary new architecture—and takes a fresh look
back at the city's classical legacy of Adler, Sullivan, Burnham, Root,
Wright, and Mies van der Rohe.

Customer Reviews:

Good book, but get the new edition.......2004-06-08

This is the best general architectural guide to Chicago and the suburbs, but get the new Fifth Edition ISBN: 0226740668. It's much more up-to-date and the maps are easier to use.

A Must-Have, Quick Reference.......2001-10-02

This is one of my favorite mini-books on Chicago architecture. It is perfect if you are in need of a comprehensive guide with short entries to shape your exploration of the city. Unlike, say, the AIA Guide, photographs are provided for every entry. Photos are small but nowhere near as tiny as the AIA thumbnails. While the entries are brief, they cover most of the important highlights. I am anxious for a new edition, as many of the descrpitions (and their accompanying photos) are in need of updating in order to cover recent restoration efforts and newer major buildings as well.

Great Book.......2000-05-17

I love this book. It is fairly recent overview of the famous buildings in the Chicago area. It covers downtown, the city, and the suburbs. It also has some good buildings featured from the Sears Tower to the Amritech Building at Hoffmann Estates. Though the photos are in black and white, and the entries are a little short, this is a definate buy if you are interested in Urban Architecture or Chicago.

To the Mountains by Rail: People, Events, and Tragedies... the New York, Ontario and Western Railway and the Famous Sullivan County Resorts

Average customer rating:

A Tribute to To The Mountains By Rail by Manville Wakefield
The definitive history of Sullivan County resorts
Best work of Sullivan Co. history in the last century
Very Informative

To the Mountains by Rail: People, Events, and Tragedies... the New York, Ontario and Western Railway and the Famous Sullivan County Resorts
Manville B. Wakefield
Manufacturer: Purple Mountain Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Customer Reviews:

A Tribute to To The Mountains By Rail by Manville Wakefield.......2001-11-14

(. . .) The book has been out of print (approximately) since 1995. The last printing was 1989 with 2500 copies being issued from Purple Mountain Press. Although slightly smaller in size this edition was not reprinted from the original plates, but is still a faithful reprint. If you are looking for the 1970 1st ed. or 1976 1st ed., 2nd printing be prepared to spend some money (. . .). If you are a serious collector of Sullivan County material the cost will not be an issue. One of the main reasons that this book is so important is that it contains many rare photos from private collections from long deceased families of Sullivan County. Many photos of early boarding houses, hotels, private family residences, landscapes, etc. abound.

The definitive history of Sullivan County resorts.......1998-07-30

This book is the definitive history of Sullivan County's famed "borscht belt" resorts, as well as its tuberculosis sanitariums and the vital New York, Ontario and Western Railway which brought clientele to the mountains. It is currently available from Purple Mountain Press in Fleischmanns, NY as a reprint. It was originally printed in 1970 by Wakefair Press. Used editions show up from time to time in the $80 to $100 range, especially those signed by the author.

Best work of Sullivan Co. history in the last century.......1998-05-07

This work picks up where James Eldridge Quinlan's 1873 'History of Sullivan County' leaves off. It is a "bible-type book; one which you keep going back to, over and over again. It takes you back to a simpler, bucholic, pioneering time. An excellent book....

Very Informative.......1998-03-01

This book covers the history of Sullivan County very well. You can't get a better source of reference to the Railroads that went through Sullivan County, New York. I live in the town of Grahamsville, NY where the author was from and I think this book should commemorate the author whom I wish I had known. He was also the Sullivan County Historian so I have heard.

Average customer rating:

Where is Iran?

1000 Years of Famous People
Clive Gifford
Manufacturer: Kingfisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Historical Fiction | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0753455404

Book Description

Meet the movers and shakers of the last millennium in this comprehensive and detailed look at the famous and the notorious, along with their achievements, and their legacies. Organized by themeexplorers, inventors, leaders, artists, athletes, musicians, politicians, scientists, writers, and reformerseach section is arranged chronologically by birth date. From Pedro Alvares Cabral to Charlie Chaplin, the fact-filled entries illuminate the life and accomplishments of key figures who helped to shape the last 1000 years, while in-depth features cover the most significant history-makers. Offering unique insight into the lives of the great and famous, and occasionally infamous, this is a superb reference for all the family. Special Features - Packed with wonderful illustrations, and photographs - Special in-depth features about key history-makers - Brief biographies of key figures appear at the foot of every spread - Comprehensive index

Customer Reviews:

Where is Iran?.......2004-05-01

In this book of famous people in the last 1000 years, there is no sign of even a single persona from Iran. Neither people from the old time (Avicina, Abu-reihan Biruni, Khayam, Kharazmi, and so on), nor from the present time. Is this book politically biased? Do you think that you can make a nation like Iran disappear so easily just if you do not write about it in your book? Iran has survived many ups-and-downs in the course of its harsh history. It will do so.

The Skagway Story: A History of Alaska's Most Famous Gold Rush Town and Some of the People Who Made That History

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The Skagway Story: A History of Alaska's Most Famous Gold Rush Town and Some of the People Who Made That History
Howard Clifford
Manufacturer: Alaska Northwest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0882400460

Book Description

Skagways' past as a rip-roaring gold rush town is captured in The Skagway Story. This intriguing little book is just like a scrapbook, filled with photographs from dusty trunks in attics, recollections from pioneers who were there, and memorabilia of long-buried local residents.

Learn about the glory days of Skagway, known as the "Gateway to the Klondike"-the discovery of the Klondike goldfields in 1896, the ordeal of the stampeders trudging over the grueling Chilkoot Pass in the winter of 1897, the 1898 shootout between con man Soapy Smith and city official Frank Reid, the completion of the narrow-gauge White Pass & Yukon Route railroad in 1900, and other milestones in the history of the North's most famous bonanza.

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The "Alternative Camp" Views Debunked

Read this book first

Impeccable logic?

Good Summary Of Current Theories

An outstanding piece of work

Giza: The Truth : The People, Politics, and History Behind the World's Most Famous Archaeological Site
Ian Lawton , and Chris Ogilvie-Herald
Manufacturer: Invisible Cities Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory

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Pyramid Quest: Secrets of the Great Pyramid and the Dawn of Civilization

Fingerprints of the Gods

ASIN: 1931229139

Book Description

"Lawton and Ogilvie-Herald's insight into the great Giza debate is superb. I urge everyone to read and digest Giza: The Truth before they even think about picking up another book on alternative Egypt." Andrew Collins, author of Gateway to Atlantis and Gods of Eden

"Lawton and Ogilvie-Herald have gone where no academic has dared to venture, and have exposed the raw truth behind the archaeological history and politics of Egypt's greatest monuments." David Rohl, The Express

"A refreshing and realistic overview of research, exploration, questions and answers surrounding the Giza Plateau. A significant contribution to the field." Rudolf Gantenbrink, Giza researcher

What secrets does the Giza Plateau really hold? Are the pyramids simple burial chambers, astronomical devices, or even power plants? Who built them and the enigmatic Sphinx, and when? Does a Hall of Records await discovery at Giza, and if so what does it contain? These questions have animated both the public and a long line of dedicated researchers for years. Giza: The Truth offers the first balanced, objective, and unbiased assessment of the entire range of theories, both orthodox and alternative, that attempt to answer these questions and many more. Authors Ian Lawton and Chris Ogilvie-Herald combine their exhaustive research into the history of investigations at Giza with their own clandestine explorations, creating the definitive work on the Giza Plateau. They uncover the truth about possible secret chambers and tunnels, and delve into the cover-ups and conspiracies, claims and counterclaims that make up the tangled web of political intrigue that has come to dominate the Plateau in recent years. What emerges is an epic story of earnest researchers and opportunistic charlatans, of rival camps waging a war for power, credibility, and ultimate control over the legacy of Giza. Ian Lawton is a former management information systems consultant. He has been researching ancient civilizations for more than a decade, and since 1997 has been a full-time writer-researcher. His second book, Genesis Unveiled, will also be published by Invisible Cities Press. Lawton lives in Hamble, England. Chris Ogilvie-Herald is former editor of Quest for Knowledge magazine and organizer of The Giza Debate, a two-day international conference in London aimed at bringing together conflicting orthodox and alternative views in a series of lectures culminating in a public forum. He lives in London, England.

Customer Reviews:

The "Alternative Camp" Views Debunked.......2007-01-13

Wow, I sure wouldn't want to get Lawton and Ogilvie-Herald upset with me!

This book is a meaty little rascal, over 570 pages, and in it Lawton and Ogilvie-Herald take on anybody who doesn't share their orthodox view of the origin of the sphinx, pyramids, and the other architectural artifacts of Egypt and the Nile Valley, from Edgar Cayce, to Zecharia Sitchin, to Robert Schoc, Robert Bauval, Graham Hancock, and John Anthony West, referring to them with terms like "mavericks", "copycats", and "false profits". Dr. Zahi Hawass, Egyptian Director of Antiquities and the Giza Plateau is their hero as well as anyone else sharing their views.

Beginning with the accounts of first recorded explorers of the Giza Plateau and continuing through Rudolf Gantenbrink's exploration of the southern shaft of the Queen's chamber with the robot Upuaut, Lawton and Ogilvie-Herald build a well documented and convincing case for the orthodox view for the time and means of construction of all of the architectural artifacts of Egypt. Sometime in a not too complimentary style they, one by one dispute, or attempt to dispute, the claims and theories of the "alternative camp", or those researchers and authors like Robert Schock, Robert Bauval, Graham Hancock, and John Anthony West whose views and theories on the age and origin of the sphinx, and the pyramids, differ from the orthodox view of most Egyptologists. Their basic position is that the sphinx and possibly the pyramids, are ancient; far more ancient than is commonly accepted by the scientific community, and that the sphinx and the pyramids are the product of an ancient and lost civilization far more advanced than the Egyptians.

Lawton and Ogilvie-Herald throw out a topic, and then thoroughly approach and discuss it from every view or opinion, almost always arriving at the orthodox view as the only reasonable answer. It is amazing the number and diversity of the topics they cover, and they talk about things that I have never heard of before, much less considered.

I have read many books on Giza, the sphinx, and the pyramids of Egypt and while I am almost offended by the way Lawton and Ogilvie-Herald talk about some of my "heroes", whether these two guys are right or wrong, they have certainly done there homework, and this is probably the best documentation of the history of the exploration of the Giza Plateau that I have ever read.

"Giza the Truth" is a must for anyone interested in Egyptology, whether you agree with the orthodox view or not.

Read this book first.......2004-03-19

This is perhaps as comprehensive, well researched and unbiased as much as any book can be. Firstly, it gives the chronologically ordered unravelling of the pyramids and their offical standpoint in a most meticulous manner possible. Secondly, it provides the most comprehensive and unbiased coverage of all the conventional as well as unconventional theories that try to explain the phenomena of pyramids. At times the authors might appear a bit ambiguous, and that is the best aspect of the book, instead of taking any particular stance they keep an open attitude towards issues which are not completely resolvable under the current circumstances. Lastly, it gives a thorough account of the politics and the players in the field in, again, as unbiased manner as much humanly possible.

This is indeed the first book one should read before venturing towards any other (orthodox or unorthodox) material.

Impeccable logic?.......2003-02-05

This book is divided into three parts:

Part 1 discusses the various theories concerning the pyramids at Giza, including when, why, and how they were built. Part 2 discusses the more recent theories, such as the "Orion Correllation" theory, the alignment of the shafts, and the redating of the Sphinx. Part 3 delves into the politics concerning the overseers of the Giza monuments and the many "New Age" authors whom have published many best-selling books about the subject over the past decade or so.

Without giving away too much detail, I will first say that this book is most definitely worth reading. In Parts 1&2, the authors attack theories put forward by BOTH the alternative AND orthodox camps with a respectable dose of logic that left me feeling that they were, more or less, fair-minded individuals with little bias one way or the other. They discuss how ramp theories may not be as far-fetched as some have suggested, yet also conceed that stones of immense wieght used in construction throughout the ancient world might also suggest that a lost technology such as sonic levitation may be a possibility.

The point here is that to the authors, nothing is counted as fact nor dismissed outright. The material is reviewed, then the likelihoods discussed. No subject is taboo--it's all fair game and open to criticism. This is refreshing to anybody who is open-minded, yet also tired of fringe conspiracy theories. Is this to say that the authors are capable of impeccable logic? Of course not. Unlike most others, though, at least they make the attempt.

Good Summary Of Current Theories.......2003-01-16

This book provides a good summary of the current state of Egyptology. It also contains references to many other books which sound excellent for people who are interested in Egyptology.

I'm planning on going back and ordering a bunch of the books which are referenced in 'Giza The Truth'.

I felt the first chapters spent too much time talking about things which really cannot be proven in any way. A new age theory would be presented and then refuted using traditional beliefs about Egyptology which to me are no more reliable than the new age ideas. I think it's obvious now that traditional beliefs about the Giza plateau are severely lacking in credibility and don't stand up to close scrutiny.

I felt this book suffers from some ambiguity about whether or not to believe the more far out new age type of ideas relating to the original building of the great pyramid and the Giza plateau.

For example the book states that the following things are possible:

1)the ancient Egyptians may have been given secret knowledge
from beings from outer space

2)the ancient Egyptians may have had an anti gravity capability

But then it sometimes disagrees with other new age theories relating to the building of the great pyramid such as those presented by Christopher Dunn in 'The Giza Power Plant'.

If the above 2 statements are true that makes many of the other new age ideas much more possible such as Dunn's theory that the great pyramid was like a form of nuclear reactor.

Another new age theory is that the pathways inside the great pyramid tell the entire history and future of the human race with every inch representing about one year.

I suspect the authors have been so thoroughly involved in traditional Egyptology that they find it hard to accept that the great pyramid was apparently built by beings who had god like powers. But even with all of their traditional knowledge and training I think they start to realize that the traditional theories don't explain everything.

This advanced civilization is sometimes referred to as 'Atlantis'.

An outstanding piece of work.......2002-09-07

A terrific book for anyone interested in Egypt, the pyramids, or ancient civilisations. The authors have done a ton of research to bring together most of what's been written about the pyramids, and provide an objective framework in which the reader can decide what's real and what's not. Fact-based, objective, and complete. Best book on the subject I have read in years.

Marquis De Lafayette: French Hero of the American Revolution (Primary Sources of Famous People in American History)

Average customer rating:

Marquis De Lafayette: French Hero of the American Revolution (Primary Sources of Famous People in American History)
Kathleen Collins
Manufacturer: Rosen Publishing Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0823941159

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