History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories

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A Palestinian writer's anguished vision . . .
Book discribing reality
Powerful stories
Stunning
The tragedy questions

Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories
Ghassan Kanafani
Manufacturer: Lynne Rienner Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0894108573

Customer Reviews:

A Palestinian writer's anguished vision . . ........2006-12-16

Written and published in the 1950s and 1960s, this slender volume of stories by Ghassan Kananfani speaks of the displacement of Palestinians in ways that are timeless and still fresh today. They speak of loss more than hope, and although the author was an activist and spokesman for the Palestinian Popular Front, he seemed in these writings to simply bring attention to the human cost of political struggle in the Middle East. He himself was killed by a car bomb in Beirut in 1972.

The most compelling of these stories is the novella "Men in the Sun," which tells of the efforts of three men being smuggled into Kuwait from Iraq and the truck driver who has offered to help them across the border. The fierce desert heat represents the terrible odds against their ever being able to escape the consequences of war and loss of homeland. But this is only one theme among many, as Kananfani explores traits of Arab character which seem to intensify inner conflict and erode the ability to act purposefully. The story "If You Were a Horse" concerns itself with superstition, fear, and overwhelming regret that divides father from son and leads to misfortune. The book includes an informative introduction by Hilary Kilpatrick.

Book discribing reality.......2006-11-06

This book gives you an idea of the suffering and neglection of a nation, on the watch of the whole civilized world.

Powerful stories.......2006-06-24

This collection of short stories is a brief, but poignant look into the life of people living in Palestine. At the same time, the stark writing illustrates many universal themes forcing readers to reevaluate life as they know it. The writing is plain and easy to read, but ultimately, deep and impossible to dismiss.

Stunning.......2005-12-10

The stories were great. Well written, poignant, the most so being the one involving the tank.

The tragedy questions.......2005-04-12

"Men in the sun", a novel by Ghassan Kanafani, is one of the most breathtaking realities that the Palestinian people lived in the modern history we know. "Men in the sun" is neither a story about Yasser Arafat`s legacy and his PLO's sense of politics nor a debate on Oslo or Madrid agreement. The novel is a piece of art that visualized the Palestinian tragedy from an aspect of extreme reality that has been forgotten or marginalized at any time and place frames.

It is the story of three men's quest for a better life. They plan to migrate from the occupation cage to a new "promise land" where they meet the promised demise in the desert, the home of the original Arabs and Bedouin.

The dream of the three Men is the dream of every man who loses the feeling of being at home at some time. The work to achieve that dream requires a struggle with harsh acquired values of life. The result is not guaranteed.

Struggle, suffer, dreams, hope, fatigue, thirst, and death will form an amalgam that would describe the Palestinian identity which has been evolving during the last decades.

I wanted to write more about the details but you would like to read it yourself. The symbolism in this story is just intriguing. In fact, the trends can symbolize the migration of any man to any "self-imposed exile", where "enforced dreams" replace the simple -but lost- passion, love and happiness to form a complex and bitter reality.

The novel ends with a beautiful and so influential paragraph that tries to raise the question of why the 3 men (main figures of the novel) did not try to knock on the walls of their symbolic "prison" (Empty tanker) or at least shout to ask for help.
"Why? Why? Why?", The "Why" of Kanafani while concluding is: why did not some of the oppressed people reject the abject reality? Why did not they fight for their life and freedom? Could it be that they were so hopeless and tired, or were they so afraid from going back to the occupied home? Did they prefer death to losing their dream?. The questions were asked by Kanafani in the past to project on present exprience and to reflect the suffer of the palestinean-age on the future memory.

The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium

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Amusing
Making history enjoyable and entertaining
You think you've got it rough...
Trivial Pursuit circa 1000 A.D.
The way school books should be

The Year 1000: What Life Was Like at the Turn of the First Millennium
Robert Lacey , and Danny Danziger
Manufacturer: Back Bay Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316511579

Amazon.com

Although daily dangers were many, housing uncomfortable, and the dominant smells unpleasant indeed, life in England at the turn of the previous millennium was not at all bad, write journalists Lacey and Danziger. "If you were to meet an Englishman in the year 1000," they continue, "the first thing that would strike you would be how tall he was--very much the size of anyone alive today." The Anglo-Saxons were not only tall, but also generally well fed and healthy, more so than many Britons only a few generations ago. Writing in a breezy, often humorous style, Lacey and Danziger draw on the medieval Julius Work Calendar, a document detailing everyday life around A.D. 1000, to reconstruct the spirit and reality of the era. Light though their touch is, they've done their homework, and they take the reader on a well-documented and enjoyable month-by-month tour through a single year, touching on such matters as religious belief, superstition, medicine, cuisine, agriculture, and politics, as well as contemporary ideas of the self and society. Readers should find the authors' discussions of famine and plague a refreshing break from present-day millennial worries, and a very stimulating introduction to medieval English history. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

"August was the month when flies started to become a problem, buzzing round the dung heaps in the corner of every farmyard and hovering over the open cesspits of human refuse that were located outside every house."Although daily dangers were many, housing uncomfortable, and the dominant smells unpleasant indeed, life in England at the turn of the previous millennium was not at all bad, write journalists Lacey and Danziger. "If you were to meet an Englishman in the year 1000," they continue, "the first thing that would strike you would be how tall he was--very much the size of anyone alive today." The Anglo-Saxons were not only tall, but also generally well fed and healthy, more so than many Britons only a few generations ago. Writing in a breezy, often humorous style, Lacey and Danziger draw on the medieval Julius Work Calendar, a document detailing everyday life around A.D. 1000, to reconstruct the spirit and reality of the era. Light though their touch is, they've done their homework, and they take the reader on a well-documented and enjoyable month-by-month tour through a single year, touching on such matters as religious belief, superstition, medicine, cuisine, agriculture, and politics, as well as contemporary ideas of the self and society. Readers should find the authors' discussions of famine and plague a refreshing break from present-day millennial worries, and a very stimulating introduction to medieval English history. --Gregory McNamee

Customer Reviews:

Amusing.......2007-06-25

Lacey's work is a good primer, even useful in a basic undergraduate British history class. However, I would not recommend this for an upper level or graduate level student. Its intention of giving and introduction to social values and practices at the time under consideration is well executed, but that is all it does.

Making history enjoyable and entertaining.......2007-04-23

This is one of the most "readable" history books I've come across. To say that it is entertaining is NOT a criticism, but a compliment. Why does history have to be dry and pedantic in order to have value? I learned more about life at the turn of the 1st millennium than I have in reading a dozen other more scholarly tomes. This is the way history SHOULD be written.

Naturally, it is not absolutely complete and all-encompassing (though, given the dearth of contemporary material, most writings are merely speculation anyway). But it is an excellent starting point. If you are intriqued, the books 7-page bibliography should suffice for additional reading.

You think you've got it rough..........2007-03-29

...then try living in , say, England in the year 1000 A.D.
Although I read this book approximately 2000 A.D.,
I still remember the profundity of the book 6-7 years later.
The author does a fine job of placing the reader within
the circumstances of actually living in the year 1000.
I couldn't help over and over again wondering to myself:
"How could I deal with that?" or "Could I deal with that?"

This book expands the mind as much as any science fiction
book--and this stuff really happened!

The reason I'm reviewing this book is because Amazon
recommended the book because of another book I've ordered.
The fact that I would take time to review the book years
after reading it speaks very well of the book.

Easy to read, yet profound: sounds like a great combination to me.

Trivial Pursuit circa 1000 A.D........2007-01-06

This is not a bad book...easy to read and full of interesting tidbits. If you are doing other reading on Saxon England, as I am, this book gives the period a little flavor.

The book is loosely based around the work calendar, giving you one chapter for each month of the year. Each chapter describes rather superficially the kind of work typically done by farmers and tradesmen that month. The style of the book is very light, covering tidbits such as remedies for various ailments, punishments for various crimes, typical battle formations, and the sign language used by monks living under vows of silence.

One thing this book does not do, however, is live up to its title. In the book's defense, it is deceptively simple---it really does contain a great deal of information. But it covers none of it particularly deeply or in any kind of an organized fashion that might allow you to paint a vivid image in your head of what life was really like in 1000 A.D. Hoping to get that from this book would be like trying to get a sense of life at the turn of the second millenium by reading through the questions and answers in a game of Trivial Pursuit.

The way school books should be.......2006-12-17

If school books were pesented this way, more students would be interested in history. Easy to read, enlightening,thought provoking.

Gender, Domesticity, and the Age of Augustus: Inventing Private Life (Oxford Studies in Classical Literature and Gender Theory)

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Gender, Domesticity, and the Age of Augustus: Inventing Private Life (Oxford Studies in Classical Literature and Gender Theory)
Kristina Milnor
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0199280827

Book Description

The age of Augustus has long been recognized as a time when the Roman state put a new emphasis on `traditional' feminine domestic ideals, yet at the same time gave real public prominence to certain women in their roles as wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters. Kristina Milnor takes up a series of texts and their contexts in order to explore this paradox. Through an examination of authors such as Vitruvius, Livy, Valerius Maximus, Seneca the Elder, and Columella, she argues that female domesticity was both a principle and a problem for early imperial writers, as they sought to construct a new definition of who and what constituted Roman public life.

The City Of Light: The Hidden Journal of the Man Who Entered China Four Years Before Marco Polo

Average customer rating:

many indications that this is largely a 20th Century work
Ian Myles Slater on: A Remarkable Book, as Memoir or Fiction
Excellent.
Boring!
Brilliant. ...One way or another.

The City Of Light: The Hidden Journal of the Man Who Entered China Four Years Before Marco Polo
Jacob D'Ancona
Manufacturer: Citadel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1559725230

Book Description

In 1270 a scholarly Jewish merchant called Jacob d'Ancona set out on a voyage from Italy. A year later, he arrived in China at the coastal metropolis of Zaitun, the "City of Light" (now known as Quanzhou), four years before Marco Polo arrived at Xanadu in 1275. Nothing was known of this epochal journey until 1990, when David Selbourne was shown d'Ancona's account of his travels, a remarkable manuscript that had been hidden from public view for more than seven centuries. Eventually translated and edited by Selbourne and published in Great Britain in October 1997 as The City of Light, the account was praised as providing an unparalleled insight into life in the medieval world.

Controversy followed. Selbourne had pledged to the manuscript's owner that he would not reveal its whereabouts, and that raised doubts about its authenticity. As a result of U.S. sinologists' criticism of plans for American publication, the first edition was canceled.

Now, a year later, Birch Lane Press happily publishes the controversial work. Criticisms of the textual evidence of d'Ancona's account have been answered by Selbourne. Most notably, other academics--particularly and significantly, in China--have come to the support of d'Ancona's account. The work is to be published in a Chinese translation.

Vivid and insightful, this account has great historical significance. It not only describes the adventures of a medieval trader, but also comments on Chinese society and manners through the eyes of a European man of learning. The City of Light brings spectacularly to life d'Ancona's encounter with one of the world's great civilizations.

Customer Reviews:

many indications that this is largely a 20th Century work.......2004-05-27

This volume starts out as a plausable enough chronicle of a Jewish merchant from Italy who travels to China and so on, but very quickly it becomes apparent that this is just the setting for a series of philosophical debates that the merchant partakes in with other groups in the "City of Light".

It is written like no other narrative from the past I have seen and is quite long as well. Although I am no expert on that time and place, and there are none who truly are, what really makes it suspect is the fact that most of the work fails to give details of how people lived and what things were like at that time and place and instead concentrates on the dialogues that he is invited to and partakes in. And all of the matters that they discuss are those that would preoccupy the mind of a person in the late 20th Century. Which either means that people in the 13th Century had identical problems to those we have today, or that this was written by someone in the late 20th Century. He even forsees the Holocaust at one point.

There is nothing that would secure it as authentic and many indications that this is largely a 20th Century work, enough to make it well accepted as a forgery until proven otherwise (which I never expect to happen). As for what it contains and the value of its philosophical debates, it offers nothing in the way of secure arguments, unless you already accept the Jewish religious teachings as a source of unchallenged wisdom. It also was rather long without adding much. It might have been better to publish this as a modern philosophical novel, which would have permitted it to be a better novel, without attempting to mislead scholars, that can cause trouble for years. Although I realize that from a publishing standpoint, it gets more attention to claim authenticity.

Also, he (Selbourne) clips off the return journey, which might have been one of the only authentic parts in the book. I paid full price for this book when it was first published and I consider it was not worth it.

Ian Myles Slater on: A Remarkable Book, as Memoir or Fiction.......2003-10-17

I am glad to see that the (delayed) American edition of this book is now in paperback. It differs from the UK edition (which I have also reviewed) mainly by including "Remarks on The City of Light " by Wang Lianmao, in which modern Chinese scholarship is used to reply to some of the criticism directed against it by Westerners. Specialists in the history of the region find some puzzles, and probable errors made by a foreigner, but nothing to suggest a modern fraud. They seem willing to accept it as an authentic account of southern China by a foreigner, describing events shortly before the arrival of Marco Polo in the following of the Mongol (Yuan) conqueror. (Probably wisely, they do not seem to have offered an opinion on how authentic the foreigner -- an Italian Jew -- looks to them.)

Curiously, Frances Wood, whose "Did Marco Polo Go to China?" argues that the Venetian merchant stayed in western Asia, and got all his information from others, who left no record of their adventures, seems to have joined in denouncing Jacob of Ancona as a fabrication, even though this must have seemed like manna from heaven for her theory. (By the way, it seems clear to me that, despite various major and minor interpolations and deletions in the manuscript tradition, Marco Polo did travel in East Asia -- so maybe I'm gullible.)

I would add, from my own cursory research, that I have some problems with the supposedly convincing argument that the use of the term "mellah" for "Jewish Quarter" in Muslim lands is anachronistic. This argument depends on accepting one version of the etymology and history of the word. It is, however, less than completely certain; Roger Le Tourneau, in "Fez in the Age of the Marinides" (English translation 1961), reviewed the complicated evidence, and suggested that the consensus, including how long the word was in use and when and where it was adopted, might be wrong.

From a Jewish perspective, I can accept Jacob of Ancona as a plausible figure (and perhaps more typical than Selbourne, to judge from his notes, realizes). The combination of length and literary quality in a memoir seems unusual for the period, but the translator reports omitting some sections at the end, and felicitous translation can add charm without being unfaithful. Some medieval writings *are* inordinately long -- and long-winded.

Jaob's report of debates with Chinese officials leaves me wondering if both his contacts and his discussions were really on such a high level (especially with both sides using some sort of "trade speech" and translators), but self-congratulatory memoirs are not a modern invention.

On the basis of Chinese reactions, I am prepared to accept the work as authentic, although not completely reliable as a record of fact (is anything?). If it is a fraud -- and only an examination of the manuscript seems likely to prove it -- its creator would surely have been better rewarded by emulating Eco's "Name of the Rose," and publishing it as historical fiction of a high order.

Excellent........2002-04-11

OK, nobody else has seen the original, so there's no way of verifying if this is a true translation or a hoax. If it is a hoax, it's a danmed good one, written so well, with lots of research to back it up, that I for one don't care.
This is just brilliant, true or hoax, it gives a deep insight into the Jewish support network and all the opposition & prejudice that Jews had to deal with.
It knocks Marco Polo's account into a cocked hat; incisive philosophy, intimate desriptions of mediaeval life and trade are enough to grant this a place on anyone's bookshelf, true or not.

Boring!.......2001-08-03

In a word: BORING! This book would have been twice as good were it half as long. Selbourne has cut the end and would have done well to cut the middle as well. Jacob's incessant protestations of piety are tedious. He hypocritically condemns everyone around him for greed and self-interest but his own actions, though ostensibly high-minded, are also dictated almost solely by financial motives. For this reason his criticism of others rings hollow. His world view is remarkably narrow and parochial for someone so widely traveled. While he makes extensive observations of the conduct of others, there is no effort to appreciate their viewpoints. I am also skeptical of the provenance of this book. The social debates described have a very contemporary tenor and are relevant to our own times. If this were in fact an authenticated manuscript, this resonance would be remarkable. However, the provenance of the book is in dispute and much space is devoted to supporting its authenticity. The resolution of this issue must await examination of the original manuscript but in the meantime I am skeptical because the discussions seem too modern.

Brilliant. ...One way or another........2001-07-14

This is simply one of the best books I have ever read. And it is definitely, hands down, with a doubt, the single funniest book I have ever read... though it isn't actually intended to be. Until the actual Ancona manuscript itself is made available for scrutiny, we will never know for sure if this text is authentic or a stunningly brilliant, almost cruelly sharp-witted satirical hoax. If it is the latter, it is still extremely impressive, informative and entertaining. Nearly every sentence is punctuated by the author Jacob's constant use of "May God be praised" or "May God spare me", or, for those individuals and groups he really despises: "May God strike them down" or "May God shorten their lives". I just could not stop laughing! - nor could I put the book down. Mr. Selbourne, wherever you are, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, sir. One way or another you have given us an amazing piece of work. May God magnify and bless you, and may He extend your life! Amen, Amen, Amen!

The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales (Penguin Classics)

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Like Taking A Trip Through Medieval Wales
A book of delights and wonders
Excellent source for Students of Medieval Wales

The Journey Through Wales and The Description of Wales (Penguin Classics)
Gerald of Wales
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140443398

Customer Reviews:

Like Taking A Trip Through Medieval Wales.......2005-08-29

First, I want to say thank you, wherever he is today, to Mr. Jones, himself a Welsh patriot, for recommending this book to me nine years ago. What these two books (collected in one volume) are is an invaluable resource that takes a reader on a village-by-village, region-by-region tour of 12th century Wales. Gerald, a Benedictine monk in royal service, had a scholarly eye and a novelist's touch in describing what he encountered on his trips thru the westernmost nation on the island of Britain. Gerald tells of a Wales still independent from England, still Celtic and very much a fiercely independent state in its own right. He describes the hair styles, clothing, dining preferences, architecture, religious and historical sites (including a legend of the burial place of one King Arthur) and does it in a way that never loses the spark of immediacy, even for those of us centuries in Gerald's future. This book reads a lot like a piece from National Geographic, only it's nine-hundred years old! Without Gerald, we never would get to meet so many interesting human beings who once lived out lives in a time and place far removed from where we dwell today. This descriptive memoir is an improbable survivor, and a treasure in the collective library of the human race.

A book of delights and wonders.......2002-04-19

Giraldus Cambrensis was a curmudgeon with a vivid imagination. He has an eye for detail and an ear for a good story. As such, his works combine many different elements -- travelogue, miracle tales, slander, complaints, and puffed-up pride. I love him for all this; Gerald is a very real person, warts and all.

This book serves as a great introduction to medieval writing in many ways. First of all, it is relatively short and is full chapers. Each one could be read in connection with the others or solo. One chapter might be about the lay of the land. The next might have to do with a miraculous lake of birds. The next might include scurulous reports about cannibalism. This book, then, is not a history book, not a religious book, not a travelogue, but instead the notes and jottings of a mind interested in many topics. While a lot of the writing speaks of God, Christ and miracles, not all of it does -- this will help give a general reader a broader understanding of the medieval world-view.

Give him a try. You might find the Middle Ages a truly engaging time, a time when people, then as now, were people.

Excellent source for Students of Medieval Wales.......2000-02-26

If I was writing a book set in Medieval Wales, I would not be without this book. Descriptions of the country and its people are given, as are extensive biographies of many of the famous rulers and clergymen of the day. On the other hand, it isn't the easiest reading. The material is easy to comprehend, but at times the text itself is dry.

Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition Of The Mayan Book Of The Dawn Of Life And The Glories Of

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Popol Vuh
Popul Vuh Creation Story
Popol Vuh - Myth or Truth ?
Great edition of an essential world text - lots of helps
The Greatest Work of the Americas' Greatest Civilization!

Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition Of The Mayan Book Of The Dawn Of Life And The Glories Of
Dennis Tedlock
Manufacturer: Touchstone
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0684818450

Book Description

Popol Vuh, the Quiché Mayan book of creation, is not only the most important text in the native languages of the Americas, it is also an extraordinary document of the human imagination. It begins with the deeds of Mayan gods in the darkness of a primeval sea and ends with the radiant splendor of the Mayan lords who founded the Quiché kingdom in the Guatemalan highlands. Originally written in Mayan hieroglyphs, it was transcribed into the Roman alphabet in the sixteenth century.

This new edition of Dennis Tedlock's unabridged, widely praised translation includes new notes and commentary, newly translated passages, newly deciphered hieroglyphs, and over forty new illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Popol Vuh.......2007-09-30

Great Book, using it for class right now, and the teacher loves the book too...

Popul Vuh Creation Story.......2007-06-27

The Popul Vuh is the story of the creation of the world according to the Maya of mesoamerica. Tedlock's new edition has a large appendix that expands on the text of the document with insights into background issues. Good book.
carlos

Popol Vuh - Myth or Truth ?.......2007-03-09

First time i read this book, it was for me like reading the book dedicated to children. I can't understand meaning and story line. So i put it away for a while. I focused on 2012 books mainly afterwhile, it shocks me, how i could been so blind !
Why ? You ask ?
Because as far as i understand well, this english translation of spanish translation of original book describes several "EVENTS". I mean the major ones. It tells us about the "sky events" "god events" (sometimes god means star/sun/planet) and fighting between gods represent tha actual stars/planet/sun position. Describes the daily/weekly/monthly cycles. Tries to explain what is the "Great cycle"
So i took this book again and read it for second time (with all my knowleadge about the ancients) and it is pretty fascinating afterward.
I suggest to read it first time like i did, like normal story, than start to investigate and you will be suprised "What is deep in it".
-keep it readin'-

Great edition of an essential world text - lots of helps.......2005-04-22

The Maya did not divide their everyday lives and religion. In fact, they didn't have a religion in our sense at all. Their everyday lives were bound up in visions, stories of the heavens, earth, past, and future that were not separate from the reality of their everyday experience. This book, the "Popol Vuh" means Council Book. That is, it is a book for the Lords to consult. One of its other titles is "The Light That Came From Beside the Sea". It is a document of the Quiche Maya who lived (and still live) in a portion of what is present day Guatemala.

The "Popol Vuh" tells the essential myth of the ball game and the hero twins. Its story is far too involved and strange to try and explain it in this review. The story explains things about the Sun, Moon, and Venus in their play across the heavens. It prepares the living for what awaits them in Xibalba (the awful place below the earth). And there is constant gratitude for the knowledge of the creation of men from maize and the light of understanding this book brings them. The various sacred places of mountains, caves, and of ritual sacrifice are all here and powerfully expressed.

Dennis Tedlock translated the text into clear and very readable English. However, that is not sufficient for the uninitiated to understand. So, Tedlock provides us with an introductory essay to help us understand the context of these stories. At the back he also provides notes on the text arranged by page number, a glossary of terms (which we desperately need to read the book), a wonderful bibliography for further reading, and an index.

Now, a couple of things to keep in mind when you read this book (and you should). This text has one written source, and it is written in the Mayan language with a Western alphabet. Also, this copy is post Conquest so there is no real way to know how the story was changed or influenced by the Christian stories that were also (forcibly) taught to the Maya, if at all. If you end up believing that this story is an intact retelling of the true Myth without Christian influences, there are some pretty strange and wonderful parallels. If you are uncomfortable with some of the parallels, then you will want to explain them away by claiming corruption by the Christian conquerors. Take your pick. No one really knows.

Terrific edition of an important text that you can really enjoy reading and adding to your understanding of the world and the total range of the human experience.

The Greatest Work of the Americas' Greatest Civilization!.......2005-04-16

I cannot heap enough praises on this book. Bravo!
This book is an English edition of a transliteration into latin letters of the Popul Vuh: the sacred religious and wisdom text of the Maya. It was studied by Mayan leaders, and recited aloud to the people. Everyone knew the stories. In the original books, there were many glosses, anecdotes and images elaborating upon the text; and in this English edition, the author has provided us with just these same sorts of things, including beautiful mysterious Mayan art on nearly every page. I absolutely love Mayan civilization's artwork, architecture, script and it's greatest story; they appeal to me profoundly on a deep aesthetic level. Mayan civilization seemingly had so much mystery and excitement. They even had stadiums where thay watched sporting contests! This book opens up this whole civilization to us and allows us to get intimate with it. And, for those of us living in the Americas, this is the greatest work of literature of our greatest ancient civilization!!! It's human value is inestimable; and it still contains lots of wisdom for us, if we are willing to learn from it. It was the book of kings, and now it is ours!

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Amazing....
Introduction to Medieval Fortifications
The best place to start to learn about castle life
A Great Resource
just the facts m'lady

Life in a Medieval Castle
Joseph Gies , and Frances Gies
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 006090674X

Book Description

"The authors allow medieval man and woman to speak for themselves through selections from past journals, songs, even account books."--Time

Customer Reviews:

Amazing...........2006-11-27

I know that some people like to say that the works of the Gies are dry. Try reading 500 pages of Peter Brown. Now THAT'S dry. It's hard to make history terribly informative and yet accurrate and interesting. The Gies are very clear and personally I found it extremely interesting. It was the only book (out of 7) that I was required to ready for my class on Medieval Europe that I found interesting (and actually read all of!). It is not a novel, so be forwarned. If that's what you want, you WILL be dissappointed, but it is an excellent HISTORY book.

Introduction to Medieval Fortifications.......2006-08-17

I have enjoyed reading other books by Frances & Joseph Gies, this one in particular is one of my favorites. For those seeking an introduction to the military, economic, and cultural signifigance of the castle in Medieval Europe, this is your best choice. Inside you will find a description of a castle's typical staff & personnel, the living conditions of those residing there (better than most would assume), the daily and yearly routine of business in the castle and its lands (mainly agricultural), and the most vital role as a military post for regional defense. The training of the Knight is covered well (Read "The Knight in History" by the same authors). In general, the focus is on castles in Britain, probably the most heavily fortified nation in Europe, after Germany, or maybe France, in terms of quantity of castles. Within you will also find many interesting illustrations: photos of historic sites, and Medieval illumination.

The best place to start to learn about castle life.......2005-05-29

This book is absolutely the best place to start if you want to learn about medieval castles. It explains in very accessable prose how medieval castles came to be, how they evolved, the roles they served in medieval society, what they were like at their zenith, how military strategy through the middle ages centered around the castle, and how their relevance declined with the changes in technology and the political scene that came with the late medieval period. The Gieses give the reader a very clear picture of what life was like for the people whose lives centered in or around the castle, from the nobility at the top down through the staff needed to keep the castle running to the villagers at the bottom. In particular, it shows the various functions that the castle staff needed to serve in order to keep things running smoothly, and the duties of those responsible for those functions, from chamberlains, chaplains, seneschals and stewards down to pantlers, haywards and reeves. In many cases, the best things are the historical anecdotes used to show a particular aspect of castle life, from the manner in which meals were served to the ways provisions were acquired in an era where money was by no means a common exchange, and how matters of jurisdiction often overlapped in problematic ways (a lord might have jurisdiction over a castle but not over the forest surrounding it which belonged to the king). This is not what I would call the definitive text on all aspects of castle lore, but it is probably the single best place to start to get a clear and detailed education on, as the title indicates, "life in a medieval castle."

A Great Resource.......2005-03-31

Life in a Medieval Castle takes a broad look at all aspects of castle life and their role in the Western European social system between the 11th and 16th centuries. Most of the examples are English and Norman Castles. Overall I'd give this book 3.5 stars and recommend it to anyone interested in a easy general overview of castles and their structural and social evolution throughout the middle ages. For someone more interested in the military and siege aspects of castles this book may not contain as much info as you'd like. I'm keeping this one for my personal collection.

just the facts m'lady.......2003-12-19

The authors do an excellent job describing, in great detail, the ins and outs of of life in a midieval castle. So, it would be of great use to someone doing a research report for some odd reason on the subject. Otherwise, I found the book unfit for casual reading because its nothing but factoid after factoid, presented without a hint of personality. Basically reads like an owners manual. I was expecting more with a subject this fascinating.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

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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.

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Informational medieval book with little bias

Life in Medieval Times
Marjorie Rowling
Manufacturer: Perigee Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0399502580

Customer Reviews:

Informational medieval book with little bias.......2004-11-11

This fascinating medieval book is truly a jewel for students and history buffs everywhere. Rowling breaks Life in Medieval Times down into comprehensive units that allow the reader to maximize precious research time by finding important facts and quotes quickly. Each chapter provides its own concise collection of information, saving researchers the inconvenience of sorting through pages of irrelevant data to find specific quotes and subjects. The author offers readers an in depth look into Medieval society from economic, clerical, aristocratic, and even plebian viewpoints, giving all aspects of society equal representation. Rowling does not try to gild over the harsh realities of medieval life, and unlike many other historians, she does not attempt to use the brutality of the period to support any ideological opinions. She describes joyous festivals and the simple pleasures of daily life as well as documenting the cruelties of war and the injustices of feudal organization. Even such controversial topics as the conflict between religion and government, the status and rights of women in society, and the questionable alliance between militarism and piety in the Crusades are presented with a remarkable absence of pervasive bias. Rowling's educational mission presents the discerning reader with legitimate facts and leaves the individual to make important decisions and form their own opinions about history. This academic justice presents a powerfully lucid view of history and medieval life.
Rowling's Life in Medieval Times reads much like a categorized medieval textbook. The book differs significantly from the typical textbook, however, in that the author delves into the cultural stories and social legends of the time. This cultural emphasis creates a fascinating blend of humanities and history and adds a warm, human touch to a subject often viewed as an assortment of cold, dead facts. Unfortunately, this blended approach also tends to soften the impact of historical fact. All in all, however, this softening is better than just getting one very opinionated side of the story like you do in some textbooks. Overall: great book

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