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.

Average customer rating:

Had him as a teacher
A five rating, but with a footnote.
Not just for Puerto Ricans.....
A book that needs to be a major part of contemporary America

From Bomba to Hip-Hop
Juan Flores
Manufacturer: Columbia University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0231110774

Book Description

Neither immigrants nor ethnics, neither foreign nor "hyphenated Americans" in the usual sense of that term, Puerto Ricans in New York have created a distinct identity both on the island of Puerto Rico and in the cultural landscape of the United States. Juan Flores considers the uniqueness of Puerto Rican culture and identity in relation to that of other Latino groups in the United States -- as well as to other minority groups, especially African Americans. Architecture and urban space, literary traditions, musical styles, and cultural movements provide some of the sites and moments of a cultural world defined by the interplay of continuity and transformation, heritage and innovation, roots and fusion. Exploring this wide range of cultural expression -- both in the diaspora and in Puerto Rico -- Flores highlights the rich complexities and fertile contradictions of Latino identity.

Download Description

As the populations of Latin American and Caribbean background in the United States proliferate, it becomes all the more important to understand the distinctions among nationalities and regional groups. To this end, Juan Flores investigates the historical experience of Puerto Ricans in New York. He reflects on varied areas of cultural expression by Puerto Ricans in the diaspora against the background of contemporary debates in Puerto Rico and recent developments in cultural theory. Close studies of urban space and performance, popular musical styles, and Nuyorican literature highlight the complexities and contradictions of Latino identity.

Customer Reviews:

Had him as a teacher.......2007-01-12

If you're at all interested in Latin American culture you'll love this book and he's an amazing person. He'll tal kto you forever about the subject and he's highly intelligent.

A five rating, but with a footnote........2000-12-13

While Juan Flores is perceptive in his discussion of the Puerto Rican component of Latino culture, and discusses other major critics like Perez Firmat and Stavans, I was frankly surprised not to see any discussion of William Luis's Dance Between Two Cultures: Latino Caribbean Literature Written in the United States, which in my estimation is as important as those written by the critics Flores discusses. The value of Luis's study is that he addresses the same Puerto Rican community mentioned in Flores' book, but Luis also contextualizes this community by considering its relation to the Cuban and Dominican components of Latino culture. Anyone interested in understanding Latino literature and culture should also read Dance Between Two Cultures, which contains perceptive readings of Latino Caribbean literature unavailable in any other study.

Not just for Puerto Ricans............2000-10-28

The title of Mr. Flores' book might be a little deceiving for those who are not familiar with the subject matter. Mr. Flores uses music as a jumping off point for some very thought provoking themes that pertain (in my opinion) to all Latino's. Juan Flores goes from scholarly themes like colonialism to thoughts on the funeral of Cortijo and the history of the Boogaloo phenomena in New York City.

Mr. Flores makes you stop and think, then think again about issues you may have had preconceived notions about. I really enjoyed being challenged intellectually as I read this book.

I recently attended a lecture/performance (at the CUNY Graduate Center in New York City) of "From Bomba to Hip-Hop" conducted by Mr. Flores, music historian Rene Lopez and Mike Wallace (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his book, "Gotham.") True to form, it was a very unique, educational and entertaining experience.

A book that needs to be a major part of contemporary America.......2000-09-24

As a beginning graduate student in Latina/o Studies, I have been asking myself a simple question over and over: "Where have I been?" I have gone through public education in the United States for 17 years of my life, and have only recently found that there have been people writing since the start of the 1900s about the issues, experiences, struggles, and passions that I have thought were uniquely mine. Piri Thomas published _Down These Mean Streets_ in 1967. I just read it this past summer, my mother--right after I gave it to her. And the thought that has wondered in is, "why wasn't I told about his book earlier?" Is Piri Thomas' experience, a bond with African American culture that Juan Flores addresses in his book, such a marginal experience in American life, that it took a suggestion by Amazon.com for a man with 4 years of university education to be aware of the book? As the population of Latino/as in the United States grows to the levels of being the largest minority group in the country, there will have to be a shifting of Latina/o literature, theory, and any cultural products from the margins of American life to the center contemporary discussion. It is these products that Juan Flores probes and analyses with keen insight that places the Puerto Rican aspect of the Latino experience into mainstream intellectual thought. From "the Madonna incident" in Puerto Rico, to the ties that Puerto Ricans have with Hip-Hop, and the current status of Puerto Rico that he sadly calls a "Lite Colony," Flores' book is one that should be read by anyone interested in the affairs of American culture.

Making Native American Hunting, Fighting, and Survival Tools: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Traditional Tools

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Making Native American Hunting, Fighting, and Survival Tools: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Traditional Tools
almost great
Definitive guide to making Native American tools

Making Native American Hunting, Fighting, and Survival Tools: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Traditional Tools
Monte Burch
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 159228020X

Book Description

An illustrated guide to making Native American tools and weapons using time-honored methods.

Customer Reviews:

Making Native American Hunting, Fighting, and Survival Tools: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Traditional Tools.......2007-02-05

Good fast informative read.

almost great.......2007-02-05

I got this book as a present and I really enjoyed it. I loved the parts about bow and arrows and I'm excited to start making my own. The only thing that I thought it lacked was it didn't have all the Native American tools that I was interested in making but over all I enjoyed the book and am glad that I recieved it.

Definitive guide to making Native American tools.......2004-12-10

Making Native American Hunting, Fighting, And Survival Tools is the definitive instructional guide to making Native American tools and weapons. Author Monte Burch takes the reader through all the steps of the basic flint knapping of arrowheads and scrapers to the most complex decorating and finishing techniques of painting and fletching. Of special interest are the chapters dedicated to materials, tools, and the workplace. Readers will learn how to make digging tools, axes, knives, spear points, arrowheads, baskets, harpoons, fish traps, blow guns, tomahawks, traps, lances, shields, and so much more. Enhanced throughout with photographs and line illustrations, Making Native American Hunting, Fighting, And Survival Tools will make an enduringly popular addition to any personal, academic or community library's Native American Studies Collections and is especially recommended reading for survivalists, authors of western novels seeking authenticity in their history backgrounds, and students of Native American history and artifacts.

Alanis Obomsawin: The Vision of a Native Filmmaker (American Indian Lives)

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Alanis Obomsawin: The Vision of a Native Filmmaker (American Indian Lives)
Randolph Lewis
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0803280459

Book Description

In more than twenty powerful films, Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin has waged a brilliant battle against the ignorance and stereotypes that Native Americans have long endured in cinema and television. In this book, the first devoted to any Native filmmaker, Obomsawin receives her due as the central figure in the development of indigenous media in North America.

Incorporating history, politics, and film theory into a compelling narrative, Randolph Lewis explores the life and work of a multifaceted woman whose career was flourishing long before Native films such as Smoke Signals reached the screen. He traces Obomsawin’s path from an impoverished Abenaki reserve in the 1930s to bohemian Montreal in the 1960s, where she first found fame as a traditional storyteller and singer. Lewis follows her career as a celebrated documentary filmmaker, citing her courage in covering, at great personal risk, the 1991 Oka Crisis between Mohawk warriors and Canadian soldiers. We see how, since the late 1960s, Obomsawin has transformed documentary film, reshaping it for the first time into a crucial forum for sharing indigenous perspectives. Through a careful examination of her work, Lewis proposes a new vision for indigenous media around the globe: a “cinema of sovereignty” based on what Obomsawin has accomplished.

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The Spirit Within
Steven Brown
Manufacturer: Rizzoli International Publications
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Binding: Hardcover

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Confessions of an Igloo Dweller: Memories of the Old Arctic

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I couldn't put it down
A really good book
"Yes, but is it Art?"
Gripping, non-judgemental, true-life narrative.

Confessions of an Igloo Dweller: Memories of the Old Arctic
James Houston
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
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Binding: Hardcover

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White Dawn: An Eskimo Sage: An Eskimo Saga

ASIN: 0395788900

Book Description

James Houston lived among Inuit in the Canadian Arctic between 1948 and 1962. He slept in their igloos, ate raw fish and seal meat, wore skin clothing, traveled by dog team, hunted walrus,learned how to build a snowhouse, and raised a family. While doing so, he helped change the Arctic. Impressed by the natural artistic skills of the people, he encouraged the development of exhibits and sales of Inuit art in the south - sales that have brought millions of dollars to its creators. Confessions of an Igloo Dweller, a wonderful piece of storytelling, recounts Houston's fascinating and often hilarious adventures among a confident, smiling people who spoke no English. Taking readers into the heart of Inuit culture, it joins the tradition established by Fridtjof Nansen, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, and Farley Mowat. A book full of adventure and anecdote as well as the delights of art and the hazards of cold, it is illustrated with forty drawings by the author.

Customer Reviews:

I couldn't put it down.......1999-12-03

This book was a delight to read. Mr. Houston's admiration for the Inuit culture is evident on every page. Many of the passages and stories are thought provoking and educational. I especially enjoyed his descriptions of bewilderment turned to enlightenment by such unassuming teachers.

A really good book.......1999-09-09

Really enjoyable. This man's interraelationship with a disappearing culture and the hurdles he faced in the Arctic wilderness are tangible and detailed. Mostly this book is about a youth (his own) - lost but still remembered. I read Joseph Conrad's Youth at the same time and the themes were quite similar.

"Yes, but is it Art?".......1997-08-15

First this is a book about art. If you have ever wondered how those most beautiful Eskimo sculptures and prints have found their way to your local gallery; this book tells you how.

Mr. Houston was the first artist to recognize and search out the Inuit artforms and to deliver them to the art markets "outside". In every detail, name by name, you can read about the Inuit art culture from the very first stone figures and bone scluptures, to the latest prints.

Second this is a book about Arctic. Adventure on a epic scale. Mr. Houstons' honeymoon was one of the very few trips from east to west across Baffin Island by sled. Mr and Mrs. Houston spent years in the Arctic living in the Inuit way; both their sons spoke Inuktitut in preference to English and preferred raw seal meat to... well that was all there was to eat.

Sadly there are in this book no prints of the Inuit art, nor photos of the artists, nor any example of the art described in the text. For all the journeys by sled, boat, plane, and on foot there are no suitable maps. For a book about a culture that is so completely linked to geography, there are no maps for the reader to follow nor plates for the art lover to love.

The most astonsihing event of the book occurs on page 9. A very young Mr. Houston steps off of a plane in the Hudson's Bay Arctic, looks around, and flatly refuses to live any place else; He stays for 15 years.

You can add Mr. Houston to the list with Barry Lopez, William Vollmann , Farley Mowat, and John McPhee; thoes writers that get the Arctic Expericence

Gripping, non-judgemental, true-life narrative........1997-06-12

This is one of the finest first-person, historical narratives I've read for many years. Mr. Houston provides a unique, non-judgemental series of observations and first-hand stories about the Inuit and his own experiences living among them and working with them and, most importantly, learning from them. He is very honest in relating his own foibles and potentially life-threatening mistakes. His style is very easy to read and personal and I could not put this book down after starting it. Mr. Houston lived a highly privileged and unique life among a pre-literate but very evolved group during a crucial turning point for their culture. This is a rare and wonderful narrative.

To Touch the Past: The Painted Pottery of the Mimbres People

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To Touch the Past: The Painted Pottery of the Mimbres People
J.J. Brody
Manufacturer: Hudson Hills Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1555951287

Book Description

Color-packed volume brings to stunning life 1,000-year-old Native American ceramic pottery. 163 illustrations.

Yup'ik Elders at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin: Fieldwork Turned On Its Head

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One of my favorite books in the Museum Library

Yup'ik Elders at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin: Fieldwork Turned On Its Head
Ann Fienup-Riordan
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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Ciuliamta Akluit / Things Of Our Ancestors: Yup'ik Elders Explore The Jacobsen Collection At The Ethnologisches Museum Berlin

ASIN: 0295984643

Book Description

Norwegian adventurer Johan Adrian Jacobsen collected more than two thousand Yup'ik objects during his travels in Alaska in 1882 and 1883. Now housed in the Berlin Ethnological Museum, the Jacobsen collection remains one of the earliest and largest from Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. When Ann Fienup-Riordan first saw the collection being unpacked in 1994, she was "stunned to find this extraordinary Yup'ik collection, with accession records still handwritten in old German script and almost completely unpublished."

In 1997, Fienup-Riordan and Yup'ik translator Marie Meade returned to Berlin with a delegation of Yup'ik elders to study Jacobsen's collection. Yup'ik Elders at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin recounts fourteen days during which the elders examined objects from the collection and described how they were made and used. Their descriptions, based on oral history and firsthand experience with similar objects, are imparted through songs, stories, and personal narratives. Woven together with Jacobsen's writings, technical descriptions, and accession information, the narrative presents a vast array of knowledge. For example, Jacobsen had observed that large grass mats were woven for use as sleeping mats in houses and were often taken on journeys; a Yup'ik elder demonstrates how the grass mat would be folded and fitted into a kayak. Another elder describes a dance in which fox masks similar to those in the collection were used. Yet another elder, inspired by a carving of a paalraayak, launches into a story about the creature, which was sometimes encountered in the mountains near her home.

An introductory essay describes Jacobsen's life and trip to Alaska and the region as it was then and as it is today. Informal snapshots show the elders interacting with the objects and miming their use, while Barry McWayne's large color photographs make possible the "visual repatriation" of this extraordinary collection. Yup'ik Elders at the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin also includes extensive notes summarizing accession information, a glossary of Yup'ik object names, and a detailed index.

This is the first time a major Arctic collection has been presented from the Natives' point of view, an example of "reverse fieldwork" that can enrich understanding of Native American collections the world over.

Customer Reviews:

One of my favorite books in the Museum Library.......2006-10-22

I must qualify that I am writing this review as an individual, and not as a representative of the State. However, I am blessed to have one of the best jobs in Alaska working in the Visitor Services section of the Sheldon Jackson Museum in Sitka. Having said that, this work is one of the most helpful, readable resources available for those with an interest in Yup'ik ethnology and material culture. Ms. Fienup-Riordan's respect for the Yup'ik people is evident in all of her work, and this book is no exception.

This book chronicles a 14 day research visit to the Ethnologisches Berlin Museum by Ms. Fienup-Riordan and a delegation of Yup'ik Elders. Written in a very readable narrative style, Ms. Fienup-Riordan successfully captures volumes of interpretive knowledge shared by elders in reaction to individual artifacts. The book is presented as a day-by-day, artifact-by-artifact journal of the research team's exploration of a very comprehensive collection of Yup'ik artifacts gathered in the early 1880's by Norwegian Johan Adrian. Readers will also be impressed with the books outstanding collection of artifact photos.

I am asking my wife for this book as a Christmas present. It would make a suitable addition to both an anthropologist's research library and any Alaskan's coffee-table book stack. Great job to all involved!

Culture in the Marketplace: Gender, Art, and Value in the American Southwest (Objects/Histories)

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Culture in the Marketplace: Gender, Art, and Value in the American Southwest (Objects/Histories)
Molly H. Mullin , and Molly H. Mullin
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0822326108

Book Description

In the early twentieth century, a group of elite East coast women turned to the American Southwest in search of an alternative to European-derived concepts of culture. In Culture in the Marketplace Molly H. Mullin provides a detailed narrative of the growing influence that this network of women had on the Native American art market—as well as the influence these activities had on them—in order to investigate the social construction of value and the history of American concepts of culture.
Drawing on fiction, memoirs, journalistic accounts, and extensive interviews with artists, collectors, and dealers, Mullin shows how anthropological notions of culture were used to valorize Indian art and create a Southwest Indian art market. By turning their attention to Indian affairs and art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she argues, these women escaped the gender restrictions of their eastern communities and found ways of bridging public and private spheres of influence. Tourism, in turn, became a means of furthering this cultural colonization. Mullin traces the development of aesthetic worth as it was influenced not only by politics and profit but also by gender, class, and regional identities, revealing how notions of “culture” and “authenticity” are fundamentally social ones. She also shows how many of the institutions that the early patrons helped to establish continue to play an important role in the contemporary market for American Indian art.
This book will appeal to audiences in cultural anthropology, art history, American studies, women’s studies, and cultural history.

Understanding Northwest Coast Art: A Guide to Crests, Beings, and Symbols

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Excellent, but somewhat mis-titled book

Understanding Northwest Coast Art: A Guide to Crests, Beings, and Symbols
Cheryl Shearar
Manufacturer: University of Washington Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0295979739

Book Description

UNDERSTANDING NORTHWEST COAST ART is a handy, dictionary-style reference guide to identifying and understanding the symbols, crests, and beings depicted in Northwest Coast Native American works of art such as totem poles, masks, and prints.

The first section of the book features an alphabetical list of words relating to Northwest Coast art, with definitions, descriptions, and explanations and synopses of the major myths associated with them. As an aid to identification and understanding, many of the crests, beings, and symbols are illustrated in 70 reproductions of contemporary artworks and archival photos. The entries cover a wide range: crests such as Eagle, Dogfish, or Dragonfly; ancestral beings such as Creek Woman or Thunderbird; mythic beings such as Raven, the Chief of the Undersea, or Cedar Man; and supernatural beings such as Death-Bringer.

The book also includes brief descriptions of the design conventions, design elements, and different art styles of Northwest Coast cultural groups, along with an overview of the interconnections between art, myth, and ceremony.

Easy to use and easy to read, this volume is an essential source for understanding and visually identifying the underlying themes and subjects of Northwest Coast Native American Art.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent, but somewhat mis-titled book.......2003-02-28

This is a very good book that fills a definite need.

It is very easy to use, because it is organized like an encyclopedia (although nowhere near as large), with entries listed alphabetically. Each entry is between one paragraph and half a page in length.

The book covers a nice range of topics. It covers the standard myths and legends in a very condensed way that gives you the gist of what you need to know so when someone says "this shows the Raven stealing the Sun" you'll know why that's important.

The author also covers everyday items in a native's life, like clams and coppers, and tells why these things are important.

The third type of entry is totally mythological beings, like Sisiyutl, and tells just enough to get a good sense of who each is and why it is important.

The breadth of the book is excellent, as the author also covers things that are rarely covered in other books. For example, the Heron was not uncommonly used as a crest and in artwork, but it is almost never even mentioned in other books. This book has it.

The title is somewhat misleading, however, because it does not really explain the meaning of Northwest Coast art, per se, but rather explains the meaning of the things that are depicted in the artwork.

For example, the entry on Beaver goes for 8 paragraphs talking about why beaver is important to the people for its fur, along with some of the myths and legends and Beaver's place in the world of mythological creates. Right at the end of the entry, the author finally gives 3 sentences telling us the characteristics of a beaver as it is depicted in the art in order to help you identify a beaver carving or drawing. So you understand the meaning of the THING, but not of the ART. Some of the similar types of entries don't even tell how the thing is normally depicted.

If your primary goal is to understand how the art is created, or how to identify the various creatures by looking at the artwork, or even how to draw it yourself, this is not the book for you. the few pages in the appendix are well done, but far too brief. Instead, get "Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast" by Stewart, "Learning by Designing" by Gilbert and Clark, and "Northwest Coast Indian Art, an Analysis of Form" by Holm.

If you want more extensive descriptions of myths and legends, there are a large number of books available. Also, this book has very little in the way of artwork or pictures. It is very text-oriented.

Nonetheless, if you want a handy, easy-to-use, easy-to-read book that is more broad in its coverage than any I've found so far, and at the same time gets right to the point in each entry, this is the book for you. It is well worth having as part of your library.

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