The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America

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The Universality of the American Revolution

Debunks the Notion that the American Revolution Was A Conservative Revolution

Revolution...or Civil War?

Different Views

Class Warfare Comes to the American Revolution?

The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America
Gary B. Nash
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Revolution & Founding | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 014303720X

Book Description

In this audacious recasting of the American Revolution, distinguished historian Gary Nash offers a profound new way of thinking about the struggle to create this country, introducing readers to a coalition of patriots from all classes and races of American society. From millennialist preachers to enslaved Africans, disgruntled women to aggrieved Indians, the people so vividly portrayed in this book did not all agree or succeed, but during the exhilarating and messy years of this country's birth, they laid down ideas that have become part of our inheritance and ideals toward which we still strive today.

Customer Reviews:

The Universality of the American Revolution.......2007-02-16

The history of the American Revolution is usually treated, even by professional historians, as an event out of history. It's a platitude, but accurate, to say revolutionary figures like Jefferson, Adams, Paine, and Franklin are treated as philosophers debating abstract principles of government with Olympian detachment. At the same time, it's rare to find any serious treatment of Native Americans, African Americans, and women as revolutionary actors. For this reason, Nash's treatment--with or without alleged historical accuracies and exaggerations--is well worth reading.

Nash is fairly unusual for historians of this period insofar as he introduces a broad range of social issues that were raised, but not resolved, by the war: the struggle, *roughly* contemporaneous with the armed insurgency, by women for enfranchisement (achieved in NJ until 1806) and to abolish slavery, to establish social accountability for business enterprise and to preserve vertical mobility--these are all struggles that gave the American War for Independence its revolutionary nature. During the War, the crown relied heavily on mercenaries from the Continent, militant North American loyalists, and Native Americans. The revolutionary forces, to my surprises, relied, on recent, impoverished immigrants from Ireland, Germany, and England. The patricians produced a conservative separatist ideology, but the blood and sinews of the Revolution--the spiritual transformation of American society, the fighting, the starving, and the dying--THAT came form the dregs of the American masses. After the war, this cohort of Americans was hurled into the lurch. The Continental Congress and the nascent federal government issued few pensions, and those were platy.

Nash also introduces the important research of Richard White on the revolution among the Native Americans. Yes, the Native peoples of North America along the Middle West and the Tidewater experienced a political revolution. Understandably, the vast majority of Native peoples had no choice but to side with the crown. But the effects on the first nations were dramatic: determined efforts by visionary leaders to forge the disparate Indian bands into a coalition against the advancing settlers, while far from successful, destroy the popular myth of a moribund people facing extinction fatalistically.

Gary Nash's history considers far more: it broaches and responds to far more questions of the revolution than other historical accounts I have seen. Its narratives are far more realistic. And Nash, departing from near-universal tradition, does not glorify the winners, something that will no doubt raise a lot of hackles.

Debunks the Notion that the American Revolution Was A Conservative Revolution.......2007-02-15

Generations of scholars have put forward a hypothesis that the American Revolution was a conservative revolution. On the surface, this hypothesis seems plausible. After all, the Constitutional Convention of Philadelphia created a model of government that was very similar to the English model, a model of branches of government that had checks and balances over one another. Gary Nash's book, the Unknown American Revolution, collects and reveals information about a revolution that was truly radical -- a revolution that I had never seen revealed in any classroom, in spite of being exposed to a fair bit of liberal arts education.

Although Nash doesn't make an explicit comparison, the U.S. Constitution of 1787 was quite conservative compared to the Pennsylvania state constitution of 1776, a constitution that called for a broader franchise and government by a unicameral legislature. Elites were snubbed in this state constitution, a constitution that created a government without an executive branch or a upper house of the legislature. Up and down the seaboard, radicals argued for state constitutions such as these, although, in most cases, they had to compromise with conservatives and moneyed interests and produce more moderate governing institutions.

Nash paints a fascinating picture of angry farmers and "leather aprons" tearing down sumptuous mansions of abusive governing elites and staging jailbreaks for unjustly imprisoned leaders; Black slaves joining both sides in the conflict in a revolutionary attempt to secure their own freedom and abolish slavery; and itinerant frontier preachers challenging the established church in defense of Christ's Poor. He establishes a continuity of mob violence from the Carolina Regulator Movement to the violent reactions to the Stamp Act, all the way through Shays Rebellion of 1786. Nash's portrayal of Shays Rebellion as a continuation of the disaffection of the poor makes more sense than the traditional portrayal of Shays Rebellion as an aberration demonstrating the weakness of government under the Articles of Confederation.

Indeed, Nash's defense of mob violence as something focused and purposeful (as opposed to random and mindless) is bound to generate some controversy. Professor Nash takes up the position that a law that is unjust is no law at all, and that mobs are not unthinking masses. Is mob violence democratic? Can a mob make a reasoned decision on whether a law is just or unjust? Nash seems to think so. A little scary, since this line of reasoning could be used to justify riots, wilfull destruction of property, and lynchings.

The genius of Professor Nash's book is his ability to separate the War of Independence from the American Revolution. Separating from Britain is one matter, revolutions are another. How much did American society change in the American Revolution? More than meets the eye, argues Nash. The fledgling United States might have failed to abolish slavery, but the contradiction between the ideals of the Declaration of Independence and holding people in bondage was placed firmly on center stage. Slavery WAS abolished north of the Mason-Dixon line, and the institution drew harsh condemnations even from slaveholders such as Washington, Jefferson and Madison. Radical government may have been replaced with more moderate government, but never again could wealthy elites contemptuously ingnore the political aspirations of the masses or publicly label them as "rabble."

Although the Unknown American Revolution is long and seems to ramble in some places, this book effectively challenges some myths in the account of the revolution. This is a good popular history of the American Revolution.

Revolution...or Civil War?.......2006-11-14

Maybe it's been done before, I'm no history buff, but this was the first book I've read about the Revolution that focused primarily on details of the local economic, political and religious conflicts tearing through the lives of ordinary Americans in the 1770's, instead of the big-picture stuff we all learned in school (military battles, international politics and the Founding Fathers).

It makes you realize that the Revolution was really a nasty and often chaotic civil war that was starting to break out even before the first "official" battle against the British, with farmers fighting land speculators, radical evangelists fighting conservative churches, poor fighting rich...and that's just the Anglos. Meantime the Indians were fighting illegal settlers, and African slaves were fighting slave-owners. I happen to live in New England, and there's an old house near me where the mother and kids in a Tory family had to physically fight off a lynch mob out for the blood of her husband -- that's the kind of thing this book reminds you was going on all over

Probably this is old news to history Phds but for the ordinary reader it's a great eye-opener. I will say that the book drags in some parts but it was still well worth a look.

Different Views.......2006-09-17

It must be admitted that the history of the American Revolution that we learn in school leaves a lot of people out. What were women, the poor, slaves, and Native Americans doing during this period of our history. In general, most history books are silent on this topics and focus on the founding fathers instead. This book attempts to fill in the blank spaces in the picture of the American Revolution.

Perhaps the most interesting idea put forth by this book is that the Patriots' cause was not the call a call for freedom for many people. In the case of slaves, they put faith in the British as a chance for freedom, while the Patriots were advocates of slavery. In the end, the British abandoned many of their slave allies to their fate. Also, from the Native American perspective, an American victory was the first step on the road to destruction and genocide.

I really recommend this book to those who would like to understand the complex web of interests which were in play during the American Revolution.

Class Warfare Comes to the American Revolution?.......2006-04-19

Gary B. Nash's purpose for the book is, "to capture the revolutionary involvement of all the component parts of some three million wildly varying people living east of the Mississippi River." (Nash, xxviii) Nash bemoans how the "great men" still "dominate the master narrative [of the American Revolution,]" (Nash, xv) and that we are struck with "historical amnesia," (Nash, xvi) because we forgot the stories of those outside of the "great men" clique. He states that we cannot capture the essence of the Revolution without paying close attention to the experiences of the many groups that made up colonial society. These groups not only include the poor farmers, artisans, and other laborers, but also of women, blacks (both free and slave), and of the AmerIndian population.

Nash illustrated the problems and plights of the lower order through their myriad of stories. To illustrate the importance of the lower classes of white society, he showed the importance of these individuals in their role as revolutionaries, which include their participation in riots against the various taxes implemented by the Parliament. He also shows the tensions between the seaboard inhabitants and their piedmont antithesis to the west which, in his estimation, helped to spur change all along the way. In the case of the inhabitants of what would become Vermont, he illuminated their fight against the landowners located primarily in New York City. Led by Ethan Allen, the "Green Mountain Boys," as they would become known as, fought to keep the land that they cultivated with their own hands - against the wishes and land deeds that the New York City landowners had for their property. (Nash, 110 - 114) He also showed how the piedmont inhabitants of the Carolinas had to struggle for their rights to live life as they saw fit as well. (Nash, 73 - 79) In the case of the "Green Mountain Boys," their struggle proved to be more successful than the struggle of the Carolina piedmont, whose insurrection was brutally suppressed by then colonial governor of North Carolina, William Tryon.

Nash also shows how this sector of the population became mobilized politically during the course of the revolution. In Nash's estimation, these people were spurred on by the rhetoric of equality in society, as championed by the Founding Fathers in the countless tracts and pamphlets that were produced during the revolutionary war era. In Pennsylvania, the 1776 state constitution was heralded by Nash as a true revolutionary document because of its unicameral legislature, its weak executive, and its attempt to limit an amassing of wealth within the state. He also praised the fact that artisans and lower sorts also played such a vital role in the forming of the new state constitution. (Nash, 271 - 286) In states where the constitution did adhere to these premises, Nash equated it with a betrayal of the will of the people, as evident by the problems Massachusetts had in ratifying their state constitution because of its more conservative outlook. (Nash, 302 - 304)

The talk of freedom and equality also spread, according to Nash, to the black population in the American colonies. These ideals not only spread to the free black portion of the population, but also to the thousands of enslaved blacks throughout the land. This spread of ideas to the black population, particularly the enslaved portion, troubled white leaders, according to Nash (Nash, 59) What was more troubling to the white slave owners was their perception that slave restlessness and even revolt was on the rise. (Nash, 37 - 39) What else was truly troubling to many slave holders was that the British actively recruited the slaves to fight against their masters - and all other rebels to the British Crown. (Nash, 157 - 164) Nash contributed much of the awareness of the enslaved to their plight the rise rising literature of freedom that the Founding Fathers were disseminating across the land. Nash believes that this rhetoric, and its implications, were inescapable to the slaves. (Nash, 64) He also showed us the aftermath of the revolution for those slaves who sided with the British; they were transported off either to Nova Scotia or to the Caribbean Islands where they were subjected to an even harsher form of slavery than on the mainland. (Nash, 426 - 427)

Women also were praised in this work, as Nash pointed out how crucial this sector of the population was throughout the course of the conflict. First, women were important to execute the boycotts that were prevalent in the preceding years of the revolution. Nash argued that without their co-operation in the boycotts, the measures would not have proved effective. This is because women had a great deal of involvement in the running of the household and much of the purchasing power was in their hands. If they did not adhere to the boycotts, the measure would have failed, in Nash's estimation. (Nash, 141 - 144) Nash also illustrated how the women of the revolution became active during the war, specifically in response to rising prices for necessities. Nash showed us the response of many women in the Boston area to Thomas Boylston, a merchant whose prices on goods rose as the war progressed. In response to these rising prices, women marched on Boylston's shop, and the shops of other merchants throughout the colonies, to procure the basic necessities for their families at what they deemed equitable prices. (Nash, 232 - 235)

The plight of the American Indians was also great as land speculators and land hungry colonists swarmed over the Appalachian Mountain range to claim and settle upon lands that were seen as belonging to various Indian nations. Nash showed us how the natives resisted this encroachment upon their lands through a myriad of tactics, from essentially engaging in bushwhacking warfare with the colonists who encroached upon their lands, (Nash, 253 - 255) to the fact that many Indian nations chose to align themselves with the British in their cause to suppress the rebellion. (Nash, 151 - 157) What was more alarming to Nash is the colonists' "genocidal" policies towards the native population. (Nash, 377 - 381)

Although it may not seem like it, there is an underlying premise to Nash's illustrations in the struggles of all of the aforementioned groups during the American Revolution. That premise with Nash, at first alluded to, and then by the end of the book, states bluntly is class warfare. There is, however, a very real problem in this Marxist outlook on American society during the era of the Revolution, specifically that the colonists did not view the class structure in the same light that we do today, or even as class was viewed in when Karl Marx wrote his tracts on such matters. As Gordon Wood pointed out in his work, The Radicalism of the American Revolution, "The social distinctions and economic deprivations that we today think of as the consequence of class divisions, business exploitation, or various isms - capitalism, racism, etc. - were in the eighteenth century usually thought to be caused by the abuses of government." (Wood, 5) Wood also pointed out that there were complexities and variations to American society, which fell along "local, regional, sectional, ethnic and class differences." These complexities made, "any generalization about Americans as a whole," quite difficult. (Wood, 6)

Wood further illuminated the difficulties of following such a class distinction as Nash proposed in his work. Wood stated in his review on Nash's work in the "New Republic Online":
Nash's evidence for popular resistance to all this class exploitation is the incidents of rural rioting and urban mobbing that took place in the decade or so leading up to the Revolution. This mobbing and rioting is exceedingly familiar to historians, who have produced a literature about it. Unfortunately, these phenomena do not support Nash's argument. Not only did the rural rioting have little or nothing to do with the Revolution, but the urban mobs, which were indeed directed at British authority, did not represent the class upheaval that Nash assumes. The rural riots all arose out of peculiar local circumstances, and were hardly expressions of some sort of coherent class warfare. (Wood, "New Republic Online Review)

Wood, in his review of Nash's work, went on to illustrate exactly what constituted the true dividing lines in American society when he stated:
But what of all the rhetoric about the laboring people contesting the aristocratic few that Nash draws on to make his case for class warfare? There was indeed a serious division in eighteenth-century American society that reverberated through the northern states over the succeeding decades, but it was not the one that Nash describes. Instead of being divided between a rich upper class and a poor working class, as Nash sees it, anachronistically anticipating a later nineteenth-century division between employers and employees, eighteenth-century American society was in fact still divided between a leisured gentry and the mass of artisans and other laborers who worked with their hands--many of them the businessmen of the future.

In Nash's work, he viewed many of the Revolutionaries as having ulterior motives for their proclamations of equality and freedom. Nash, I would argue, hinted toward the idea that the Founding Fathers only took part in the revolutionary movement to benefit themselves. Throughout the course of the book, Nash takes great care to "expose" the double standards of the Founding Fathers, making them seem as if they merely wanted to continue their "elitists" lifestyle at the expense of the commoners below. There is no bigger whipping boy for Nash than John Adams, who, according to Nash, was essentially a closeted monarchist who was afraid of the people. To be sure, Adams did have his reservations about the people, but it was more a fear of a "tyranny of the masses" than it was an outright fear that the people would displace the leaders of the new nation.

However, what is truly ironic is that Nash relied so heavily upon the writings of John Adams to illustrate many of his points. Not only did he rely on Adams' writings, but also the writings of many of the other Founding Fathers. Throughout the course of the book, when Nash referred to any of the writings of the Founding Fathers, I found myself wondering if Nash was cropping their words to support his case. It is my belief that this is something that seriously needs to be explored in greater depth than I can provide here. What is also ironic is that Nash makes little use of the narratives of those whose stories he claimed he wanted to tell. Outside of the use of Joseph Plumb Martin's narrative of his experiences as a soldier in the Continental Army during the war and the autobiography of Ethan Allen, he does not make extensive use of the diaries and letters of many people who lived through the war experience, both in the military and in the civilian sector. To be sure, there are many diaries out there from those below who can illuminate their thoughts throughout the era. Would their writings bear out what Nash proposed?

Nash criticized the Continental Congress for not being able to pay the soldiers their salaries. This inability to pay the soldiers wages stemmed from the fact that the government was essentially broke: they were unable to levy taxes on the people of the colonies because of the weak governmental structure from which they operated and many of the colonies did not pay their fair share of the financial burden of the revolution. When Robert Morris tried to restore fiscal responsibility to the war effort and raise revenue to provide pay and necessities to the army, Nash viewed it as an attempt to "tame the social and political radicalism of the Revolution." (Nash, 367) However, I suppose Nash chose to forget the fact that Morris was trying to get revenue to provide for the war effort. Why then would Thomas Paine, one who Nash seemed to have great respect for his principles of democracy, agreed to author a pamphlet on behalf of Robert Morris in favor of his new fiscal plan. (Nash, 395) If Morris' plan was so stifling to democracy, intended to roll back the radicalism of the revolution, then why would Paine agree to be a party to it? Not all of these explanations and questions would mesh well with Nash's outlook on Morris and the Founding Fathers at large.

Further, if the Founding Fathers truly wanted rule for themselves, there was no better chance for one of them to establish it than with the "Newburgh Conspiracy." It is true that the soldiers and officers of George Washington's army were deeply distraught by the ineffectual abilities of the Congress to pay wages and provide for basic necessities. (Nash, 370 - 371) However, what Nash failed to mention is the other half of the conspiracy. The men wanted to march on the Continental Congress and put George Washington in power. Washington, through an impassioned speech and performance, quelled all of these thoughts and possibly saved the revolution once again.

Nash, as stated previously, believed the struggle of the thousands of black slaves in the colonies was heightened by the revolutionary rhetoric that littered the landscape of the era. He believed that such literature raised their awareness and caused more unrest and rebellion than at any time previously. However, I would like to offer my own take on this. Did it take pamphlets from the Founding Fathers to raise the awareness of the enslaved that there was something unnatural about their situation? I certainly think not. Frederick Douglass' autobiography indicates that from a very early age, he was well aware that there was something wrong with the situation he found himself. In an illustration, a still teenage Douglass talked with some of his young white friends on the streets of Baltimore and they complained about their lot in life. Douglass illustrated the point when he wrote, "You will be free as soon as you are twenty-one, but I am a slave for life!" (Douglass, 53) While Douglass certainly is an exceptional individual, I doubt that this same premise was lost on the countless enslaved individuals in the colonies and that they wanted freedom and it did not take pamphlets for that realization to come to mind.

Nash lamented the "genocidal policies" towards the AmerIndians adopted by many colonists during the revolution. While it is true that atrocities were committed against the natives, first, this was nothing new by this point in American history. Warfare between the natives and colonists was an almost constant from the time that European settlers stepped onto the New World. In such a climate, atrocities committed by both sides in this armed and almost perpetual struggle were inevitable. However, Nash is somewhat disingenuous when he makes the native population seemingly innocent or justified in their actions. Although Nash admitted that the British courted and armed the native peoples to fight the colonists, even after the revolution was over, he cannot seem to find any justification for the colonists to meet force with force.

Lastly, as stated previously, Nash bemoaned how historians and the people at large have lost the viewpoint of those below the Founding Fathers - how the great men still consistently dominant the narrative on the American Revolution. (Nash, xv) First, I would ask Mr. Nash, "should we discount what the `great men' did during the war?" While historians do deal with the "great men" of the American Revolution, I doubt there is one serious historian out there who would discount the actions and sacrifices that were made by the people below. Their deeds do not go unnoticed in narratives of the war. We read about the Boston Tea Party, we read about the non-importation of British goods and how the participation of the common people was vital to such an enterprise. We read about the plight of the Continental soldier as they nearly starve and free to death in the service of their country.

What Nash further discounted was the explosion over the past decades in dealing with various social aspects of the history of the revolution. Bruce Chadwick's piece, The First American Army: The Soldiers of the American Revolution, he offered the reader a look into the world of the solider in the Continental Army through their diaries, letters and records. Through these written records, we are presented with the bleak situation that so many found themselves in - conflicting interests between home and duty, the want of food and clothing, and their battle experiences. Alfred Young, in The Shoemaker and the Tea Party, offers a glimpse into the world of the common man on the streets, taking part in demonstrations and actions against the British and their oppressive measures.

Women's roles in the revolution are far from ignored. Mary Beth Norton authored a book, Liberty's Daughter's: The Revolutionary Experience of Women: 1750 -1800, dealing specifically with the trials and tribulations of the women during the American Revolution, both from the Patriot side and the Loyalist side. Linda Kerber also wrote a piece on women in the American Revolution entitled, Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America, which also draws upon the revolutionary experience of women through their diaries, letters and legal papers.

The Native Americans receive their fair share of print as well. Alan Taylor wrote Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution, which offers a rich, sprawling history focusing on the Iroquois Six Nations of New York and Upper Canada during the era of the American Revolution. Taylor examines Indians' wise but unsuccessful attempts to hold onto their land as colonists encroached on it. Colin Calloway, in his work, The American Revolution in Indian Country: Crisis and Diversity in Native American Communities, explored the internal strife that the revolution brought to Indian nations involved with the American Revolution.

The African-American population in the revolutionary era also received a fair amount of print about their ordeals. Glenn Knoblock wrote, Strong and Brave Fellows: New Hampshire's Black Soldiers and Sailors of the American Revolution: 1775 - 1784, which explored the military careers of over 200 black military officers during the American Revolution and attempted to reconstruct their ordeal throughout the conflict. Sylvia Frey, in her book, Water from a Rock: Black Resistance in a Revolutionary Age, explored the triangular relationship between the British, the Americans, and slaves in the South. Through this triangular relationship, Frey attempted to illustrate the complex and confusing options presented to the slaves in the South during the rebellion.

Beyond the Founders: New Approaches to the Political History of the Early American Republic, edited by Jeffrey Palsey offers readers an alternative reading in the same light that Nash presents, the conflicting desires of the myriad of peoples during the American Revolution. The political historians contained in this work showed that the early history of the United States was not just the product of a few "Founding Fathers," but was also marked by widespread and passionate popular involvement; print media more politically potent than that of later eras; and political conflicts and influences that crossed lines of race, gender, and class. Thus, this work is not beholden to one particular point of view on the revolution, as Nash is guilty of being caught up in.

These are just some of the books out there on the myriad of topics that Nash covered and, to be sure, there are many more. These books are not hard to find. Just do a search on Amazon's or Barnes and Noble's online stores on any of these topics and you will be presented with a cornucopia of choices - there is not quite the neglect that Nash claimed in these fields. To be sure, there will still be authors who write biographies on the "great men" of the American Revolution, but there are many who also explore the social history of the conflict. Thus, Nash is not the lone voice for these "forgotten" as he claimed.

The Unknown American Revolution The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America

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The Unknown American Revolution The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America
Nash Gary B.
Manufacturer: Viking
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UF0UBE

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.

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Those Fascinating Mayas

Mayan Oracles for the Millennium
R. T. Kaser
Manufacturer: Avon Books (P)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mayan | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Parapsychology | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0380781344

Customer Reviews:

Those Fascinating Mayas.......2000-03-25

This book is so enlightening and makes one wonder about the enormous knowledge of the ancients. Isn't it fascinating how those Mayans were excellent mathematicians, inventors of the zero and noteworthy astronomers...makes one wonder about their astrology. Fascinating, but very complex astrology. They have more than one calendar going, more than one astrological type, and holy days. This add complex intrique to their heiroglypics....Who knows what will happen when the planets line up.. They have lined up before. Will it affect gravity? Perhaps, we get more problems from solar flares..Read this book but I warn you...one must explore it with wonder!

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An Oft-Used Book, as It Turns Out!
American President-elect needs this book!
Breathes new life into astrology
Brilliant look at the Astrology of the Big Picture

Horoscope For The New Millennium
Eric Meece
Manufacturer: Llewellyn Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

General | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Parapsychology | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1567184618

Customer Reviews:

An Oft-Used Book, as It Turns Out!.......2004-11-21

Horoscope for the New Millenium has an amazing amount of info which i have found in no other astrology book of any kind.

Its lists of outer planetary cycles are useful beyond measure, especially considering what is going on in the world these days. Mr. Meece gives us not only the Modern Humanity Chart (Neptune conjunct Pluto, 1892), but what your own natal contacts to that chart can mean for you. The Revised World Order Chart of 2030--Saturn and Uranus in Gemini-- is interestingly included for consideration.

This book covers art, economics, politics (the U.S. chart--using Lynes' version for 4:47 pm--is well-covered and presented in comparison to the Modern Humanity Chart), Revolutions and their outcomes, Holy Wars, and so much more. The historical info/dates alone would be informative for the non-astrologer!

As in the other reviews here listed, i agree that many of his predictions are already being born out, this being 2004, while, of course, some predictions are now moot--Gore ain't the prez, as it quirkily turns out.

One cycle i was especially interested in was the Uranus/Pluto conjunction of 1966---exactly on my natal Asc. "Every time two of the three outer planets come together, a radical shift happens in society. It's as if we've entered a whole new world. The conjunction leaves its firm imprint on all of our lives", p.76. This is fascinating stuff!

And having done a good bit of work on charts for the French Revolution, i was happy to see the Proclamation of the Republic Chart, Sept 22,1792 among many others of historical interest--including the chart for The Generation of Materialism (1881) which is relevant to today's wheelers and dealers.

Need to know about the Great Cycle? How far along are we nowadays in that Cycle? It began in 575 B.C., when Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were conjunct. 'How's that going?', you may wonder. This book will help you with such weighty issues--see Chapter 5.

Eclipse info is, of course, included, and the Time Lines extend further forward And backward than any i've found elsewhere, so if you have any interest in mundane charts, politics, the future, or your own chart's connections to these larger cycles, i recommend this book most highly.

American President-elect needs this book!.......2000-12-10

This book is one of 2 mundane astrology books about the new millennium that I have found to be worth buying (the other is Noel Tyl's). Meece is the one who takes us much farther into the future. Meece, who has obvious Democratic leanings, has made a number of startling predictions, none more so than the ones surrounding the American Presidents to be elected in 2000 and 2004. He says it over and over, that these Presidents will be in extreme danger of assassination on several occasions. He has particular warnings for Al Gore.

In light of the current election mess and bitter power struggle as I write this review on Dec. 9, 2000 (rerere-counting votes and no President-elect in sight yet!), Meece's predictions for the Presidency are beginning to make a lot more sense. Read this book and then pray for the President for the next 8 years.

Breathes new life into astrology.......2000-11-30

This book was amazing! For anyone who's interested in learning what the future will hold . . . even those who don't believe the idiotic horoscopes that appear in the daily newspaper. Eric Alan Meece rises above zodiacal simplification and superstition-based astrology to elevate astology into a science and an art. He explains, with remarkable accuracy, the several astrological factors, from sun sign to moon sign to outer planets, that correspond with personality traits. Astrology revolves all around archetypes, and assigning them to celestial bodies and periods of time. His discussion of the different generations, each with the expected corresponding astrological combinations at time of birth, is a must-read, and his description of different generational waves is so true it's scary. Meece convincingly shines insight onto famous paintings in a way that archetypally connects countries around the world, body parts, and the four elements. Even skeptics (NOT cynics) will find inspiring matter in here. A definite recommendation -- should definitely have a higher sales rank number up there!

Brilliant look at the Astrology of the Big Picture.......1999-03-22

Astrology was in great need of a book like E. Alan Meece's Horoscope for a New Millennium. Not many astrologers look deeply into mundane historical astrology and the evolution of humanity. This is a in depth look at the major planetary cycles and how they have affected the unfolding of human potential. Now that we are in a period of accelerated human evolution, his book is a very timely addition to our understanding of our present historical situation and potential future. It will be a stretch for many who are not deep in there understanding of Astrology, but is is a stretch well worth making.

Sydney Omarr's Day-by-Day Astrological Guide for the New Millennium: Aqu (Omarr Astrology)

Average customer rating:

Sydney Omarr's Day-By-Day Astrological Guide for Pisces : Fe

Sydney Omarr's Day-by-Day Astrological Guide for the New Millennium: Aqu (Omarr Astrology)
Sydney Omarr
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0451200675
Release Date: 2000-06-12

Book Description

With his brand-new day-by-day guide, America's most trusted astrologer Sydney Omarr welcomes us into the new year with his amazingly accurate predictions. Offering daily outlooks for 18 full months with expert forecasts for romance, adventure, health, career opportunities... and more.

Twelve individual volumes for each of the 12 signs of the zodiac
Plus important dates and lucky numbers!
Includes daily forecasts for a full 18 months

Customer Reviews:

Sydney Omarr's Day-By-Day Astrological Guide for Pisces : Fe.......2000-09-25

This book has a great section with the likes and dislikes in the relationship with other signs. I reference to this part alot.

Average customer rating:

awesome!

Sydney Omarr's New Millennium Guide
Sydney Omarr
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0451198298

Book Description

Nationally syndicated in over 300 newspapers, astrology expert Sydney Omarr guides us into the new millennium... with hope, with confidence, and with personal advice for the first decade of the 21st Century! Includes:

* Individualized readings for each of the twelve star signs
* An in-depth look at the up-coming celestial changes
* How to fulfill your own destiny in this historic event
* And much, much more!

* Offers an optimistic, "can-do" perspective on the coming millennium

Customer Reviews:

awesome!.......2000-10-26

I think this book was awesome because it has information that other books wouldnt even have and I think he's pretty honest about the things he saids too!

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