Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
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.
Book Description
The first Navajo woman surgeon combines western medicine and traditional healing.
A spellbinding journey between two worlds, this remarkable book describes surgeon Lori Arviso Alvord's struggles to bring modern medicine to the Navajo reservation in Gallup, New Mexico--and to bring the values of her people to a medical care system in danger of losing its heart.
Dr. Alvord left a dusty reservation in New Mexico for Stanford University Medical School, becoming the first Navajo woman surgeon. Rising above the odds presented by her own culture and the male-dominated world of surgeons, she returned to the reservation to find a new challenge. In dramatic encounters, Dr. Alvord witnessed the power of belief to influence health, for good or for ill. She came to merge the latest breakthroughs of medical science with the ancient tribal paths to recovery and wellness, following the Navajo philosophy of a balanced and harmonious life, called Walking in Beauty. And now, in bringing these principles to the world of medicine,
The Scalpel and the Silver Bear joins those few rare works, such as
Healing and the Mind, whose ideas have changed medical practices-and our understanding of the world.
Customer Reviews:
A thoughtful exploration of Indian culture and medicine.......2007-07-26
Daughter of a full-blooded Navajo father and white mother, Lori Arviso Alvord grew up on a New Mexico reservation in a family that took pride in its native heritage, but followed few of the traditional ways. She attended Navajo schools but never learned the language; she knew her clan relationships and enjoyed the security of tribal connections but seldom attended ceremonies or understood the depth of meaning in the Navajo concept "Walk In Beauty."
Such a person might expect to shed the remnants of tribal culture on leaving the reservation to become a high-powered surgeon, a career that by its very nature flies in the face of Navajo precepts like privacy and self-effacement.
Indeed, throughout her memoir, co-authored by Elizabeth Cohen Van Pelt, Alvord seems to straddle two worlds separated by an uncomfortable gulf. She first looked upon the deepness of that gulf at Dartmouth.
"For a girl who had never been far from Crownpoint, New Mexico, the green felt incredibly juicy, lush, beautiful and threatening." Unable to see the horizon, she felt claustrophobic. But the culture shock was worse. "I thought people talked too much, laughed too loud, asked too many personal questions, and had no respect for privacy." Navajos do not put themselves forward and cooperation is valued over competition. Not a good prescription for success at an Ivy League school.
At Dartmouth she began to feel her tribal identity more strongly and wonder if a kinaalda ceremony (a celebration of womanhood) would have helped empower her in such alien surroundings. But not until after medical school at Stanford, where she was forced to break numerous taboos (Navajo never touch the dead, for instance) and joined a profession where it is essential to ask prying, intimate questions and invade another's personal space at will, did Alvord really begin to explore the philosophical grounding of Navajo culture.
Becoming a surgeon at the Gallup Indian Medical Center, close to the reservation, Alvord notices that her patients do better when they are calm and relaxed, that harmony - even in the operating room when the patient is unconscious - is important for recovery.
She grows more interested in the Navajo philosophy that "everything in life is connected and influences everything else." To "Walk in Beauty" a person strives to live in balance, symmetry and harmony with everything and everyone else.
While this is an ancient precept, held in common with many other cultures and enjoying something of a renaissance in American medicine today, Alvord comes up with a particularly striking example. One of her surgery patients, a young woman, was the first to die of a strange illness that swept through the Navajo nation, killing 11.
A doctor working for the Centers for Disease Control, Ben Muneta, visited a medicine man, a hataalii, who told him "the illness was caused by an excess of rainfall, which had caused the pinon trees to bear too much fruit." There was "a significant deviation from the natural harmony of the world."
The medicine man showed a sand painting of a mouse and said that twice before in years of excess rainfall a similar disease had struck. " `Look to the mouse,' " he said. Weeks later the CDC determined that the Hantavirus was contracted from the droppings of infected deer mice. The deer mouse population had surged due to an excess of pinon nuts. "It was the rain."
Alvord's tone is quiet, reserved. It does not seem easy for her to describe the alcoholism of her charming father or the difficulties and generosity of her (married at 16) mother. Though she takes us to a nightlong ceremony for the sick and celebrates the strength her patients draw from medicine-man visits, she never explains why it takes her so long to visit a hitaalii during her own pregnancy. Or why she never approaches a medicine man to discuss cross-cultural treatments despite her growing conviction of the efficacy of the "whole body" approach.
While most of the book concentrates on her work and her struggle to reconcile cultures, she provides a wide, sad look at reservation life, beset by poverty and "white mans'" diseases. The long grief of history resides in the alcoholism and the self-loathing of so many - a balance that can never be put right.
At last Alvord leaves. Seeing it as the next natural step in her own "life trail", she returns to Dartmouth as a surgeon and a dean of minority and student affairs. At Dartmouth, she hopes, she can teach the Navajo "Walk In Beauty" principles to new doctors as well as working within the established system to bring better care to her own people.
The First Navajo Woman Surgeon........2007-04-09
I am full-blooded Navajo, I was taught to believe in my traditonal ways and it disappoints me that she has talked about very scared ceremonies.
Solid credentials but too abstract.......2003-12-04
--Dr Alvord writes about her journeys as a Native American student and physician. The book seems clearly designed for non-technical readers rather than the professional medical community, and there's little medical jargon. She uses her own difficult pregnancy and the death of a beloved grandmother as case studies in integrating Western medicine and Navajo ideas.
--On the one hand, it's worth reading this book just to hear such an inspirational story from such a role model. Dr Alvord tells her story with dignity and courage and she has many good ideas about listening to patients and integrating Balance and Harmony in our profession (although these ideas don't seem as radical or as rare within the medical community as she seems to imply, and I don't think she does anyone a great service by implying they are).
--On the other hand, the authors remained disappointingly abstract, even given the limitations of confidentiality and space. The stories of Navajo healing barely scratched the surface and the book was pretty scanty with practical advice that would help non-Native healers understand Native American patients. I'd love to have heard her perspectives on the magnitude of Native American health problems, how she handled the constant pressures of time and funding, or how she successfully used traditional Native American methods to help manage serious medical-social problems (i.e. alcohol use, diabetogenic diets, family pressures, basic compliance and responsibility issues, etc). In short, I'd like to have heard more about her successes.
--The book's perspective gives a good counterpoint to those who criticize Western medicine as too impersonal/sterile/uncaring/whatever, while they fail to demonstrate how to predictably improve things and still efficiently deliver technically competent health care to people with different levels of motivation and understanding. Western medicine works beautifully in its own niche, but it will be made to work less efficiently if we mess around with the wrong things. Perhaps medicine will improve if we balance the responsibilities of patients to live a healthy lifestyle with the responsibilities of healers to carefully listen to patients and then help them heal.
--This book did not practically help me to do this, so I cannot give it five stars despite my respect for her credentials. I do look forward to a sequel.
--Other books which may be of interest include Blessings (by Dr. A. Organick), The Dancing Healers, and Primary Care of Native American Patients.
READ THIS BOOK.......2003-05-10
I picked up this book and I could NOT put it down. What a wonderful journey described here....how she interlocks traditional medicine with Navajo, how harmony and positive spirit is such a process in the healing world. You will not be disappointed with this read. I have shared this with all those close to me. Make it part of your list
What We All Want in a Doctor.......2002-03-18
This book was recommended by a friend, and after I read it, I chose it as my selection for my book club. Living in the Southwest, the insight into Native American culture was especially educational. Alvord seems to confirm what so many of us as patients have been saying for years: give us a doctor who will take the time to get to know us on a personal level and treat the whole person. I would recommend this to men and women, young and old alike! What an amazing woman.
Customer Reviews:
From the eyes OF a Lakota.......2006-07-01
I will try and refrain from being too harsh here, however...I feel this needs to be said from someone who actually knows something about these things.(I am Oglala Lakota) First off, if you want to know the TRUTH about Lakota spirituality, don't buy a book from some European out to make a quick buck. This book, as well as his others are filled with pieces from this and that, speculation and cliche' and has little to nothing to do with the truth. (The Lakota people do not, nor ever have had "Shamans") This type of book not only serves to perpetuate the disintigration of our sacred ways, but it also dishes out lies, misconceptions, and other non-truths. I highly suggest that this, and books like it, not be supported so that those who are truly searching, won't have to be loaded down with junk, before they find the true treasure.
Learn About Yourself.......2005-06-16
I was first introduced to this book almost seven years ago. I was immediately intrigued by what I read, and ever since, I have had a vast respect and interest in Native American philosophy and teachings.
There are certain tribes - particularly the Lakota tribes, as I understand it - that do not agree with the material published in this book. While I respect their differences, I have found this book to be an immeasurable tool in self-discovery.
Surprisingly, I have not had much interest in the other books published by this author. I read this book first, and was certain that I would enjoy reading more from him, but this seems to be the book that speaks to me the most.
Disappointing..........2002-01-19
Mr. Meadows is known for his "Shamanic" genre writing, though this is the first book of his I have read. I wanted to explore some of the history of earth based spirituality, and with that expectation found this book very disappointing. Mr. Meadows paints incredibly huge strokes, covering thousands of years of spiritual life, shoe horning it into the Medicine Wheel, and doing so in the space of 90 pages. He makes statements that begin like Aristotlian proof theorems, and spin into grandiose New Age spiritual idealisms. His descriptions of what "Amerindians" (now I am really getting ill) believed or didn't believe no doubt has Native Americans everywhere rolling on the floor or in their graves. Meadows tries to do way too much and is ill equiped to handle his subject matter, both academically and poetically.
To the Bargin Bin!.......2000-11-28
I got this book as part of a free offer. Thank goodness I didn't spend any money to support this book. This book leads you on interesting exercises to ... nowhere! I felt like I was just exploring things to give me "warm fuzzies" rather than searching out any spiritual truth or real growth. Indeed, I felt like this book was harming my spiritual growth!
Really, I should have known better than to buy a book claiming to teach "native american beliefs" -- most, if not all, are on a bandwagon to take the money of good people who are simply searching for spirituality. If you are interested in nature-based religions, start by reading "Drawing Down the Moon" by M. Adler and learning about yourself via meditation or perhaps a journaling book such as "Life's Companion" by C. Baldwin. Seek a path closer to your own heritage. And if your heritage is Native American, or you are REALLY deadset on learning a Native American belief, then talk to a real Native American to understand the truth. Don't get your info from a "plastic shaman".
Please DON'T make the same embarrassing mistake I did! Be smarter than me! :)
Eartjh Medicine.......2000-08-26
This book has changed my life. It has made me appreciate the Earth more and my role in this world. It has helped me find myself again after a pretty messy divorce. It has helped to guide me in the way I want to raise my daughter as well.
Book Description
"The Medicine Wheel is a springboard of power that will allow you to link up to all the energies of the universe." -- Sun Bear
Millions of people around the world have incorporated Native American philosophy into their everyday lives. Now, with this special 25th anniversary edition of the late Sun Bear's classic bestseller, readers old and new can benefit from the teachings and techniques of the Medicine Wheel.
In The Medicine Wheel, Sun Bear and Wabun put forth a whole new system of earth astrology to help guide people not only in their daily living but also in their life paths. In the authors' own words, this book was written to "help all people relate better to our Earth Mother...and find a kinship with the universe." The Medicine Wheel is a beautiful and inspiring approach to graceful, holistic living in trying modern times. The Medicine Wheel's philosophy is derived from a basic principle known by all people who live close to the earth: Once you fully embrace the elemental forces of nature, you become a part of the whole. Let this book be your first step toward finding peace and prosperity -- and your own special place in the circle of life.
Customer Reviews:
Not traditional but interesting nonetheless........2006-04-26
I bought this book years ago (before Amazon.com even existed). I've met Sun Bear, Wabun and the whole Bear Tribe in person, when they were located near Spokane, WA. (I even met Medicine Story, one of the reviewers up there. Hi again!)
Several of the reviews take issue with the idea of an astrological-type system because there was no such thing among the native peoples of this continent. Well, Sun Bear himself said the same thing. The ideas in this book weren't meant to represent traditional Chippewa or Native American beliefs. They're a completely new idea, given to Sun Bear in a vision that he had.
Other reviewers mention that you are not locked in to particular personality traits due to the time of your birth, but that anyone can change. Sun Bear covered that as well. First, this system is just symbolism to try to give people some insight into how they are. It's not a hard-and-fast type of thing. It's more like Rosarch ink blots- just a tool to help you learn about yourself. Second, he says in the book that people often move around on the medicine wheel as they go through life, sharing traits with and seeing from the perspective of the various different totems.
As a self-analysis or self-help book I recommend Medicine Wheel. It's well worth a read.
Everything that comes around goes around........2004-06-16
I have only read one book by Sun Bear and was facinated by the fact that anyone, Native or not, could find peace by just doing something spiritual like this. I am a member of two Ojibway tribes, and yes, I did grow up on three different reservations in my life so I feel I can speak with confidence on this matter. I do not care if people agree or disagree with the Native religions because they are all different and it is not up to me,or anyone else, to tell you what is native or non-native so if you believe you can find happiness from reading "astrological" points of view from Sun Bear then buy the book because it is better to love and practice something than to practice nothing at all. I would also recommend traveling to a nearby "Rez" for an introduction to religion, and they don't have to be Chippewa like myself or Sun Bear, because I know the best spiritual advise cannot be found in books. To correct a few reviews and from an Anthropological view, the Chippewa, or Ojibway, were not buffalo chasers like the plains natives, but fisherman and farmers from Canada with a HEAVY influence from the French (hows that for a European astrology connection) so please correct your review Apacheman because we, the Chippewa, are woodland indians so how could you know if we kept a calender or not (especially the Apaches being a Mexico indian). Native religions do not hate like others do so please do not give us a bad name because I read your profile and it seems all your reviews were negative. And as far as two bears is concerned I would like to know who named you or what naming ceramony you attended because we all have two lives, the one everybody see's and the one we hide(naming yourself does not constitute an indian name).
Very Enjoyable.......2001-11-27
This book has come off the shelf multiple times. It has interesting insight and is enjoyable to read. If you like things like horoscopes and such, you'll enjoy Sun Bear's take on it all.
A different approach to astrology.......2001-05-24
I first read this book in 1988 and got it out again today as I recommended it to someone. Am glad to see that it is still in print.
Astrology based on moon at time of birth is a different idea, but in my case being a brown bear really is on target. I liked all of the information on minerals and plants, too.
I've read several of Sun Bear's books and find them thought provoking.
No such thing as "native astrology".......2001-04-03
Sorry, but anyone native will tell you the whole premise of this book is ludicrous. Plains tribes didn't keep calendars, so why would they have astrology? Astrology is a European thing, not native. Sun Bear, Wabun Bear, and their cult the so-called "Bear Tribe" are not respected among native people because of stunts like this, making up fantasies to exploit whites who are honestly seeking out native spirituality. If you want a truthful view of native religion, try Vine Deloria's God Is Red or any of his other great books. Go to a powwow or take an anthropology course. But don't fall for silliness like this. You will be angry and disappointed and no closer to understanding native cultures.
Amazon.com
A century ago, malaria was killing Washingtonians, Londoners, Parisians. Today HIV, along with various cancers, has taken its place among worldwide epidemics. Quinine, extracted from the cinchona tree of the Amazonian rainforest, quelled malaria; alkaloids taken from trees in the West African rainforest may well yield a cure for AIDS. Yet those woods, Mark Plotkin tells us, are fast disappearing, along with the native peoples who know the powers of the plants that dwell there. His account of wandering through the Amazonian jungles focuses on local knowledge about plants, whose uses range from the mundane to the magical. The rainforests of the world, Plotkin notes, are our greatest natural resource, an intercultural pharmacy that can cure woes both known and yet unvisited.
Customer Reviews:
Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice.......2007-10-10
This was purchased for my mother, who's taking a trip to Costa Rica. I read it years ago and remembered liking it. She read it, loved it and is now passing it around to her fellow-travelers.
Fascinating, Enligtening Read!!.......2007-07-26
I typically don't get too deeply interested in scientific books simply because unless that's your cup of tea they can come off very dry, dull reads. I was pleasantly surprised with this book however. The mention of shamanism in the title peaked my interest and I found this book to have numerous entertaining stories about an ethnobotanist's travels and studies across the Amazon. Many times during my reading, I would picture the Sean Connery film Medicine Man! The stories of this man trying to earn the respect and trust of the natives and constantly being laughed at and nicknamed "pananakiri" (natives' word for "white man" or "city slicker")were very entertaining and the information on the origins of many everyday household products here in the States was incredibly interesting. I also appreciate how this book stresses the importance of preserving the rain forests and the native cultures inside them. Plotkin definitely makes it clear how truly remarkable and irreplaceable these places are.
There were some sections that did feel like the author would run off on tangent topics, giving the book some portions of reading that drag on a bit. This would be the only reason I would give this book 4 stars rather than 5. Definitely recommended!!
Searching for new medicines in the rain forest? What?.......2007-02-05
I believe that the author of this book should review it. I did not fine any searching in this book.
Plant Power Rules.......2007-01-13
Mark Plotkin does a fantastic job of conveying the fantastic enthusiasm he has for rainforest plants and cultures. He shows us how important plants have been in the course of the development of civilization. As a historian, I greatly appreciated his vignettes into the origins of coffee, rubber and other life changing substances. Mark is a great story teller, and he is one of the luckiest men alive to have seen pristine rainforests and lived with these 20,000+ year old cultures before those clever capitalists and Christians wipe them all out. That's another thing I like about this book. It slams the arrogant missionaries who think they have all the right answers when in fact they are destroyers of indigenous cultures and invaluable medical knowledge. You can't help but read this book and feel that as you watch the rainforests burn, you might as well be watching the library of Alexandria burn.
But the book isn't depressing. It is empowering. Mark has a plan, and he's implementing it. Harness the greed of capitalism, and the pharmaceutical industry. Let's show the world that Science has brought us to this unprecedented point in our cognitive evolution and only Science (not praying to imaginary friends) will save us. Knowledge, not ignorance, is power.
A colorfully written and informative book..........2006-12-30
Plotkin does an amazing job in not only describing his experience in the Amazonian forest but in also describing the many medicinal plants that were used by the native people. The story, as one would think, would seem bland and dry but Plotkin does a wonderful job in keeping his narration flowing and interesting.
I particularly liked the descriptions of what was happening to him when he personally experienced it, such as epena or the flea egg under his toe nail. In describing what happened personally it adds a lot more credence to the story he was telling. Additionally, the extra tidbits of information about his journey were fun as well, such as the large electric eel that was in the water with him.
What is most important though is Plotkin drives home the over arching theme of his book, that of protecting the Amazon and thus its medicinal powers, and not letting the years upon years of wisdom die with the few remaining shamans. A well written book by someone who knows his field very well. I would definitely recommend.
5 stars.
Book Description
Inspired by his Cherokee grandmother's healing ceremonies, Lewis Mehl-Madrona enlightens readers to "alternative" paths to recovery and health. Coyote Medicine isn't about eschewing Western medicine when it's effective, but about finding other answers when medicine fails: for chronic sufferers, patients not responding to medication, or "terminal" cases that doctors have given up on. In the story of one doctor's remarkable initiation into alternative ways to spiritual and physical health, Coyote Medicine provides the key to untapped healing methods available today.
Customer Reviews:
Tremendous Source of Insight.......2005-09-26
"Coyote Medicine" is a tremendous source of insight and experience within the path of shamanism and health. Dr. Mehl-Madrona's story-telling is magnificent and at times very suspenseful hitting directly on our sensitive health and spiritual issues we face culturally. But, he doesn't give you easy answers, because his path to becoming a healer was very complex. For me, this book opened up parts of my consciousness and answered questions I was asking and some of those I hadn't yet asked. This book was truly a God-send and I am savoring every word I read.
Essential Reading on Holistic Medicine.......2003-06-22
This book blew me away. I have reread much of it so many times and bought multiple copies for friends. I have filled the margins of my copy with notes and filled notebooks with essays and thoughts inspired by Dr. Mehl-Madrona's book. It is nothing short of miraculous itself, in addition to describing medical miracles and how they are brought about by spiritual intervention and Native American healing.
A child prodigy, Lewis Mehl-Madrona hitchhiked to a local college while still in high school, read philosophy science voraciously and was the youngest peacetime graduate of Stanford Medical School. The more impressive since his childhood was at times difficult.
At medical school, Dr. Mehl-Madrona became interested in shamanic traditions and attended some sweat lodge and tipi ceremonies. Here he encountered otherwordly phenomena such as blue light, sparks, sensorial stimulation and miracle cures in cases that were deemed too far gone by western doctors. Most importantly, Dr. Mehl-Madrona learned how shamans talked to patients, asked questions about their families and lives and spent long periods of time with them. The author learned that shamans tap into the inner healer of the patient, and consider themselves only partially responsible for any cure.
At the same time, Dr. Mehl-Madrona was encountering negligent and dehumanizing healing practices in his western medical pursuits. A few spine-chilling tales display the callousness and arrogance that exists in some hospitals and clinics. One example: two obstetricians made a bet concerning the fastest C-Section birth and the winner, very triumphant at seventeen minutes, accidentally tied something shut in the woman's internal organs. It was fixed and the woman even wrote a letter of thanks to the hospital! Such is the blind and sometimes unjustified trust the public has in the medical establishment.
The book is wonderfully woven with many colorful strands of storytelling. On one level, it is a memoir of Dr. Mehl-Madrona's journey to reconcile his western medical training with holistic and in particular Native American healing. He is part Native American, so this pursuit poignantly reflects his mixed heritage. Poignant because Dr. Mehl-Madrona often felt like an outsider in all areas of his life, as a Native American man, as an American man, as a western doctor and as an aspiring and ultimately successful shaman.
Another strand of his story is the Native American tradition of healing itself, which we discover in almost the same timeframe that he does. We are introduced to the traditional practice of storytelling as a healing technique at the same time that he is. Early in the book, when the doctor is a resident, he is tending a man whose medical condition is exacerbated (and perhaps caused) by his intensely critical nature. A wonderful passage in recounts Dr. Mehl-Madrona's tentative attempt at telling a story to the cynical patient, himself a psychologist, who groans with sarcasm as the story begins. As it continued, he was intrigued, however, and even hazards a guess at the meaning, to which guess the doctor gives an ambiguous confirmation. The great part of this passage is how Dr. Mehl-Madrona successfully enacts the role of enigmatic shaman even though he himself is still unsure of the story's meaning.
Coyote Medicine also discusses the role of the supernatural in shamanic healing, and the perception of magic and nature. For anyone who ever sat in the woods or even on his aparment steps late at night and felt a mystical connection to something unseen and bigger than himself, Coyote Medicine is a kindred spirit.
At one point the author goes on his vision quest and meets his power animals and is given shamanic healing tools. We as readers are present at many important moments in his life, including personal and family struggles (his first wife, according to the book, seemed to wrestle his children away from him and resented his shamanic efforts), professional travails (Dr. Mehl-Madrona's questioning intelligence, sense of dignity for the patient and also his holistic beliefs created friction with several different western medical institutions). When, at the end of the book, the author finds an accepting partner and on a professional level, a venue where he could combine holistic healing with Western, we feel as thought a close friend has triumphed in the face of great odds.
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in healing, either for herself or others, and also about finding one's own individual path, as difficult as and untraveled as it might be, but that is true to the traveler.
Many blessings on this book and thank you Dr. Lewis Mehl-Madrona.
Robert Murray Diefendorf, Author of Release the Butterfly
Take the risk and make the leap.......2003-01-10
Coyote has always been a special animal to me, so the title jumped out at me. The two feathers and physician's symbol on the cover present a beautiful balance. The physician's symbol has the twin serpents and the two wings of the one. In the background is the four, the Mystery.
Lewis' experiences are related in an interwoven manner. He rushes through life in the quest for medical expertise and validation. In doing so, he trips himself into bouts with infinity as his beautiful plans fall through, day-by-day, year-by-year. However, his rapidly depleted physical/mental being is slowly but surely filling from the inside out. The book is a wonderful, candid sharing of one human's journey to clarify his purpose, his vocation, and to realize such.
He seems like a powerless pawn at times. Have you felt that way? I have. It takes courage to choose the walk toward balance with a fellow being. Lewis had to learn the way of the warrior to survive his path as a healer.
The sweat lodge accounts are beautifully done. I felt it better than any other accounts I have read. Although I have not participated in a lodge, I have experienced years of "spirit stuff". He is talking from experience. Lewis tells us without violating the trust of his friends, manifested or otherwise.
The visions he describes are direct accounts, rather than attempts to relay deep knowings into a form the reader may understand. Visions come in dreams, in rituals, in waking, everyday consciousness, you name it. If we need it and are open to input, we will receive guidance. A vision is experiential, so there is no way to relay the richness and life of such an experience.
Ya gotta walk the walk--it's the only way.
I laughed pretty good at his experience learning to talk with the desert. I too learned this while out alone walking in the desert. At first I thought my spirit friends were nuts--and said so--but I did it and learned a lot. You'll have to read the book to find out.
There were tears of joy and tears of sorrow while reading this book, and a lot of laughter. Thank-you for making the great leap and taking the risk of sharing, Lewis!
Moving, educational and inspiring........2001-08-09
This book is a well written merging of two subjects. The first is a personal sharing of Lewis Mehl-Madrona's upbringing and life experience as a half N.A. Native, his pursuit of a medical degree and specialty and his increasing disillusionment with the "science" of medicine as it is now widely practiced. The second is about Lewis' discovery of N.A. Native spirituality and shamani sm. He leads us on a winding path of discovery that introduces us to the intriguing characters who use shamanism to heal others, often while their own lives are in disarray, to those who sought healing and perhaps most importantly, to the spirits who assisted in the ceremonies. While pursuing this path of curing the individual, rather than the symptom, it seems that Lewis will lose site of his original goal to obtain his medical speciality. But, as so often occurs, as he helps others to heal, the path circles around to encompass his own needs and he completes his original path, a more well-rounded and enlightened human. More capable of understanding. More capable of giving what is really required. I found the writing to be powerful, the personal drama riveting and the glimpse into the ceremonies, symbolism and spiritualism of the N.A. shaman both moving and educational. After all these years of hearing the stories shared by N.A. natives, but not really understanding, I finally "got it". This book slaked a thirst I didn't know I had. Lewis not only shared his story but acted as a teacher and I know that I've grown as a result. I highly recommend it and hope that we'll hear more from this writer.
Excellent Reading.......2001-03-05
I enjoyed this book very much! It is full of truths ! I believe as does this man. I look forward to reading any book he writes.It was a easy read and on a level that I understood completely.I laughed and cried with his stories.I just loved it!
Book Description
Working with the image of the Indian shaman as Wild Man, Taussig reveals not the magic of the shaman but that of the politicizing fictions creating the effect of the real.
"This extraordinary book . . . will encourage ever more critical and creative explorations."—Fernando Coronil, [I]American Journal of Sociology[/I]
"Taussig has brought a formidable collection of data from arcane literary, journalistic, and biographical sources to bear on . . . questions of evil, torture, and politically institutionalized hatred and terror. His intent is laudable, and much of the book is brilliant, both in its discovery of how particular people perpetrated evil and others interpreted it."—Stehen G. Bunker, Social Science Quarterly
Customer Reviews:
Difficult, but worth the effort. .......2006-02-24
Michael Taussig takes a stance towards "terrorism" not common in today's world. By trying to trace the roots of this phenomenon, he brings to light many explanations and understandings many of us fail to realize, only because we have not come across them before. I give this book four stars instead of five simply because it is a difficult read, but if you are interested in what we, today, call "terrorism" and are willing to take the time to plunge into this book, then it will certainly be worth your while.
Taussig takes one on a terrifying, gut churning, horrifying.......1999-02-07
trip through the rubber boom of the 1800's in South America. From detailed historical survey to his first hand accounts of life around the Amazon, he never ceases to confront the reader with reality. His study is comprehensive in that he brings attention to all different aspects of the European, Indian and African people who live there. The study helps integrate the anthropological view of society to consider the religious, political, economic and moral as part of the collective consciousness of a community. Powerful book.
Much more than a simple ethnographic investigation..........1998-01-28
Arguably one of the most accomplished anthropologists working today, Michael Taussig provides an intensely individualistic bricolage of literary, historical, and ethnological interpretations of his many years of fieldwork in the Upper Amazon. One of the most detailed and poignant accounts of shamanism in its cultural context - will very soon be regarded as a classic.
Book Description
The first in-depth examination of the sacred underpinnings of the world of Native American medicinal herbalism
⢠Reveals how shamans and healers âtalkâ with plants to discover their medicinal properties
⢠Includes the prayers and medicine songs associated with each of the plants examined
⢠By the author of The Secret Teachings of Plants
As humans evolved on Earth they used plants for everything imaginable--food, weapons, baskets, clothes, shelter, and medicine. Indigenous peoples the world over have been able to gather knowledge of plant uses by communicating directly with plants and honoring the sacred relationship between themselves and the plant world.
In Sacred Plant Medicine Stephen Harrod Buhner looks at the long-standing relationship between indigenous peoples and plants and examines the techniques and states of mind these cultures use to communicate with the plant world. He explores the sacred dimension of plant and human interactions and the territory where plants are an expression of Spirit. For each healing plant described in the book, Buhner presents medicinal uses, preparatory guidelines, and ceremonial elements such as prayers and medicine songs associated with its use.
Customer Reviews:
a wonderful book!.......2007-04-09
In Sacred Plant Medicine, Stephen Buhner explores the processes whereby indigenous peoples throughout the world learned the use of plant medicines. The book is a sensitive and deep look at an uncommon subject, the sacredness of plants within indigenous cosmologies, how those plants interacted with human beings, and how human beings made relationship with them in order to learn their medicinal and spiritual uses. Indigenous peoples were clear, and Buhner's first hand accounts bear this out, they did not learn the uses of plant medicines through trial and error but directly from the plants themselves. This book is an important companion to Buhner's other books: Lost Language of Plants, and The Secret Teachings of Plants. Each of them look at the intelligence of Nature, especially that of plants, in close detail, each from a different perspective. Sacred Plant Medicine develops a map of the territory of plant intelligence and the human interaction with it by focusing on the earliest and most basic human form of that contact between differing intelligences. Lost Language of Plants approaches it from a look at the deep ecological interactions of plant chemicals as one specific language of plant communication, Secret Teachings explores the heart as the specific organ of cognition behind understanding plant and Nature contact and communication. All three books are essential, this one is a delight. Highly recommended.
Good book.......2007-03-21
This is a good book. It has quite a bit of the white man playing Indian in it. If you can filter through that stuff then you can get some good information out of it.
Book Description
A comprehensive overview of Native American spiritual principles and their application for personal spirit-healing.
⢠Includes traditional sacred exercises, teaching tales, case studies, and suggested rituals for individual and group healing.
⢠Outlines the core principals of Native American traditional values and teaches how to apply them to the contemporary path of wellness and healing.
⢠Publication to coincide with annual Full Circle gathering in September 2002
The Four Directions, the four seasons, and the four elements that make up the sacred hoop of the full circle must be in right relationship with one another or disharmony will result. Native American ritual has always emphasized the restoration of balance through ceremonies that provide a forum for learning, transition, and expressions of personal growth. Now Cherokee authors J. T. and Michael Garrett share Native American traditions to explore interrelationships as a tool for growth and transformation.
The Cherokee Full Circle gathers techniques representing Native American cultures from across America--stories, exercises, and individual and group rituals--to teach the inherent dynamics of right relationship and apply them to the healing path. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of Native American spiritual principles and traditions and demonstrate how these ideas and methods can be applied universally to deal with life's situations--from depression and grieving to finding purpose and establishing positive relationships.
Customer Reviews:
Part of my continual study!!!.......2006-04-25
An amazing study book. Encourages me to continue in my Native American roots search. Thank you. I have all of Garretts books.
Solid principles!.......2004-05-20
An excellent presentation of Cherokee religion in respect to the harmony in the relationships of cycles. Easily readable, but goes into depth to give good solid understanding. A well done book on the subject!
Fantastic.......2003-08-08
Helps me with my meditation practices. Better to use this in the great outdoors but a very sprit building book!
Book Balances the Experience.......2003-04-07
I like this book because it is the answer to How Full Circle Works. It cannot replace the Experience of Full Circle. The Experience appeals to the feeling side of a person and the book balances the experience with intellectual understanding. I read it straight through in one evening.
The book tells about the wholistic and enjoyable approach the Garrett Family uses to help people into group transformational energy in the way of the Cherokee. It also tells about mainstream counseling techniques incorporated into Full Circle for insights and healing. An atmosphere of support, acceptance, non-interference, respect and love in an environment that includes nature is emphasized.
The Cherokee Full Circle book is a wonderful blend of Cherokee cultural teachings that make sense today, interesting drawings enhancing the Cherokee stories (could be used for children to color as a coloring book), and modern day group techniques. It is a book for personal growth and a book for the professional wanting to explore diversity and new/old ways and thoughts.
If any reader wants to implement a Full Circle, the actual experience would be helpful if not mandatory to success.
This is required reading for all self-determined people.......2002-12-19
Drs. JT & Michael Garrett have gifted us with yet another wonderful collection of great insights and practical ways of "be-ing." The Cherokee Full Circle provides the reader with suggested activities that help one move towards balance and harmony throughout one's daily and life-long trials. The authors show how ancient wisdom continues to have practical applications in today's world. In doing so, they illuminate the realities of truth to be timeless. JT & Michael provide a way to make choices that can connect us with the Universal Circle of Life. They remind us of the sacred in everyday life. In their book, they show how many things that we may take for granted can bring a new energy into our life ( as well as those around us ) by recognizing their relationship to us and all other things. Giving thanks,asking permission, sharing,showing respect, generosity, listening, and being a helper are just a few of the many teachings in this book. The beauty of their message relates to everyone no matter what age, background, spirituality,or location. Once the reader makes the choice to embrace "the Way of the Circle," they learn to honor all things, to listen, to see, and to act in a sacred manner. Wah Do
Average customer rating:
- How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine and Crafts (Deluxe Clothbound Edition)
- Lots of good information
- Rating Correction
- Thorough study, 1905-1925,Ojibwe Food, Medical, General uses
|
How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine and Crafts
Frances Densmore
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0486230198 |
Book Description
A renowned ethnologist with the Smithsonian Institution offers a fascinating wealth of material on nearly 200 plants that were used by the Chippewas of Minnesota and Wisconsin. The volume provides an emphasis on wild plants and their lesser-known uses. "A fascinating, well-illustrated study." — Grand Rapids Gazette. 33 plates.
Customer Reviews:
How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine and Crafts (Deluxe Clothbound Edition).......2005-07-28
was paper back not cloth bound was listed wrong.
Lots of good information.......2002-04-16
I learned alot from reading this book. It's fairly short, and has lots of interesting tidbits. Though I feel it should be renamed--it doesn't deal with most indian cultures, but rather the Chippewa Indians, as they are who Frances Densmore made an extensive study of. The title is a bit misleading. One thing I felt that would have improved the book would have been a bit more of a clear listing of the information in the book, but then again, it is rather dated material.
Rating Correction.......2002-04-07
I haven't read this book, but after reading the previous review from the other reviewer, it seems clear she highly recommends this book and thus made a mistake with her 1-star rating. It seems a shame and unjust that sales of this book would suffer because of the reviewer's mistaken star rating when her review was positively glowing. So I'm going to balance things out -- at least this book will have a 3-star rating.
Thorough study, 1905-1925,Ojibwe Food, Medical, General uses.......1996-01-26
Densmore was liked and trusted by Native people, and had the advantage of Marry Warren English, an extraordinary Native woman living on the White Earth reservation as her interpreter and in many respects, co-author.
Her book reflects information from (mostly) women of the White Earth, Mille Lacs, Red Lake, Cass Lake,Leech Lake reservtions of Minnesota, Lac Courte Oreilles, WI, and Manito Rapids, Canada, over a period of more than 20 years.
Densmore had recorded many songs, including songs of the Midewewin (Grand Medicine Lodge) and explains that "Songs having been recorded, the Indian were willing to bring in the plants (that were sung with for healing) and to explain the manner of their use." Unlike male ethnobotanists, she developed a close relationships with the women, and participated on cooking, crafts, and ceremonies. The Native women found her another practiucal woman who was interested in recipes, sewing techniques and patterns, and how the day-to-day lives of families were lived.
"The majority of the informants were women, and they became interested in describing the former methods of preparing vegetable foods" as well as uses for dyes, fibers, and medicines. Densmore got qwuite specific info (unlike most ethnobotanists) about such things as "scraping the bark away from the root," how long it was to be driend, how uch water to steep it in (informants brought her their pails, to measure).
On the more technical side, Densmore got something most of the ethnobots don't bother with: the native names. She took info gathering about as far as you can go without computers, ith cross-referenced tables. (I am computerizing this for native students now). For each plant, she got a specimen and had it IDed by a botanist. Many plants were also analyzed, but the techniques of that period do not provide vbery good phytochmeical info.
For those not interested in these aspects, still this book gives a very thorough and interesting picture of Anishnab eg (lakelands wooland peoples) way of life, recording many tnings that still happen here today.
Fancxes Densmore, a musicologist rather than an anthro, had a strong feeling for the people and the places. She writes "In June the air is sweet with wild roses and in midsummer the fields are beautiful with red lillies, bluebells, and a marvelous variety of color. In autumn, the sumac flings its scarlet across the landscape, and in winter, there are miles of untrodden snow. The northern woodland is a beautiful country, and knowing it in all its changin seasons, one can not wonder at the poetry that is so inherent a part of Chippewa thought."
This well expresses the spirit in which she approached her researches among Indian people, and it is quite a different attidue than male anthros (and scientific ethnobotanists) have. Yet this book is an outstanding example for its time, and up to the easy avilabity of computers to ordinary people, of scientific, as well as literary, work. A bargain at Dover's pric, even though there are mail order sources offering it $1 cheaper. Very highly recommended to anyone interested in real (rather than fantasy) Native traditional life.
I don't hve time to write reviews of her other books (I have msot of them), but recommend them all very highly, not only the "Chippewa" (Ojibwe, Anishinaabeg) ones. She brought the same spirit to all of them, and learned and preserved many details of the beauty of native life at those times, things no one else in the white world was interested in then, and perhaps they still aren't.
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