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

Book Description

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

Customer Reviews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chinese Women in the Imperial Past: New Perspectives (Sinica Leidensia, V. 44)

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Chinese Women in the Imperial Past: New Perspectives (Sinica Leidensia, V. 44)

Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004110658

New Perspectives on China's Past: Twentieth-Century Chinese Archaeology

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DEFINITIVE PRODUCTION

New Perspectives on China's Past: Twentieth-Century Chinese Archaeology

Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Formation of Chinese Civilization: An Archaeological Perspective

ASIN: 0300096348

Book Description

This richly illustrated book is the first to introduce and discuss the most important archaeological discoveries in China during the entire twentieth century. The two-volume set draws on Chinese archaeological fieldwork to address cross-disciplinary topics in archaeology, art history, epigraphy, history, and religion.

Chinese archaeology has provided materials that are prompting scholars to reconstruct or rewrite China’s history from the prehistoric period through the Imperial dynasties. New Perspectives on China’s Past is a compendium of this breakthrough research and the global scholarship that surrounds it. With some six hundred illustrations, glossary, index, and extensive bibliography, this work will be a standard reference on Chinese archaeology in the twentieth century.

Published in association with the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art

Customer Reviews:

DEFINITIVE PRODUCTION.......2006-05-05

(1) Description of the books: Two volumes totalling 1000 large format pages printed on high quality thick (? too thick -- see below) paper and fully replete with hundreds and hundreds of photos, maps, diagrams and a very fine text. Some photos are in black and white because of their age; most are in wonderful color. Also is included an extensive glossary of Chinese characters, very extensive bibliography (unfortunately, many/most in Chinese),
and a complete index with which I find its greatest fault (again see below).

(2) Content: The first volume consists of more subjective discussions of many subjects of art, history, archeology/anthropology, religion, and a broader picture of these subjects'

relationship to the rest of the world.
The second volume is a chronologic (chapter by chapter) description of 74 areas to be discussed.

(3) Faults: It is admitted in the introduction that to save space (and weight! -- about 5 pounds each), the bibliography to both volumes is only at the end of the FIRST volume. I have never previously experienced, in a two volume production, (rarely, but then customarily at the end of the second volume [but same inconvenience]) this cumbersome practice. So this is my major fault (more below when I analyze one portion). A minor fault is no description of the qualifications, positions, or publications of the authors -- except one elaborate one on the end paper of Mr/Mrs/Ms X. Yang, the "editor and principal author". Perhaps if the high quality and heavy paper had been a tad lighter, there could have been a separate biblography for volume 1, at its end, and likewise the one for volume 2 at its end.

(4) Analysis of one section: I have chosen that of the mausoleum and necropolis of Qin Shihuangdi (the "terra-cotta army) since this is probably the area most readers are acquainted with.
The discussion in the first volume discusses, among other matters, the possibility (author = 'probability') of western influences and its 'isolation', i.e., no previous or subsequent influences of this 'eighth wonder of the world" -- as one author states. This was most interesting, particularly (to me), since I have not seen any book later than 25 years ago on Chinese archeology+ (surely there are more recent articles in magazines and journals, 99% of which are in Chinese!)
The second volume deals with the same subject in the usual (but very fine) and descriptive manner. Here is an example of this frustrating 'bibliography' problem: On page 229 of v. 2, discussing this same subject, is, at the end: Bibliography: "Shihuangling 1975, 1978, 2001, and 2001b; . . . " Now, to check these, one must lay aside this 5 pound volume 2, and resurrect the 5 pound volume 1, to find this reference. Good luck!

Summary" This is a set which is definitive and probably will not be equalled or ??surpassed in a hundred years -- at least, probably not in English.
It is expensive to many; however the quality in every aspect is worth the money. If you can afford it, and this subject is of sufficient interest to you to spend this money, it is a MUST -- particularly, since (at least, to my knowledge) there is no one (smaller) volume covering recent knowledge -- even without the photos and extras offered in this monumental production.

BUY!

Mariners, Renegades and Castaways: The Story of Herman Melville and the World We Live In (Reencounters With Colonialism--New Perspectives on the Americas)

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Great book from a brilliant mind.
C.L.R James interpretation of Melville's works
Brilliant Analysis of Melville's Classic Text
poco Po-Co
CLR James and The World We Live In

Mariners, Renegades and Castaways: The Story of Herman Melville and the World We Live In (Reencounters With Colonialism--New Perspectives on the Americas)
C. L. R. James
Manufacturer: Dartmouth
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

ASIN: 158465094X

Book Description

Political theorist and cultural critic, novelist and cricket enthusiast, C. L. R. James (1901 - 1989) was a brilliant polymath who has been described by Edward Said as "a centrally important 20th-century figure." Through such landmark works as The Black Jacobins, Beyond a Boundary, and American Civilization, James's thought continues to influence and inspire scholars in a wide variety of fields. "There is little doubt," wrote novelist Caryl Phillips in The New Republic, "that James will come to be regarded as the outstanding Caribbean mind of the twentieth century."

In his seminal work of literary and cultural criticism, Mariners, Renegades and Castaways, James anticipated many of the concerns and ideas that have shaped the contemporary fields of American and Postcolonial Studies, yet this widely influential book has been unavailable in its complete form since its original publication in 1953. A provocative study of Moby Dick in which James challenged the prevailing Americanist interpretation that opposed a "totalitarian" Ahab and a "democratic, American" Ishmael, he offered instead a vision of a factory-like Pequod whose "captain of industry" leads the "mariners, renegades and castaways" of its crew to their doom.

In addition to demonstrating how such an interpretation supported the emerging US national security state, James also related the narrative of Moby Dick, and its resonance in American literary and political culture, to his own persecuted position at the height (or the depth) of the Truman/McCarthy era. It is precisely this personal, deeply original material that was excised from the only subsequent edition. With a new introduction by Donald E. Pease that places the work in its critical and cultural context, Mariners, Renegades and Castaways is once again available in its complete form.

Customer Reviews:

Great book from a brilliant mind........2004-07-27

CLR James was one of the earliest left wing thinkers to break from Orthodox Marxist dogmatism, even rejecting Leninism and the notion of the 'Vanguard of the Proletariat' all the way back in the late '40's, a move that left him alienated from the mainstream Left of the time and eventually led to his deportation in the 1950s. This book was written while he was in jail in New York awaiting his immigration hearing, a fact that makes this insightful look at Melville all the more impressive.

James points out that Melville was a visionary who caught glimpses of new social types long before they became prevalent in society: he even makes the startling statement that Melville is the ONLY author of Industrial capitalism. Reading first this book, then going back and reading Moby Dick, I must say that I cannot argue with his assessment. I found this small volume challenging, engaging and at times, personally upsetting, as I read something of myself and many others like me in James' reading of Ishmael. Definite cause for pause and reflection.

This book ends with a chapter describing in excruciating detail James' treatment while in jail, which I found at first quite self serving and gripey...but upon further reflection, his story is irritating because it is a banal and everyday litany of life under bureaucratic capitalism, not pretty or interesting, but it got under my skin, like the rest of this book.

If you like Melville or are interested in anti-authoritarian left thinking, you could do no better than to pick this up: I couldn't put it down.

C.L.R James interpretation of Melville's works.......2003-02-09

When I first read this book by James, I was preparing to write an essay on Melville and his "isolatoes." James gives ample evidence for establishing the reasons why some of the protagonists appear elusive, enigmatic, and, of course, reclusive. I found this text quite helpful in its explanations of why Melville portrayed his male characters the way he chose; perhaps James own exile for passport violations sets up the framework for presenting his theories on the characters he analyzes. The work is a fine read, although the socialist commentary remains controversial.

Brilliant Analysis of Melville's Classic Text.......2002-06-20

C.L.R. James's analysis of Moby Dick brings the book to life and makes it understandable for a 21st century audience. You'll read "Mariners, Renegades, and Castaways, and want to immediately run out and read Moby Dick and Melville's other classics. James argues that Melville used the novel to explore dramatic changes in the fabric of American culture including the rise of industrial capitalism, the international working class, and the increasingly savage character of political and industrial life and leadership.

C.L.R. James wrote this book while he was interned with the newest generation of "Mariners, Renegades, and Castaways" on Ellis Island awaiting deportation. James's fate--that of a foreigner who offers the finest existing interpretation of one of America's greatest books and is still deported--serves as a cautionary tale for our own times. James concludes, "What the writing of this book has taught the writer is the inseparability of great literature and of social life."

poco Po-Co.......2002-04-25

This book is more than a little bit of early Postcolonial writing. The intoduction by Donald Pease is new, and the last chapter - an autobiographical sketch and personal appeal by James - was omitted from a previous edition. In terms of literary criticism, this is what Pease has to say about James and his writing: "He was one of the few critics who emerged from the Third World in the 1950's and traveled throughout Britain and the United States generating what are now called post-colonial readings." The real value of this book however is in its brilliant reinterpretation of MOBY DICK.

Rather than see Ahab and Ishmael as representing respectively "totalitarian" and "American" cultural themes as critics in the 1950's saw it, James offers a vison focused on the Pequod and its crew. A view in which the MARINERS, RENEGADES & CASTAWAYS of the ship were at the mercy of their Captain. In James' interpretaion the Pequod is a factory ship and the crew are the workers. Ahab is no longer a mere sailor but is now illustrative of a "Captain of industry."

I agree with the reviewer from New Haven regarding the peculiar situation James found himself in. The established interpretation of a Cold War allegory was in keeping with the times in the 1950's. If James or Melville himself were writing today, the interpretation on offer here - rather than something to be persecuted for - would be considered far more plausible than the narrow and blinkered view of the 1950's mainstream critics.

CLR James and The World We Live In.......2002-03-15

James, writing 100 years after _Moby Dick_ was published, shows a significant understanding of Herman Melville's time and its relation to the time in which he (James) wrote--1952. James gives an insightful critique of Melville's earlier novels and shows how they chronologically lead to Melville's eventual masterpiece, _Moby Dick_. _Moby Dick_ is an allegory for modernity gone awry, with a mad captain at the helm. For James, Ahab is comparable to the USA, which is charting its own mad course with destiny. In 1952 James was right on target, for he was detained on Ellis Island and eventually deported during the worst days of McCarthyism. It is a peculiar instance of a Trinidadian intellectual's desire to become a US citizen, and instead, being figuratively slapped in the face because of his associations with--through his writings against-- Russian communism and Trotskyites. That he wrote this book while being detained, and included an autobiographical chapter at the end makes this text quite a resource for literary critics as well as for those interested in learning about a historical case of US immigration policy in action.

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Scholarly and well-researched comprehensive look at the ancient Maya

The Ancient Maya: New Perspectives
Heather McKillop
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393328902

Book Description

"Comprehensive…clearly written…Highly recommended."—Choice

Temples lost in the rainforest. Strange inscriptions and ritual bloodletting. Such are the images popularly associated with the ancient Maya of Central America. But who really were the people of this lost civilization? How and why did their culture achieve regional dominance? Could such pressing contemporary problems as climate change and environmental degradation hold the key to the collapse of Maya civilization?

Of interest to scholars and general readers alike, The Ancient Maya brings the controversies that have divided experts on the ancient Maya to a wider audience. Heather McKillop examines the debates concerning Mayan hieroglyphs, the Maya economy, and the conflicting theories behind the enigmatic collapse of the Maya civilization. The most readable and accessible work in the field, this book brings the general reader up to date with the latest archaeological evidence.

Customer Reviews:

Scholarly and well-researched comprehensive look at the ancient Maya .......2007-02-26

_The Ancient Maya_ by Heather McKillop is a comprehensive and thoroughly researched overview of this Central American civilization, complete with maps, diagrams, photographs, and many pages of references.

Organized like a textbook (and I understand it is used as such in some college courses), it is divided into eleven chapters. The first chapter is a general introduction, the author noting some of the evolution in scholarly understanding of the Maya, due to a huge growth in the amount of fieldwork and critical breakthroughs in decipherment of Mayan hieroglyphics, particularly thanks to the efforts of such scholars as Yuri Knorozov (who pointed out that the hieroglyphs were phonetic and not logographs or based on picture writing) and Tatiana Proskouriakoff (who discovered that hieroglyphs on carved stone monuments or stelae recorded historical information and the exploits of Classic Maya royalty, not priestly writings on astronomy and mathematics). McKillop introduced three competing theories that attempted to explain the collapse of the classic Maya civilization in the ninth century, something that she would revisit several times (briefly, they were ecological disaster resulting form overpopulation and overuse of the land, escalating endemic warfare between the various Maya city-states, and catastrophic environmental change brought about by climatic shifts).

Chapter two looked at where the ancient Maya civilization existed, dividing the Maya area into three regions; the northern Maya lowlands (the Yucatan peninsula), the southern Maya lowlands (Belize, the Peten area of Guatemala, the Chiapas area of Mexico, and part of Honduras), and the southern Maya highlands (southern Guatemala). She noted the rock types used by the ancient Maya - chert (which she said is erroneously referred to as flint), limestone, obsidian, basalt - and their sources and issues in studying existing plant and animal communities in the region (ramon trees, which produce an edible nut, are prolific around Maya ruin sites but were not a major component of the Classic Maya diet; these trees love the lime-rich soil found around deteriorating limestone buildings).

Chapter three looked at the history of the archaeology of the Maya. She noted how far study has advanced, from destructive digging ("Gann holes" are still found in the center of some stone mounds, the legacy of enthusiastic explorer Thomas Gann) and forgeries (the famous crystal skull found in 1927) to sophisticated modern techniques (including studies of debitage - flakes left over from making stone tools - and obsidian hydration, which can pinpoint the source of obsidian used for tools and help trace Maya trade routes).

Chapter four is on the origins, growth, and decline of Maya civilization. An important chapter, she provided a good definition of the Classic period (approximately A.D. 300 to 900, when Maya kings and queens had stone monuments erected with historical information and dates in the Maya long count and the peak of the civilization in terms of population, architecture, and the arts). She provided an overview of the great importance in studying Maya pottery, an overview of Maya architecture, and a discussion of Postclassic Maya civilization.

Chapter five was devoted to economic matters, which is divided by scholars into the prestige economy (production and distribution of goods for the royal Maya) and the subsistence economy (goods for the daily use of all classes of Maya society). There is still considerable debate over the degree of elite control and centralization of the ancient Maya economy as well as how specialized the means of production was; was there mass production or cottage industries?

Chapter six covered Maya society. It was interesting to learn that there was a Maya middle class and even "garden cities" or suburbs in some of the 80 Maya polities that existed. She covered the evolution in understanding of Maya population (from concepts of Maya cities as largely empty ceremonial centers to instead that of teeming metropolises) and the different social levels of Maya society; there were two classes of elites (ahau and cahal), while the remaining 98 percent of Maya society was made up two classes of commoners and perhaps slaves (it is debated).

Chapter seven looked at Maya politics. There is debate over whether the Maya city-states were fairly autonomous and operated independently (the segmentary model) or whether there was more centralization and various regional superpowers rose and fell. Other debates center over the nature of warfare; was it related to expansionistic empire-building by Maya royalty, or was it to obtain captives for sacrifice? She covered the development of defensive walls in Maya cities, noting that some cities apparently hastily built defensive walls and moats using the stone from buildings, causeways, and paths of their own city.

Chapter eight looked at Maya religion and ideology, with lots of coverage of the ball game and of Maya deities.

Chapter nine looked at the material culture, with much discussion of the types of items found and how they are studied. Interesting facts; chert was sometimes used to make complex renditions of Maya rulers and their method of manufacture "defies modern replication," Maya painters showed frame-by-frame action, something not shown in Western art until the late 19th century, and pumice was used to make fishing floats.

Chapter ten looked at the intellectual accomplishments of the Maya, notably their mathematics, calendars, writing, and astronomy. Though books were apparently once common in the Classic period, only four Postclassic books survive. They were made of fig bark paper whose surface was coated with a white coating of plaster or gesso (a calcium sulphate), written on with either a sharp quill pen or a brush pen, and were fan-folded with text and images on both sides. Maya glyphs were quite variable, reflecting the decentralized nature of the Classic Maya political landscape.

The final chapter summarized future issues for Mayanists, notably discussions of the Classic collapse (an issue complicated by the fact that the collapse took 150 years to happen and some areas in northern Belize, the coast, and the northern Maya lowlands actually climaxed after the collapse), the nature of Mayan politics, food, and issues of illegal trade in Maya antiquities.

Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia

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A great starting point to discover Prehistoric Japan
Flawed in several areas.
Read this if you are even THINKING of studying ancient Japan

Prehistoric Japan: New Perspectives on Insular East Asia
Keiji Imamura
Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0824818520

Book Description

In the past few years, there has been a growing appreciation by Western scholars of the vast scale, great achievements, and methodological originality of Japanese archaeologists. However, an understanding of the results of their work has been hampered in the West by a lack of up-to-date and authoritative texts in English. This book provides Western readers for the first time with a uniquely East Asian perspective of Japanese archaeology.

Prehistoric Japan is organized into 16 chapters covering the environment, the history of the Japanese investigations of their past, the peculiarities of Japanese scholars' interests and methodologies, the organization and material culture of previous Japanese societies, economic trade and the question of immigration, the political unification of Japan, and the relationships between the core islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu to Hokkaido in the north and the Ryukyu Islands to the south.

Customer Reviews:

A great starting point to discover Prehistoric Japan.......2005-08-07

I really wanted to get started on japanese history, and decided to read as much as possible, beginning with the prehistoric times. Beside the "Cambridge History of Japan" which is an absolute must, I had been told that, in regard to that period, Keiji Imamura's "Prehistoric Japan" was the one book in English to start with. And they were completely right.

Imamura offers a book that is written in a way that makes it understable to people who have no previous knowledge of the subject and/or archeology (unlike many books on prehistory/ancient history I've come across). No long, dry and fastidious presentation of sites: the goal here is to present the reader with an image as complete as possible, given what had been found at the time of publication (1996), of Japan between 12,000 BC and 300 AD (the Jmon and Yayoi cultures), and a glimpse at the subsequent Kofun and the political unification, as well as the situation in the Okinawa and Hokkaido islands, the extreme south and north respectively of today's Japan. He succeeds in keeping it short and straight to the point.

Also, what I appreciate is that the author doesn't hesitate to address questions that have found so far no definitive answer, and present the different plausible theories, or himself comes up with one, giving ample explanations and many exemples to support it, and compares it with those presented by other archeologists. Although I still have some doubt on some, it at least gives plenty to think about, and given the fact that there's probably much that must be discovered related to those times when no indigenous written records exist, I am pretty sure the outlines of our image will only sharpen when not get modified, and Imamura knows when to leave the door open to those futures changes.

Finally, I would like to address the issue underlined by the previous review: while I agree that some Japanese historians lack an objective perspective regarding some essential issues of their history, it is not the case here, at least not regarding Korea. While I don't know a word of Korean and can't judge the language issue, Imamura repetively underlines that the immigrants come, indeed, from Korea. In fact, he spends several chapters on it, and even refutes the theory that agriculture technics and metalurgy may have arrived directly from China. Never does he mention any other immigrant settlers than Koreans. It sounds clear enough to me.

All in all, a very convincing reading, and a great starting point to discover the ancient people of Japan.

Edit (02.27.07): I would like to point out that this book still mentions the possibility of Paleolithic settlements as old as 600,000 BC in Japan in Chapters 2 and 3. However, we know since late 2000 that the archeological elements that had been "discovered" and therefore led to this belief were the result of a huge hoax by archeologist Fujimura Shinichi; that means that so far, we have little to no evidence of any settlement in Japan prior 35,000 BC circa. The book having been published a few years before (1996) the imposture was revealed, it is not surprising that it still takes in account the possibility of Early and Middle Paleolithic settlements in Japan. But that isn't the author's main focus and therefore doesn't detracts much from the value of this book

Flawed in several areas. .......2005-07-17

There were a few things which leads me to discredit the work of the author.
First of all, the author tries to disconnect any relation linguistically from Korean and Japanese by saying that these two languages are just too different in grammar and vocabulary. As a linguist who has specialized in Asian languages, I can tell you that the vocabulary may be different, however, anybody who has studied these two languages will tell you that they are very similar in both grammar and structure, and even semantics.

Also, throughout the book, the author will refer to immigration during the Yayoi period as coming from "the continent" instead of specifically referring to "Korea", where most experts will agree is the point of origin for most of the immigration during this period.

These are just a few of the underlying tones that I would interpret as biased and overly nationalistic Japanese writing...something that should be avoided in an academic publication. I was very disappointed as I started to believe that most of Japanese academia had started to open up and take a more objective perspective on their origins. However, this book is proof that there are still many Japanese academics who are sticking to their versions of "edited history".

Read this if you are even THINKING of studying ancient Japan.......2000-03-21

This book is extreemly valuable for two reasons. One, it gives new insight into the start of Japan as a civilization and as a nation. Two, it includes not only Imamura's ideas on ancient Japan but also includes introductions to the thinking to date on the topics discussed.

A Gathering Darkness: The Coming of War to the Far East and the Pacific, - (Total War:New Perspectives on World War II, 3)

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A Gathering Darkness

A Gathering Darkness: The Coming of War to the Far East and the Pacific, - (Total War:New Perspectives on World War II, 3)
Haruo Tohmatsu , and H. P. Willmott
Manufacturer: S R Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0842051538

Book Description

The United States' involvement in World War II began with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. But for Japan, the conflict began at a much earlier date. This book focuses on Japan and the events in its military history leading up to and including Pearl Harbor. Unique in its perspective, A Gathering Darkness shows how historical events in the 1920s and 1930s steered the country into war with America and its allies. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Customer Reviews:

A Gathering Darkness.......2006-02-25

For many years I have relentlessly studied the history of the pre-war years in China and Japan. Like author Tohmatsu, I agree that the Pacific War (in which I participated) began long before Pearl Harbor. My interest has always been in the years between 1914 and 1937, partcularly the Mukden Incident in 1931,and A Gathering Darkness provided me with information I had not previously come across. The book is well written and, though some sections were not as interesting for me as others, it was overall, an excellent book. To completely understand the Pacific War this book is necessary.

Great Events of Bible Times: New Perspectives on the People, Places, and History of the Biblical World

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Great Events of Bible Times: New Perspectives on the People, Places, and History of the Biblical World
Bruce Metzger
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0385236786
Release Date: 1987-09-02

The Incas: New Perspectives (Understanding Ancient Civilizations Series)

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Review by Greg Hobbs of The Incas
Concise and Complete

The Incas: New Perspectives (Understanding Ancient Civilizations Series)
Gordon McEwan
Manufacturer: ABC-CLIO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1851095748
Release Date: 2006-01-30

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Review by Greg Hobbs of The Incas.......2006-07-06

Review of Gordon F. McEwan, The Incas, New Perspectives (ABC-CLIO, Inc, Santa Barbara 2006).

By Justice Greg Hobbs, Colorado Supreme Court, Denver.

Here's a book about the Incas written by a scholar who has spent twenty-six years working with Peruvian archeologists in the Cusco Valley to unearth the secrets of Pikillacta and Chokepukio.
The archeology of these two sites reveals a two-thousand year history of the Andean people's adaptation to a stunning and often harsh environment.
The Incas built their civilization on the cultural foundations of the Wari, Tiwanaku, and Pukara civilizations of the Lake Titcaca region, dating back as early as 200 B.C.
As McEwan documented in a 2002 National Geographic article, the Wari (500-1100 A.D.) operated Pikillacta as a ceremonial and administrative center. (Virginia Morell, "Empires Across The Andes," National Geographic at 123 (June 2002)).
At Pikillacta, you can see portions of the aqueduct the Wari built to convey water a great distance from the surrounding mountains. You can also see beehive-looking structures in which the Wari housed mummies of Andean ancestors. The nearby Chokepukio excavations have revealed a temple containing burials and artifacts documenting Inca religious rituals.
McEwan's important highly readable book about the Incas explains that the Andean people revered their ancestors. In life, the mummies had been political authorities. Their preservation was important to the continuation of land tenure and water rights in local communities. "Mummified ancestors were believed to bridge the gap between the natural and supernatural worlds . . . The mummy's most important function was to intervene in the spirit world in order to maintain the flow and abundance of water."
The Incas believed that springs and rivers harbored living spirits. They spread the ashes of fine-woven cloth and llamas upon the waters as a sacrifice. They built magnificent ceremonial and drinking water fountains at such places as Tipon (high above the Cusco Valley) and Machu Picchu (high above the Urubamba River). They harnessed stream and spring water for irrigation on ingeniously-constructed terraces that still hang in seemingly impossible ravines and mountain sides like Tipon, Moray, Pisac, and Machu Picchu.
The Incas built many granaries to feed the people in times of scarcity. These were carefully situated on slopes in dry areas with good drainage. They contained dried corn, quinoa, freeze-dried potatoes, beans, other vegetables, and seeds. The Incas also built large storehouses for holding cloth, tents, agricultural tools, and weapons. "The capacity of the storage system was staggering . . . Careful records were kept on the knotted cords of the quipu that could tell an Inca official at any time exactly how much of what commodity was stored in each of the storehouses."
When a new region was incorporated into the Inca empire, its lands were carefully surveyed and catalogued. The lands were divided into three sections, one part in service to the state religion, one part for the emperor, and the remaining part for sustenance of the local population. Herds of llamas and alpacas, and the pasturage for them, were also divided into thirds on the same basis.
The Incas exacted a labor tax for producing food and cloth and building the roads, agricultural terraces, water systems, palaces, temples, and administrative centers. Great care was taken to equally distribute the labor tax burden. Only a few men were taken out of each administrative unit for labor elsewhere. By keeping sufficient labor at home, the administrative units of the empire "could maintain agricultural output and not disrupt the economy. . . The underlying ideology was that of a reciprocal exchange. The state provided for the worker in exchange for the labor the worker gave the state."
McEwan explains that, when the ruling Inca died, his lands were reserved to him as a separate estate maintained by a cadre of attendants. This meant that the new Inca had to conquer more lands to obtain wealth for himself. As the empire expanded, those who were the greatest warriors among the ruling class became the Inca in succession. They often spent long periods of time on the frontier away from the capitol of Cusco. This led to unrest and rival factions that played directly into the Spanish conquest.
This book is highly readable because McEwan progresses from an overview of Inca civilization into chapters that deal with the environmental setting; historical setting; origins, growth and decline of Inca civilization; economic structure of the Inca state; social organization and structure; political structure; religion and ideology; material culture; and intellectual accomplishments.
The chapters contain many interesting subheadings, photographs, and illustrations. McEwan carefully cites the bibliography of Andean cultural research with endnotes to the chapters. He finishes the book with an assessment of major controversies and future directions in Inca studies.
McEwan knows from on-the-ground work what he writes about. In 2002, he was kind enough to lead me through the Pikillacta and Chokepukio sites. At the invitation of the Peruvian crew he hires from the local community, I witnessed a pago. On page 144 of his book, there's a photograph of a shaman preparing the about-to-be-burned offering to Pachamama (mother earth). The bundle I saw burned contained a lama fetus, an octopus tentacle, grain, candy, cookies, bits of yarn, coca leaves, and sea shells. I will never forget the sight and smell of smoke from this offering curling into the highlands.
As McEwan so aptly relates in this book, the Andean people still revere the earth, the mountains, the waters, and the sky.

Concise and Complete.......2006-04-04

Hooray for Gordon McEwan and his fine book, "The Incas!" He tells us about the Inca and their cultural heritage in down-to-earth, easy-to-read language. McEwan covers the subject in 201 concise pages that provide a level of depth and breadth that should appeal to scholars, but contain enough background to orient someone new to the topic.

McEwan's extensive glossary is a terrific reference piece, and the index is very complete. Probably what I like the most about "The Incas," however, it its careful, scientific approach; the information is dependably well researched and devoid of speculation.

I would recommend "The Inca" to anyone interested in the Inca Empire, arm-chair travellers, and persons planning to travel to any part of the former Inca Empire, including Machu Picchu. The book will double your understanding, and consequently, your enjoyment, of the Inca culture.

Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Suharto's Coup d'Etat in Indonesia (New Perspectives in Se Asian Studies)

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An Excellent Look at a Sadly Overlooked Coup
Great essay, not a great book
Important book on modern Indonesian history...

Pretext for Mass Murder: The September 30th Movement and Suharto's Coup d'Etat in Indonesia (New Perspectives in Se Asian Studies)
John Roosa
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0299220346

Book Description

In the early morning hours of October 1, 1965, a group calling itself the September 30th Movement kidnapped and executed six generals of the Indonesian army, including its highest commander. The group claimed that it was attempting to preempt a coup, but it was quickly defeated as the senior surviving general, Haji Mohammad Suharto, drove the movement’s partisans out of Jakarta. Riding the crest of mass violence, Suharto blamed the Communist Party of Indonesia for masterminding the movement and used the emergency as a pretext for gradually eroding President Sukarno’s powers and installing himself as a ruler. Imprisoning and killing hundreds of thousands of alleged communists over the next year, Suharto remade the events of October 1, 1965 into the central event of modern Indonesian history and the cornerstone of his thirty-two-year dictatorship.

Despite its importance as a trigger for one of the twentieth century’s worst cases of mass violence, the September 30th Movement has remained shrouded in uncertainty. Who actually masterminded it? What did they hope to achieve? Why did they fail so miserably? And what was the movement’s connection to international Cold War politics? In Pretext for Mass Murder, John Roosa draws on a wealth of new primary source material to suggest a solution to the mystery behind the movement and the enabling myth of Suharto’s repressive regime. His book is a remarkable feat of historical investigation.

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent Look at a Sadly Overlooked Coup.......2007-03-29

"Pretext for Mass Murder" is an impressive overview of the complicated events behind the 1965-1966 coup in which pro-U.S. General Suharto seized power and began a three decade reign of terror. Roosa worked with a group of Indonesian scholars on interviews and other historical research which produced core material for this book. Though in the end Roosa concludes that a few members of the Indonesian communist party (PKI), by launching an ill-conceived anti-military action, did provide the provocation which rightist military forces and the U.S. had been waiting for in 1965, the foolhardy actions of those individual PKI members do not in any way absolve Suharto and his western backers for what consequently happened (an epic campaign of bloodletting which eviscerated the PKI and killed up to a million Indonesians).

In Roosa's words: "In the months before October, the United States and the army wanted an incident like the movement to occur[...] Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers - Allen at the head of the CIA and John Foster at the head of the State Department - viewed all nationalist Third World leaders who wished to remain neutral in the cold war as Communist stooges. In full confidence of their right to handpick the leaders of foreign countries, Eisenhower and the Dulleses repeatedly used CIA covert operations to overthrow such leaders: Mossadegh in Iran in 1953, Arbenz in Guatemala in 1954, and Souvanna Phouma in Laos in 1960. The Dulles brothers viewed Sukarno as yet another irritating character who needed to be removed from the world stage."

The book effectively synthesizes a wealth of information and is extremely well written, and thankfully devoid of the clunky jargon which sinks so many otherwise useful academic volumes.

Great essay, not a great book.......2007-03-17

This book is not your typical one, as the subject matter, (the September 30th Movement), does not lend itself to a proper narrative. The whole event is surrounded in mystery, with many holes in the story yet to be filled, so the book is rather open ended and tries to interperate numerous accounts. If you are interested in the subject matter, it is the best source available. If you just have a mild interest in Indonesian history, it will probably be too dry a read. I'd give it 5 stars for being the best source of information on this topic, but can only give it 4 stars for reading enjoyability.

Important book on modern Indonesian history..........2006-10-17

Mr. Roosa has written a very good account of The September 30th Movement and Suharto's Coup d'Etat in Indonesia bringing new information to light. These events are central to modern Indonesian history and to an understanding of US policy in Southeast Asia in the past and present. Roosa does a superb job of synthesizing much of the speculation surrounding these events. I remember walking in the kraton in Yogakarta and talking to an elderly docent who was giving me a tour of the sultan's palace. He whispered to me, "Soeharto is one of the great mass murderers of all time." Indeed.

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