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.

Japan's Competing Modernities: Issues in Culture and Democracy, 1900-1930

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Japan's Competing Modernities: Issues in Culture and Democracy, 1900-1930
Sharon A. Minichiello
Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Japan's Colonization of Korea: Discourse and Power (Peoples of Hawai'i, the Pacific, & Asia)

ASIN: 0824820800

Warriors in Politics: Hindu Nationalism, Violence, and the Shiv Sena in India

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Warriors in Politics: Hindu Nationalism, Violence, and the Shiv Sena in India
Sikata Banerjee
Manufacturer: Westview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0813336996

Book Description

In theorizing about the link between violence and the politics of nationalism, most scholars have rejected the idea that primordial hatred between different ethnic and/or religious groups residing in close proximity will inevitably lead to conflict and the call for a ethnically/religiously pure nation-state. Rather, conflict tends to occur when humans manipulate social, political, economic, and ideological factors to construct nationalist identities and movements. The "manipulation" perspective is the underlying theoretical framework of Warriors in Politics which uses the Mumbai riots of December 1992 and January 1993 to analyze the brand of nationalism created and disseminated by the Indian political party Shiv Sena. While the theoretical and empirical research of others is an important part of this study, interviews conducted by the author when she lived in Mumbai during this tumultuous period as well as her own theorizing on the links among masculinity, militarism, and nationalism, provide an excellent analysis of the factors-economic, political, and ideological--that converge to transform the simmering discontent of the politics of nationalism into violent conflict.

The Future of Iraq: Dictatorship, Democracy, or Division?, Updated Edition

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Enjoyable to read and enlightening
Very Interesting
Future history of Iraq
Iraq History 101
concise and well written, read this book

The Future of Iraq: Dictatorship, Democracy, or Division?, Updated Edition
Liam Anderson , and Gareth Stansfield
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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Iran | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

Iraq | Middle East | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1403971447
Release Date: 2005-08-25

Book Description

Knowledge of Iraqs history and politics is crucial to understanding the challenges America faces in its mission to bring democracy to Iraq. This trenchant analysis of why stability in Iraq is uncertain suggests a controversial, little-discussed solution: managed partition. This up-to-date edition provides basic information that will frame this ongoing debate.

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable to read and enlightening.......2007-09-17

Anderson and Stansfield have written a wonderful book that will appeal to both general readers and students. Its calm tone is a welcome change from a lot of the polemics about Iraq and it provides the reader with clear analysis of Iraqi history. My only complaint is that it is out of date. Hopefully a new edition will come out soon.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-09

This is an interesting book. Anyone who is interested in an alternative to the right wing talk radio and tv news should seriously consider checking out the Thom Hartmann radio show opposite Rush Limbaugh weekdays at: thomhartmann dot com / showlisten.shtml

Whether democrat, republican, or indepedent, so many of the facts out there are completely ignored by the mainstream media and talk shows. This show is one strong example of an examination of the facts regardless of your political affiliation. I am not affiliated with the show in any way, just struck by the facts so many seem to ignore.

Future history of Iraq.......2006-07-02

This book is structured in a very simple manner, following the history of this country:

First, the monarchy from 1920-1958;

Second, the revolution from 1958-1968;

Third, the Ba'ath Regime from 1968-1988;

Fourth, the wreck of Iraq from 1988-2003.

These chapters recount the history of Iraq from its beginnings after World War I--when the British created a country where none has existed before--with three parties holding very different views--Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds.

Each of these three groups is examined as the basis for speculation as to what is to come in the future. The authors wonder if Iraq might end up splintering into three distinct countries--Sunni, Shia, and Kurd. Questions emerge from this scenario: Is this desirable? Would the needs of all three groups be optimized in this manner? Will this encourage additional "ethnic cleansing"? Even beyond what we have seen? Would such a solution mark success--or failure--of the American intervention?

The future? America's role in that future? We cannot say at this point. However, it does appear that the American intervention never really understood the historical and cultural context. We can only hope that the Iraqi incursion turns out well. But it is also clear that Americans sadly misunderstood the context into which they entered. . . .

Iraq History 101.......2006-03-12

This book should have been required reading for those eager to enter Iraq, overthrow Saddam Hussein, and install a Western-style democracy. The book has three main points: (a) a history of Iraq from its flawed beginnings after World War I; (b) an analysis of each of the three main groups--Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds; (c) an examination of different scenarios that might illuminate the future of Iraq.

Each element is well done and provides context for the reader interested in something more than current events weith respect to Iraq. The end result of reading this book is to wonder at the arrogance of the war planners who apparently did not consider historical and ethnic and religious context as that critical for the outcome of the war. As one of the neocons once mentioned, reality is not so important to the United States; the country can create its own reality. To this point, the reality being created on the ground in Iraq is far different than it might have been had history acted as a guide.

concise and well written, read this book.......2005-08-29

Anderson and Stansfield have written one of the best books on Iraq currently on the market. This book would be a wonderful place to start for those who have taken an increased interest in Iraq as of late.

I was skeptical about this book at first because the chapters on Iraqi history are very brief and quickly skip over a lot of details. However, I've read quite a bit about Iraq and am used to more detail. I realized that this is the type of book someone should start out with and then work your way up to someone like Charles Tripp. Even though the authors breeze through a lot of detail, they point out a lot of important information that usually gets left out of other Iraqi history books (particularly when it comes to the role of the U.S. in Iraq).

Once you've finished the history section of the book, you'll find three very informative chapters about Iraq's three main ethnic groups. These chapters are quite accurate and provide the reader with a solid foundation of information.

The last two chapters are the most helpful and the most informative. The authors discuss the problems facing Iraq and how they should be dealt with. Quite a bit of time is spent on democratization theory and its application to Iraq. The authors use all of this to come to the conclusion that perhaps a managed partition of Iraq is the best course of action. You may not agree with this, but the authors make a very convincing argument.

That being said, this is probably one the best books about the future of Iraq and I'm glad I finally got around to reading it. Anderson and Stansfield have produced a very well written history/analytical book that really tries to answer the important questions about Iraq. Anyone interested in Iraq should read this book as soon as possible.

Chinas New Order: Society, Politics, and Economy in Transition

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Nice Ideas, Dull Translation
Not what I expected
turgid and boring to read
A unique perspective on China, from China

Chinas New Order: Society, Politics, and Economy in Transition
Hui Wang , and Theodore Huters
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0674021118

Book Description

As the world is drawn together with increasing force, our long-standing isolation from--and baffling ignorance of--China is ever more perilous. This book offers a powerful analysis of China and the transformations it has undertaken since 1989.

Wang Hui is unique in China's intellectual world for his ability to synthesize an insider's knowledge of economics, politics, civilization, and Western critical theory. A participant in the Tiananmen Square movement, he is also the editor of the most important intellectual journal in contemporary China. He has a grasp and vision that go beyond contemporary debates to allow him to connect the events of 1989 with a long view of Chinese history. Wang Hui argues that the features of contemporary China are elements of the new global order as a whole in which considerations of economic growth and development have trumped every other concern, particularly those of democracy and social justice. At its heart this book represents an impassioned plea for economic and social justice and an indictment of the corruption caused by the explosion of "market extremism."

As Wang Hui observes, terms like "free" and "unregulated" are largely ideological constructs masking the intervention of highly manipulative, coercive governmental actions on behalf of economic policies that favor a particular scheme of capitalist acquisition--something that must be distinguished from truly free markets. He sees new openings toward social, political, and economic democracy in China as the only agencies by which the unstable conditions thus engendered can be remedied.

Customer Reviews:

Nice Ideas, Dull Translation.......2007-05-16

I think the idea's of Wang Hui's book and his arguments are rather fascinating, but the translation was bogged down with run on sentences. The beginning part is basically a summary, and for all intents and purposes could be thrown out, since Wang Hui's own words are there for all to see. The last section of the book was the best, since, to me it seemed more relevant than the rest. I read this book last summer, along with several other books concerning the same subject material, and I don't think Wang Hui is the best, but he is not the worst either, but most of the problems with this book are due to the translation. Next time, use shorter sentences please!

Not what I expected.......2007-03-12

I had to use this book for a college course in East Asian Studies. I have to say this is not a very enjoyable book to read, especially for writing a research paper. The author tends to ramble, jumping from topic to topic within sentences, and uses inflated language, which is often unnecessary and makes you doze off in minutes.

For my paper, I ended up looking into other books which helped me greatly. Do not read the first review for this book - it's most likely a professor who uses this book in one of his courses. Believe me, "lost in translation" is just skimming the surface when speaking about this book. Hope that helps.

turgid and boring to read.......2005-03-20

Few Chinese political writings translate well into English. Despite the best efforts of the traslator and editor, I was disappointed with this volume. It was turgid reading at best. The only redeeming feature about this volume is its price, especially for a hardcover. But then one buys a book for the ideas not just because it's cheap.

A unique perspective on China, from China.......2004-02-05

Most Western perspectives on China fall into two (equally wrong)camps: the celebrations of the emergence of a new economic superpower reminiscent of William Gibson on 1980s Japan or the typical right-wing paranoia of China as the new enemy. Western discourse on China's politicshas been narrowly defined by ingrained images of 1989, some dissident bloggers, and Falun Gong. Discourse on economy has equally been restricted, becoming mostly a numbers game for the foreign investor, with Chicken Littles such as Gordon Chang warning of collapse. Rarely do we consider the real interests of regular Chinese. It's anyone's guess as to what the aspirations were of the man standing in front of the tank in Tiananmen, but most assume he was fighting for "reform" against the monolithic power of the party-state. To Americans, that reform can only mean one thing. But rather than assume this man risked his life for the freedom to eat Big Macs, why not hear from one of the actual participants and find out what "reform" means in China?

Wang Hui teaches at Tsinghua Univ. and is editor of the monthly journal "Dushu". He has become the unofficial leader of an intellectual circle his critics labeled the "New Left" (perjorative in associating Wang with Maoism). In this collection of his landmark essays on contemporary China, Wang exposes the domination of neoliberal and Fukuyama end of history ideologies and assumptions upon China's internal discourse. According to Wang, post-Mao China has seen many problems, but these aren't exclusively the problems of a state hindering the forward march of market reforms. Rather, they are the product of these so-called reforms. The neoliberals in China are not working against, but working within the party structure, becoming a new exploitative class and capitalizing on privatization through avenues legal and illegal. Human rights abuses in China are not only the oppression of dissidents, but the regular people just trying to survive in the jungle of market fundamentalism. While some have taken notice to labor issues, few have done it justice. Social discontent seems unlikely to spark revolution anytime soon, but the plight of workers and peasants deserves more attention. Wang looks at these problems emerging as a result of Dengism. Wang Hui is one of those few who have examined this story forgotten in the new economic superpower-new enemy debates in America. Wang argues that this discontent is struggling to articulate some sort of agenda and it made such an attempt in 1989, with the results of the crackdown being a renewed determination by the Dengists not simply to permit, but force capitalism on China with the use of state violence. On this, China's neoliberals are silent.

Book Description

Now available in paperback, Legacy of the Prophetis a sweeping, first-person account of the transformation in the style and message of Islamic politics at the beginning of the twenty-first century. As terrorism floods our headlines, this book offers a rare but much-needed counterpoint: it shows that Islamic activists have increasingly renounced violence in order to form political parties, engage in grass-roots work, and enter into civil society to bring about peaceful reform in their authoritarian societies. Drawing on his years of reporting in more than a dozen countries of the Muslim world, Anthony Shadid charts the way in which the adolescence of yesterday's Islamic militants is yielding to the maturity of today's activists. Through personal interviews and extensive travel, he chronicles that new generation, which is finding a more realistic and potentially more successful future through democratic politics. Complete with a new introduction, Legacy of the Prophetpromises to redefine the debate over the future of political Islam.

Customer Reviews:

September 11th renders some of 'Legacy' dated.......2003-04-03

This optimistic view of Islamists published in January 2001 was rendered somewhat dated by events later that year. Even though Legacy of the Prophet continues to be a solid account of the moderation and rise of religious political movements in the Middle East, some of the more hopeful assertions would have been naive even if the World Trade Center remained intact. September 11th, of course, also changed some assumptions that would have been reasonable otherwise. All that aside, there remains considerable merit in many of the author's analyses of the region and its politics, and much of the book holds up. Legacy deserves three stars--but barely.

Author Anthony Shadid was an Associated Press correspondent based in Cairo. He understandably focuses much of the book on Egypt, and this provides Legacy with some great insight from the sources he cultivated there over the years. Unfortunately, the concentration on Cairo also minimizes those Islamic countries that probably are more important to the future of the relationship between the Muslim world and the West, notably Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

Shadid does an excellent job in explaining the contest between Islamist groups and the repressive regimes that govern them. The social welfare system provided by Hamas, for example, stands in stark contrast with the corrupt government led by the Palestinian Authority. Hezbollah provides for the impoverished Shia while the Beirut government stuggles to bring the nation back from the ashes of civil war.

The darker aspects of these and other groups, though, aren't really explored. One particularly galling aspect of the book is Shadid's near-apologies for the persececution of Christians and other religious minorities in the region. This is particularly strange given that Shadid comes from a Christian Lebanese background. It is difficult to imagine that anyone would try to minimize the persecution of Egypt's large Coptic minority, but that sometimes seems to be the case here.

The author does take a long, hard look at the failed Islamic experiments in the Sudan and in Iran, and attempts to differentiate between those governments and those where religious and secular parties compete. What Shadid fails to do is explain exactly why an Islamist Egypt or Turkey wouldn't, in the end, resemble the Sudan. Shadid's thesis is that once in power, the Center Party in Egypt, as one example, would synthesize the Islamic concept of the umma with Western-style pluralism and tolerance. The record indicates otherwise.

So the question that always lingers, but is never answered, is how a state based on religion can truly embrace democracy and pluralism. Shadid thinks it can, but history---events that predate Osama bin Laden and even Mohammed by millinnea---indicates otherwise.

A Hopeful Look at Political Islam.......2003-01-08

Anthony Shadid, though not a native of the Middle East, comes off sounding like one. From his vantage position of a Boston Globe Middle East reporter and Lebanese lineage, he has spent significant time in the Middle East and seems to have an insider's eye in analyzing the torrid political landscape there.

I went on a spate of reading books on the Middle East and Islam after September 11th and this book is at the top of my list and comes highly recommended. In comparison to V.S. Naipul's "Beyond Belief," I would point you to Shadid's book for a good in depth analysis of Islam's current and powerful effect on the Middle East. Naipul's book is good for telling a story of people's lives in non-Arabic Islamic countries, but Shadid's work is what I was looking for...a well-written and engaging breakdown of a variety of Middle East countries and how Islam shapes the politics and daily underpinnings of those places.

Shadid's purview is definitely broad but doesn't loose out in the details of each country and movement. "Legacy of the Prophet," primarily covers Sudan's failed Islamic government, Iran's petered out revolution and Khatami's reform, Egypt's emerging democratic Islamic movements, with several stops in between in Turkey, Palestine, Lebanon, and Afghanistan to name a few.

Shadid's overly optimistic thesis is that Islamic extremism is taking in it's last dying desperate breaths and emerging from it, or as a more widespread alternative, a form of democratic political Islam that seeks to inculcate change from within existing governments. Though optimistic, Shadid at least has taken the time to expose the broader good of political Islam to a West that largely seeks out confirmation of presupposed suppositions of a political Islam that is violent, close-minded, and bent on death and destruction of all things Western. It seems a case of a narrow-minded and hopeless small minority of Islamic extremists that continue to represent to the West what is accepted (but uninformed) as the face of Political Islam. Shadid points out that this may not be the case and does it in a way that will keep you interested from beginning to end.

I'm surprised more people aren't reading and reviewing this highly engaging work.

A broad, authoritative history of Islamic politics today.......2002-07-12

Legacy Of The Prophet: Despots, Democrats, And The New Politics Of Islam by journalist and Middle East expert Anthony Shadid offers the reader a broad, authoritative history of Islamic politics today. Drawing upon his many years of reporting in more than a dozen countries throughout the Muslim world, Shadid accurately chronicles how a new generation of Islamic militants are coming around to a more realistic and potentially more successful advocacy of their goals through democratic politics. Legacy Of The Prophet is strongly recommended for Islamic Studies, Middle East Studies, and International Political Studies supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.

Interesting & engaging tour of the Middle East.......2001-02-07

This book teaches through interesting and engaging stories about misunderstood people and places. It provides hope and a inspiration that peace in the trouble region may be possible.

Great work of a long time Middle East reporter.......2001-01-16

A.Shadid has been covering the M.E for many years and this books sums up a many persons he met during these years. His in depth knowledge of that region, its people, their culture, traditions and believes is unvaluable. I hope to read more of his work soon.

The People's Emperor: Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy, 1945-1995 (Harvard East Asian Monographs)

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Fantastic!
Author Information

The People's Emperor: Democracy and the Japanese Monarchy, 1945-1995 (Harvard East Asian Monographs)
Kenneth J. Ruoff
Manufacturer: Harvard University Asia Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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20th Century | World | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0674010884

Book Description

Few institutions are as well suited as the monarchy to provide a window on postwar Japan. The monarchy, which is also a family, has been significant both as a political and as a cultural institution. This comprehensive study analyzes numerous issues, including the role of individual emperors in shaping the institution, the manner in which the emperor's constitutional position as symbol has been interpreted, the emperor's intersection with politics through ministerial briefings, memories of Hirohito's wartime role, nationalistic movements in support of Foundation Day and the reign-name system, and the remaking of the once sacrosanct throne into a "monarchy of the masses" embedded in the postwar culture of democracy. The author stresses the monarchy's "postwarness," rather than its traditionality.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic!.......2003-02-19

The author offers a fantastic view of the Japanese monarchy that is well worth the read. A wonderful historical take on the subject.

Author Information.......2002-04-20

Kenneth J. Ruoff is an Associate Professor of Japanese History at Portland State University. Dr. Ruoff is the Director of the Center for Japanese Studies at the university.

Professor Ruoff received the 2004 Jiro Osaragi Commentary Prize for the Japanese translation of his book THE PEOPLE'S EMPEROR. The prize was given at a ceremony at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo January 27, 2005. The prize include an award of two million yen. Dr. Ruoff is the first foreigner to receive the Osaragi Prize.

Bangsa Melayu: Malay Concepts of Democracy and Community, 1945-1950 (South-East Asian Historical Monographs)

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Bangsa Melayu: Malay Concepts of Democracy and Community, 1945-1950 (South-East Asian Historical Monographs)
Ariffin Omar
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Bangsa Melayu is a study of political ideology in two related but distinct Malay communities--in Peninsular Malaya and East Sumatra--at a time of political ferment in the years immediately after the Second World War. Prior to this period, the kerajaan or monarchy headed by the sultans, had been central to the Malay political culture and identity, but with the rise of nationalism, nation-states, and nationality in the Malay Archipelago, new alternatives were available to the Malays. In this study, the author focuses on the basic differences in thinking, temperament, and attitude between the two groups of Malaya which led to their differing solutions in finding an alternative to the kerajaan.

Sri Lanka--Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy

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Sri Lanka--Ethnic Fratricide and the Dismantling of Democracy
Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Sri Lanka | Asia | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0226789527

Book Description

Focusing on the historical events of post-independence Sri Lanka, S. J. Tambiah analyzes the causes of the violent conflict between the majority Sinhalese Buddhists and the minority Tamils. He demonstrates that the crisis is primarily a result of recent societal stresses—educational expansions, linguistic policy, unemployment, uneven income distribution, population movements, contemporary uses of the past as religious and national ideology, and trends toward authoritarianism—rather than age-old racial and religious differences.

"In this concise, informative, lucidly written book, scrupulously documented and well indexed, [Tambiah] trains his dispassionate anthropologist's eye on the tangled roots of an urgent, present-day problem in the passionate hope that enlightenment, understanding, and a generous spirit of compromise may yet be able to prevail."—Merle Rubin, Christian Science Monitor

"An incredibly rich and balanced analysis of the crisis. It is exemplary in highlighting the general complexities of ethnic crises in long-lived societies carrying a burden of historical memories."—Amita Shastri, Journal of Asian Studies

"Tambiah makes an eloquent case for pluralist democracy in a country abundantly endowed with excuses to abandon such an approach to politics."—Donald L. Horowitz, New Republic
"An excellent and thought-provoking book, for anyone who cares about Sri Lanka."—Paul Sieghart, Los Angeles Times Book Review

Democracy, Human Rights, and Peace in Korea: Psychological, Political, and Cultural Perspectives (Rafto Human Rights Series, 1)

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Democracy, Human Rights, and Peace in Korea: Psychological, Political, and Cultural Perspectives (Rafto Human Rights Series, 1)

Manufacturer: University of Hawaii Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 898287559X

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