Book Description
Since the Holocaust, it has been almost impossible to hide large-scale crimes against humanity. In our communicative world, few modern catastrophes are concealed from the public eye. And yet, Ilan Pappe unveils, one such crime has been erased from the global public memory: the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in 1948. But why is it denied, and by whom? The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine offers an investigation of this mystery.
Customer Reviews:
Yet ANOTHER CASE of JEWISH SAVAGERY and HUMILIATION towards the"PALESTINIAN HOLOCAUST.".......2007-10-02
You will have to stop reading at times to wipe the tears coming from your eyes like Niagara Falls. Get a huge box of tissues for this gut-wrenching story of the daily brutal, humiliating and savage treatment against the women and children of Palestine. I started reading about the fate of the Palestinians with Carters book "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. Carter's book is a great and objective overview of the Palestinians Holocaust. Bush, Rice and Cheney will be rightfully humiliated in History books and in posterity for turning their backs and 'allowing' these atrocities to go on and on and on.... Right now as you read this review, The Palestinian Holocaust is in full terror. I'm 'not' giving up on the idea, that America will soon be "Good 'ole America again." Read this book.
What the U.S. Press Refuses to Show.......2007-09-30
A clear and concise view of the Palestinian holocaust, a view that the American media refuses to show.
Unspeakable evil finally expressed in words.......2007-09-26
The unspeakable evil that has been committed against the Palestinian people in 1948, and the unspeakable evil that is still being committed against the Palestinian people, has at last been expressed in words.
Amidst the vast zionist propaganda machine created to cover up horrendous atrocities, at last we have a book that gives us the truth. This book, with all its shocking details, is the best book I have read on the Palestine/Israel conflict, though it made very grim and painful reading. Ilan Pappe has given the world a wonderful gift in the writing of this book, one that could play a major role in bringing world peace, once all the facts that Pappe presents are known. His sources include the Israeli Archives and Ben Gurion's diaries, as well as eye witness accounts of what happened in 1948, and is continuing today.
If anyone wants to know what the conflict in the Middle East is all about, just read this book; every member of Congress, and every member of the general public should know how our billions of tax dollars that we send to Israel each year are being spent.
History you Must Know.......2007-09-15
If you have not read ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINE you do not know the history of Palestine, nor can you understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. As part of a new group of Israeli historians, Ilan Pappe reveals previously secret Israeli documents. The cleansing of Palestine of its Arab inhabitants began long before 1948, and continues today. Step by step the plans to cleanse the land, and the entire infrastructure with the cleansing details -- 1927 land surveys, The Red House, the Consultancy, Plan Dalet, Plan D -- is spelled out by Pappe. This is a painful read, but a necessary one to understand the Middle East.
Honest & Excellent.......2007-09-14
Very excellent book that shows part of the sufferings of Palestinians written by a very honest person
Book Description
Radical Islam has long desired to seize Jerusalem and cut it off to Christian and Jewish believers. In his revealing new book, The Fight for Jerusalem, bestselling author and former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Dore Gold explains why the battle for Jerusalem is intensifying today. Gold shows why only Israel can preserve its holy places for Christians, Jews, and even Muslims, and why uncovering Jerusalem's past-and the truth of biblical history-can be the key to saving its future.
Customer Reviews:
A politically charged yet thoughtfully reasoned exhortation .......2007-10-06
Former Israel ambassador to the U.N. (among his many other credentials) Dore Gold presents The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the future of the Holy City, a serious-minded discussion of the future of Jerusalem, a city holy to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The Fight for Jerusalem makes a convincing argument that for Jerusalem to be a free city where all faiths can be practiced, it will have to remain under Israeli sovereignty, because the United Nations cannot be relied upon to protect it and the Muslim Palestinians have become increasingly affected by a branch of radical Islam that seeks to eliminate other faiths from Jerusalem, not co-exist with them. Drawing upon meticulous scholarly research, The Fight for Jerusalem addresses how Palestinians are destroying archaeological evidence of ancient Jewish presence in Jerusalem, particularly on the Temple Mount; how Western diplomatic concessions strengthen the apocalyptic speculations of radical Muslims; how the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza brought more power to Palestinian extremists at the expense of Palestinian moderates; why negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over the status of Jerusalem have little chance of creating an agreement; and much more. It should be noted that The Fight for Jerusalem specifically denounces the religious intolerance radical Islam, and recognizes that the majority of the Muslim world is not radical, though The Fight for Jerusalem decries the increasing power that radical Islamic factions have. A politically charged yet thoughtfully reasoned exhortation on how Jerusalem, a potential focal point of radical Islam's jihad against the West, can best be preserved for future generations.
More In This Vein Needed.......2007-07-12
Mr. Gold has had an intriguing history of exposing through historical precedents and context the most interesting institutions. This book is no exception with Jerusalem, the city in the Middle East that can perhaps be said to represent the modicum of freedom and Western values that exists there, and why it's imperative that it be held and protected against any antithetical forces surrounding it, either there or abroad.
Dore Gold does the reader and novice (or even university-educated) reader a great and grandiose service by documenting not just how long the Jews have been living in modern Israel, but showing us just how long they've been under attack, kept as slaves, as Dhimmis, whipped commodities of Europe's countries, and generally how it all started. The Bar-Kochba revolution against the just-turned Roman imperialists is a great account, told with brevity, but demonstrating what the Jews have been through just to hold on to their tiny piece of land, and how many empires have swept through it.
A previous writer said that there's blame on both sides to the conflict, and that giving away land to the anarchistic Palestinian terror groups is being open minded. I would pose the question that Dore Gold answers for us: If Jerusalem and its surrounding environs were given over eventually to Arabic, Islamic forces, there would be no tolerance of religion whatsoever for any soul in the land. Already, the last Christians are fleeing any part of Israel that is controlled by Palestinian faction groups, whose version of Islam doesn't even allow for Fatah's to promulgate.
There are previous accusations that Gold's sources are flimsy. Since when are speeches of those involved, podcasts of the same, and books irrelevant and not conducive to research? What's omitted from some critics' reviews is the presentation of vast amounts of historical and recent archeological surfacing that has vindicated those who taught us about the unified Davidic Kingdom and the tribes of Israel before his time. If you don't read more than the first 2 chapters, you're already richly rewarded by gaining a historical eye covering about 1400 years of Israelite history.
I think one of the most important misnomers that have stuck with us is that the land of ancient Canaan/Israel was only named Palestine by the Romans once they began establishing exploratory garrisons. They aptly named it after "Philistines" who had residence there still after so many quasi-empiric swaths through Israel.
Dore Gold might be a nationalist-rightist when it comes to Israel, but how do we coin the conservative label when Gold's main theme for the conflict is encouraging us to look at what happens every time Israel DOES cede land that THEY held onto by being the victor of a grossly-agressive war by the major Arabic countries. Look at Hamas in Gaza, exterminating all their Fatah "brothers," showing us that the muhajadeen applies to their own kind as well.
Gore's book is a real justice and service that lends some researched wisdom as to what's been happening in Israel, and how other Arabic nations are overwhelmingly complicit in the plight of the Palestinians. What else can we expect from a people who declare all of Palestine theirs by right, have rejected statehood 3 times, and have it in their charter (Hamas, Fatah) and educational materials (The PA) to disregard Jews as human and an unregognizing of Israel's right to live and survive? As we've seen, we can't expect much, only chaos, wasted Western money that helped almost no Palestinian when it's in their hands, and a drive to throwback tribalism that knows no bounds as to the glories of fighting Jews and infidels. This is a great history book that should be on everyone's shelves, even if you wish to "hear no evil,see no evil," which I like to call "disagreeing" with it.
Again, if there is to be any alternative to religous and secular tolerance in the Middle East, it has proven only to be in Israel, and the state's poliltical and religious flag, Jerusalem, cannot be given over or divided if it is to remain that way. Dore Gold has made that painstakingly clear, and it gives us great hope to see the victories of Israel against forces that would see it otherwise--which is most of the world.
excellent analysis of issues about Jerusalem.......2007-06-27
Dore Gold writes with typical clarity concerning the issues concerning Jerusalem, including the battles going back through the ages. If you want to get a readable, informative history, then get this book.
Propaganda passing for scholarly research.......2007-06-05
Dore Gold is one of the hardline political opeatives who worked for Ariel Sharon and found Sharon's moderating politics towards the end of his political careeer not to his liking. Gold's view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is quite close to the ultra-nationalist politics of Likud. For him, any compromise with the Palestinians enourages more terror. Hamas are no better than the Taliban. If Israel gives them an inch of Jerusalem they will take a mile and turn Jerusalem into the capital of the new world-wide Muslim caliphate.
Despite miles of footntoes, Gold relies for evidence on surprisingly flimsy reeds: podcasts, websites, sermons and books are the proof he uses to claim that there is a worldwide Muslim conspiracy to take over Jerusalem and the rest of the western world.
If you're a neocon or a hardline supporter of the Israeli right, you'll love this book. It will confirm all yr worst fears of Arabs. But if you try to keep an open mind about this conflict and find both fault and favor with both sides, then steer clear. This is a propaganda tract that passes itself off as a thoroughly researched scholarly tome.
The fight for Jerusalem and the clash of civilizations .......2007-05-16
This book is divided into three sections. In the first the religious dimension of Jerusalem is considered. The meaning of Jerusalem for Ancient Israel, for Christianity , and for Classical Islam are accurately and fairly outlined. In the second part of the book which considers the diplomatic struggle over Jerusalem, there is chapter devoted to the Birth of 'Modern Israel', one to 'Jerusalem, the Palestinian Arabs and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan', and one to the 'Arab- Israel Peace Process.' The third and most important section of the book is devoted to Radical Islam and Jerusalem. There is a chapter on 'Destruction of the Holy Sites', one on 'Jerusalem as Apocalyptic Trigger for Radical Islam, one 'The West and the Freedom of Jerusalem'.
In this third section of the book Gold gives a short history of the development of Radical Islam. He tells of the Islamic destruction of the religious sites of other faiths, from the largest Buddhist statues in the world in Afghanistan to sites in the heart of the Arab world. He shows how Western diplomatic concessions have not led to moderation but rather an intensification of fanaticism by radical Islamists. He tells the story of the Muslim destruction of important archaeological remains in Jerusalem. He shows how radical Islam's obsession with Jerusalem is another manifestation of the clash of civilizations between radical Islam and other religious faiths and civilizations.
The demonstrating of Islamic disrespect and destruction for the Holy Places of others is at the heart of his argument that Jerusalem must remain undivided under Israeli rule. Additional evidence for this claim is given by the Palestinian reaction to Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the Shiite Hizbollah's reaction to Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. Both of these withdrawals did not lead to moderation and peace, but rather to more violence against Israel. Gold shows how the Islamist Palestinians have when given civilian control over a city or area persecuted and led to the exile of its Christians .The most blatant example is Bethlehem which has not simply lost its Christian majority but seen the greatest share of its Christian population leave the City. Gold says that had Israel in September 2000 relinquished control over the Old City of Jerusalem to the Palestinians the result would have been the destruction of a a good share of it. Gold also considers the possibility of internationalization of the Holy City , and provides convincing evidence that the U.N. could not handle this job effectively any more than it handled the job in Rwanda or Bosnia. Gold also points to the inherent prejudice of the U.N. against Israel, and says it could never be a fair and efficient manager of the Holy Sites.
This book makes a very strong case for Israel's maintaining exclusive control of the city.
But the arguments it presents focus more on the negatives of Islamic control than the positives of Israeli control. I would have liked to see more expansive treatment of how Israel has enhanced the city since taking over the Old City in 1967.
Nonetheless this is a must read for those for whom Jerusalem, and its future, is dear.
Book Description
Israel is smaller than New Jersey yet captures a lion's share of headlines. It looks like one country on CNN, a very different one on al-Jazeera. The BBC has its version, The New York Times theirs. But how does Israel look to Israelis? The answers are varied, and they have been brought together here in one of the most original books about Israel in decades. From battlefields to bedrooms to boardrooms, discover the colliding worlds in which an astounding mix of 6.8 million devoutly traditional and radically modern people live. You'll meet "Arab Jews" who fled Islamic countries, dreadlock-wearing Ethiopian immigrants who sing reggae in Hebrew, Christians in Nazareth who publish an Arabic-style Cosmo, young Israeli Muslims who know more about Judaism than most Jews of the Diaspora, ultra-Orthodox Jews on "Modesty Patrols," and more. Interweaving hundreds of personal stories with intriguing new research, The Israelis is lively, irreverent, and always fascinating.
Customer Reviews:
Eye-Opening, Balanced. Astounding insights,.......2007-06-17
There is no other book on Israelis like this. It's very balanced, filled with fascinating insights into the lives of ordinary Israeli women, men and children from vastly different backgrounds. It's fun to read and reread. You'll smile, laugh and cry as you visit discos, battlefields and internet cafes, synagogues and mosques, learning about these hyper modern and very traditional Jewish, Muslim, Christians and Druze -- all Israelis.
This well researched masterpiece truly helps you understand what TV and newspaper reporters are not telling you. Every reporter based in the Middle East should read this book before letting the cameras roll. The Israelis is excellent for tourists, arm chair travelers, students, teachers, and diplomats.
No wonder it's sold all over the world.......2007-05-09
You can't say you know much about Israel without reading this engaging, entertaining, original book. It's really fun to read, balanced and packed with fascinating information.
I hear about Israel on the news nearly everyday-- but until I read this absorbing book, I never knew much about regular Israeli people. The author lets all kinds of young Israelis speak. Female soldiers, Israeli Arabs and Israel Christians and religious and non religious Jews. My friend in Berlin told me about it -- she says The Israelis is selling like hotcakes in Germany.
Incredible Book.......2007-02-23
If you are looking to learn about the real mix if people that we call the Israelis this is the book to read. Having been to Israel and returning aagain for 6 weeks this summer I now have a better insight into the people I met and will be with again. A beautiful book about a beautiful country and its people.
The Israelis: Ordinary People in an Extraordinary Land.......2007-01-05
I thought that I understood the dynamics of Israel in our world today. After reading this book, I can only take my hat off to all of the people in that country that are making it work. Ms. Rosenthal's work is so thorough and yet so interesting to read. I feel better after reading this book that the people living in Israel today will be able to withstand all of the forces that are against them in the troubled world today.
Well written and fun to read -- rich human stories.......2006-12-21
The author put quite a bit of work into writing "The Israelis" - and it shows. This book is especially useful for anyone truly interested in challenging their perceptions built up through a lifetime of mainstream media coverage of Israel.
I read most of the book on a flight to Israel. I found the information immediately useful in better understanding that complex society then finished it on my flight back.
In the amazing timing category, I had just read the chapter on Israel's ultra-Orthodox and their belief that Israel should not have been founded as a secular state (believing that only Messiah should do so) when I was amazed to see a TV news report showing four ultra-orthodox Jews standing next to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at his Holocaust denial conference. Some of the ultra-Orthodox community believes the Holocaust happened as God's punishment to the Jews for not being religious enough. It seems inconsistent to, on one hand participate in a Holocaust denial conference, and on the other believe that the Holocaust was somehow God's punishment, but there they were in Teheran. If it were not for having just read "The Israelis" I would have had no idea why.
I highly recommend this book for anyone wishing to better understand Israel.
Book Description
This is the first full-length account of the CIA's coup d'etat in Iran in 1953—a covert operation whose consequences are still with us today. Written by a noted New York Times journalist, this book is based on documents about the coup (including some lengthy internal CIA reports) that have now been declassified. Stephen Kinzer's compelling narrative is at once a vital piece of history, a cautionary tale, and a real-life espionage thriller.
Customer Reviews:
A must read for America in increasingly disastrous times.......2007-10-12
The insights provided in this book are masterfully presented to offer both a page turning drama and sickening clarity on the trajectories of American meddling in the Middle East. This book goes beyond serving up mundane theories and conjecture. The overall picture here illustrated is profoundly clear and evident in light of the author's supporting research. A glimpse of the future for international policy in the Middle East may well be drawn from the series of events which transpired over the latter half of the 20th century, and which are so brilliantly connected in this book. A must read for anyone keen to understand the increasingly disastrous times of America in the East.
Consequences of One Week ,Fifty Years Ago.......2007-10-04
In 1953 the United States made a momentous decision. Partially out of legitimate fear of a possible Russian takeover of the valuable Iranian Oil field, and partly as a result of incitement by British interests who sought to stubbornly maintain their imperialistic power structure, the CIA led a sinister and clandestine coup that removed the most beloved and democratic leader Iran has had in a century; Mohammend Mossadegh.
Mossadegh was replaced by the Shah Pahlavi who became so hated that a Muslim fanatical mob overthrew him in 1979. The new theocracy, well remembering the American led coup, feared that the CIA would attempt it again. As insurance they attacked the US embassy and took 52 American hostages.
This act so infuriated the Americans that they supported Saddam Hussein's horrific war against Iran. This led to Russia's invasion of Afghanistan, the rise of the Muslim fanatics who created the Hezbollah and Taliban, the empowerment of Saddam, the invasion of Kuwait, the attacks on the US in Beruit, Somalia, 911, and of course our current clumsy missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.
While America's awkward foreign policy proved disastrous in hindsight, the fear of communist control of Middle Eastern oil was a driving force in the 1950's. Blame must be shared with the British Anglo-Iranian Oil Company for their greed, the British for treating the Iranians so poorly, for the Iranian Shahs who sold Iran's concessions to fund their lavish life, and for even Mossadegh himself for becoming so blind in his justified hatred for the British that he refused any compromise offered.
Yet while the Iranians despise the US for our intrusions into their affairs and the suffering it has caused, they still honor the American institutions of freedom and democracy. These values are currently suppressed by the current theocracy.
Kinzer's well researched story reads like a first class spy novel. He avoids cynicism and anti American tirades and presents the story in a balanced light. While he does not avoid detailing the disaster we unleashed he also did not avoid the context of the anti Communist fears shared by many Americans in the 1950s.
He will make you think different about the current events in the Middle East.
All the Shah's Men.......2007-08-08
I think this is a book that every American should read because it explains so clearly the little known facts about the overthrow of the very first democratically elected prime minister in Iran. The seeds of democracy were there - just waiting for a little water but because Mossadegh was a nationalist and didn't want to be indebted to any foreign power including the U.S., we initiated this clandestine covert operation which brought the Shah back to power. At the time of the hostage crisis, I couldn't understand why the Iranian's hated us so much. Now I see that scenario with complete clarity. Regime change by any other name is still meddling in the affairs of foreign countries. Even if we don't care about what happens to that country, it always comes back to haunt us because it's bad foreign policy - bad for the U.S. in the worst possible ways.
Excellent crash course in the root of US/Iranian problems.......2007-07-17
I was recommended this book by a friend who is Persian. He considers himself Persian because he does not want to be identified as an Iranian due to misperceptions of the people in the United States. He also does not want to be lumped in with being the government that currently exists in Iran.
The book itself is a relatively quick read that can be done in a day or two. But the wealth of information that Kinzer has packed into what I would consider a short book is astounding. He chronicles the history of Iran dating back to the days of Darius and Cyrus albeit briefly. Then eventually focuses on several key events of the late 19th century and moves into the 20th century. The main focus of the book is the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and their nationalization by Mohammed Mossadegh in the mid-part of the 20th century. This eventually paved the way for the British to coerce the United States Government under Dwight Eisenhower to green light covert ops against Mossaedegh to remove him from his position of Prime Minister of Iran. This led the way for the Shah to assume authoritarian control over the country, which eventually culminated in the 1979 Revolution.
It is an incredibly fascinating story and goes to show how the United States in a sense created their own problem with Iran due to the desire to have oil flowing from the country. They got 26 years worth of it only to create a bigger problem by leading the way inadvertently for the fundamentalist government that is there now. It becomes clear why Harry S. Truman is so greatly appreciated these days due to his ability to make decisions that were and would have been better for the long term. He opposed any US action against Iran. If only that advice had been followed, who knows what might have been in the Middle East.
For those wanting to know why the current regime in Iran supports terrorist groups and is so vehemently anti-Western? This is the book to read. It does an excellent job of explaining why and how we got to the this point we are at currently.
Imagine that Iran would try to dictate the US at which prices and to whom they can only sell their products and own resources..........2007-07-14
This book shows the kind of info that is not found, as usual, in the mainstream media. It shows you how the US along with other countries like the UK have tried to control the oil resources of a sovereign third country like Iran. They have used any tool for achieving their goals, even the coup de etat. At the beggining of the history, through the middle ages and until the discovery of America the main excuse for conquering and destroying countries and for genocide was the religion, like happended with the religion wars in Central Europe, in America with the Spanish Catholic Kings and with the English purintans, in France with the hugonots... Then it was the liberty, equality, etc, like with the wars of Napoleon or with Russia and the poor republics that suffered its influece after the war of the October's Revolution. Then it came the race with Hitler. And nowadays the excuse is the democracy. But, always, it is just an excuse that hides the real motivation: economic interest. Nowadays the Western countries while keeping their own population uninformed and sort of drugged with the everyday work and consumption needs, try to convince them to go to war with the excuse that the objective is to spread liberty and democracy. They do this at the same time that they incentivate and protect dictatorships and antidemocratic regimens like they do in most of the Arab countries (there is/were such regimens not only in Iraq or Iran, by the way, just look at the bunch of allies of the US and the UK in the Persian Gulf like Oman, Dubai, Soudern Arabia, Kuwait, Katar, etc.. where the lack of freedom of speach or of democracy does not take the American politicians to go these countries to give them the present of democracy by the force of war). This book is an example of the whole lie, cinism and hypocrisy that the international foreign Wester policies are about. Like alwasy, it is not about virtues but only about money and geostrategical control. For this according the report of the worldwide reputed medicine magazine The Lancet, and published by the American University of John Hopkins, about 660.000 Iraqi people have been killed in Iraq by the middle of the last year, most of them by artillery and air strikes by false called "coalition" forces. For this reason the puppet government of Iraq has announce at the beginning of this year that they will not disclosure more figures of deaths caused by the war. Obviusly the occupants are frighteened by the fact that today, one year after that report, we may have reached already one million deaths, something that if the people of the US and of the UK would be well informed and aware of it they would jump to the streets to stop their goverments spreading the democracy in Iraq. A democratic country of dead people with the second largest oil reserves of the world, a very easy country to control. Whoever that can not understand that it is not democracy or liberty should find the information that is there and that is not provided normaly by the mainstream media. I recommend everybody to read the book of John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hitmank, to understand what it is going on behind the nice words of our politicians.
seeConfessions of an Economic Hit Man
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History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
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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 tale of a simple act of faith between two young people - one Israeli, one Palestinian - that symbolizes the hope for peace in the Middle East.
In 1967, not long after the Six-Day War, three young Arab men ventured into the town of Ramle, in what is now Jewish Israel. They were cousins, on a pilgrimage to see their childhood homes; their families had been driven out of Palestine nearly twenty years earlier. One cousin had a door slammed in his face, and another found his old house had been converted into a school. But the third, Bashir Al-Khairi, was met at the door by a young woman called Dalia, who invited them in.
This act of faith in the face of many years of animosity is the starting point for a true story of a remarkable relationship between two families, one Arab, one Jewish, amid the fraught modern history of the regio. In his childhood home, in the lemon tree his father planted in the backyard, Bashir sees dispossession and occupation; Dalia, who arrived as an infant in 1948 with her family from Bulgaria, sees hope for a people devastated by the Holocaust. As both are swept up in the fates of their people, and Bashir is jailed for his alleged part in a supermarket bombing, the friends do not speak for years. They finally reconcile and convert the house in Ramle into a day-care centre for Arab children of Israel, and a center for dialogue between Arabs and Jews. Now the dialogue they started seems more threatened than ever; the lemon tree died in 1998, and Bashir was jailed again, without charge.
The Lemon Tree grew out of a forty-three minute radio documentary that Sandy Tolan produced for Fresh Air. With this book, he pursues the story into the homes and histories of the two families at its center, and up to the present day. Their stories form a personal microcosm of the last seventy years of Israeli-Palestinian history. In a region that seems ever more divided, The Lemon Tree is a reminder of all that is at stake, and of all that is still possible.
Customer Reviews:
Good book, we read it in class.......2007-10-14
It's a good fairly objective book (although it's pretty much impossible to be truly unbiased in anything). It's definitely good at getting on two sides of this multifaced beast of an issue to cover. You'll never find a book on the Arab-Israeli conflict that everyone agrees on, NEVER, some people will always think Israel had a spotless and sin free birth despite the facts, and others will never admit the Arabs made mistakes and had selfish non-altruistic motives. For such a sticky situation, this book does well.
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, A Jew and the Heart of the MIddle East.......2007-10-03
This book is a poignant story of the people drawn up into the Arab-Israeli conflict. It takes the premise that both sides have committed atrocities and both sides have been victimized. It does so by following both a Palestinian and Jewish family, linked together by residence of the same home during different periods. Each family learns to understand the other, but still a inpenetrable barrier remains between them.
The Lemon Tree.......2007-10-02
THE LEMON TREE, by Sandy Tolan, is a historical perspective of the Palestine/Israel problems viewed from two lives, one Arab man and one Israeli woman. Their factual stories are given from the history of the land and the divisions made by outside influence. The U.N. and Great Britian were very involved in the partition and resettlement of the people of this area.
The two personal lives were intertwined by having consecutive lives in one house as "one home" for the two families. Both of these lives reflect on people of great faith, great education, and great involvment in the situation.
The author uses much research, factual relativity, and impartiality to his report. A very complicated situation exists and the book allows the information to understand the impossibility of the area and future peaceful settlement.
A biased view of the Middle East conflict.......2007-08-23
Although when I began The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan, I believed this book would be a balanced and nuances work about the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. The book opens with a description of a home which had been built and inhabited by Palestinians and in which Israeli Jews live after the 1948 war. Great, I thought! We'll see two sides of the dreadful tensions and violence in the region. I was disappointed by the time I finished reading because Tolan loads the argument in favor of the dispossessed Palestinians, barely mentioned the horrific consequences of suicide bombings and attacks on innocent civilians. One example is the reference to the problems in Gaza. Tollan describes the attacks by Israel as violent and gratuitous on the Gazans, and actually suggests that the rockets Hamas fired into Israel (after the Israelis pulled out) are harmless. Surely, the author doesn't believe that the intention of Hamas was to fire "harmless rockets" into enemy territory. Throughout the book, we see very little about the wars the Arab nations began, especially the one that immediately followed the establishment of the state of Israel. The 1967 war was initiated by the Israelis, true, but Egyptian forces were massed on the border. If that wasn't provocation, I don't know what is.
I am not sorry I read the book. I enjoyed much of it, and I was certainly more sympathetic with many Palestinians who suffered so much after having read Tolan's presentation of their lives and losses. The book would have been more successful for me had it been more balanced and honest.
The Lemon Tree.......2007-08-07
This is an excellent book - extremely well documented. It affords the reader greater understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It arouses sympathy for those who have suffered injustice - also admiration for people on both sides for their resilience and determination to seek the truth. This book also inspires a feeling of hope through the compassion shown between Jew and Israeli. Would that more people could strive for understanding and peace!
Customer Reviews:
Well Written, Poorly Researched War Tract.......2007-10-12
John Hagee is a powerful preacher, but he is not a theologian. This becomes evident as you read Jerusalem Countdown. Basically, the theme of the book is that Iran is preparing nuclear weapons, and that very soon, we will be seeing the invasion of Israel that Ezekiel prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39.
Not only is Hagee wrong in his predictions of Iranian acquisition of nuclear materials (he predicted that it would be known by the fall of 2006), but his facts are wrong in many other places.
For example, he claims that 6000 people died in the September 11th attacks, when we know now that it was closer to 3000. He also overestimates the number of casualities in the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor.
He also equates support for the people of Israel with support for the current secular national government in Israel, not necessarily the same thing.
But Hagee's biggest mistakes are with the Scriptures. He takes Bible passages referring to the destruction of Solomon's temple in 586 BC, and applies them to the destruction of Herod's temple in 70 AD, a common mistake that Bible students make.
But the worst part of the book is Hagee's mishandling of the book of Romans. He claims that Romans 9-11 is a separate tract that doesn't fit at all with the rest of Romans, even though Romans 1-8 has numerous references to God's plan for the Jewish people (see especially Romans 1:16-17, Romans 2:1-32, Romans 3, etc).
Another bad thing about the book is that it is a war-mongering, fear mongering book designed to scare the wits out of people. There is no sense of God's love shown in Christ's death on the cross, no sense of hope, no discussion of the future millennium, no discussion of the final victory of God in the new heaven and the new earth.
The bottom line is that God is sovereign over history and by looking unto Jesus and putting our hope in Him, all things will work together for the good of those who love God (Hebrews 12:2, Romans 8:28).
The best part of this book is when Hagee compares the life of Jesus with the life of Moses, and with the life of Joseph. That part of the book was right on and was very informative.
The rest of the book was right wing Zionism on steroids. I agree that someday, Christ will reign over the earth in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and that the people of Israel will be back in the land.
But I think that the gathering of the Jewish people into Israel is something that we should let God orchestrate (Ezekiel 39:25-29, Jeremiah 31:23, Isaiah 43:5-7, 51:11, etc) rather than to let it be the work of conservative activists.
an inconvenient truth.......2007-10-09
Jerusalem Countdown is Hagee's jeremiad against Iran. We (the US and Israel) need to "take down" Iran before Iran "takes down" the US and Israel. Hagee is serving up baloney, plain and simple.
For the sake of argument, let's assume the Iranian government is every bit as evil as Hagee contends. Hagee's casus belli against the Iranians is that they are working to get a nuclear weapon. What Hagee conveniently omits from Jerusalem Countdown's 270 pages is that Israel already has 200-300 nuclear weapons, as well as multiple ways to deliver them, including submarines purchased from Germany. Iranians may have used "suicide waves" against Iraq, and they may use "suicide bombers" against Israel and others, but I have yet to see a government intent upon its own "regimicide".
Hagee not only omits the fact that Israel is the regional nuclear powerhouse, but also that the Israelis have biological and chemical weapons capability. Any act of massive aggression (e.g. a full scale attack) upon Israel by its hostile neighbors would unleash a rash of plagues not seen in the region since Pharaoh and Moses squared off.
And what of Pakistan - our "ally?" Pakistan is already a nuclear power, and Gen Musharraf's hold on power is none too secure. What happens if Pakistan is taken over by a virulently anti-US regime? Do we go after their nukes, and mix it up with their population of 170 million?
Hagee does not say; this too, would spoil his plot.
A must Read!!!!.......2007-10-07
I have not quite finished the book, but its hard to put down. So much truth is being told finally and the outlook for this country or for the entire world is bleak. It is true that Jerusalem is the capital of the world and until peace comes in Israel, this world will continue on a downward spiral. Finally the truth is told about who really killed Jesus Christ. It was not the Jews!!!! This book is excellent and I would recommend it to everyone who wants to know the truth.
Very Revealing!.......2007-09-13
If u want to know, the second coming of Yeshua Hamasia, You must buy this book for further reference. No book like it.
jewish legacy.......2007-09-06
Any serious Christian, or anyone who wants to know the history of the Jewish struggle,needs to read John Haggee's book, Jerusalem Countdown.
If you have ever thought that the Jews were not in sync with the Christians because of their stand on Jesus as the Messiah, then you need to know the truth. Jesus was a Jew. that is our legacy as Christians. Paul was a Jew but spent his life making Gentiles and Jews in to believers in Jesus Christ.
We can no longer say that Israel and the Jewish world is not our concern.
Average customer rating:
- Life in Biblical Israel
- too superficial
- A personal perspective
- Pushes the edge of our knowledge of the Bible and Israel
- Review of Life in Biblical Israel
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Life in Biblical Israel (Library of Ancient Israel)
Philip J. King , and
Lawrence E. Stager
Manufacturer: Westminster John Knox Press
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ASIN: 0664221483 |
Customer Reviews:
Life in Biblical Israel.......2006-10-23
Abstract
Life in Biblical Israel (King & Stager, 2001) is an attempt recreate the daily lives of the common people of Iron Age Israel during the pre-exilic period of 1200 to 586 B.C. The authors draw from a vast array of archeological sources, using the text of the Hebrew Scriptures as the main framework of reference for their presentation of life in Iron Age Israel.
The authors are exceptionally well qualified as they are subject matter experts in archeology, ancient Israelite culture and Biblical literature. Philip J. King is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Boston College, and he is currently Director of the Shelby White-Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications. Lawrence E. Stager is Dorot Professor of the Archaeology of Israel, Harvard University. Professor Stager directs the Leon Levy Expedition to Ashkelon in Israel.
Aspects Of Excellence
The text is not written to the layman per se, but presumes a level of academic skill on the part of the reader. That having been said, the section A Day in Micah's Household (King & Stager, 2001, p. 12-19) is a delightful read for the layman and scholar alike. This section is an "...imaginative account of life in Micah's household based on Judges 17-18." (King & Stager, p. 12).
The author's describe the aspects of daily life in meticulous detail. Little of what a common person would do in this exotic and bygone land seems to have been left out. Subjects from weddings to warfare, from baking bread to smelting bronze, are presented in concise synopsis; and always the authors relate the information to the Hebrew Scriptures.
The new insights, into daily life of the biblical Israelite, describe a culture and technology that is much more sophisticated than has often been depicted by non-canonical Church narratives and the secular media. Israel was at the crossroads of the main land route from Mesopotamia to Egypt. Thus Israel was an important segment of the main land bridge linking Europe, Asia and Africa. Judah, however, was a bit off the beaten path of the major international roadways; the Way of the Sea (Via Maris) and the King's Highway (King & Stager, 2001, p. 176). This geographical reality made Israel a strategic military holding, which helps to explain the constant warfare in the region. The roads brought not only conquering armies, but commerce, knowledge and exposure to outside cultures.
The technologies of the Israelites included sophisticated underground water systems of springs, pools, wells, cisterns, and underground tunnels carved in solid rock to supply their cities and agriculture. One of the most famous of these systems is the Gihon Spring which feeds Hezekiah's tunnel and the pools in Jerusalem (2Ki 20:20). International trade often used standardized shipping jars, these so called "Canaanite Jar's" were about thirty liters and were constructed to within a 10% tolerance (King & Stager, 2001, p. 146). The book includes many similar examples of a technology and culture well advanced from the simple nomadic/agricultural Israelite society that is often presented in our modern world.
A Predilection For Denial Of Scriptural Integrity
The authors do not hold to the inerrancy of scripture. They openly subscribe to the JEPD (Jaweh, Elohiym, Priestly and Deuteronomistic) authorship of the Hebrew scripture (King & Stager, 2001, p. 2-3). The authors do make a pretense of attempting to be scientifically objective. Their bias, however, comes out in various comments and presentations, and the book suffers fatally from this prejudice.
When reading an archelogical text that deals with biblical Israel, there is always an expectation of data that appears to discredit Scripture. Such data is seldom problematic to the Christian and Jewish faithful, as scientific "proofs" that repudiate scripture are themselves eventually repudiated as knowledge of the subject advances. The authors give several examples of such "proofs" being repudiated era." ; "... we find a number of correlations of biblical lore, contemporary extra biblical inscriptions, and archaeology that cumulatively lead us to reject the current notions of those critics who consider "biblical Israel" to be a late fiction created in the fourth-second centuries B.C.E. as an expression of the Jewish experience of that era.(King & Stager, 2001, p. 3).
"...in light of the foregoing, this can now be explained as an injunction for those who have accepted the Egyptian circumcision to "improve" on the ritual by undergoing a thorough removal of the foreskin." (King & Stager, 2001, p. 45).
Disparaging comments like "The preposterous patriarchal ages are the ideal not the reality." (King & Stager, 2001, p. 58) and "...in an example of fictive kinship, Perez is later identified as an ancestor of David..." can be accepted as an anticipated incubus when reading scientific texts. Unfortunately, the author's comments impugning the veracity of the Hebrew texts add nothing of value to the presentation of the subject matter. Indeed, these often tangential trajectories from the objective to the subjective bring the specter of lurking parochial underpinnings to the conclusions made by the authors.
The authors' stated intent was to elucidate the Biblical texts using contemporary extra biblical text and archaeology (King & Stager, 2001, p. xix). It is impossible to accept that the authors could keep their personal bias out of their postulations if they were unable to keep their personal bias out of their text. This bias is extremely unfortunate, for if the authors had been able to present their data objectively, such information could have been of incalculable value to the Church in understanding and truth testing.
Conclusion
A parochially nuanced presentation of objective data always becomes problematic in the acceptance of any of the postulates of any author.
Most of the work is scholarly and the pictures are informative, but read at your own risk.
too superficial.......2006-06-03
I purchased this book hoping to learn more of the daily life of ancient palestine. It is true that the book makes an extensive coverage of this subject ( food and its preparation, cereals, grains... how people dressed, jewelry, family order, houses and villages, etc. ) and with plenty of photographic material (in this the book excels many others ) but nevertheless it doesn't seem sufficient, on almost each of the chapters I was left with the feeling that the book lacked of something, maybe I expected it to be more centered on how life was organized, read the temple and the palace, economy is not really covered either. The style of the writters maybe considered very easy to follow, like if you were reading a tale, this may not necessarily be bad, on the contrary, but you may end wanting it to be more like other scholar works, more "dry". Read carefully the index and some excerpts and decide wether it is what you are looking for or not. Hope this review may help you.
A personal perspective.......2006-02-20
Very informative material for the Bible student or even anyone interested in the ancient past of the Holy Land. Good use of Scripture within to highlight archaeological relevance. The only drawback is the authors' subscription to the JEDP theory of Biblical authorship.
Pushes the edge of our knowledge of the Bible and Israel.......2003-03-06
There are many gems in this book that will explain otherwise difficult biblical texts. The authors are interested in using the latest archaeological data to shed light on the Scriptures (see, for example, King's earlier commentary on Jeremiah). It will take time for all of the information in this book to make it into popular biblical commentaries (it is cutting edge information, as the authors themselves are active archaeologists). This book is a concentrated collection of journal quality insights written at a popular level.
Before I bought this book, I heard one of the co-authors (Dr. Stager of Harvard) lecture on his contribution to the book. He is a master investigator of the ancient near eastern ideas of temple and garden. Stager brilliantly communicates how Israel's Temple and Garden Story relate to (and are informed by) their original contexts. Adjective fail me, I can only say that his work is staggering.
I would be remiss if I did not make this plug: the pictures alone are worth the price of the book. The book is printed completely on photo quality paper with full color images throughout.
This book is a must have for any student of archaeology, the Bible or Israel.
Review of Life in Biblical Israel.......2002-08-29
Though written for the layperson, this book is still an excellent resource for the scholar in Bible, ancient Near Eastern studies, or any study of culture. Life in Biblical Israel describes the setting of the Hebrew Bible, but not in terms of wars, leaders, and elite society. Professors King and Stager recognize, like Fernand Braudel and Annales historians, that a large part of society is often neglected by its own histories. Thus, they seek to describe how that silent majority lived their everyday lives. The authors of Life in Biblical Israel attempt to describe all of the aspects of the lifeways of the Israelites - how they produced their food, built their houses, procured water, defended their cities, organized their society, kept themselves healthy, expressed themselves through clothing, art, and music, and how they interacted with the divine.
For those skeptical of the Bible's credibility, the book may seem to be a simple attempt to draw archaeological correlations, that is artifactual evidence, for Biblical terminology. Certainly, the book does this, but not out of any theological or apologetic attempt to prove the Bible as accurate. Accepting that the archaeological record and the Bible provide two types of descriptions of the same society, King and Stager gather all of the information they can from both sources. The many photographs and drawings in the book show many examples from the archaeological source. A quick glance at the Scriptural Index at the back of the book shows how thoroughly the authors combed the Biblical text. At the same time, the authors use each source to supplement the defficiencies of the other. For example, artifacts can often be identified as to their uses, but they have no names in their native languages, and how they are used is often not known. King and Stager do an excellent job with the details of exactly how the ancient people accomplished what they did.
There have been very few other attempts to so document ancient Israel as a cultural and social entity. Previous works using both the textual and archaeological evidence in concert mostly have focused on one aspect of the culture, usually something relevant to the upper classes or the political or military establishment. Others have subsumed their archaeological and biblical discussion beneath other arguments, in which case they have reduced the amount of evidence and increased the number of conclusions to be drawn. King and Stager, on the other hand, have written a book which deals primarily with the culture of all of Israel as expressed through its material and literary remains; they have no other axe to grind, and they present more data and fewer conclusions. Instead they are working first and foremost to describe as best they can how people lived in the Iron Age in Israel.
This book will serve as an excellent textbook both in archaeology and Bible courses. It can also serve as a reference work both for the layperson and the scholar interested in either subject. Perhaps the best reason to use this book, however, is that it succeeds in its aim of portraying the details of ancient Israelite life. The many illustrations truly enable readers to visualize each aspect of the culture.
Book Description
The Dutch Golden Age, the age of Grotius, Spinoza, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and a host of other renowned artists and writers was also remarkable for its immense impact in the spheres of commerce, finance, shipping, and technology. It was in fact one of the most spectacularly creative episodes in the history of the world. Jonathan Israel gives the definitive account of the emergence of the United Provinces as a great power, and explains the subsequent decline in the eighteenth century. He places the thought, politics, religion, and social developments of the Golden Age in their broad context, and examines the changing relationship between the northern Netherlands and the south, which was to develop into modern Belgium.
Customer Reviews:
Truly Splendid.......2005-08-12
This book truly is the difinitive work on Dutch history. The sheer volume and description of detail makes the book very informative. The vivid writing style and the subdivision of the chapters gives the reader the ability to speed through the book in addition to breaking down and digesting each main idea clearly. The maps, charts, and graphs are clear and give the reader an illustration to the detail of the text. Also, the explanation of the Dutch Republican government, which is anything but simple, was clear and precise. I plan on using this book in my classes for reference. A truly great book.
For all of you Dutch I have only one word "READ !!!!!".......2003-02-10
The best historybook I have ever read with no doubt. I think in a small 1300 pages I never learned so much about my own history than I learned in the 2 weeks I spend to read this book. By now I have read it 3 times and if only have time I would pick ip up and read it again and again till I can dream whats in there. The 17th & 18th century is with no doubt one of the most interesting parts in the history of the world. Strangely it was my own country that played the most important role in this very interesting time.
And so many Dutch that earn the right to be named here, so many founders of our nations. Perhaps to them this is the most honarable a man could ever do to them, since they are all named in the book and how !!! I think about John Van Oldenbarnevelt, Hugo De Groot, John & Cornelius De Witt, Micheal De Ruyter, Rembrandt Van Rijn and last but not least Spinoza !!
An amazing achievement that will set out to be THE standard work about the Republic for years to come.
I have read the Dutch version, and that one is a really special one, seperated in 2 books, hardcover !! And everty page printed on photopaper, beautifully released !!! So when you are Dutch you can beter go to a local bookstore to get the Dutch version, since its simply more beautifull, although the price (about $ 130,- is another thing that can keep you away from it.) is worth it every penny !! You will not be regreted.
For non Dutch people, when you want to come over and tour our little nice country, be sure to read this book from beginning till end and back. It will tell you everything you ever need to know to understand our culture & history.
Flawed but Interesting Book.......2001-08-27
This is a frustrating book to review. It is one of the worst-edited books I have read in a long time, yet it contains a wealth of intersting information. It is comprehensive and well-enough explained to interest a lay reader, but it is difficult to read beyond what is necessary given the dryness of the subject matter. First, the good: Israel presents almost a year-by-year discussion of Dutch politics, economics, and demographics. His presentation is highly detailed, generally offering his arguments first, then backing them up with substantial data. Israel has pulled together statistics of population growth, economic activity, and political positions in a wealth of tables. Finally, he defines his terms clearly, then uses them consistently. Now, the bad: This is one of the worst-edited books I can imagine. Israel's excessive use of commas in the most inappropriate places makes reading this work a chore. His meaning is obscured by the incorrect use of punctuation. In short, his editor should [have done a better editing job]. Second, the editing goes downhill toward the end of the book. Whereas the first 2/3 of the text clearly presents the major political events, then follows them with the appropriate economic, social, and demographic consequences, the latter part of the book reverses this presentation. This leaves the reader to infer major political events (like the French invasion of 1792-1794) from the discussion of demographics, economics, or social trends. A consequence of this decline in editing is that the explanation of why the Dutch republic declined is not presented clearly. If the reader pays close attention and has a good grounding in economics, he can understand what must have been going on behind the scenes. But the big story of the sudden decline of one of the major maritime powers in the world is not clearly told. Finally, Israel often uses text where a table would be more appropriate. He will take three pages to go through the voting record of each city in each province, rather than summarize the data in a table. The 1100 pages of the book could easily be reduced by several hundred without impacting the support of Israel's arguments and make the book much more readable in the process.
Comprehensive, learned but dull history.......2000-02-13
Professor Israel's book is the first volume in what is clearly intended to be a new series of definitive texts, Oxford University Press's History of Early Modern Europe. The book is certainly superbly produced (albeit a bit short of maps), and is packed with information on a fascinating subject. No doubt the Dutch achievement in the seventeenth century was amazing - after rebelling from Spain the Dutch turned themselves into a world power,became the freest and most advanced society in Europe (although Dutch freedom had its limits, as Professor Israel makes clear) and produced a galaxy of stunning artists - Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals etc. All this based on nothing but hard work and daring, and founded on a country that Dutchmen made themselves - "God made the world, but the Dutch made Holland", as they say. So a great subject, a magnificent looking book, and a first rate scholar who really knows his stuff and who has published a number of excellent books. And yet, it doesn't quite get there...I don't agree with those who say that this book is in the same league as Simon Schama's. I am a historian, but found the book very hard going. I think one problem was the author's obsessive focus on the internal rivalries of the Dutch provinces and towns. By the time the states of Friesland and the States of Zeeland and the States of Holland and the States-General had all fallen out with themselves yet again for the umpteenth time my eyes were starting to glaze over...I'm sure it's very important to understanding Dutch history but I felt the material on internal rivalries and jealousies needed to be shortened and the issues clarified for the non-specialist. As well as being overburdened with material on internal politics other aspects of the Dutch achievement were covered very sketchily. I was surprised for such a large book to have so little on the Dutch seaborne empire - Israel is mainly interested in the VOC as a factor in Dutch internal politics. There is one chapter on the overseas empire but it is not very detailed and Israel is clearly not especially interested in it. As a citizan of a country named, after all, after a Dutch province and whose first European discoverer was a Dutchman I was disappointed to see so little on the DUtch in North America, Brazil, Ceylon, South Africa and the East Indies. The book is essentially a detailed internal political history of the Seven Provinces in 1100 pages. I also would have liked to know more about art and literature. Perhaps the book basically reflects a tendency in modern European historical writing to focus on internal politics and European affairs and to minimise and downplay the European overseas empires. For a great world seapower like the Netherlands this seems very limiting. Older works on the Dutch empire by C R Boxer and others still remain essential reading.
Not for beginners.......2000-01-27
I am afraid I have to disagree with my fellow readers. Israel's account of the rise and fall of the Dutch Republic is exhaustive and certainly impressive, but it is a difficult read. This book is for only those with a burning interest in the subject and a willingness to tolerate dry, academic prose.
I learned a lot, which was my goal, but not without some, in my judgment, unnecessary frustration. Too often, Israel assumes that the reader has a much deeper knowledge of the subject matter th
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