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.

The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 15671659: The Logistics of Spanish Victory and Defeat in the Low Countries' Wars (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History)

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Spain at War
The last hurrah before Rocroi

The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 15671659: The Logistics of Spanish Victory and Defeat in the Low Countries' Wars (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History)
Geoffrey Parker
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521543924

Book Description

The publication of The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road in 1972 marked the birth of the "new military history", which emphasized military organization--mobilization, pay, supply, morale and, above all, logistics--rather than military "events" such as sieges and battles. Constantly cited since its first publication in English (with translations into Spanish and Dutch), this revised updated second edition includes new sources and references but otherwise remains faithful to the original edition. First Edition Hb (1972): 0-521-08462-8 First Edition Pb (1975): 0-521-09907-2

Customer Reviews:

Spain at War.......2006-02-06

This is an internationally-renowned study of Spain's Flanders Army during the 80 year effort to suppress the Dutch Revolt. And justly famous it is too - due to the depth and care with which the anaysis is done, as Parker covers all the logistical problems encountered by early modern Spain, inlcuding finance, supply, recruitment, morale - pretty much everything you would need to know about the difficulties of military organisation in the period.

As such, the book opens a window on the problems mounting any type of large-scale operation by the early modern state: far from being a modern professional fighting force the Flanders Army was a collection of nationalities with which the Spanish government more often than not had to coax or encourage to fight on its behalf - a task complicated by the distance of the Netherlands from Spain and by the constant financial strains faced by the Spanish treasury.

Given such problems, it was a considerable achievement to keep the struggle going for so long, especially bearing in mind other challenges faced by the Spanish Empire, and it does give a lesson on how difficult it was (and remains) to maintain an effective military presence in a country far distant from home and whose inhabitants do not wish you to be there. A lesson which it seems is repeatedly forgotten.

G Rodgers

The last hurrah before Rocroi.......2002-06-13

This is one of those magnificent books for the specialist that stay below the radar of a general readership in History. The short narrative of the attack on the fortress of Maastricht is the stuff of martial legends, and worth the price of the book. G. Parker has become the foremost historian in English of Spain in 16th & 17th Century and specifically of the 30 Years War. This splendid monograph is the gold on the background of the Tercio's banners.

The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on the Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe (History and Warfare)

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Defining the Debate
The Classic RMA Debate
'revolution'ary?
A must for reference work

The Military Revolution Debate: Readings on the Military Transformation of Early Modern Europe (History and Warfare)

Manufacturer: Westview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0813320542

Book Description

The debate about the "Military Revolution" has been one of the most controversial and exciting areas of discussion and research in the fields of early modern European history and military history. Scholars have long sought to explain the massive changes in European military techniques and technologies that took place between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the industrial age-changes that transformed the armies and navies of the West into the most powerful war-making entities the world had ever known. Historians have disagreed about and vigorously debated the importance of these changes for European politics, for the process of state formation, for the rise of the West, and for warfare itself. This book brings together, for the first time, the classic articles that began and have shaped this debate, adding important new essays by eminent historians of early modern Europe to further this important scholarly interchange. The contributors consider topics ranging from the battlefield to the gunmaker's workshop, from England to India, and from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The Military Revolution Debate will be required reading for anyone interested in what is undoubtedly one of the hottest areas in military history today.

Customer Reviews:

Defining the Debate.......2001-09-03

This book is a collection of essays and articles on the Military Revolution in early modern Europe. Eleven prominent historians contributed to the collection with original works or reprints of earlier articles. Taken together the anthology is not the sum total of the debate, but an excellent compilation of the several positions that military historians have taken and defended with regard to this topic.
The editor, Clifford J. Rodgers is now a contract professor at the United States Military Academy. When this book was created Rodgers was an Olin Fellow at Yale University. The book, according to Rodgers, was inspired by events during a conference at the 1991 meeting of the American Military Institute in Durham, North Carolina. During that conference Rodgers, Geoffrey Parker, John Guilmartin and John Lynn gave short presentations on the topic after which the discussion was opened to the audiance. The spirited debate and discourse that followed served as the catalyst for this book.
The Military Revolution was first put forward by Michael Roberts in the 1950s. Twenty years passed before Geoffrey Parker took a poke at the thesis. The fundamental idea here is that there are (or have been) times when something, be it technology, doctrine, social changes or economic changes, changed and caused one military to surpass all others such that the others had to adapt, adopt, or perish. That's a "Military Revolution" in a nutshell, and these historians argue (admittedly over, and over, and over...) as to what the periods that should be considered "revolutionary" actually were.
Informed and scholarly, this book is worth the cost from an intellectual standpoint.

The Classic RMA Debate.......2000-12-15

"The Military Revolution Debate" is the magnus opus on the revolution in military affairs representative of early modern Europe. Editor and author Clifford Rogers presents a series of compelling articles designed to revisit one of the classic debate topics among military historians and contemporary theorists. The art and practice of warfare changed significantly during the period addressed by Rogers and others, a revolution in military affairs unlike any in previous history and only rivaled by the events of the past quarter-century.

This masterpiece is a necessary addition to anyone seriously researching the revolution/evolution of military affairs in the western world. The changes that occurred in early modern Europe and discussed at length by the various authors had an unimaginable ifluence on the wars of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries and will continue to shape events far into this millenium.

Rogers has collected the most serious and noteworthy essays by the foremost authorities on the subject. Readers will not be disappointed with this exceptional book.

'revolution'ary?.......2000-04-18

This reviewer has extensively analyzed this book as part of a course in late medieval and early renaissance military history. My usual subject is the early Crusades, and I had hoped to broaden my understanding of later centuries' conflicts through this work.

Rogers' introduction sums up the general theme of the book, that the demands of late medieval and early modern military (hen) required societal change on an broad and varied scale (egg). This is the one concept upon which the contributors agree.

The medievalist is going to find this work difficult in many respects, too numerous to investigate properly in this forum. Simply put, misconceptions abound. The basic thesis goes so far as to denigrate the medieval military era and divorce the modern from these roots entirely! Fortunately there are other contributors to counter this argument and even to argue the revolution was strictly a medieval phenomenon.

The essays herein are essentially divided into two camps of pro- and anti-revolution, and the book really demonstrates the evolution of the concept. The reader sees the genesis and construction of the idea, then its evaluation. Finally we see the demise of the concept in several vivid examples. The penultimate essay contributes a fine idea; the 'military revolution' is a line of inquiry, not a discrete event. (Unfortunately this is that essay's only redeeming feature.) The book closes with a defence by a long-standing subscriber to the revolution theory, thus failing to achieve any synthesis. It is a very disappointing end to what is a problematic but considerate effort.

Scope of the essays ranges from Sweden to the Ottoman Empire, from the Hundred Years War to the 18th.c., from the vast Spanish kingdom to the tiny county of Gonzaga. Focus varies from the general to the minute; there is an excellent analysis of the gold futures mortaging by the late medieval Spanish Crown.

In all it is a very long read for anyone not actively interested in the early modern period or the niceties of academic debate; indeed this reviewer is left with the impression that the revolutionary construct has had a long life and needs replacing.

However this book is certainly useful as a reference on the corpus of thought on a difficult subject, and crucial to understanding the last 50 years of research on the subject of medieval vs modern military practise. The revolution is now such a prevalent subject that it continues to be applied in completely different areas, so it is useful to be familiar with this work.

A must for reference work.......2000-04-06

This is an incredible book that provides a single point of reference on the major interpetations of the Military Revolution. For the Military Revolution novice, like myself, this is the book to begin research with. The hypothesisses are complimentary and provide for an easy, interesting read.

War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe

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War and State Formation in Ancient China and Early Modern Europe
Victoria Tin-bor Hui
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521525764

Book Description

There is a common belief that the system of sovereign territorial states and the roots of liberal democracy are unique to European civilization and alien to non-Western cultures. The view has generated popular cynicism about democracy promotion in general and China's prospect for democratization in particular. This book demonstrates that China in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (656-221 BC) consisted of a system of sovereign territorial states similar to Europe in the early modern period. It examines why China and Europe shared similar processes but experienced opposite outcomes.

The General and the Jaguar: Pershing's Hunt for Pancho Villa: A True Story of Revolution & Revenge

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Pancho Villa and Black Jack Pershing
Excellent account of the events in Mexico before WWI
The Columbus Raid and its aftermath.
a little too much fluff
Good book about Villas' Columbus Raid

The General and the Jaguar: Pershing's Hunt for Pancho Villa: A True Story of Revolution & Revenge
Eileen Welsome
Manufacturer: Little, Brown and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0316715999

Book Description

On March 9, 1916, a band of Mexican marauders led by Pancho Villa crossed the border and raided the tiny town of Columbus, New Mexico. A military expedition was hastily organized to go into Mexico and capture Villa, suspects were rounded up, trials were held, and a virulent backlash against persons of Mexican origin erupted on the local and national scenes. General John Black Jack Pershing, once a genuine fan of Villas, accompanied by a young George Patton, was told to assemble a group of soldiers, head into Mexico, and get Villadead or alive. The last hurrah for the U.S. Cavalry, the expedition would be the first time armored tanks, airplanes, and trucks were employed against an enemy. But as they descended into the nightmare of Mexico, the American troops were followed by spies and picked off by snipers, fought violent battles, and suffered in the scorching deserts and snowy mountains. Some would never return home alive. A brutal tale of revenge and violence, Eileen Welsomes richly detailed account is equal parts Sam Peckinpah, Cormac McCarthy, and Stephen Ambrose.

Customer Reviews:

Pancho Villa and Black Jack Pershing.......2007-07-14

As one who fell in love with Mexico in 1964, I continue to read most of what comes out in print with relation to that country. This book has information about Pershing that I knew nothing about, and reveals much of a personal nature about him and about Francisco Villa.

The struggles of the U. S. soldiers as they search for the elusive Villa
make an interesting story-- one that got lost because the incursion into Mexico was followed so quickly by World War I. I wonder, for example, how many of the soldiers who were in Mexico went on to the European war.

I had the great good fortune to hear a lecture by one of Villa's secretaries.

I am still in love with Mexico after all these years!

Norma Williamson

Excellent account of the events in Mexico before WWI.......2007-06-12

The author has done her homework with this fine piece of history. I have read much on this subject and was hoping to find out more details about the Punitive Expedition mounted by America to track down Pancho Villa and his bandit army. She paints Villa and the other leaders of the 'Revolution' as most of them were: brutal killers seeking wealth and power and a few betterment of the people of Mexico. Lots of details about the Villiast raid on Columbus, NM, the numerous skirmishes between US troops and various factions of Mexican forces of all sorts.
Plenty of drama and some good information about Villa's background, experiences during the revolution as well as those of Obregon, Madero, Zapata and many others.
Worth reading as her style is easy to follow and sometimes humerous and insightful.
I give it thumbs up. Enjoy as it might lead the reader to seek more information about this fascinating period of US/Mexican history.

The Columbus Raid and its aftermath........2007-06-04

A former guerrilla ally of the United States turns his vengence on the U.S. A President who wanted to tend to the domestic ills of the United States is drawn into a foreign conflict. An intervention is attempted which results in native aggravation at the United States. History repeats itself. The time is 1916 and the terrorist act is at Columbus, New Mexico-a sleepy border town. Pancho Villa kills a lot of innocent men. Americans are now his enemy. The Americans intervene in Mexico and try to track him down. They nearly suceed. Time give Villa the punishment he deserves.

This is an interesting book about earlier terrorism. Not much is written about the Columbus raid. Welsome does a good job of describing the killings of Pancho Villa and his Division of the North in the 1916-17 period. This should be read in light of the current war on terror.

a little too much fluff.......2007-06-03

I enjoyed the book, but I thought it could have been shortened considerably if Welsome would have left out the numerous paragraphs about what someone was thinking or might have thought as they rode a horse through the mountains. It had a little too much fluff for me and for a book that has a title that indicates it is about 2 military leaders I was left with the feeling it was a so-so attempt to create a romanticized old west tale. I would have liked to seen more actual military history instead of the speculation fluff that fills so many pages. The book is nice but if you want a military history book, this isn't it.

Good book about Villas' Columbus Raid.......2007-03-19

The book is excellent from a historical perspective. Ms. Welsome thoroughly researched the topic and presented her findings in a very readable manner. The only negative is that it wasn't told as exciting as some other period non-fiction I've read. But this is really nitpicking though, as I thought it was a fine book all things considered.

Fighting Techniques of the Early Modern World: Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics

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Fighting Techniques of the Early Modern World

Fighting Techniques of the Early Modern World: Equipment, Combat Skills, and Tactics
Christer Jorgensen , Matthew Bennett , Michael Pavkovic , Rob S. Rice , Frederick S. Schneid , and Chris Scott
Manufacturer: Thomas Dunne Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312348193
Release Date: 2006-07-11

Book Description

When gunpowder replaced steel as the weapon of choice, soldiers had to adapt or die. In Fighting Techniques of the Early Modern World, five military experts explore the tactics and strategy required to win battles with the technology available, and describe how the development of new weapons changed the face of warfare. Using specially-commissioned color and black and white artworks to illustrate the battles, equipment and tactics of the era, Fighting Techniques of the Early Modern World shows in detail the methods by which armies gained and lost ascendency on the battlefield.

Customer Reviews:

Fighting Techniques of the Early Modern World.......2006-11-10

Outstanding book covering every aspect of the early modern world. Fantastics drawings of weapons, uniforms and battles as well as abundant black and white picture. Readers should also consider the purchase of other books in the series....Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World and Fighting Techniques of the Medieval World.

Opium War, 1840-1842: Barbarians in the Celestial Empire in the Early Part of the Nineteenth Century and the War by Which They Forced Her Gates

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An epic and fascinating read
Authoritative and Elegant
This is one of the most frustrating books I've ever read.

Opium War, 1840-1842: Barbarians in the Celestial Empire in the Early Part of the Nineteenth Century and the War by Which They Forced Her Gates
Peter Ward Fay
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807847143
Release Date: 1998-02-18

Amazon.com

Until the 1830s, China was scarcely known to the outside world. When Europeans began to arrive in number in that decade, demanding of the Ching dynasty's rulers access to raw materials and to China's huge domestic markets alike, the Chinese resisted, but, in the end, unsuccessfully. England in particular sought a market for the opium, a crown monopoly produced in India, and it waged a brief war to press its claim--a war that won it that market, the ownership of Hong Kong, and entry into cities like Shanghai and Guangdong. The war also contributed to the eventual collapse of Ching rule. Really a footnote in history, the Opium War, then, had major consequences that color Sino-Western relations even today. Peter Ward Fay tells the story in this well-written, vigorous narrative. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

This book tells the fascinating story of the war between England and China that delivered Hong Kong to the English, forced the imperial Chinese government to add four ports to Canton as places in which foreigners could live and trade, and rendered irreversible the process that for almost a century thereafter distinguished western relations with this quarter of the globe—the process that is loosely termed the "opening of China."

Originally published by UNC Press in 1975, Peter Ward Fay's study was the first to treat extensively the opium trade from the point of production in India to the point of consumption in China and the first to give both Protestant and Catholic missionaries their due; it remains the most comprehensive account of the first Opium War through western eyes. In a new preface, Fay reflects on the relationship between the events described in the book and Hong Kong's more recent history.

Customer Reviews:

An epic and fascinating read.......2004-01-17

While there are regrettably few definitive one-volume accounts of the imperialist foreign rape of China (and anyone seeking a balanced and fair account is forced by this dearth of material to digest the information contained across vastly differing accounts from both the Chinese and foreign side), Fay's study is easily one of the most engaging. It is not a dry history, nor a polemic. It is beautiful, fresh and literary writing that reads like a novel, packed with ground-level observations, much gathered from the journals of the Western participants themselves. Fay also does a better job than many others in dissecting the psychologies behind the politics and clashing cultures. Fay also succeeds by never straying from the bottom line: the opium and opium trafficking.

Authoritative and Elegant.......2000-11-21

Nearly three decades after it was first published, Fay's book remains the best single volume on the Opium War, and one of the best books on China in the 19th century. It is easy to read, but is scholarly enough for the most fastidious. Unlike the other reviewer I had no particular difficulties with the timeline, although that can be a problem with any historical narrative. Be advised that this is a narrative history and can be read with joy by those who find social or economic histories tedious, but the background of the war is covered in particular detail as well. Fay is not a professional sinologist, and came to this book through his studies of the East India Company, but the book seems none the worse for his wide knowledge. It was recommended to me by some very distinguished historians of China, and their enthusiasm was justified. It is not a weighty tome, like those of Mary Wright or Vincent Shih on China in the 19th century, but it is authoritative on its subject, and like the best of Fairbank, it is great fun to read. Can one say better things about a book? If you are interested in the Opium War, Qin dynasty history, imperialism, or just like reading a good narrative about a war, please indulge yourself-- and read this book.

This is one of the most frustrating books I've ever read........1998-11-27

Peter Fay's book on the Opium War is one of the most detailed studies of the period between 1838-1842 one can find at anything like the price, and would be a valuable resource except for one major flaw--there is no time-line given, and dates are provided, at most, with day and month, not year. This may seem like an insignificant thing, but given that correspondence took at least six months in one direction from China to England, and that the war was taking place with sailing ships up and down most of China's coast, it quickly becomes impossible to tell, either from the footnotes or the text, what year precisely specific events happened. Since so few dates are given at all, it is impossible to get a good sense of the exact sequence of events, particularly as the fighting part of the war heated up. When the book is next released, it should have a time line!

The Armada of Flanders: Spanish Maritime Policy and European War, 15681668 (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History)

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The Armada of Flanders: Spanish Maritime Policy and European War, 15681668 (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History)
R. A. Stradling
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521525128

Book Description

The Flanders armada, took shape in response to the use of seapower by the Dutch rebels, and evolved into the most effective unit in Spainâ€™s defence establishment. In combination with its privateering auxiliaries, this elite striking force dominated the North Sea for some twenty years (1625â€“45), and campaigned also in the Mediterranean and Atlantic theatres of war. Yet its contribution to the tenacious survival of Spanish hegemony has never before been assessed. A narrative of the armadaâ€™s fighting record over the century of its meaningful existence is presented with constant reference to the strategic-logistical context and analysis of policymaking in Madrid. Attention is paid to the political significance of maritime policy, and particularly the relationship between Madrid and its subordinate headquarters in Brussels; the infrastructure of the armada; the ships themselves, above all the revolutionary but elusive â€~frigateâ€™; the social hierarchy of crews and commanders; and details of administration and financing.

Early Polish Modern Art: Unity in Multiplicity

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A New Perspective on Early Polish Moden Art

Early Polish Modern Art: Unity in Multiplicity
Marek Bartelik
Manufacturer: Manchester University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Modern | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0719063523
Release Date: 2005-11-10

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A New Perspective on Early Polish Moden Art.......2006-05-03

Written in a personal style, the book combines first class research with the passion and imagination of a writer. It tells a story of four different artistic movements from the early 20's: Formists from Krakow, Expressionists from Poznan, Young Yiddish from Lodz, and Futurists from two major art centers: Krakow and Warsaw. There are many themes hidden behind the main story that make the narration flow in an interesting way. One of the themes is the transformation of a fragmented, multiethnic, culturally diverse country into a homogenous one.
"The action (...) takes in Poland, that is to say: Nowhere" - the statement from "Ubu Roi" (1898) by Alfred Jarry, still remains the best description of the paradoxical nature of Polish cultural history. In the aftermath of the First World War, after over hundred years of partition, Poland emerged as an independent state facing the challenge of defining her identity. In the exciting time of change and hope many Polish artists embraced current revolutionary art trends and also radical socio-political ideologies coming mostly from neighboring Germany and Russia. Very soon the artists found themselves in a conflict between the desire to create a visible art scene and the need to experiment. German Expressionism with its radical political agenda, or Futurism coming to Poland via Moscow were perceived as "antipolish" - spreading the cultural influence of former occupiers and threatening the stability of the newly emerged state. For the same reason the avant-garde artists were criticized in prewar Poland, they were later praised in communist Poland - for their political orientation, not for the true value of their art.
"Early Polish Modern Art" is an important book which offers a new perspective on the subject, reexamines previous interpretations, and at the same time concentrates not on theories but on facts. The richness of the material invites readers to come up with their own interpretations of what actually happened in "Nowhere Land."

War and the State in Early Modern Europe: Spain, the Dutch Republic and Sweden as Fiscal-military States, 1500-1660 (Warfare and History)

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War and the State in Early Modern Europe: Spain, the Dutch Republic and Sweden as Fiscal-military States, 1500-1660 (Warfare and History)
Jan Glete
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Netherlands | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Sweden | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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ASIN: 0415226457

Book Description

The sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw many ambitious European rulers develop permanent armies and navies. i War and the State in Early Modern Europe /i examines this military change as a central part of the political, social and economic transformation of early modern Europe. br This important study exposes the economic structures necessary for supporting permanent military organisations across Europe.

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