Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind

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Contradictory Oddysey

Primordial peeps tripping in caves eventually see aliens. Film at 11.

Top Rate

You have to dig to find the nugget

One of the best books I've read

Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind
Graham Hancock
Manufacturer: Disinformation Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
Controversial Knowledge | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Religion & Spirituality | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Fingerprints of the Gods

Hidden Truth: Forbidden Knowledge

Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization

The End of Days: Armageddon and Prophecies of the Return (The Earth Chronicles)

DMT: The Spirit Molecule: A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences

ASIN: 1932857400

Book Description

Less than 50,000 years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change, described by scientists as "the greatest riddle in human history," all the skills and qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as though bestowed on us by hidden powers. In Supernatural Graham Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious "before-and-after moment" and to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to the modern human mind.

Hancock's quest takes him on a detective journey from the stunningly beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain, and Italy to rock shelters in the mountains of South Africa, where he finds extraordinary Stone Age art. He uncovers clues that lead him to the depths of the Amazon rainforest to drink the powerful hallucinogen Ayahuasca with shamans, whose paintings contain images of "super-natural beings" identical to the animal-human hybrids depicted in prehistoric caves. Hallucinogens such as mescaline also produce visionary encounters with exactly the same beings.

Scientists at the cutting edge of consciousness research have begun to consider the possibility that such hallucinations may be real perceptions of other "dimensions." Could the "supernaturals" first depicted in the painted caves be the ancient teachers of mankind? Could it be that human evolution is not just the "meaningless" process that Darwin identified, but something more purposive and intelligent that we have barely begun to understand?

Customer Reviews:

Contradictory Oddysey.......2007-10-15

I am an avid reader of many of Graham Hancock's books, but to be honest, I haven't yet acquired or read this one; I have only relied on the "blurb" information on this page to write this review about it. What I want to say is that Hancock has explored all the mainstream approached of "Alternative History" such as Ancient astronauts, Paleocivilisations and now this. I am familiar with this "psychedelic mushroom approach" also, and have perused and come across it while investigating other "arcane" issues such as the year 2012 and in the work of "maverick" US scientist and parapsychological researcher Andrija Puharich who wrote the book "Beyond Telepathy" about 25 years ago, to illustrate his findings and experiments. It doe hold water indeed. But what I don't understand about Hancock's work and travails is that each of his books are excellent, in-depth researches on their own, but their findings all seem to contradict one another: for instance his earliest book "Fingerprints of the Gods" contradicts the conclusions of his later work "The Mars Mystery" and now this book contradicts both of his earlier Paleocivilisational approaches. By "flitting" like this from one approach to the other, he not only undermines his own credibility, but lays his own quite extensive and valuable work open to ridicule, which is a shame as this is a subject that definitely merits serious work and investigation. It is now time for Mr. Hancock, instead, to come up with one "Grand Unified Theory" of all the work he has done and integrate it into a seamless harmonious whole. No doubt that is an "orthodox" scientific method, but it is an essential scholastic requirement, otherwise he will come across merely as a confused globetrotting "bohemian", who is mainly intent on printing as many books as possible in order to keep minting money.

Primordial peeps tripping in caves eventually see aliens. Film at 11........2007-09-24

In January, I read Graham Hancock's Supernatural in which he runs the gamut from early human cave paintings to gods, and angels, fairies, psychedelics, shamans, and aliens and links them all together as basically the same phenomenon. In my mind, (being subjects I've already spent a fair amount of time studying) he does a very good job of forming a solid theory with many examples to back up this theory. Basically he is saying that our encounters with the supernatural, are the same, only the outer appearance changes along with our technology and world view, that what we once thought were angels became fairies in later times, and then became aliens in the present. He makes sure to state that this all presupposes that these experiences are real. And if we suppose that they are, then how do we begin to study a supernatural reality. As I said, the book is great and very entertaining.

Top Rate.......2007-09-18

All in all I found this to be a well researched book of Shamanism and religion. It coinsides with much of my own resarch and experience. At times I found the book to be slow and repetitious but intelligently researched if not scholarly. I highly recommend it.

You have to dig to find the nugget.......2007-09-13

I was very much looking forward to reading this book. I bought the hard cover version which I do not recommend for those who tire of lifting a 10 lb/4 kg weight for long periods of time.

Hancock's 700 pages of text contain a very interesting hypothesis: that psychotropic substances can act as portals to other dimensions where aliens are met and secrets are learned. After the first 450 pages, another interesting clue comes out: that encoded into our DNA is a hidden message (unfortunately that message is never told).

Unfortunately, Hancock drones on and on and on, and on and on again, about his various psychotropic experiences. The reader suffers painfully as Hancock moves from thought to unconnected thought until finally you find yourself skipping pages to get to the next point. Hancock tells too many stories that sound the same. Unfortunately his worthy points get lost in his verbose prattle.

There is no reason why this book had to be 700 pages. If Hancock had a decent editor who could 1) organize Hancock's thoughts for him; and 2) chop out the unnecessary bits (we get the message after the 100th similar story), then this could have been a very interesting book.

I'd love to see a Second Edition of this book that refines his general ideas, whittles them down to the core essence, and backs them up with the excellent appendices and endnotes that Hancock wisely does include at the book's end in this edition. Until then, I would advise you to save not just your money, but really your time. It took me months to read.

One of the best books I've read.......2007-07-31

Graham Hancock explores interesting and solid theories and also by giving strong references.
Fascinating book. I cannot stop reading it. Truly mind expanding.

The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind

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Fingerprints part 2
a most intriguing work
The Message of the Spinx
A review of the audiobook by a history teacher
Look To The Sky And Find The Truth

The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind
GRAHAM HANCOCK , and ROBERT BAUVAL
Manufacturer: Crown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Egypt | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0517705036
Release Date: 1996-06-11

Book Description

The authors of the bestselling Fingerprints of the Gods, The Sign and the Seal, and The Orion Mystery team up to posit a revolutionary theory: that the Sphinx and the other great Egyptian monuments are of prehistoric origina and that they are arranged in such a way as to be a giant stone "hologram, " sending a message to us from the silent past. 16 pp. of photos. 30 line drawings.

Customer Reviews:

Fingerprints part 2.......2007-05-29

Basically this book feels like the Egypt chapters of "Fingerprints of the Gods" slightly expanded with more detail. It isn't as interesting or as terrifying as "Fingerprints" but it is shorter and brings a more specific set of "evidence" to the table.
Bringing up Edgar Cayce weakens the authors' position considerably. Psychic readings, though fascinating, cannot be accepted as evidence in any scientific debate.
The authors beat us over the head with the concept of precession, leaving the reader to gasp out "Okay, I get it!"
Ample quotes from ancient Egyptian texts help to build up a seemingly plausible picture of a sky/earth duality and the construction of the Giza complex as a "model" of the sky around the constellation Orion. Descriptions of the Pyramids and the freakish degree of accuracy in their design seem to indicate that whatever they were built for, it was something very specific and intentional. The orthodox Egyptological view that the Queen's Chamber was "abandoned" unfinished in favor of the King's Chamber just doesn't hold up, in view of the apparent care which was taken by Pyramid architects. This would not have been a construction project that you could make up as you went along.
One problem I had with the authors' theory of a mysterious "Brotherhood of Horus" which had preserved technological and astronomical secrets through the ages from 10,500 bc (supposed date of the "First Time" and the building of the Sphinx) to the Pyramid Age (2500 bc) ... if they were able to sustain their secret society for that length of time, where are they now? Such a "brotherhood" should, conceivably, be robust enough to survive and continue to "manipulate society from behind the scenes" even today. Seems fishy to me, and is another weak point in the authors' presentation.
Their most compelling evidence cited is the unmistakeable signs of water erosion on the body of the Sphinx (also a crucial element from "Fingerprints.") Why do Egyptologists wilfully ignore this clear indication of the actual age of the monument?? I'd like to hear the orthodox explanation, which of course is not presented in this book.
One point that is driven home is the notion that modern Egyptology is a religion rather than a science. The "orthodox" view of ancient Egyptian history is based largely on findings made by amateur treasure hunters during the British colonial period a century or more ago. We have much more sophisticated techinques and a better quality of information now at our disposal; why are we clinging to beliefs based on older, less reliable research? In a true science, theories are changed when new data becomes available, but Egyptologists have a tendency to dismiss or ignore any data that challenges what they already believe. There's always value to be found in divergent thinking, even if it is eventually proven wrong. Off the top of my head, I refer to Galileo and Darwin as "divergent thinkers" whose theories (of a heliocentric solar system and of evolution, respectively) were ridiculed at first.
I can understand Egyptologists' professional indignance when confronted with theories from "armchair researchers" who have done no actual fieldwork, and have not devoted their lives to study of Egyptian antiquity. But Hancock and Bauval have come armed with a formidable collection of evidence, much of which consists of FACTS which can be proven (or debunked.) Where is the scholarly rebuttal from thw Egyptological community? It's not enough to dismiss these theories as "ridiculous." Can somebody prove WHY they're ridiculous? It should be easy for an expert to shoot down the so-called "fanciful yarn" presented in this book, but so far I've seen no-one do it.
Meanwhile there are legitimate discoveries to be made at Giza, based on clues found by ACTUAL field work at the site. There's tangible evidence suggesting the presence of still-undiscovered chambers inside the Great Pyramid and under the plateau near the Sphinx. Work on following these leads proceeds frustratingly slowly. Dr. Zahi Hawas jealously guards the area almost as if it was his own personal property ... any "secrets" found there could be of profound importance to all of mankind, but based on some follow-up reading I've done (beyond the scope of this book) I question whether the public will even be told the truth about what, if anything, is discovered.

a most intriguing work.......2007-04-21

Asking rather more questions than it answers, "The Message of the Sphinx" purports to use geology to prove that the Sphinx is much older than normally suspected. Also, astronomy is used to show once again that the layout of the Giza plateau represents the sky overhead at the summer solstice in 10,500 BC, which the author theorizes is when the First Time began. Having recently read "The Kybalion," which is a hermetic work supposedly handed down from the Sages discussed in this book, it actually all does sort of fit together - as above so below, as below so above is a mainstay of their system of belief and as such the layout of the Giza plateau and other pyramids in the general area fit the pattern. While I pride myself in not being a credulous person, I found the theories and suppositions put forth by the author to have a strong ring of truth to them - it does make me want to conduct further research and I can feel the frustration in the author that further studies have been so heavily curtailed.

A must-read for anyone interested in Egyptology, ancient civilizations and alternative theories of history.

The Message of the Spinx.......2007-03-09

Way has it taken so long for anyone to come up with this information. I think for the most part HandCock is right on the subject.

A review of the audiobook by a history teacher.......2007-02-08

I picked this one up on a whim. Having already read and reviewed Hancock's "Heaven's Mirror" several years ago, I knew what I was getting myself into - lots of alternative, well-researched ideas that cause you to think, "Well...maybe..."

The first half of the audiobook was just that. Questions about the weathering on the Sphinx. Unexplained unwillingness to research into what lies below the Sphinx (is it a cavern? a room? a geologic anomaly?), challenges to the orthodox Egyptology's interpretions.

Lots of good fun and as a history teacher I encourage challenges to Orthodoxy - for example, until fairly recently the Maya were considered to be wise sages of the rain forest who abhorred violence (turns out they readily engaged in human sacrfices all of the time), the Assyrians of Ninevah were considered to be a fantasy of the Bible and the city of Troy? - a figment of Homer's imagination. So, putting pinholes in orthodoxy has its place.

However, Hancock and Bauval lost me when they began to use Edgar Cayce's psychic readings from the 1930s and 1940s as a legitimate source. Star charts and weathering are legitimate sources. Not mediums. Come on!

To make it worse, Hancock and Bauval launch into an extended discourse on the movement of stars across the sky over the cenutires (called procession). While this had a legitimate point, one that Hancock fleshes out even more in his book "Heaven's Mirror," he goes on and on with it to the point where I couldn't hardly stand to listen to it any longer. The reader, Nick Ullett, did a superb job with the material he was asked to read, but there is no way that listening to nearly an hour of facts and figures about star charts and mathematical equations will be anything but mind-numbingly, eye-crossingly, stupifyingly boring. I listen to audiobooks to perk up my long daily commute. I actually had to turn off the relentless march of the equations just to stay awake! Hancock's points were made in the first 15 minutes - yet he continued on and on and on and on and on...

So, this is really two books - the first half is interesting and full of legitimate points. The second half is butressed by facts from the mouth of a psychic and then becomes an endless lecture on procession that should have been edited.

Final grade: D+

Look To The Sky And Find The Truth.......2007-02-05

In a compelling follow-up to Robert Bauval's (co-author, 1995) The Orion Mystery, and setting the foundation for Graham Hancock's (co-author, 1999) Heaven's Mirror, The Message of the Sphinx is a true history of a great civilization that mainstream history would rather ignore.

The book is split into two sections that are based on an encoded message in the Giza Plateau that is a template for records of a "lost" civilization through the alignment of the pyramids and understanding the true age of the Sphinx.

With the latter, the authors researched then new geological evidence of erosion patterns on the flanks of the Sphinx and conclude it was caused by 1,000 years of heavy rains. By using historical knowledge of weather conditions - those conditions date back to the end of the last ice age -it may make the Sphinx more than 12,000 years old.

The use of computer simulations of the sky show how the pyramids precisely line up to represent the three stars of Orion's Belt at 10,500 B.C. The authors write that this understanding of the sky was crucial to the pharoh's initiation rituals and - with the Sphinx - unlock the records of a civilization that looked to the skies to chronicle their history.

It should be no surprise that the book was then and continues to be discounted by the majority of Egyptologists. But it's these same researchers who have skirted the fact that it was the science, technology and history of grand black civilizations that made this region truly a cradle of human existence.

The Message of the Sphinx is an important exploration into who we were and how the truth is viewed in a clear sky of unbiased research.

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Biblical History of Black Mankind
Revealing The Real Biblical Scriptures
Good but...
A Useful Document for All Theologians
A really good book to have

Biblical History of Black Mankind
C. McGhee Livers
Manufacturer: Shahar Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 097188210X

Book Description

In this book, the author; a Greek and Hebrew language scholar, re-translates selected scriptures from the original Greek & Hebrew manuscripts of the Old and New Testament of the Bible. As the author translated, she found details that our English translations of the Bible have not revealed. These findings include: Blacks' Great Biblical Heritage,

Origin of Blacks Revealed,

Black Skin: A Sign of Prosperity,

The Ethnicity of the First Man,

Origin of Whites and Jews Revealed

Customer Reviews:

Biblical History of Black Mankind.......2007-08-13

Now this is an excellent book. I believe all mankind should read it, however, it is a must read for all people of color. In this book you will find the reasons why black mankind has had such a difficult time throughout history from the beginning to the end and many will also find peace because of our destiny.

Revealing The Real Biblical Scriptures.......2007-01-11

C. McGhee Livers has done tremendous work in taking the original language from 4,000-year-old Greek & Hebrew texts and researching the semantics & language to reveal the true meaning of important Biblical scriptures.

She introduces her work through vocabulary and geneology lists & a map; and then it is a comprehensive, though highly readable exploration of word usage and sentence structure, with a focus on the Book of Genesis.

Chapters include The Garden of Eden, The Queen of Life, The Fall and Adhaim's Three Sons. Livers begins to bring everything together in The Curse of Cain and the summary contained in God's Word to Black Mankind is actually the penultimate coda. Please do not pass up the final chapter, The Story (Written For Children), which could have easily been an introduction to her work.

Documents do not lie, but the manipulation of interpretation has twisted the real meaning of the Holy Scriptures. Livers delivers a vitally powerful book that provides real meaning to the Bible.

Good but..........2006-09-15

Good information but she goes a little too far in the analysis and application of the information.

A Useful Document for All Theologians.......2006-03-22

I have enjoyed this book immensely and believe the writer did a moderately good job of researching and documenting findings. I, however, have had much difficulty finding ways to get in touch with the writer to ask questions and have not been able to validate all of her sources.

A really good book to have.......2006-01-29

very interesting book... I found it to be very detailed it doesnt just give facts it breaks everything down for you... It is a book that has answered alot of questions for me..

The Parthenon Code: Mankind's History in Marble

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pressing issues
Pandora deified...
Quick, fascinating, plausible and memorable value.
Amazing!
A Genuine Ancient Artists' Code Deciphered

The Parthenon Code: Mankind's History in Marble
Jr., Robert Bowie Johnson
Manufacturer: Solving Light Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0970543832

Book Description

The Parthenon Code reveals, for the first time in 2,000 years, the meaning of the seven sculptural themes on Athena's temple. A simple, but hidden artists' code expressed on vase-paintings and the Parthenon sculptures, leads to the astonishing truth that Greek myth/art chronicles in great detail the reestablishment of the way of Kain (Cain) after the Flood.

Customer Reviews:

pressing issues.......2007-02-28

When I hear my university colleagues condemn vanity presses, I often object, and I do so because of books like The Parthenon Code. Surely hobbyists such as Mr Johnson deserve an avenue for presenting their work to the public. The rigorous review to which juried publications are subjected demands, perhaps, an unnecessarily burdensome familiarity with scholarship in the appropriate fields of study, to say nothing of a career's worth of work in the academy and environs. My only regret for this book is that Mr Johnson has not yet quite mastered the conventions of scholarly discourse, where -- in the words of the great Dorothy L Sayers -- "a bland and deadly courtesy is more devastating" than rudely deriding the works of scholars who have devoted their lives to the formal study, teaching, and illumination of, in this case, the classics and the Bible.

Pandora deified..........2006-12-19

There are over 600 flood legends...almost every culture/civilization on the globe has passed down an oral and/or written history about a global flood. Indeed, the only way to fossilize anything is rapid burial underneath sediment and water (how else can one explain millions of fossils around the world) and what of seashells on tops of mountains...etc.

A Christian should not sneer at the idea of others in his faith who accept the authenticity of the very first book of the Bible. Scientific evidence points towards a young earth, as opposed to an old earth, and basic mathematics limits man's existence to a few thousand years, not millions. Indeed, even secular scientists affirm that all of manking descends from ONE woman (mitochondrial DNA). Could that woman be Eve? I think so, but others are welcome to draw their own conclusions.

As for the Book itself, it is a very interesting read. Like the author, however, I wish there were more primary sources fully delineating the meaning and the origins of the Parthenon. I think that Mr. Johnson has made a huge contribution to the study of the ancient world, in that he has posited a unique thesis regarding ancient Greece's greatest monument. While I am disposed to embrace his interpretations--due to my own literal interpretation of Genesis, I fear that the lack of primary sources (from ancient Athenians) may limit his book's influence.

Nevertheless, my imagination was very much excited by this writing, and plan to visit Nashville's Parthenon in March 2007.

Quick, fascinating, plausible and memorable value........2006-04-11

I finished reading this book this week, liked the way the material was presented and particularly appreciated the use of many original sources. I found Johnson's thesis generated many connections for me. For instance, his original reference to Cain as the lame god Hephaistos, cast down from Olympus made me think how, in a very real sense, Cain was crippled by the mark placed upon him by God, concerning which he was surely downcast. Further, it particularly made me appreciate the correlative work of Christ in making the lame to walk.
I thought this work plausible and obvious in that forehead slapping way and regretted that classical mythology has no place in evangelical academia.
In the end, one is left wondering why, if the Hesperides' Garden/Eden was the idyllic original habitat of man, but the actions of Hera/Eve resulted in its forfeiture and estrangement from Deity, how then, was the Enlightening a boon to man?
It interests me that all of mankind, by hook or by Shepherd's crook, seeks a return to Paradise, but must content itself with knowledge, since the natural man is very far from Eden indeed. As Robert Johnson rightly said, on the journey home one must pass through a bloody field east of Eden.
This is a wonderful and provocative book and I would be very interested to read anything else he writes.

Amazing!.......2005-11-04

The Greeks traced their ancestry back to a first couple in an ancient paradise they called the Garden of the Hesperides, always depicted on vases with a serpent-entwined apple tree. Sound familiar? This first couple, Zeus and Hera, were brother and sister, and husband and wife, just like Adam and Eve. They also had two sons who had offspring, just like Adam and Eve. Their sons, Hephaistos and Ares, correspond to Kain (the author uses the Greek spelling for reasons he makes clear) and Abel. It's so amazing and so simple once you see it. Greek artists tell the same story as Genesis except from the opposite standpoint that the serpent enlightened the first couple, rather than deluding them, in paradise.

Nereus of Greek "myth" (whose name means the "Wet One") is Noah. There's no doubt about it. You can check the author's overwhelming evidence for yourself. Herakles is Nimrod transplanted to Greek soil. Hermes is Cush. Chiron is Ham.

I commend the author for shining light on truth that's been there in the dark all along. THE PARTHENON CODE is a very well-written book with great depth, and many ancient illustrations confirming the author's thesis. He has cracked a genuine ancient artists' code. The big question in my mind is, Why have the academics for so long been so blind to the obvious?

Kari Joys, Author of "Choosing Light-Heartedness"

A Genuine Ancient Artists' Code Deciphered.......2005-04-15

The Greeks summarized who they were, where they came from, and what they believed on the east pediment of the Parthenon. In the last hundred pages of the book, Mr. Johnson takes the reader through the computer reconstruction of the figures there based on the physical evidence, one extant sculpture at a time. Holmes Bryant's computer reconstructions are magnificent (Click on "Search Inside" "Back Cover" to see his reconstruction of the Three Fates from the left side of the pediment, and click on "Front Cover" to see the Hesperides from the right side).
Reading those hundred pages gave me the same feeling as putting together a jigsaw puzzle. The author supplies all the pieces of the puzzle so you can evaluate his reconstruction for yourself. When you have finished THE PARTHENON CODE, you will understand what the Greeks were telling us in their myth/art, and on the sculptures of Athena's magnificent temple. Mr. Johnson has deciphered a genuine ancient artists' code.

The Outline Of History (Being A Plain History Of Life And Mankind By H. G. Wells) (Two Volume Set)

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The Outline Of History (Being A Plain History Of Life And Mankind By H. G. Wells) (Two Volume Set)
H. G. Wells
Manufacturer: Garden City Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000HI2F3K

The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity

Average customer rating:

Though Roy is gone, his memory lives on
Simply the Best History of Medicine
My Best Buy this year!
The book was definitely worth the price of admission.
Hefty, tries to cover everything, but lacks details

The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity
Roy Porter
Manufacturer: NORTON & COMPANY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393319806

Amazon.com

Samuel Johnson once called the medical profession "the greatest benefit to mankind." In the 20th century, the quality of that benefit has improved more and more rapidly than at any other comparable time in history. With all the capabilities of modern medicine's practicioners, however, we as a people are as worried about our health as ever.

Roy Porter, a social historian of medicine the London's Wellcome Institute, has written an dauntingly thick history of how medical thinking and practice has risen to the challenges of disease through the centuries. But delve into its pages, and you'll find one marvelous bit of history after another. The obvious highlights are touched upon--Hippocrates introduces his oath, Pasteur homogenizes, Jonas Salk produces the polio vaccine, and so on--but there's also Dr. Francis Willis's curing of The Madness of King George, W. T. G. Morton's hucksterish use of ether in surgery, and research on digestion conducted using a man with a stomach fistula (if you don't know what that means, you may not want to know). Porter is straightforward about his deliberate focus on Western medical traditions, citing their predominant influence on global medicine, and with The Greatest Benefit to Mankind, he has produced a volume worthy of that tradition's legacy.

Book Description

Hailed as "a remarkable achievement" (Boston Sunday Globe) and as "a triumph: simultaneously entertaining and instructive, witty and thought-provoking . . . a splendid and thoroughly engrossing book" (Los Angeles Times), Roy Porter's charting of the history of medicine affords us an opportunity as never before to assess its culture and science and its costs and benefits to mankind. Porter explores medicine's evolution against the backdrop of the wider religious, scientific, philosophical, and political beliefs of the culture in which it develops, covering ground from the diseases of the hunter-gatherers to today's threat of AIDS and ebola, from the clearly defined conviction of the Hippocratic oath to the muddy ethical dilemmas of modern-day medicine. Offering up a treasure trove of historical surprises along the way, this book "has instantly become the standard single-volume work in its field" (The Lancet). The Greatest Benefit to Mankind was a finalist for the National Book Critic's Circle Award and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and a New York Times Notable Book of 1998.

Customer Reviews:

Though Roy is gone, his memory lives on.......2007-02-22

Roy has an erudite style and a level of detail that makes this book both a joy to read and a reference to use frequently. His references and bibliography alone are very extensive - the kind I would expect in a PhD - even though he claims they are not exhaustive. Clearly, Roy was setting a standard for his students, colleagues and followers. His illustrations show his debt to the Wellcome foundation.

Simply the Best History of Medicine.......2006-11-28

This wonderful book by Roy Porter is simply the best available history of medicine. It is long and detailed, as befits a huge topic. It is Eurocentric, as is most of modern medicine. It stresses the scientific origins of the development of modern medicine.
While doing all of these things, it remains a very readable book. Porter's writing style is lucid and at times entertaining -- quite welcome attributes in a tome on the history of medicine.
Having waded through other histories of medicine, I believe this is the best. And the paperback version is a wonderful bargain!

My Best Buy this year!.......2005-08-10

This is a magnificent overview of the history of disease and medicine from antiquity to the modern age. Porter writes with humour and insight, selecting carefully from the abundance of evidence the significant moments and figures. Both fascinating and informative this book is also extremely good value with its 718 pages, plus bibliography and index. This is my best buy for the year.

The book was definitely worth the price of admission........2005-08-02

Although very tedious, this book was chock full of information. Mind you, I would never have purchased this book for leisure reading. (This was a required text for a college class) I did, however, find this book both interesting, intellectually stimulating, and detailed.

Hefty, tries to cover everything, but lacks details.......2005-07-27

Imagine trying to squeeze the entire history of medicine, from the birth of the craft with Hippocrates all the way to the modern age of AIDS and Dr. Kevorkian and all points in between into 800 pages. It's a goal that Roy Porter attempts to make, and he succeeds to some extent.

His primary theme is the development of Western Medicine in Europe and America, and as a historical work it is very well done. He only briefly mentions Eastern medicine and rarely covers "irregular" medical practioners except to say that many members of the public subscribe to their folk remedies.

What he does well is in his coverage of the breadth of the topic. There is hardly an historical point he fails to mention, a significant doctor left out, or a disease left undiscussed. His ability to breathe life into history is exceptional. In what seems like just the span of a few pages, he has covered a huge swath of history seamlessly.

However, the book suffers depth-wise. There isn't hardly enough space to give deep coverage to every topic and Porter skims past many historical items and persons without a second word. The book also has the problem of grouping photos and illustrations together far from the textual contexts that they arise from.

What is most saddening about the history of medicine is that while we have progressed very far in the understanding of disease, we haven't come very far at all in understanding how to Cure disease. Porter pushes this point home as the book draws to a close. What progress has been made has been made primarily in the 20th century with the greater level of technologic progress and antiseptic techniques. However, despite that, acute diseases that vexed humanity for ages still haunt us and chronic diseases that lay dormant in our genes are coming to the fore. The future may hold cures for the diseases we suffer from, but if history is any guide, then management of those diseases is a more likely outcome.

This book works well as a survey of the history of Western Medicine. It provides jumping off points to further research on any number of topics that the reader may not have been previously familiar with. His bibliography and Further Reading sections are chock full of additional texts that will serve anyone wanting more depth. I highly recommend this book.

Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind

Average customer rating:

His own way with words
An insightful book
An insightful book
Important book - but read with a critical mind.
Plant influences on World History

Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind
Henry Hobhouse
Manufacturer: Shoemaker & Hoard
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 1593760493

Book Description

A personal and highly original take on the history of six commercial plants, Seeds of Change illuminates how sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, quinine, and the cocoa plant have shaped our past. In this fascinating account, the impassioned Henry Hobhouse explains the consequences of these plants with attention-grabbing historical moments. While most records of history focus on human influence, Hobhouse emphasizes how plants too are a central and influential factor in the historical process. Seeds of Change is a captivating and invaluable addition to our understanding of modern culture.

Customer Reviews:

His own way with words.......2002-04-15

This book consists of a collection of historical essays about six plants: quinine, sugar, tea, cotton, the potato, and coca. For each plant, the author provides historical information about when it first began to be used (especially by Westerners), and how its use spread across the planet. Some of the information was quite interesting, particularly since the author is British and presents the material from a British point-of-view, emphasizing facts that may be less familiar to Americans. Unfortunately, no in-text citations are provided, but there is a short bibliography at the end of the book. The essays often spill over into topics that are, at best, only marginally related to the subject at hand, such as an overview of Japanese foreign trade in the tea chapter, or the role of corn whiskey in the economy of the Southern states in the early Nineteenth Century in the cotton chapter. Hobhouse has an interesting habit of giving his own meaning to words, such when he defines "Negro" as being a West African Black with sickle cell anemia, or "husbandry" as applying to plant breeding. He also uses the term "slavocracy" to refer to the political situation in the pre-Civil War South, presumably on analogy with "democracy" and "theocracy", but in those words, the first root identifies the rulers, not the ruled. This book may provide a light introduction to some of the topics covered, but I wouldn't rely on it for serious study of an academic nature.

An insightful book.......2002-01-30

I havn't read this book in a while but came across an editorial by Hobhouse recently and I thought I'd check to see if it's still in print. I recall some rather strange notions about our 'current' lack of fiber in our diet and the dire effect it may have, but in most areas where he dosn't range too far afield it's a good read. A reader above found the book racist but I don't recall anything like that. If you like Hobhouse try to dig up Edgar Andersons ' ' Plants Man and Life'. Not an inspired title but a very good book as well.

An insightful book.......2002-01-30

Important book - but read with a critical mind........2001-03-01

Hobhouse is a must for anyone interested in history (particularly environmental history). He provides a new perspective to parts of history that we often don't question. However, reader beware - Hobhouse is an overt racist. Don't take everything he says at face value and be prepared to "toss off" the inflamatory remarks that are sprinkled throughout the book. While an important book, the chapters are poorly organized. Hobhouse attempts to tackle immense topics ("macrohistory") in limited space. He skips around and does not follow a linear format in making his arguments. Be prepared to step back and look at the big picture - he goes on many tangents that, while interesting, he fails to link directly back to his argument. Despite its faults, the book is well recommended - certainly provocative.

Plant influences on World History.......2000-12-25

Totally fascinating. Reminds me of Howard Zim's People's History of the United States. Lot's of facts, figure, and dates without being overwelming, with good continuity throughout the various sections. There is so much about the forces on world history that we don't understand. Would the world have been without widespread Black slavery if there had been no sugar and cotton plantations? What would Africa and the United States be like now? Would China have become a major world power in the 19th century if it had not been for the tea and opium trade? Very thoughtful. I listened to a books-on-tape version from the local library and want to get copies for friends and family.

Average customer rating:

3-5 weeks to ship = a lie
A Testement and Epitaph to Human Cultural Diversity
Ethnography as an Unknown

Secret Museum of Mankind
David Stiffler
Manufacturer: Gibbs Smith, Publisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0879059125

Book Description

6X9In, 576Pp, 1000+ Black & White Photos Travel Four Continents and The Islands of The Seas Through The Pages of This Fascinating Book, Originally Published Nearly A Century Ago. Illustrated With Over A Thousand Black-And-White Photos, The Secret Museum of Mankind Offers A Glimpse Into The Lives of Hundreds of Cultures of Mankind In Nativve Dress, At Work and At Leisure. From Masked Warrior Tribes of New Guinea and Decoratively Intricate Scars of Congo Natives To Heavily Veiled Women of Islan and Incredible Postures of Hindu Ascetics, You Will Be Captivated By The Range of Dress, Body Decor, Traditions, Rituals, and Religions Displayed Within Its Pages.

Customer Reviews:

3-5 weeks to ship = a lie.......2006-02-25

I ordered this on Jan 24, and now they're telling me it won't ship until the end of March. Ridiculous! If you want this book, be prepared to wait while Amazon constantly pushes back your delivery date.

A Testement and Epitaph to Human Cultural Diversity.......1999-09-13

Awesome book. It is made up entirely of captioned photos taken in the, apparently, the 1920's. It subject is indigineous cultures around the world. It's an amazing testement to the diversity of human cultures while also being an epitaph for many of these cultures no longer exist or have been absorbed into Westernized one we live in today. The captions are enthnocentric but the photos boggle the mind.

Ethnography as an Unknown.......1999-06-13

I doubt that you, the reader, will often encounter a review of a book that the reviewer hasn't read (or maybe that's more common than we know). I will eventually buy and read this particular book, if only to see if it's as enthralling as is the original edition from decades ago. I may or may not have the original edition, nobody really knows. The origins of the book seem to be shrouded in mystery. Hopefully, Mr. Stiffler provides some expository information in his introduction. My copy lists no author, date of publication or other information; only the cryptic "New York, Manhattan House."

This is a book that must be read (rather perused) to be believed. One could certainly think the author (?) a racist and a unicultural bigot, if it were not for the fact that there seems to be no race, ethnic group, or gender about which he (?) cannot make a disparaging or condescending remark. All of that aside, however, this is a book (actually the original is "Five Volumes in One") with some of the most remakable photographs one will ever encounter. If, indeed, one person is responsible for all the photographs and did visit all the lands, peoples, and cultures featured, this is one of the most astonishing journals of travel that can be encountered. There are photographs the like of which you will not have seen anywhere else. It is the "Geographic" taken to degrees of documentation they could have achieved only by a conscious decision to toss any pretense of science out the window and replace it with sensationalistic photographs that even the pulps of the day wouldn't have touched. But, oh those photographs!

Other than the preceeding words, I'll write no more other than to say, "You must have this book for your personal library," and "I'll soon add this particular edition to mine."

Average customer rating:

shorter review

great title, laugh out loud humor

A Funny look back in time

Give me a break

I laughed out loud!

Give War a Chance: Eyewitness Accounts of Mankind's Struggle Against Tyranny, Injustice, and Alcohol-Free Beer
P. J. O'Rourke
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Political | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Relations | International | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Practical Politics | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Operation Desert Storm | United States | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Parliament of Whores: A Lone Humorist Attempts to Explain the Entire U.S. Government

Peace Kills: America's Fun New Imperialism

All the Trouble in the World: The Lighter Side of Overpopulation, Famine, Ecological Disaster, Ethnic Hatred, Plague, and Poverty

Holidays in Hell: In Which Our Intrepid Reporter Travels to the World's Worst Places and Asks, "What's Funny About This" (O'Rourke, P. J.)

On The Wealth of Nations (Books That Changed the World)

ASIN: 0802140319

Book Description

In the spirit of his savagely funny and national best-seller Parliament of Whores, Give War a Chance is P. J. O'Rourke's number one New York Times best-selling follow-up. O'Rourke runs hilariously amok by tackling the death of Communism, sanctimonious liberals, and America's perennial bad guy Saddam Hussein in a series of classic dispatches from his coverage of the 1991 Gulf War. Here is our most mordant and unnervingly funny political satirist on: Kuwait City after the Gulf War: "It looked like all the worst rock bands in the world had stayed there at the same time." On Saddam Hussein, O'Rourke muses: "He's got chemical weapons filled with ... chemicals. Maybe he's got The Bomb. And missiles that can reach Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Spokane. Stock up on nonperishable foodstuffs. Grab those Diet Coke cans you were supposed to take to the recycling center and fill them up with home heating oil. Bury the Hummel figurines in the yard. We're all going to die. Details at eleven."

Customer Reviews:

shorter review.......2006-11-29

"Give War a Chance" is a very entertaining book. The book contains a bunch of loose stories about various subjects ranging from communism, to hippies, the 1st Gulf War, how stupid the Carters were, and how evil the Kennedys were.

My favorite three chapters were:
The chapter about democracy taking over in Nicaragua.
The chapter about Dr Ruth.
The chapter about how evil the Kennedy Clan was, and is.

There were also interesting tales about the first gulf war.

great title, laugh out loud humor.......2006-08-13

The title is brilliant, his humor just right, and I always appreciate a fellow libertarian.

Mostly, his book is common sense. War is often a necessary evil that has produced more peace than anything else. Rich taxpayers and the Marine Corps do more for world peace than the 1% of Ben & Jerry's profits that are set aside for that purpose - but then that's stating the obvious, isn't it?

Plus, always relying on diplomacy is naïve, unrealistic (remember Hitler?). People are inherently evil, not good.

And I never knew that O'Rourke used to be a "long-haired peace creep" back in the 60s, although it makes him more authentic. He's been on the Other Side, so he knows what they believe firsthand, making him an excellent critic, far more knowledgable than people who have been either strict liberals or strict conservatives for their entire lives. A "reliable narrator."

A Funny look back in time.......2005-08-20

A solid and very funny look at the crazy folks of the 3rd world. I really enjoyed this man's work and his wickly funny observations about this crazy old world of ours.

Give me a break.......2005-07-30

Typical O'Rourke drivel. Heres how it goes. PJ gets Rolling Stone to pay to send him to Lebanon, Panama (circa Noriega) and some other places where they have lots of guns and bad manners and little of anything else, in the hopes that he will get drunk enough to wander out from the hotel bar, see some "bad stuff" and come up with something funny to say about it. His humor is pointed and well placed at times. Most of the time though he, merely, uses the humor to set up some libertarian screed. Heavy reliance on Cato institute,intern-toadies(who fact check, research and do the academic heavy lifting) at times gives O'Rourke the appearance of knowing his arse from a hole in the ground....do not be fooled. PJ is a Hunter Thompson wannabe, but who lacks HT'S gonads. SKIP IT.

I laughed out loud!.......2004-07-15

This book is insightful, witty, and hilarious. O'Rourke certainly has a biased point of view and glosses over any argument that would say he's wrong (while insulting his opponents, often personally and unfairly), but he makes a strong case for war, capitalism, and freedom.

Some of his comments during the 1991 Gulf War regarding the differences between Sunni and Shiite Muslims seem out of date given September 11, but are interesting nonetheless. I wouldn't have expected someone in the Gulf at that time to see what was coming.

Book Description

PRAISE FOR LIGHT YEARS AND TIME TRAVEL

"This immensely likeable work of pop science traces `man's enduring fascination with light,' from Aristotle's plans for a death ray (burning enemy ships with a giant array of mirrors) to a recent experiment that seems to have sent Mozart's 40th Symphony faster than light, and thus back through time. Clegg is very good at explaining the bizarre properties of light."
-The Guardian

"A fascinating book on a fascinating subject. It brings together all aspects of light in an unusual and compelling manner."
-Sir Patrick Moore

"Light's properties often seem mysterious to the point of being unfathomable. Yet in this extraordinary book, Brian Clegg manages to explain them through the lives of those so fixated with light that they have shaped our perception of it. . . . Clegg's accessible writing style manages to encapsulate the lives of light's disciples with humorous and interesting anecdotes . . . quite awesome!"
-New Scientist

Download Description

An exploration of man's fascination with light

Here is the story of the greatest puzzle in our universe: what is light? Light Years explores our understanding of light from the spiritual interpretations of the Neolithic worshippers at Stonehenge, the Ancient Egyptians and the Mayans, through our first scientific attempts to understand light, and up to the present day. It looks over the shoulders of the great revolutionaries of light theory-Bacon, Galileo, Newton, Faraday, Maxwell, Einstein, and Feynman-and traces the evolution of light driven-devices from the camera to the laser. This piece of real-life science-fiction explains the mind-bending advances of quantum physics that put light at the heart of all matter and which could finally make time travel possible-and change the world as we know it forever. Light Years and Time Travel is an engaging survey of everything we know of the universe's most enigmatic substance.

Customer Reviews:

History of Light for the Layman.......2002-05-12

Written in an easy, flowing style, Mr.Clegg's book is full of interesting and apposite facts about light and the people who gave us the basis of our current understanding. A master storyteller, he does not pontificate or try to blind the reader with science, rather, he opens our eyes to the possibilities afforded by that science - describing it all in layman's terms, but definitely not patronising or 'dumbing-down'.

The first chapter is a taster of the future potential of experimentation with light, outlining some tremendous possibilities. Then we are treated to an overview of the perception of light by the ancients, whose theories were taken as gospel during the Dark Ages and only began to be questioned in the Middle Ages - but even then heresy loomed large for anyone trying to usurp the accepted 'facts'.
Continuing, potted biographies of the greats of science; Bacon, Davinci, Galileo, Descartes, Newton et al, give us a clearer picture of the problems that the new wave of scientists faced.

Then we get into the meat of the problem - what is light made of? (which is still not fully answered). Fascinating insights into recent and modern theory and fact leaves one's mind boggling, trying to contain the concepts, speeds and distances involved.

Immensely readable, I encourage anyone with even a passing interest in light, science or history to read this book - they will be rewarded by a new persective of the world.
As further reading, I also recommend 'Unweaving the Rainbow' by Richard Dawkins.*****.

Superb History of Light.......2002-05-09

Engaging, full of vivid history and a peek at the future.......2002-02-08

I read this book on a flight back from the UK and it was fascinating. Well researched and with a compelling pace it takes the reader through the colorful back streets of philosophy and science as it struggles with the questions of light. In doing so the author brings together not only answers to what is light but ties it to time and life itself. A thoroughly enjoyable book for the casual student of history, science or life.

Illuminating reading!.......2002-02-01

I couldn't disagree more with David Hurburgh's review above... I loved this book from the first page... it's a great mix of science (Yes, I now actually have an understand of what light's really about...) and history: a really great, mind-expanding read about a deeply fascinating subject!

Light Years and Time Travel.......2002-02-01

This book will help you understand light. From the Ancient Egyptians to Renaissance artists to modern day, you'll be taken through the exploration of light and it's relation to space and time travel. Anybody who is interested in iconic scientists such as Bacon, Descartes and Einstein should read this fascinating narrative. The writing is accessible and will also appeal to those interested in quantum physics and mechanics.

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