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.

Average customer rating:

Excellent book, excellent service
A mixed bag

A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder
J. R. Partington
Manufacturer: The Johns Hopkins University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs: Biological and Chemical Warfare in the Ancient World
Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, and Pyrotechnics : The History of the Explosive That Changed the World
Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide to Siege Weapons and Tactics

ASIN: 0801859549

Amazon.com Reviews

Warriors have used incendiary weapons from the earliest times. In this comprehensive study, English chemist and historian J.R. Partington traces their origins to Assyrian bas-reliefs from the 9th century, B.C., and even finds hints of them in the Old Testament (see Proverbs 26:18, for instance). Firearms technology took a great leap forward with the advent of so-called Greek fire, used by the Byzantine fleet to defend Constantinople against Arab attackers in the 7th century, and then later versus the Crusaders. One of history's first secret weapons, Greek fire is poorly understood today. Contemporary accounts describe nozzles spouting a fiery liquid that would burn even on the surface of the sea. Experts have tried to determine the exact nature of the substance--the recipe has been lost--but without reaching any definitive conclusions. Partington offers his own theories about one of the great mysteries of premodern warfare. He also describes the advent of gunpowder, exploring the legend of supposed inventor Black Berthold (a mythic figure, says Parrington) and examining the development of firearms in Europe, the Middle East, and China. First published in 1960, A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder is a classic work on the development of military technology. A number of illustrations embellish the text, written in workmanlike prose that is at once scholarly and accessible to serious readers. --John J. Miller

Book Description

For nearly 600 years, from the battles of the early fourteenth century to the dropping of the atomic bomb at Hiroshima, firearms derived from gunpowder and other chemicals defined the frightful extent of war. The apparatus and materials used in World War I would have been familiar to our remote ancestors. In this classic work, first published in 1960, James Riddick Partington provides a worldwide survey of the evolution of incendiary devices, Greek fire, and gunpowder.

Greek fire, a composition Partington believes was made of a distilled petroleum fraction and other ingredients (but not saltpetre), was most famously used in the sieges of Constantinople and the Crusades. Partington moves from its antecedents--other incendiaries used in ancient warfare--to European gunpowder recipe books (The Latin Book of Fire, Bellifortis, and Feuerwerkbuch) and the history of infernal machines, mines, canon, small arms, and artillery. His book includes chapters on gunpowder and weapons in Muslim lands, India, and China--including fire books, the use of gunpowder as a propellant, the artillery of the Mughal Emperors, and the use of saltpetre in explosives. He traces the development of gunpowder to eleventh-century China and cites the first known mention and picture of a firearm in 1326.

"The history of gunpowder and firearms has attracted many authors with varying interests. The general historian must take account of major inventions effecting revolutions in the life of nations. The historian of science is concerned mostly with the invention of gunpowder. The historian of technology examines the development in the manufacture of explosives and weapons, and the way in which gunpowder has found applications in the peaceful arts. The military historian deals mainly with the use of gunpowder as an explosive and a propellant... and the development of firearms and their use in warfare. No recent book in English (or for that matter in any language) has attempted a concise survey of the subject."--from the Preface

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book, excellent service.......2006-11-08

The book was delivered in a very short time, by the way, it's an excellent book.

A mixed bag.......2003-08-03

[At the beginning, I must point out that the book I read was the 1960 hardbound edition, and some of what I have to say might not apply to later editions.]

This large book is filled with interesting information on the origins of incendiaries and gunpowder, from ancient Assyria, up to around 1500 A.D. The first chapter looks at incendiaries, and includes a marvelous investigation into the ingredients of Greek Fire. After that, the book turns to the origins of gunpowder in the West, and the evolution of its use in warfare. The next two chapters are quite fascinating, focusing on firearms and pyrotechnics in Muslim lands and China. The final chapter is a quick look at saltpeter.

I must admit to having found this book to being quite a mixed bag. F.E. Morgan's (1960) introduction bemoans the development of military technology, and seems quite out of place in this book. As for the text itself, the author wrote this book for a scholarly audience, and it shows it. That is to say, it is written in a dry, even turgid manner that is bound to put the casual reader to sleep.

Customer Reviews:

Some great plays.......2006-02-08

My favorite play was Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. I'm not sure if this is out in any other form, but certainly the book is worth buying just to read this play, which has the deftness and economy of a classic Greek text, and the emotional range and subjective depth of a modern classic. She's my favorite author of plays.

Greek fire;: The fabulous secret weapon that saved Europe,

Average customer rating:

Greek Fire by W.H. Spears Jr.

Greek fire;: The fabulous secret weapon that saved Europe,
W. H Spears
Manufacturer: Adams Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006BZCW4

Customer Reviews:

Greek Fire by W.H. Spears Jr........2005-04-13

This is the third of three novels in a series by Spears inspired by Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. While it is part of a series, it is perfectly able to stand on it's own. Using historical research and a talent for the literary art, Spears tells the story of two peoples, the Greeks in Constantinople and the Saracens who when we meet them are laying siege to Constantinople, the Capital of the Greek Byzantine Empire.

Storming the walls proves to difficult despite repeated attempts, so a naval blockade to starve the Greeks into submission is launched. The blockading ships encounter a devastating weapon when the Greeks appear. Greek Fire, which is not put out by water, can be sprayed out of giant flame-throwers on Greek ships burning the enemy's fleet.

The first use of Greek Fire causes Ali ibn Abdulla to lose his father and have his life intertwined with that of a Greek Captain and his son born the same day as the battle that takes Ali's father's life.

Delving into alchemy, espionage, religion, Bedouin life, the Pilgrimage to Mecca and naval warfare, among other things, with travels from Constantinople, Mecca, Alexandria and Spain, this book spans two generations and displays Spears talent for storytelling.

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs

Average customer rating:

It should be better
Wanna be weapons of mass destruction
Myth and Warfare - Definitely Worth It
A Catalog of Ancient Nasties
An Outstanding and Much Needed Book

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs
Adrienne Mayor
Manufacturer: Overlook TP
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 158567608X
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Book Description

With the news full of talk about bioterrorism and chemical weapons, Adrienne Mayor's exploration of the origins of biological and unethical warfare is an attention-grabber that follows through with fascinating illustrative episodes. A meticulously researched page-turner, Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs draws extraordinary connections between the mythical worlds of Hercules and the Trojan War, the accounts of Herodotus and Thucydides, and modern warfare.

This is the first book to trace biological and chemical warfare to its ancient roots, and Mayor's thought-provoking findings are riveting. Drawing on sources ancient and modern, Mayor describes ancient recipes for arrow poisons, boobytraps rigged with plague, petroleum-based combustibles, choking gases, and the deployment of dangerous animals and venomous insects. She also explores the ambiguous moral implications inherent in this kind of warfare: Are these nefarious forms of warfare ingenious or cowardly? Admirable or reprehensible?

Science magazine called Mayor's The First Fossil Hunters "rich, spirited, and eminently readable" and Newsday praised her ability to "merge the fields of paleontology, archaeology, and classical literature." Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs finds similar success merging mythology with modern science and the ethics of warfare.

Customer Reviews:

It should be better.......2005-12-04

Greek Fire, Poison Arrows and Scorpion Bombs, by Adrienne Mayor, has a promising title. It claims to be about biological and chemical warfare in the ancient world, but this book comes far short of its claims. Although the book is divided into chapters, it jumps around chaotically, there seems to be no order to the presentation as Mayor's jumps topics, chronology and geographics. There is almost an implication that China, India, Rome, Persia, Greece and others elsewhere were developing similar weapons simultaneously, despite the years and miles that separated them. This book is so repetitious; the same stories are retold, some even within the same chapter. It is not clear what is chemical, biological, myth or history. Are elephants, camels, bears and dogs biological weapons in the normal sense of the term? There is very little presented in terms of science and technology, and this topic demands it. Worse are the ridiculous conclusions that fall from the scant evidence in the ancient literature, particularly the myths, where she does not hypothesize, but makes unconditional claims that the evidence clearly shows the use of these weapons. Throughout the book she throws in her self-righteous moralizing, with an underlying anti-west, anti-religious bias, reaching her peak with the ridiculous rant in the last chapter about modern weapons and their dismantling (the US government can't win, even in trying to rid of the weapons). Does she really believe that burying nuclear waste (only a fraction from weapons) underground will cause earthquakes (page 255)? The endnotes (there are no linked footnotes) offer little about where to find more information. I wanted this book to be better; it is an interesting topic, but it is a poorly written and edited disappointment.

Wanna be weapons of mass destruction.......2005-10-08

Since the terror attacks of 9-11, a lot of attention has gone into the science and threat of weapons of mass destruction. Unfortunately, there has been little history to accompany it, especially within the American popular press. This is unfortunate, as both biological and chemical weapons have been used extensively throughout human history by many nations and armies against other nations and armies. In this context, this is a good book to read to gain historical and moral perspective on the use of such weapons.

This book provides a history of the science and use of both chemical and biological weapons within the context of Western recorded history. The book begins with references of these types of weapons in ancient Greek, such as in the tasks of Hercules. The use of these weapons in warfare is then covered, such as how Roman armies would poison the water supplies of their enemies, or how white settlers purposely infected Native Americans with diseases like smallpox during the colonial era.

The book does a good job of covering the science and technology of these weapons, their efficacy and reliability in use, the decision-making and moral balancing that decided their employment, and their relative importance on and off the battlefield compared with other weapons and military tactics.

The book is lacking on one front; it completely leaves out the use of addictive drugs in war. Whether it was opium in China, alcohol in North America or cocaine in South America, the use of addictive drugs by one group of people to weaken, enslave and even destroy another group of people is common practice in the history of man. Granted there might not be enough historical evidence to document such behavior. But overall, it is a good book to read and worthy of any bookshelf.

Myth and Warfare - Definitely Worth It.......2005-08-30

You will enjoy this book even if you don't care for military history. I recommend this for anyone interested in ancient Greece and parallels to modern reality. This was well-written, entertaining and not too academic. I liked the weaving in of myth, the practical truth behind it. You won't be disappointed.

A Catalog of Ancient Nasties.......2004-09-14

Mayor's "Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs" purports to be an historical survey of biological and chemical warfare in ancient times. Certainly we knew a lot about naptha (Greek Fire), a much-feared incendiary weapon, and I think poison arrows were fairly well known too, but her research has uncovered several other strange and disgusting ways of killing people, such as pouring molten pitch, distilling snake venom, cultivating diseases and, yes, bundling venomous snakes or scorpions up and lobbing the resultant "bomb" in the enemy's direction. The book is a pretty good compilation of these various methods. Nevertheless it is a very, very dry compendium; it also gets ahead of itself. Is it really fair to say that elephants, as used by Hannibal, were a "biological" weapon - if so, then every cavalry battalion has been a weapon of mass destruction. Nonetheless a very interesting work, if somewhat disappointing in presentation.

An Outstanding and Much Needed Book.......2004-04-24

Greek Fire is an extraordinary book. To put the subject of the book plainly, it deals with biological and chemical warfare in the ancient world from myth to history. I had not given much thought to the use of chemical and biological agents in the ancient world, focussing instead on the more familiar weaponry and tactics. The majority of historians and certainly the people we know probably believe that chemical weapons were created in World War I, with the advent of mustard and other gasses. This is very far from the truth and Adrienne Mayor provides us with the missing link in the ancient world: the use of dangerous agents to cause mass destruction.

The book is well organized into subjects dealing first with the mythic origin of chemical weapons: Hercules and the Hydra. Ms. Mayor proceeds to discuss poisoned arrows, defeating enemies by poisoning water and diverting streams, winning a victory by poisoning the food your enemies will eat, the use of insects and animals against enemies and creating chemical weapons, such as flame throwers. We learn that the ancients understood that animals such as rats and mice were the cause of plagues, how shamans went out to gather dangerous plants and how they were handled in the preparation of weapons and how real Pandora's boxes existed filled with plague-generating material.

Ms. Mayor often includes modern parallels to the ancient stories, including recent events, to show that the use of chemical and biological weapons were (and still are) used to create fear of the weapon. I found it surprising to learn that Winston Churchill ordered poison gas used against the Kurds in the 1920s. This book is a wealth of information about the development and use of chemical and biological weapons in the ancient world, the feeling engendered about the weapons and the clever stratagems employed many times in the use of these weapons. As one reads this book, its importance becomes more evident with each chapter and you wonder why no one has come to realize the long history of terror weapons and how people felt centuries ago is still relevant to our time. Greek Fire is a well-written and its subjects are thoroughly discussed. It is a hard book to put down and will not disappoint.

Greek Fire: The Story of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis
Average customer rating:

Hearts On Fire.

A GOOD BOOK

false claims

Excellent book!

Could Not Put it Down Kind of Book!

Greek Fire: The Story of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis
Nicholas Gage
Manufacturer: Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Deadly Sins of Aristotle Onassis

Maria Callas: The Woman behind the Legend

Nemesis : The True Story of Aristotle Onassis, Jackie O, and the Love Triangle That Brought Down the Kennedys

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Maria Callas: An Intimate Biography

ASIN: 0375402446
Release Date: 2000-10-03

Amazon.com

Nicholas Gage's meticulously documented and consistently absorbing account chronicles the stormy love affair between Maria Callas (1923-77) and Aristotle Onassis (1906-75). Gage sees the soprano who reinvented the art of opera and the tycoon who transformed the shipping industry as kindred spirits, drawn into romance by a deep connection to their Greek origins and a shared sense that, despite all they had achieved, something was missing. They found that absent element in a once-in-a-lifetime passion, which Onassis betrayed by marrying Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968. Gage appears to share the view of the tycoon's Greek coterie, who viewed this marriage as an act of hubris that inevitably led to financial and personal reversals which embittered Onassis in his final years. But he doesn't blame the tycoon for Callas's decline, pointing out that by the time they met, she was already experiencing severe vocal problems and was eager for respite from her taxing performance commitments. In any case, her career and his business dealings take a back seat here to Gage's evocative portrait of his subjects' outsized personalities and the jet-set society in the gaudy postwar years. Some of the new information is revelatory, particularly Gage's persuasive contention that Callas bore Onassis a son who died hours after his birth in 1960. At other times his investigative-journalist approach seems too weighty for this highly personal story of love, rage, and big, big egos. Fortunately, these lapses don't seriously mar a text distinguished by smooth prose, the seamless interweaving of several narrative strands, and a warm sympathy for its genuinely tragic protagonists. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

The love affair of Maria Callas and Aristotle Onassis scandalized and fascinated the world from the moment it began in 1959 during a cruise on the fabled yacht Christina. In the decades since, dozens of books have been written about the incandescent diva who transformed opera and the Promethean tycoon who revolutionized international shipping, but none has focused on the tempestuous relationship between them, which is widely thought to have collapsed following Onassis' celebrated marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy in 1968.

Now, Nicholas Gage, author of the acclaimed international best-seller Eleni and a former investigative reporter for the New York Times, gives us the first and only full account of this fateful romance, presenting startling new information he has uncovered. Gage was able to persuade the couple's associates, relatives, and close friends--some of whom had never spoken before--to share their most intimate recollections. He also gained access to some of Callas' most private papers, which provide an utterly new view of her personal life. His narrative shows us that the Callas and Onassis relationship, far from being a passing dalliance, was in fact the deepest and longest-lasting emotional commitment either of them ever knew.

Gage meticulously reconstructs the events leading to the affair, from Callas and Onassis' first meeting at a masked ball in Venice in 1957 to the tycoon's pursuit of her throughout Europe, culminating in the 1959 cruise. It was during this three-week summer holiday, hosted by Onassis and his wife, Tina, that Aristotle and Maria's daily encounters ignited passions before the alarmed eyes of the crew and other illustrious guests, including Sir Winston and Lady Churchill. We follow the couple through the ensuing press hysteria and the rancor of their shattered marriages; the days of bliss and battles on the island hideaway of Skorpios; the agonizing deterioration of Callas' voice; and the strange covert courtship Onassis conducted prior to his marriage to the widow of the American president, a surprise that stunned the world once again and nearly destroyed Callas.

Within days of his marriage to Jacqueline Kennedy, Onassis was back at Maria's door. Although they were never to marry, the relationship between the tycoon and the diva, Gage reveals, would continue and deepen, through tragedies and trials, until the end of their lives.

Penetrating the mass of published misinformation concerning his subjects, Nicholas Gage gives us the most reliable account ever of these legendary figures, a brilliant dual biography of two icons of the golden age of glamour. Greek Fire is an operatic spectacle of desire and loss, certain to transform our understanding of some of the most compelling personalities ever to capture our imagination.

Customer Reviews:

Hearts On Fire........2006-11-26

I started reading this story fews days ago and I just couldn't put it down.A good book,good photos inserted and it's the full saga ever told about the Onassis's dynasty,though many events aren't evidently true.

A GOOD BOOK.......2006-07-28

I bought this book at a Supermarket Charity book sale, and I liked it. It told of the relationship between Ari and Maria as well as Jackie. I couldn't put it down, and it is a great summertime reading book.

false claims.......2006-01-02

This is a trashy book and the reader can only feel disgust at the indignities heaped upon this great artist. There are numerous inconsistencies and fabrications which defy reason and are not consistent with known facts, as follows:

If Maria Callas had been pregnant the world would have known about it because her condition would have become increasingly visible with each passing month. Gage states on pg 201 that after december 1959 "she would not appear in public for the next several months," ie. until March 1960 when according to him, she gave birth to a son.

This is a ludicrous claim as there are many photographs taken in February 1960 of Maria Callas in public, where she is as slim as ever and wearing dresses tightly fitted at the waist. One example is with Antonio Ghiringhelli at the première of Fellini's La dolce vita on 5 February 1960, in the Teatro Capitol in Milan and in the 2nd week of February in Paris she was photographed with famous coiffeur Alexandre and her agent Michel Glotz at the Théâtre des Champs Elysée, among others. The photographs prove that it is not possible by any stretch of the imagination to claim that in February 1960 Callas was 7 months pregnant.

According to Gage, on pg. 204 Maria said in an interview with France-soir on 13th Feb 1960 "«I don't want to sing anymore. I want to live, just like a normal woman, with children, a home, a dog..." If Callas no longer wanted to sing, what about her famous performances later in the same year, of Norma at the Epidaurus theatre in Greece, negotiations for which began in Jan/Feb 1960? It should be noted that Maria officially denied that this supposed interview with France-soir ever took place! Her denial was reported in the Greek press on 19th Feb 1960.

Another ridiculous claim in the book is that Maria Callas wanted to deliver the child early, at 8 months, and that "the clinic was not equipped to deal with the crisis", etc.
In the 60's cesarians would only be performed if severe medical abnormaliies were detected. In Italy (largely catholic) physicians were forbidden from assisting patients in either the prevention or termination of pregnancy. At that time over 50% of babies born before 37 weeks died, and physicians were well aware of the dangers to both mother and baby. No physician would have allowed themselves to be pressured into taking such a risk, especially with somebody of the stature of Maria Callas.

Finally, the 'documentary evidence'for the birth and death of the supposed baby son are not evidence at all. Nowhere does it state the names of the baby's parents or the date and time of death which would be the case in official records. The issue date on these 'documents' is 23/10/1998 and 22/10/1998 (can be seen near bottom left in the poor reproducions) these documents were therefore not found in Maria Callas' private papers at the time of her death, as Gage states on pg 207. There is no concrete evidence linking these papers to Maria Callas at all.

It also seems too convenient that Maria's maid Bruna Lupoli who has always refused to speak to anyone about Callas, waited 40 years before revealing to Gage (a complete stranger, whom she has never met!!) this sensational secret of a baby son. This is surely stretching credibility.

The reason why this book seems believable and has perhaps fooled so many people is that Nicholas Gage is a skilled journalist and therefore able to successfully fabricate a story and make it sound credible, no matter how false or ridulous the individual 'facts'.

I would advise anybody who appreciates the great art of Maria Callas not to touch this book, as it is demeaning to her as an artist and a woman.

The story of this supposed baby born to Maria Callas is a complete fabrication and should be refuted wherever possible for the sake of historical truth.

Excellent book!.......2005-10-28

I read this when it first came out in paperback and cannot recommend it enough. This book sizzles! Anything and everything you have ever wanted to know about Callas and Onassis. This is a book that is difficult to put down. I read this in one sitting.

Could Not Put it Down Kind of Book!.......2005-09-30

I loved this book. I am the type of person who cannot seem to finish a book unless it totally captures my interest but this book from the beginning to end poured information about both Callas and Onassis that were so interesting. Although I felt the detailed day-to-day schedule on the voyage of Christina when Callas was on it was a bit boring due to too much details but it was still facinating. Mr. Gage, just seems really committed to relating facts, which is above all most important when writing biographies. Thank you for the wonderful book, Mr. Gage. Bravo! on a wonderful job.

Average customer rating:

Courtesy of Teens Read Too
Highly entertaining
Footnotes gone wild...

The Fire Thief (Fire Thief Trilogy)
Terry Deary
Manufacturer: Kingfisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Flight of the Fire Thief (The Fire Thief)
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ASIN: 0753458187

Book Description

International best-selling author Terry Deary reinvents the myth of Prometheus, the Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to the human race. To escape the gods" revenge, Prometheus travels through time to a murky metropolis called Eden City. There, he befriends a motley assortment of comic characters and learns what humans have done with his gift of fire. Enter our narrator: Jim, a young orphan, actor, aspiring novelist, and petty criminal who rids the wealthy of their worldly possessions. With the help of Jim, Terry Deary masterfully interweaves two plots, with the action jumping at a whirlwind pace from Mount Olympus to the seedy taverns and elegant mansions of Victorian Eden City. Prometheus has a soft spot for humans in need, but using his powers to get his new friends out of trouble will betray his hiding place to the gods! Using humorous footnotes, shameless puns, and literary references to everyone from Dickens to Poe, Terry Deary has created an original work that will have readers laughing out loud.

Customer Reviews:

Courtesy of Teens Read Too.......2007-07-03

I think kids between the ages of 4th to 8th grade would love this book. It is short and easy to read and the footnotes are hilarious.

It begins at the dawn of time with Prometheus, who is chained to a rock because he brought fire to humankind. Theus, for short, was a titan and Zeus, the king of the Gods, made sure that he never forgot what he did. Every morning while chained to the rock, a fury would come and tear out his liver. Of course by nightfall Theus would be alive again. Well, when we start the story, Hercules has arrived and helped Theus escape. Zeus discovers this and challenges Theus to find a hero among the humans. If he does he will be forgiven.

Theus sets out and crosses time to 1858 and lands in the murky city known as Eden City. Eden City is very Dickens-like. It is full of zany characters, poor people, rich fiends, and thrilling situations. There Theus meets Jim, an orphan, who has fallen in with a diabolical thief, Uncle Edward. He gets involved with their caper and within twenty-four hours all of the characters lives have changed for the better.

Terry Deary, while teaching about Greek mythology, has written a story that is exciting and funny -- which is a wonderful combination. This is the first of three books in THE FIRE THIEF series, and I need to go finish the second one. Go pick up a copy of THE FIRE THIEF. You won't be sorry.

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

Highly entertaining.......2005-10-16

This book begins with Prometheus (yes the Greek Titan) escaping his bonds of captivity. Then he flies two million years into the future (around 1858) trying to escape the fury of the gods. In this future he meets a boy and his uncle. Jim, the boy, is an orphan that Edward, the uncle, adopted. They are actors (and thieves) whom befriend Prometheus. Will Prometheus be able to escape the wrath of the gods? Will Jim and Edward be able to help him? Find out by reading Fire Thief.

I found this book highly entertaining. It had many, many funny parts in it. The footnotes at the bottom of the pages made it even more hilarious*. I also enjoyed how the two stories (Ancient Greece and Eden City 1858) were combined together. It was a fairly easy-to-read book and isn't very big, so I think you should take a few hours and read Fire Thief. Anyone who needs a good laugh should read this book.

*Things like this would be at the bottom of the pages, except that they would have something funny written on them.

[...]

Footnotes gone wild..........2005-10-05

I love this book and the cover! It was very colorful and it attracted my attention. It worked and it is on my bookshelf at home. I really appreciated the saracasm from the younger Jim and the way the fate of Promethus after the end of the book is a good cliff hanger. I could have purchased another book but that book didn't catch my eye such as this one.

Flight of the Fire Thief (The Fire Thief)

Average customer rating:

Flight of the Fire Thief (The Fire Thief)
Terry Deary
Manufacturer: Kingfisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0753458195

Book Description

Browsers and young students alike will enjoy these lively question and answer books with their unique mix of realistic illustration and engaging cartoons. The enticing questions will amaze, amuse and inspire, while the highly visual format encourages kids to keep reading.

The Fire Thief Fights Back (The Fire Thief)

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The Fire Thief Fights Back (The Fire Thief)
Terry Deary
Manufacturer: Kingfisher
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Book of the Sword: The Darkest Age II (Darkest Age)

ASIN: 0753459701

Book Description

Sam and his mother are swindling the people of Eden City with their medicine show, selling "miracle" cures to their gullible audiences. When their ruse is rumbled and the Eden City residents go after them, Prometheus steps in to help out. Meanwhile, they find an unlikely ally in Zeus-who helps get them out of their predicament, but not without a cost. In exchange, he wants Sam and Prometheus to help settle a score with the monsters of Greek mythology. The Fire Thief trilogy builds to a spectacular showdown between the Greek gods and a whole crew of mythical monsters-with plenty of action and Terry Deary's unique humor along the way. Readers are in for an unexpected and memorable climax.

Average customer rating:

Useful as social history
sorority life

Spring Fire (Lesbian Pulp Fiction)
Vin Packer
Manufacturer: Cleis Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Another Kind Of Love
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Journey to a Woman (Lesbian Pulp Fiction)
I Am a Woman

ASIN: 1573441872

Book Description

Spring Fire was the first lesbian pulp novel ever published. The original 1950s cover blared: "A story once told in whispers now frankly, honestly written." Shameless and seductive in an era when lesbian lives were hidden from view, Spring Fire chronicles the story of Leda and Mitch, two sorority sisters at a Midwestern university who stumble into a forbidden love affair. While their romance ends unhappily - in order to satisfy U.S. postal inspectors who would have seized shipments of a novel that affirmed lesbian love - Spring Fire touched the lives of countless lesbian and gay readers and cleared the way for the hundreds of lesbian pulps that were to come. This edition includes a new introduction by the author describing the story behind the novel's initial publication.

Customer Reviews:

Useful as social history.......2005-08-30

It's a bit strange to evaluate this as literature, given that the author had to alter the novel to get it past censors (who the publisher believed would have stopped the book's distribution through the mail, apparently using a federal statute -- I'd speculate relating to obscenity -- if it had been found to proselytize for homosexuality). The alterations are half-baked -- you can almost see what the plot would have been anyway, and you can definitely see the parts grafted on that just don't fit the rest of the story. Whether the alterations were deliberately glaring (a wink-wink to the lesbian readership), or whether they were just the poor plot design of a young author, it's hard to say.

The portrayal of 1950s sorority life is a pretty dramatic side point, at least to a 21st-century reader (who, admittedly, still went to college in the 20th). The cliquishness and the sorority's singleminded pursuit of organizational status provide an interesting window into how timeless social maneuvering is (I associate it more with high school than college, but then I was not in the fraternity/sorority system). There's one character other than the protagonist who is a somewhat independent thinker who gets chewed up and spit out by the groupthink.

The love story is interesting as a study. This book was widely read by lesbians of the time; it's tempting to conclude this is a reasonably good portrayal of 1950s lesbianism. But it could be that no other portrayals were readily available. Or it could be that this is appealing as erotica, but is not realistic. In any case, the guilt and self-loathing one might expect are there in varying degrees amongst the characters. And the way that guilt and self-loathing probably make relationships more difficult (particularly when you're still exploring your sexual identity) rings true.

There's a guy who might be gay (that's what I got reading between the lines, but it's not addressed and not resolved), and is portrayed somewhat sympathetically, although most of the men portrayed are pigs. Female bisexuality is touched upon as well.

I've spent some time with lesbians, and I'm not sure whether this enhances my understanding of them or not. But it was fun to read as history, both of 1950s college and as a lesbian milestone. And it's a fast read, too, if that matters to you. Read the introduction after you read the book; it was written by the author about 50 years later and discusses things like the ending ... I like to read a book before I read someone else's critique (let alone the author's).

By the way, the seemingly-random title (it is revealed in the introduction) comes from the fact that James Michener's The Fires of Spring was coming out around the same time, and they hoped to sell some books via confusion.

sorority life.......2005-07-06

One of the things I love about this book is its depiction of sorority life. That is the real story here: the inside workings of rush week, pledge life etc. Of course the lesbian love story is very touching in the light of what's going on today. All in all this is a rich read.

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