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.

Black Working Wives: Pioneers of the American Family Revolution

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Black Working Wives: Pioneers of the American Family Revolution
Bart Landry
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Gender & Grace: Love Work & Parenting in a Changing World

ASIN: 0520236823

Book Description

Long before the 1970s and the feminist revolution that shattered traditional notions of the family, black women in America had already accomplished their own revolution. Bart Landry's groundbreaking study adds immeasurably to our accepted concepts of "traditional" and "new" families: Landry argues that black middle-class women in two-parent families were practicing an egalitarian lifestyle that was envisioned by few of their white counterparts until many decades later.
The primary transformation of the American family, Landry says, took place when nineteenth-century industrialization brought about the separation of home and workplace. Only then did the family we call traditional, in which the husband goes out to work while the wife stays at home, become the centerpiece of white middle-class ideology. Black women, excluded from this model of respectability, embraced a threefold commitment to family, community, and career. They embodied the notion that employment outside the home was the route to more equality in the home, and that work was worth pursuing for reasons other than economic survival.
With a careful and convincing mix of biography, historical records, and demographic data, Landry shows how these black pioneers of the dual-career marriage created a paradigm for other women seeking to escape the cult of domesticity and thus foreshadowed the second great family transformation. If the two-parent nuclear family is to persist beyond the twentieth century, it may be because of what we can learn from these earlier women about an ideology of womanhood that combines the private and public spheres.

Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia (Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture)

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Forced Founders review
FORCED ARGUMENTS
Who Were America's First Freedom Fighters?
A must read for anyone even attempting to study the era.
great read

Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia (Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture)
Woody Holton
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807847844
Release Date: 1999-07-05

Book Description

In this provocative reinterpretation of one of the best-known events in American history, Woody Holton shows that when Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and other elite Virginians joined their peers from other colonies in declaring independence from Britain, they acted partly in response to grassroots rebellions against their own rule.

The Virginia gentry's efforts to shape London's imperial policy were thwarted by British merchants and by a coalition of Indian nations. In 1774, elite Virginians suspended trade with Britain in order to pressure Parliament and, at the same time, to save restive Virginia debtors from a terrible recession. The boycott and the growing imperial conflict led to rebellions by enslaved Virginians, Indians, and tobacco farmers. By the spring of 1776 the gentry believed the only way to regain control of the common people was to take Virginia out of the British Empire.

Forced Founders uses the new social history to shed light on a classic political question: why did the owners of vast plantations, viewed by many of their contemporaries as aristocrats, start a revolution? As Holton's fast-paced narrative unfolds, the old story of patriot versus loyalist becomes decidedly more complex.

Customer Reviews:

Forced Founders review.......2007-07-06

Woody Holton, in his book Forced Founders Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia argues that Americans weaned on the stories of the Virginia elite, who for ideological purposes decided a revolution was needed, are misinformed. Desperation was the true reason that Virginia, and the likes of Jefferson and Washington and the other privileged gentry, moved towards declaring independence from British rule. Their desperation was in response to growing pressures placed on the gentry class by other segments of society. Forced Founders is divided into four parts covering three time periods. The first two parts cover the time period that is essentially the decade after the Great War for Empire, from 1763-1774. The third part covers the years 1774-1775. The fourth and final part covers the year of 1776. In all four parts Holton looks at the Virginia elite and their relations to various parties during that time period. The two parts Holton breaks the first time period down into are the problems that the gentry faced, and the solutions they came up with for those problems.
In Holton's thesis, he states "that the Independence movement was powerfully influenced by British merchants and three groups...Indians, farmers and slaves." (206) Holton uses letters and papers from contemporaries of the time. He also uses secondary sources to fill in the gaps. These sources he uses to good effect. Unfortunately, he only scratches the surface of the pressure these groups placed on the gentry class. One weakness of his research is that he has not found new sources,
but uses existing sources of the gentry class, to explain their relation to the other classes. Even though Holton acknowledges the bias of the elite, he says he was able to get the other groups' perspective. (xxi) While Holton's goal is to show that the revolution was not just a tax revolt, but also a class conflict (206), the book focuses mainly on the economic reasons that these groups were able to affect Virginia's elite society. This focus changes the typical perception that most Americans have of the founding fathers; it makes them seem less principled and god like. They are more identifiably human, as they are shown to be looking out for themselves. The examples that Holton uses are supportive of his thesis, but due to the breadth of the issues associated with these groups, his examples only scratch the surface of the importance these groups played. A second problem is that the Virginia gentry are still the primary focus of the book. Those groups that exert pressure on the founding fathers continue to be relegated to the second tier in importance. A better title might have been Virginia's Founding Fathers: The Economic Pressures That Drove Them to Revolution since most parts of the book deal with the economic effects each of the groups had on the Virginia founding fathers. Besides economic concerns, Holton alludes that another reason for the drive to independence was the founding fathers fear of losing their preferred position in society.
I felt that Forced Founders was a good read though it suffered from its brevity. A more in depth look at other pressures besides economic ones placed by these groups on the gentry would have strengthened his thesis. In addition, despite offering a slightly different perspective on the social elite of Virginia, Forced Founders still has them as the primary focus, continuing to foster the second-class status of other groups, thus perpetuating historians' tendency to consign them to its back page.

FORCED ARGUMENTS.......2006-05-02

While the book is a "good read" and "thought provoking," I have serious contentions with Holton's interpretation and analysis on many levels, not the least of which center on his lack of understanding and/or misinterpretation of the military and Indian issues which he attempts to cite as supporting his thesis, and which in turn causes me to question his other conclusions in "Forced Founders."

First, he apparently does not know the difference between the provincial militia of the royal colony, the independent militia formed at the resolution of the First Virginia Convention (and Continental Association after the First Continental Congress), or the Virginia militia as constituted by Virginia's revolutionary government, the Virginia Minutemen (as different from common militia) formed by the state in response to a resolution by the Second Continental Congress, the formation of Virginia State Troops or the establishment of the Virginia Continentals. To him, all those organizational concepts seem to be interchangeable.

Second, it is true that Virginia's last royal governor, John Murray, the Fourth Earl of Dunmore, formed his "Ethiopian Regiment" by offering freedom to the military age male slaves of rebel masters (not all slaves), but Holton's explanation leads the reader to believe that the project was an overwhelming success. The primary source documents show that it was never accepted into Provincial service, and with less than 100 "effective" men present for duty, and about 60 sick on board hospital ships in May 1776, the regiment was disbanded. Furthermore, they were not Dunmore's only available troops. So how their presence forced slaveholders to support the revolution is questionable.

Holton also neglects to mention Dunmore's raising of the Queen's Own Loyal Regiment of Virginia, which was composed of white Loyalists. It too, like the Ethiopian Regiment, never amounted to much and was disbanded in 1776. But Holton doesn't mention them at all!

Third he mentions the battle of Kemp's Landing (a skirmish, actually) in November 1775, in which Dunmore's "army" (not just the black troops) drove Virginia militia from the field. He says nothing about the December 1775 battle (actually a larger skirmish) of Great Bridge that was a decisive American victory and forced the British to evacuate Norfolk (and Virginia until 1780).

Furthermore, Dunmore's army was about 600 strong, including the white Loyalist regiment, all the Loyalist militia he could muster, plus British sailors and marines, as well as the Ethiopian Regiment. Therefore, it is unlikely that the Ethiopian Regiment ever neared full "establishment" strength of 800 men, so I believe Holton overstates their influence. Also, the American force included Continentals, State troops, minutemen from Fauquier, Augusta and Culpepper Counties (from the western part of the Colony), as well as volunteers from Princess Anne and Norfolk Counties, including one company of "gentleman volunteers," and 250 North Carolina men.

Nor does Holton say much about those slaves who chose to stay with their masters, and how their action influenced decisions to support independence.

As for the founder's being forced by fear of the Indians, his argument on that score is also weak.

First, does he consider the Treaty of Camp Charlotte, which Dunmore negotiated with the Shawnee, Mingo and western Delaware nations in October 1774, when they conceded defeat in "Dunmore's War"? After his flight from Williamsburg in June 1775, the terms of that treaty were finalized between Continental and (Revolutionary) Virginia Indian Commissioners and the same Indian nations in the Treaty of Fort Pitt in October 1775. The two treaties essentially kept the peace on Virginia's frontier (including in Kentucky) from 1774 until 1777 (after independence was declared!). So, Holton's claim that fear of the Indians forced the founders into supporting independence seems to be a weak one to me.

Second, Dunmore did plot to solicit the Ohio Indian nations to attack settlements on the Virginia frontier, unless its inhabitants affirmed their loyalty. However, the party of three Provincial officers he dispatched to put the plan into action (led by John Connolly), were captured by Maryland minutemen in the town of Hagers Town (Hagerstown) in November 1775, and Connolly was subsequently imprisoned in Philadelphia. The abortive plot was discovered when incriminating papers were found in Connolly's baggage, which was the source of Jefferson's indictment in the Declaration of Independence that king was "inciting the savages."

Third, Holton apparently also does not understand the operation of the Indian polities. He fails to mention that the Six Nations of Iroquois, who considered the nations in the Ohio country their "dependents" by right of conquest and "spoke for" them, were trying to maintain their neutrality early in the war. After being convinced by the officers of the British Indian Department (operating from Fort Niagara and Fort Detroit, not Virginia) that it was in their best interest to support the king against "the Bostonians," most of the Six Nations (the Onondaga, Cayuga, Mohawk and Seneca) and their "dependents," (Wyandot, western Delaware, Shawnee, Mingo and others) did finally come into the war in early 1777, when they struck backcountry settlements, according to British Indian Department officers, "from Fort Stanwix (at the head of the Mohawk Valley in New York) to the Ohio" and that the American backcountry "From the Susquehanna to the Kiskismenitas Creek upon the Ohio, and from thence down to the Kankawa [Kanawha] River is now nothing but an heap of ashes."

Finally, I don't believe Holton ever makes a convincing argument that tenants exerted influence to force their aristocratic landlords into supporting independence, and his argument about debtors falls short of being conclusive.

Who Were America's First Freedom Fighters?.......2005-05-21

In Forced Founders, Woody Holton writes about five non-elite groups in pre-Revolutionary America who struggled for relief from a long list of economic and political imperial burdens. Small landholders, merchants, debtors and even Native Americans and slaves in Virginia were affected by a global depression in which the price of tobacco had fallen close to its lowest historical levels, prices of other commodities had plummeted and the credit market had collapsed. Elite, wealthy Virginia gentlemen farmers like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry felt the squeeze but for Virginia's non-elites, the confluence of adverse economic factors became an overwhelming millstone. Everyone in Virginia suffered the effects of the Navigation Acts that restricted colonial trade only to Britain. Everyone was forced to adjust to the boycott of Britain passed by the Continental Congress. Virginia's economy staggered when small businesses and landowners defaulted on their debt, faced foreclosure of their assets and sunk into economic ruin. Holton's thesis is that well-to-do colonial Virginia leaders were pushed to choose rebellion against Britain by these non-elite groups whose meager resources made them defenseless against this toxic brew of imperial oppression and negative global economic conditions.

Perhaps the most powerful force behind the fight for independence was the paralyzing debt incurred by Virginia's growers. It was held primarily by their British merchant counterparts who bought their tobacco, sold them supplies and lent them money. The Virginians' debt was even more overwhelming because it landed on their balance sheets during one of the worst recessions of the colonial era. Virginian Arthur Lee wrote in 1764 that American colonists owed British merchants ₤6 million and British mercantilist policies drained an additional ₤500,000 a year from the tobacco colonies. Virginia's small landholders and business people - and no doubt, their counterparts in other colonies - realized British commercial, monetary and immigration policies favored the mercantilist-creditors back in London. Thus it was that debtors in Virginia became unrelenting critics of British policy, making them a persistent political force in favor of independence.

Virginia land speculators thwarted by British governance were another perpetual burr under the saddles of the colony's leadership, not least because of the unrest and threat of attack they created among Native Americans. Although the Indians ultimately lost the commercial, legal and military battles they fought in defense of their land, their efforts through tribal coalitions to enlist British support were irritatingly effective. One of the unintentional results of the Indians' occasional success against the white land speculators was pressure from them on Virginia's leadership. Independence from Britain would permit Virginia land speculators to move against the Indians, unimpeded by imperial interference.

Like all whites in pre-Emancipation America, colonial Virginians considered black Africans a serious threat to their security. Their fear boiled over when Virginia slaves began to negotiate in 1775 for their freedom with British Governor Dunmore in exchange for military assistance to help control civil unrest. White Virginians who'd been independence-neutral or British loyalists became overnight patriots. For them, the only way to restore order, preserve ownership and protect property was to escape British governance and begin a new governmental regime. It was ironic the slaves' ploy for personal freedom frightened Virginia's elites to support the fight for American independence.

Holton guides readers of Forced Founders through an intriguing but occasionally awkward review of the influence of non-elite groups on Virginia's road to Revolution. Its virtue is its point-of-view; its burden is its less-than-focused scope. In the end, it appears he does too little with too much.

However Holton is to be commended for thinking outside the box. He uses primary sources from the gentry to study Virginia's economically and politically important "non-gentlemen" because, says Holton, their records reveal the gentlemen as powerfully influenced by the actions of smallholders, slaves and Native Americans. Working top down and one class removed, he shows the American Revolution was not just a rich man's war. Historians are well-advised to incorporate such 360-degree-point-of-view thinking in all their examination of primary sources. As they pursue this method, however, they must focus their theses and remain alert to the dangers of scope creep.

A must read for anyone even attempting to study the era........2003-08-30

One of the most common misconceptions of Americans today centers around the revolutionary war, specifically the fact that this war was caused by colonist unrest due to excessive taxation, chiefly in Massachusetts. Fortunately, Holton is able to modify this fallacy, as he presents towards massive strife in the Virginia colony that can be linked as a direct cause of the revolutionary war.
By presenting tension between everyone from debtors and creditors to oppressed minorities (slaves and Native Americans) and the Anglo Saxon majority, Holton is able to paint a much more realistic picture of the times. Readers will be shocked by evidence presented; especially notable is the substantiation of rich landowners actually wanting to exterminate the slave trade prior to the war, almost akin to a sumptuary law, to preserve social boundaries. Also notable is the documentation of how close battle came to breaking out in Virginia as a result of Dunmore's actions, far prior to any serious action in Lexington, Concord, or even Boston.
Although this book makes an interesting read in correcting some of the misunderstandings more than two centuries of time have created, it also works well in conjunction with a study of the rest of the war. When Dunmore's actions are viewed as a precursor to those of Cornwallis, Tarleton, and Clinton, an even more worthwhile and in depth study of the era can be begun.
Thus, whether the reader is just has an interest in the time period or is a scholar striving to make connections, Holton's work is an excellent read. One can only hope that Holton or others can help paint a more realistic picture for the other twelve colonies.

great read.......2001-09-01

Ours is an age when we worry about consumer debt (and consumer confidence), terrorists, and an energy crisis. In other words, when we feel our society a little wobbly it is great to read Woody Holton's book and find similar concerns in pre-revolutionary Virginia. Virginians were caught up in a "web" that included a debt crisis, fear of indian raids, slave uprisings, and class struggle. "Although no one can deny their importance [great leaders], the thesis of this book has been that the Independence movement was also powerfully influenced by British merchants and by three groups that today would be called grassroots: Indians, farmers, and slaves." (p. 206)How we relate to Holton's thesis probably depends on how we feel present day worries influence voting (thinking) patterns.
While the specific subject of this book is pressures that resulted in revolution, the facts presented here could be used to make a wider case about the "web" that every generation finds itself in. What will our consumer crisis, energy shortage, fear of terrorists lead to?
Holton writes well and is to be commended for his presentation.

Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America (Institute of Early American History)

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not my cup of tea.
Student Review
The origins of women's political activism in America

Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America (Institute of Early American History)
Linda K. Kerber
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807846325
Release Date: 1997-02-05

Book Description

Women of the Republic views the American Revolution through women's eyes. Previous histories have rarely recognized that the battle for independence was also a woman's war. The "women of the army" toiled in army hospitals, kitchens, and laundries. Civilian women were spies, fund raisers, innkeepers, suppliers of food and clothing. Recruiters, whether patriot or tory, found men more willing to join the army when their wives and daughters could be counted on to keep the farms in operation and to resist enchroachment from squatters. "I have Don as much to Carrey on the warr as maney that Sett Now at the healm of government," wrote one impoverished woman, and she was right.

Women of the Republic is the result of a seven-year search for women's diaries, letters, and legal records. Achieving a remarkable comprehensiveness, it describes women's participation in the war, evaluates changes in their education in the late eighteenth century, describes the novels and histories women read and wrote, and analyzes their status in law and society. The rhetoric of the Revolution, full of insistence on rights and freedom in opposition to dictatorial masters, posed questions about the position of women in marriage as well as in the polity, but few of the implications of this rhetoric were recognized. How much liberty and equality for women? How much pursuit of happiness? How much justice?

When American political theory failed to define a program for the participation of women in the public arena, women themselves had to develop an ideology of female patriotism. They promoted the notion that women could guarantee the continuting health of the republic by nurturing public-spirited sons and husbands. This limited ideology of "Republican Motherhood" is a measure of the political and social conservatism of the Revolution. The subsequent history of women in America is the story of women's efforts to accomplish for themselves what the Revolution did not.

Customer Reviews:

not my cup of tea........2006-10-13

personally i felt the book sucked, was long, boring, etc.

however, it is very well written, arguments are backed, etc. Kerber wrote a masterpeice if this subject interest you.

i only read it for class. so if your looking for some quick info about the book:

the main point of it is republican motherhood: the idea that women in the revolution could have a political influence, without being able to vote, by shaping the ideals and morals of their children, boys to vote and lead, and the girls to raise other good boys.

i would definately read the entire introduction 2 times as it overviews the whole book. the last 10 pages are worth reading too

Student Review.......2006-08-05

I had to read this book for class. FREAKING BORING. the happiest day of the summer was the day i finished this book.

The origins of women's political activism in America.......2000-05-23

Kerber effectively demonstrates the limits of women's roles at the outset of the American Revolution and shows how these roles changed. For instance, Enlightenment thinkers, such as Rousseau, thought that women should be confined to politically passive domestic duties (a view which prevailed at the beginning of the Revolution). Kerber focuses on several women--Mercy Otis Warren, Abigail Adams and Mary Wollstonecraft--who exeplified politically active women that defied these 'Enlightenment' views. Though these women were the exception, they influenced other women that it was acceptible to be politically informed and still excell in their domestic duties. According to Kerber, this led to a political transformation of women's roles termed "Republican Motherhood," a concept that encouraged women to be informed politically and use their domestic influence to raise virtuous republican sons, and to politically influence brothers, husbands and fathers. This transformation from politically inactive domestic roles to active, Kerber argues, laid the foundation for the women's rights and abolitionist's movements.

Characters of the Reformation: Historical Portraits of the 23 Men and Women and Their Place in the Great Religious Revolution of the 16th Century

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Reformation Information
Great Read for those who are making the full circuit Catholic to Evangelical to Reformed
The Reformation Viewed by the Character or Lack of Character of Some of the Leaders
Finally the Truth!
Wonderful!

Characters of the Reformation: Historical Portraits of the 23 Men and Women and Their Place in the Great Religious Revolution of the 16th Century
Hilaire Belloc
Manufacturer: T A N Books & Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0895554666

Book Description

Perhaps the most fascinating book ever written by this great Catholic historian. Here in bold, living colors Belloc sketches the destructive results of the greed, lust, weakness, tenacity, blindness, fear and indecision of 23 famous men and women of the Protestant Reformation period, analyzing their strengths, mistakes, motives and deeds which changed the course of history. Belloc cites Anne Boleyn, not the weak-willed Henry VIII as the "pivot figure" of the English Reformation, for it was her iron will to be Queen which started the movement. He describes Cromwell, the monastery looter and destroyer, as "the true creator of the English Reformation." He shows how the crafty William Cecil accomplished the task of "digging up the Catholic Faith by the roots" and "crushing out the Mass from English soil." Belloc also highlights the fatal error of Cardinal Richelieu in putting France before Catholicism and thus torpedoing Europe's last great chance of keeping Christendom united. Belloc warns that this breakup of Christendom may still destroy our Christian civilization. Even those who think they do not like history will be unable to put this book down. Brings history vividly to life!

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Reformation Information.......2007-07-26

This is a good book about the people involved in the Reformation and their contribution to the evolvment of the world thereafter.

Great Read for those who are making the full circuit Catholic to Evangelical to Reformed .......2007-03-18

Interesting to read if you have looked at church from both sides now...

The Reformation Viewed by the Character or Lack of Character of Some of the Leaders.......2006-07-09

Hilaire Belloc' CHARACTERS OF THE REFORMATION is an informative book that explains the religious upheaval through the individuals who either supported it or tried to stop it. Belloc is very clear that most of those who supported the Reformation were motivated more by greed and desire for political power rather than any religious conviction.

Belloc begins this study with a background of the Reformation, and explains how the Reformers and those opposed to the Reformation responded to the disunity of the Catholic Church. The historical background is important in that each of those who supported the different "reform" movements conform to the general direction of the Reformation. This early section of the book is important to comprehending the remainder of the book.

Belloc's sections regarding Henry VIII (1509-1547) is instructive. Henry VIII was an intelligent, vibrant man when he first took power in 1509. Yet, due to Henry VIII's lust, he ruined both the Catholic Church in England and his own life because of sexually transmitted diseases. Many uninformed Protestants argue that Henry VIII's break with the Catholic Church was due to his attempt at annulment from his wife, Catherine of Aragon. Belloc destroys this myth. Henry VIII's desire for Anne Bolyn was the reason for his break with the Catholic Church. Readers should also note that Henry VIII considered himself a good Catholic, and he merely replaced the Pope with himself. Henry VIII kept the Sacraments and Liturgy of the Catholic Church. What Henry VIII had to do to keep support of his nobility and members of Parliament was to either sanction or at least turn a blind eye to these people literally looting the Catholic Church's wealth and property including universities, orphanges, farm land, monastaries, etc. This is just one example of how greed was the basis of the English Reformation. Henry VIII's mental instability is reflected in his incrasing cruelty which he thought was power.

Belloc's portrayal of Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540)is one of the best this reviewer has ever read. Cromwell became extremely wealthy and increasingly greedy as he helped Henry VIII and the English nobility loot the Catholic Church's wealth. Belloc states that Cromwell had not religious convictions and was in the English Reformation "for the money" and the political power he gained. This may have been Cromwell's undoing. Cromwell antagonized members of Parliament and especially the English nobility who had the ear of Henry VIII. In other words Cromwell made too many enemies which resulted in the parliamentarians passing a bill of attainder requiring the death penalty.

Belloc presents Thomas More (1478-1535)as a man of honor, courage, and decency. Thomas More was appointed Lord High Chancellor, but More has scruples and religious convictions that could not be shaken. St. Thomas More conceded position, wealth, power, and eventually his life to keep the Faith. More was an intelligent man whose intellect gave him the direction he needed to keep the Faith. One should note that More had doubts about his firm convictions, but he never wavered even when he faced the prospect of execution after a rigged trial. One should note that Mary Queen of Scots was convicted after a rigged trial where she was not permitted to present evidence that would have exonerated her. Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)did not want the execution to take place, but she was so politically compromised by her parliamentarians and nobility who supported the Reformation to keep their loot that she was powerless to stop the execution.

Belloc also presents some of the European Reformation characters. This is an interesting section of the book. For example, Belloc presents the French Cardinal Richleau (1585-1642)as advisor to King Louis XIII (1610-1643)as one who stifled the Reformation in France but abetted it in other areas of Europe. Richleau moved to severely limit the French Protestants, but he helped subsidize the Protestant King of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (1611-1632)during the Thirty Year War (1618-1648). This war may show that the Reformation became increasingly political. Richleau helped reduce the power of the Catholic Hapsburgs in Germany and Spain by enlisting Protestant support. Richleau feared Hapsburgh power against France more than he feared the Reformation. As an aside, King Gustavus Adolphus may have been the only ruler who was a fanatical Protestant, and his soldiers were very brutal in their massacres of Catholics. His death on the battlefield in 1632 may have been unintended justice.

Belloc's incluson of Rene Descartes (1596-1650) and Pascal (1623-1662)may have been overdrawn. Belloc chides Descartes for placing to much emphasis on reason, and Belloc condemns Pascal for his emphasis on emotion. By the time these two men wrote philosophy, the Reformation and Counter-Reformation had exhausted Europe, and their ideas were not that much of a factor. Yet, Belloc gives his readers good accounts of both men's ideas.

Belloc gives accounts of other Reformation figures which readers should follow. Belloc should have presented studies of Martin Luther (1483-1546) and St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556). These men were "major players" during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. This would have effectively enhanced his study.

Hilaire Belloc wrote a solid book. Even though one may disagree with him, Belloc's lucid writing style should attract readers' attention. Belloc states his thesis that the Reformation was much more a politcal and economic phenomena than religious. He cites the individuals who were notable figures, and he explains their motives in light of historical developments and subsequent events. This reviewer highly recommends this book.

Finally the Truth!.......2006-02-04

After several people at my church advised me repeatedly to read Belloc, I finally complied. I am very happy that I did. Hillaire Belloc lays bare the sordid motivations of the Protestant "Reformers" and proceeds to rake them over hot coals. It is very easy to complain about priestly corruption, but if you seize land from monasteries, sell the lead from the stain glass windows, and keep the profits, you gain a great deal of money and power. Although Belloc tends to be very "Anglo-centric," his conclusions are very well supported. According to him, England's Protestant regime was so influential in exporting Protestantism through arms sales, money, and military advisors that if England had not become Protestant, the whole revolt would eventually have fizzled out. This is not to say that he never covers other nations. His descriptions of Germany, Scotland, Sweden, and the failed attempts to impose Calvinism on France make for fascinating reading. For those of us brought up with the "traditonal" interpretation of the "REformation," Belloc proves invaluable. To all you Catholics out there, I say "Read this book!!!"

Wonderful!.......2005-04-04

This is a beautifully written and fascinating account of the twenty-three main protagonists of Reformation Europe, from Henry VIII to Louis XIV. Belloc includes incredible detail around the lives and times of such as William Cecil and his dwarfish son, Robert, the true rulers of Elizabethan England. This book further expands on Belloc's theory, first put forth in "How the Reformation Happened", that the Reformation was really a rising of the rich against the poor. Belloc provides startling revelations relative to the looting of Church properties in Reformation England that led its looters to becoming the new landed gentry, who then ran the Parliament and ultimately usurped the throne of England with the elevation of William III, of Orange. This work is outstanding and essential. I recommend reading Belloc's "How the Reformation Happened" first and then reading this great book.

To read Belloc is to have the feeling of listening to a remarkably wise and talented story teller, who has the patience and grace to speak to you from his heart relative to matters about which you should care deeply. Before reading Belloc, I do not think I truly understood European history. Thanks to his wonderful work, I feel as if I am beginning to discern the great truths of this all important saga of human history.

Recasting American Liberty: Gender, Race, Law, and the Railroad Revolution, 18651920 (Cambridge Historical Studies in American Law and Society)

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Review of Recasting American Liberty (E.J. Chaput)

Recasting American Liberty: Gender, Race, Law, and the Railroad Revolution, 18651920 (Cambridge Historical Studies in American Law and Society)
Barbara Young Welke
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521649668

Book Description

Through courtroom dramas from 1865 to 1920, Recasting American Liberty offers a dramatic reconsideration of the critical role railroads, and their urban counterpart, streetcars, played in transforming the conditions of individual liberty at the dawn of the 20th century. The three-part narrative, focusing on the law of accidental injury, nervous shock, and racial segregation in public transit, captures Americans' journey from a cultural and legal ethos celebrating manly independence and autonomy to one that recognized and sought to protect the individual against the corporate power, modern technology and modern urban space.

Customer Reviews:

Review of Recasting American Liberty (E.J. Chaput).......2007-01-24

With the keen judgment for which she is so well known within law and society circles, Barbara Young Welke has produced a compelling and engaging work centering on the restructuring of the notions of liberty in the American polity from the end of the Civil War to the Progressive Era that will attract a wide audience. "The era of steadfast commitment to American ingenuity and independence," according to Welke, "was replaced by the era of ordered liberty, liberty assured through restraint" (4). It was through the injuries that women often suffered alighting from trains and streetcars that "the transition from an outmoded ethos of a nation of free men to one that recognized the reality of human vulnerability" occurred (124). Those familiar with her seminal articles, "When All the Women Were White, and All the Blacks Were Men: Gender, Class, Race, and the Road to Plessy, 1855-1914" (winner of the ASLH Surrency Prize) and "Unreasonable Women: Gender and the Law of Accidental Injury, 1870-1920" will be deeply satisfied with this monograph that couples her earlier analysis of gender, race, and class with the development of the modern regulatory movement. Thoughtfully argued and gracefully written, Recasting American Liberty is a valuable contribution to the Cambridge University Press Historical Studies in American Law and Society series which includes works from many outstanding scholars such as Tony Freyer, Andrew Cohen, Michael Grossberg, and David Rabban. Welke's analysis forces the historical community to reconsider the ordering of social relations, institutions, individual identity, and power arrangements within American society. As Welke notes, "Railroads and streetcars transformed accidental injury from unconnected, individual events into a shared American experience, a shared discourse of injury, suffering, and human vulnerability" (80). Welke brings historical depth and philosophical perspective to her narrative and, as a result, truly furthers the understanding of the law of accidental injury, the law of nervous shock, and the law of racial segregation. The traditional subsidy and economic theories of tort law that dominate legal literature say little about "whether individual liberty was increased or decreased by the methods companies adopted to prevent alighting injuries: enclosed cars, gates, pneumatic doors, and limited, marked stops" (105). Recasting American Liberty thoroughly enriches the literature surrounding the impact of the railroads on American society.

Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence

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Women in the Revolution
Loved it!
A well-written and deftly executed narrative

Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence
Carol Berkin
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1400075327
Release Date: 2006-02-14

Book Description

The American Revolution was a home-front war that brought scarcity, bloodshed, and danger into the life of every American. In this groundbreaking history, Carol Berkin shows us how women played a vital role throughout the conflict.

The women of the Revolution were most active at home, organizing boycotts of British goods, raising funds for the fledgling nation, and managing the family business while struggling to maintain a modicum of normalcy as husbands, brothers and fathers died. Yet Berkin also reveals that it was not just the men who fought on the front lines, as in the story of Margaret Corbin, who was crippled for life when she took her husband’s place beside a cannon at Fort Monmouth. This incisive and comprehensive history illuminates a fascinating and unknown side of the struggle for American independence.

Customer Reviews:

Women in the Revolution.......2006-02-25

This book captured the time period of the American Revolution and the role women played in it like no other book I have ever read. I appreciated the focus on particular individuals which really helped bring it to life for me. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about what part women played during the American Revolution. I'm sure you will be both surprised and delighted at your findings.

Loved it!.......2005-06-23

Never in my history lessons have I heard these stories. The struggles of women during the American Revolution were many. I'm embarrassed that I never considered what they went through; partly because we have always been taught only about the hardships on the battlefield. But, in this book, you will read about the many woman who followed the soldiers (camp followers), women who had no other choice but maintain the farms during their husband's absence, women who volunteered in support of the war (spinners, etc), and general's wives who helped boost the soldiers' moral. There are many interesting facts about Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and many other "celebrity" wives contributions during the war. A great book that I will talk about for a very long time.

A well-written and deftly executed narrative.......2005-02-06

Ask most people about women's involvement in the American Revolution and you are likely to hear about Betsy Ross or Molly Pitcher. But Ross may not have been the person who made the first American flag, and Molly Pitcher, says historian Carol Berkin, never existed --- she was an imaginative construct, comparable to World War II's Rosie the Riveter.

Berkin, a history professor at Baruch College and the City University of New York, has sought out the stories of lesser-known but more authentic women --- people like Esther Reed, who organized a fund-raising drive among the women of Philadelphia in support of the Continental Army; Catharine Greene, who endured the rigors of Valley Forge in company with her husband, General Nathanael Greene; and Molly Brant, a Mohawk Indian and British sympathizer who performed skillfully in delicate diplomatic negotiations during the war.

Martha Washington too wins an honorable place in Berkin's female pantheon for her annual trips to be with her husband and his troops even during the war's darkest days.

Berkin is even-handed, devoting space to the activities of Loyalist women as well as American patriots, and not neglecting the lives of black and Indian women. In fact, the single most arresting story in her book is that of Frederika von Riedesel, the wife of a Hessian general who was present at the pivotal battle of Saratoga (where her husband commanded his men on the British side), later endured captivity and long, harsh, forced travels with her husband and small children, was befriended by Thomas Jefferson during a stay in Virginia, and eventually returned to Europe, seemingly with the good will of major players on both sides of the conflict.

Frederika was lucky, of course; her husband's high rank ensured her treatment far better than that accorded to prisoners of lesser rank. But she obviously was a woman of grit and resourcefulness who managed at several key junctures in her American years to turn misfortune to her and her family's advantage.

Berkin gives the reader quick and necessarily somewhat superficial summaries of the active role of women as organizers of pre-war boycotts of British goods, as "camp followers" who did laundry, cooking and sewing for troops on both sides of the fight, and as couriers, spies and other such covert operatives. She is honest enough to admit that some of the stories she tells are based on flimsy evidence --- the perhaps embellished recollections of participants or stories that may have become distorted as they were passed down through familial generations. But the common thread that runs through her narrative is clear --- women were active participants in the great events of 1775-1783, not stay-at-homes. It is a corner of American history worth illuminating.

Berkin's tone is popular rather than scholarly. She does not trumpet the feminist angle vehemently, preferring to let her well-written narrative make its obvious point.

She begins with a survey of the subservient position occupied by women in pre-Revolutionary America, and ends by considering how the wartime activities of women altered post-war male perceptions and led to changes for the better. Her last paragraph leaves the definite impression that there is more to come from Carol Berkin on the subsequent course of American women's emergence from the long shadows of their husbands. In this slim but deftly executed book, she has made a good start on what easily could become a long story.

--- Reviewed by Robert Finn

Ecological Revolutions: Nature, Gender, and Science in New England

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Fundamental text

Ecological Revolutions: Nature, Gender, and Science in New England
Carolyn Merchant
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807842540

Book Description

By exploring the stages of ecological transformation that took place in New England as European settlers took control of the land, Carolyn Merchant develops a fresh approach to environmental history. Her analysis of how human communities are related to their environment opens a perspective that goes beyond overt changes in the landscape.

Merchant brings to light the dense network of links between the human realm of economic regimes, social structure, and gender relations, as they are conditioned by a dominant worldview, and the ecological realm of plant and animal life. Thus we see how the integration of the Indians with their natural world was shattered by Europeans who engaged in exhaustive methods of hunting, trapping, and logging for the market and in widespread subsistence farming. The resulting "colonial ecological revolution" was to hold sway until roughly the time of American independence, when the onset of industrialization and increasing urbanization brought about the "capitalist ecological revolution." By the late nineteenth century, Merchant argues, New England had become a society that viewed the whole ecosphere as an arena for human domination. One can see in New England a "mirror of the world," she says. What took place there between 1600 and 1850 was a greatly accelerated recapitulation of the evolutionary ecological changes that had occurred in Europe over a span of 2,500 years.

Customer Reviews:

Fundamental text.......2007-06-23

Ecological Revolutions is an absolutely fundamental text in the fields of Colonial and Environmental American history. This book, along with William Cronon's Changes in the Land, transformed historians' understandings of Native American relationships to the land, as well as the ecological, economic, and reproductive changes brought by European colonists. Changes in the Land is more entertaining to read, but Ecological Revolutions is more advanced methodologically. I recommend both books heartily.

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A fascinating novel
A gorgeous, thought-provoking Adult Fairy Tale
I wish I loved it
Good, but not great.
Fabulous!

Porcelain Dove
Delia Sherman
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0525936084

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating novel.......2006-04-09

This novel is fascinating and beautifully written. Yes, you have to be read through a mid size book, but why is that such a problem for people? The writing, the mystery and the setting are all enough to be page turners for me.It is so refreshing to come across a book that doesn't fall back on cliches. I'm planning on rereading it, as well recommending it to friends.

A gorgeous, thought-provoking Adult Fairy Tale.......2002-12-27

This is one of the most extraordinary fairy-tale inspired novels I've ever read. Based on old French fairy tales, this magical historical novel concerns an aristocratic family during the years of the French Revolution. Intelligent, beautifully written, and subtle, the surface story (the magical part of the tale) is entertaining and enchanting, but what really makes this book special and memorable is Sherman's subtext: a subtle, dry, witty, and sharply pointed examination of gender and class issues. If you're looking for an historical novel (with magic around the edges) that is smart and challenging, I can't recommend this one highly enough. I've just finished re-reading The Porcelain Dove(after reading the author's excellent new book The Fall of Kings), and it leaves me wishing that someone would bring this fine, under-rated book back into print.

I wish I loved it.......2002-09-20

I am actually in the middle of this book and I wish I were enjoying it more. I chose this book because it received the Mythopoeic Award in 1994 for adult fantasy. I was expecting to read a light, entertaining book with action and fun. However, this book is serious and does remind me of reading the classics. Perhaps I would enjoy it more in a different frame of mind. I had to look up several words on the first page: duchy, chateau, baroque and Circassian. I have also struggled with phrases such as "mise-en-scene", "cabinet des Fees" "nom de Dieu", etc. I will finish this book and I think in the long run I will be the better for it.

Good, but not great........2000-12-12

Despite that it is a beautifully imagined and beautifully written book, it lacks the magic to make it a great or wonderful novel. I enjoyed reading it, but I was disappointed in the character, her development or lack of it, and I guess I just felt the book was missing something. My expectations were very high because it was highly recommended. I would read Delia Sherman again.

Fabulous!.......1999-12-01

Why are there no reviews of this wonderful novel? Sure, it's out of print and annoyingly hard to find, but once it has been found, shipped, and bought, The Porcelain Dove is well worth the hassle of obtaining it.

Set during the French Revolution, narrarated by Berthe, the Femme de Chambre of a large chateau set far back in the French countryside, The Porcelain Dove is a wonderful tale of magic, misery, poverty, humor, wealth, social revolt, hatred, mercy, love, curses and journeys. In short, it contains everything, and with such an authentic voice and eye for detail that the reader cannot help but half-believe this story really was written by a woman growing up in the end of the eighteenth century.

All of the characters in this novel are realistic and multideminsional and interesting, and the narrarator is a gem; intelligent, truthful, and both romantic and pragmatic at once.

The biggest problem others (critics, etc.) seem to have with this novel is that it is too long and lumbering. All I can say is, Moby Dick, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Grapes of Wrath, A Tale of Two Cities, and almost every other classic, beloved book is long and lumbering and slow, which is probably why kids hate reading them in school. However, far from being a handicap, I think such asides and digressions and tangents actually enrich the stories, rather than draw away from them. In a world full of pulp stories and generic Danielle Steele and fast-paced trash, classics that take a long time to read and immerse oneself in stand out simply because of the obvious care and attention and love that went into such works. The extra effort it takes to read through a long and complicated and dense novel makes the experience that much richer, and rather than a chore, I almost always find the supposed *slow* parts of the novel the most interesting and fun parts to read.

Amazon.com

A collection from the world of zines, self-produced works ranging from Xeroxed manifestoes to slickly printed magazines, these essays come thundering up from the underground. Organized around such topics as "friends secrets sex," "music stars idols," and "politics anger power," the selections range from the angry to the funny to the poignant. This is a very good introduction to the world of girl zines, and it's definitely not for the old ladies in Dubuque.

Book Description

In the last decade, there has been an explosion in the production of zines.On the forefront of this cut-and-paste revolution have been those zines made specifically by and for young women. The words and images that have come to define many young women's lives have long been overlooked and under appreciated. A Girl's Guide to Taking Over the World exists because these voices have refused to be silenced.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Compilation of D.I.Y. Creativity.......2004-06-08

I love D.I.Y. - the self-sufficiency of it, making your own rules, the freedom of expression, the "only limited by your own imagination" swing of it - and zines are a perfect example. Such a great outlet for sounding off, acting up, getting silly, making a point, and unrestrained creativity in general.

This is a wonderful compilation of what girls in the zine world have been up to and a great source of inspiration for those who are interested in starting their own or would just like to know there are others out there who feel the same way she does. Due to the lack of almighty higher ups to answer to, the idiosyncrasies, obsessions, and pure raw energy of the authors are not ironed out, watered down, or completely obliterated. Of course, this leads to a mixed bag in the quality department but you can't blame a girl for giving it her all. Editors, Karen Green and Tristan Taormino, have done a fine job of culling from some of the best.

The young women in this book tackle such topics as family, religion, sexism, racism, body image, sex, rape, feminism, guns, and celebrities. There is much insight and wisdom in these pages, as well as humor and a dose of absurdity.

For every female who has ever been told to behave, shut-up, be nice, lose weight, keep your legs crossed, sit up straight, be a good girl, smile, look pretty, blah blah blah...some kind of conduit is needed to release the repressed rage and humiliation. Making a zine is one solution and it's far more beneficial than cutting up your arms.

Zine Primer.......2001-06-19

If you know nothing about zines, then this is one of the best books to start with. If you want to know more about third wave feminism or girl culture (esp. riot grrrl culture), I'd again recommend this book. It's easy to read and articles range from the hysterical tongue-in-cheek "barbies we'd like to see" to the in-depth look at the idea and reality of sisterhood. The articles are as diverse in subject matter as the girls themselves. Queer, Asian-American, African-American, Moms, Jewess--whatever. Almost all shades of the spectrum are covered. But what is truly the essence of the book, and the point of zines, is that nothing is censored, drained of content and put in a pretty, grammatically correct package ready for consumption. It's totally DIY and all the editors did was put together the best so that all girls, even those NOT living in metro USA, could reach out and learn how to get into the loop and meet like-minded young women. Or become a zine-goddess themselves.

bleh........2001-02-24

EXTREMELY disappointing. Admittedly, my expectations were high, but really now. Most pieces were either boring or a complete BACKLASH to the feminist movement. Specifically the piece "Baby don't do it" which is about how stupid you are to get pregnant and how you'll never have a good life and blah blah blah, the pieces written by BUST writers, because their whole magazine (even the pieces in this book) were all a bunch of garbage, including a piece where the writer whines about her dad being the best man in the whole world, so now she can't find a good man because none of them are like her father. BOO HOO. Then there is a piece titled "what does sassy mean to you" and this girl lists all of these horrible things sassy promotes, but then goes on to talk about how great it is. Oh yeah, and there's also an article on how terrible grrrl bands/musicians are today, which is complete trash, because we've never been stronger. I think I've ranted enough.

I bookmarked all of the good pieces that promote real issues and feminist-minded experience, etc. and i got six. six. that's sad, and i'm sorry for those wonderful, amazing women who are being paired with such ....

I probably shouldn't have gone off, but i this book is definitly eye-catching and any grrrl of my generation would drool at the site of it, and that scares me. i don't like knowing that grrrls might feed from such ignorance.

A good read.......2000-06-13

I thought this book was good, I recommend it to most other girls I know, and I really enjoyed reading it. However, I thought it got a little too "literary" towards the end. I wrote a zine as a teenager, and I can garauntee there were no fine-tuned feminist theories or big University words in our zines. Most of what we said, as did the other girls we knew, was stream-of-consciousness, and "untutored" feelings and thoughts. I say leave the studied learning for scholarly publications.

Underground classic.......2000-03-28

I used to pass this book around in Highschool, It's funny, smart, and an eye opener, you realise that there is no matter who you are, someone else out there who understands

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