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.

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time

Average customer rating:

An Unexpected "Couldn't Put it Down"
Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
An interesting read, but not exceptional.
Not a boring science textbook
A Great Story

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
Dava Sobel
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140258795

Amazon.com

The thorniest scientific problem of the eighteenth century was how to determine longitude. Many thousands of lives had been lost at sea over the centuries due to the inability to determine an east-west position. This is the engrossing story of the clockmaker, John "Longitude" Harrison, who solved the problem that Newton and Galileo had failed to conquer, yet claimed only half the promised rich reward.

Book Description

During the great ages of exploration, "the longitude problem" was the gravest of all scientific challenges. Lacking the ability to determine their longitude, sailors were literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Ships ran aground on rocky shores; those traveling well-known routes were easy prey to pirates.

In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. The scientific establishment--from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton--had mapped the heavens in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution--a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on....

Customer Reviews:

An Unexpected "Couldn't Put it Down".......2007-10-16

A "simple" invention that literally opened the world and a man who spent his entire life figuring our how to make it happen, made for a fantastic story ... and a rare book that I really couldn't put down.

Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time.......2007-08-31

A mediocre book , the author clearly has no scientific knowlegde and drags the story out as if it was a Soap opera . No diagrams / drawings / patent descriptions are included , meagre technical information . NOT worth the effort of reading . this publication is an insult to the intelligence . ABSOLUTE RUBBISH . ( and I have read it ). William Asquith .

An interesting read, but not exceptional........2007-06-27

Dava Sobel's 'Longitude' makes for a quick, light read. The story covers an interesting slice of history, but Longitude hardy distinguishes itself as being a great book. The largest problem is that the "lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time," John Harrison, is not a man about whom very much is known. Everything that is known about him could be fitted onto one of the (paperback) book's 175 pages. It's a bit remarkable that Sobel was able to milk a book from minimal and disjointed known facts. The story is really about the longitude problem itself, and the Harrison 'enemies' long-running success in undermining Harrison's solution, a precision chronometer that could maintain accuracy under the widely varied environmental conditions encountered by mariners.

Sobel's 'Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love,' is, in every way, a better book. For those interested in a fast-paced historical exposition of "a lone genius" advancing science but meeting maddening resistance from England's celebrity scientific elite (yes, it's a theme that parallels Sobel's 'Longitude'), by all means secure a copy of Tom Standage's 'The Neptune File: A Story of Astronomical Rivalry and the Pioneers of Planet Hunting,' the story of John Couch Adams' startling genius and the developments of planetary astronomy from William Herschel to our current spectroscopic and mathematical hunt for distant exoplanets.

Not a bad book, but not great either.

Not a boring science textbook.......2007-06-23

Sobel brings science to life in this tell of the quest to solve the navigational conundrum of measuring position. Her writing is visual and fluid. The book tells a gripping story that brings in bits of politics, geography, economics, philosophy, and many other disciplines. It proves that fact can be stranger than fiction. This is a great read for anyone of any age and with any area of interest.

A Great Story.......2007-06-12

Longitude and latitude tell a sailor or aviator or hiker where in the entire world he or she is. If latitude is known, one knows how far north or south of the equator he or she is. But that's a circle all the way around the earth. To find the point on that circle, the sailor's longitude must be known. Without longitude, ships missed resupply islands in the south pacific by a couple of miles or by hundreds of miles - and never knew it. They crashed into rocks wandering around like you would in a dark room - the door is on the other side but, where?

The earth is round and, therefore, there are 360 degrees in the circumference. The earth makes one rotation every 24 hours and the sun stays put. That is, the earth rotates at the rate of 15 degrees per hour. So, if I know the time at some point in the world and I know the local time, I can calculate where I am on the circle of latitude. I can determine local noon and then I look at my very accurate clock and determine the time in, say, London. If it's four hours earlier in London, I know I am 4 x 15 or 60 degrees around the world from London. I shoot the sun with my sextant to find my latitude and now I know where I am.

The problem was - how do I know what time it is in London when I'm in the south pacific. Even on land, clocks were not even close to accurate - they'd lose several minutes a day. Many solutions were proposed - my favorites were the "sympathetic dogs" and the line of cannon firing ships. The dog solution involved having a dog in London and a dog on the ship. Since it was well known that dogs communicate telepathically, if the dog in London was pinched, the dog on the ship would feel it and yelp. So - pinch the dog at noon and - voila! That didn't work so the next idea was to put a string of ships across the oceans beginning in London. Put them at one mile intervals and have the crews listen. At noon a cannon would be fired in London and the first ship would fire its cannon. The second ship would hear it and fire its cannon. and so forth across all the oceans. When a cruising ship heard the cannon, the captain knew it was noon in London. Too many ships, too much money and what to do during a storm.

Harrison's first clock was accurate to 1/2 second per day. That's in the mid seventeen hundreds. That's better than most clocks and watches made anywhere in the world up to about 30 years ago. He ultimately made a large watch - about five inches across - that was able to keep London time so accurately the British Navy could go anywhere and find what they were looking for and the way home. But think of the problems - the ship is rolling and pitching so a pendulum won't work. The temperature and humidity change so the mechanism slows or speeds up or rusts. There were no computer chips or quartz crystals. And there were many important people saying, "God is the answer - look to the heavens."

It's a story about something we take so easily for granted today. Our throwaway watches are more accurate than anything imaginable when Harrison started. An atomic clock measures time to the billionth of a second and we think nothing of it - but without those clocks we would have no satellite communication, no weather satellites, no space program. It's a story about a man who didn't know the answer but was determined to find it. Harrison had no computer, no modern machine tools, no precedent. His story is absolutely amazing. And it is told wonderfully by Dava Sobel. I've read it three times and have enjoyed it each of them.

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Correlation is interchangeable with Causation
The relationship of history and technology
Connecting the dots of human progress
Not everything it's cracked up to be
A great history of technology

Connections
James Burke
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (P)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0316116726

Amazon.com

You can make all the plans you will, plot to make a fortune in the commodities market, speculate on developing trends: all will likely come to naught, for "however carefully you plan for the future, someone else's actions will inevitably modify the way your plans turn out." So writes the English scholar and documentary producer James Burke in his sparkling book Connections, a favorite of historically minded readers ever since its first publication in 1978. Taking a hint from Jacob Bronowski's Ascent of Man, Burke charts the course of technological innovation from ancient times to the present, but always with a subversive eye for things happening in spite of, and not because of, their inventors' intentions. Burke gives careful attention to the role of accident in human history. In his opening pages, for instance, he writes of the invention of uniform coinage, an invention that hinged on some unknown Anatolian prospector's discovering that a fleck of gold rubbed against a piece of schist--a "touchstone"--would leave a mark indicating its quality. Just so, we owe the invention of modern printing to Johann Gutenberg's training as a goldsmith, for his knowledge of the properties of metals enabled him to develop a press whose letterforms would not easily wear down. With Gutenberg's invention, Burke notes, came a massive revolution in the European economy, for, as he writes, "the easier it is to communicate, the faster change happens." Burke's book is a splendid and educational entertainment for our fast-changing time. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

Connections is a brilliant examination of the ideas, inventions, and coincidences that have culminated in the major technological achievements of today. The best-selling companion volume to the "unusually intelligent television series" (Christian Science Monitor) produced by the BBC and broadcast by PBS in autumn 1979, it was conceived in the tradition of the highly popular Civilisation and The Ascent of Man.Connections masterfully combines popular science and detective work to retrace the steps that led to eight inventions that ushered in the technological age: the computer, the production line, telecommunications, the airplane, the atomic bomb, plastics, the guided rocket, and television.James Burke untangles the pattern of interconnecting events, the accidents of time, circumstance, and place that gave rise to these inventions and to a host of related discoveries along the way. He explains, for instance, how the arrival of the cannon led eventually to the development of movies; how the popularity of underwear in the twelfth century led to the invention of the printing press; how the waterwheel evolved into the computer. He links these inventions with one another and with the stream of history, exploring them with dazzling insight.

Customer Reviews:

Correlation is interchangeable with Causation.......2006-08-10

After having consumed the Connections book, television miniseries and audiobook, I would like to comment on the three.

In terms of the volume of content, the book is peerless. It is by far more comprehensive than the audiobook or the tele series. It also allows the reader the luxury of re-reading selections or dwelling on areas as needed. This is not the case, of course with the audiobook or tele series, unless of course, you count the pause button.

The audio version is my least recommended of the three. It is a very demanding piece to listen to, and is generally too involved for the settings in which other audiobooks are generally consumed: driving, doing housework, etc. It is very difficult to follow and visualize all Burke covers without missing a turn on the road or missing a logical leap and having to rewind. However, it is read by Burke with his unique character.

I derive a large degree of enjoyment from Burke's distinctive wit and the frenetic pace at which he presents his material. The very way the tele series is shot showing him forever on the move while on trains, cars, enormous farm equipment, snowmobiles and other vehicles conveys the sense of movement with which progress, science and history are moving forward before our eyes. Actually seeing the processes he describes in the tele series is most helpful.

Finally, all 2 versions include his approach of viewing scientific history as a series of interrelated cause and effect relationships which is most refreshing to me. He stands opposed to the standard American practice of glorifying the inventor or innovator, and instead credits the cumulative body of scientific knowledge, and the more than occasional accident.

For those interested in the subject matter, the print version offers the most comprehensive coverage. But for those who would like a little more entertainment and sugar with their medicine, the pricier tele miniseries is both enlightening and amusing.

The relationship of history and technology.......2006-08-09

I used to regularly watch Mr. Burke's "Connections" television series on cable, and I enjoyed his rather unorthodox portrayal of history. However, some of his connections between events struck me as tenuous at best. Perhaps that was a result of the time constraints imposed by a television show, because many of the same examples appear in this book, and the connections are much more adequately explained.

How are technology, invention and progress impacted by the events of history? This is the question explored by James Burke in this book. Each chapter explores a chain of events and circumstances that produced a sequence of technological advances that ultimately produced a piece of our modern technology. Through these examples, he demostrates how the inventive process is dependent not only on the needs of a particular time and place, but also on earlier developments, many of which are in seemingly unrelated fields. Burke's view of history, which he explains in the final chapter, is a complex weaving of science and technology with the changes in politics, environment and economics, each driving a change in the other, ultimately creating the complex world we live in. This book includes lots of interesting historical information and provides unique insights into the role of science and technology in history.

Connecting the dots of human progress.......2005-09-08

This book is a combination of history, science, and the history of science. It shows how random and often accidental connections between events and individuals have fostered many of the scientific and technological discoveries and advances of mankind around the world. The advances covered include coinage, writing, anesthesia, and modern cities, and the book as a whole is laid out chronologically. The book mirrors the PBS television show of the same name, and hosted by the same person, James Burke; though the book and the show can be enjoyed independently of each other. Both are quite educational in nature, though the TV show is a little more interesting than the book. The book itself is fun to read, with a lot of facts that are well laid out. Overall, this would be a good book to learn about the history of science, and how science has affected history. The way the book is laid out leaves the reader hanging at the end of each chapter. Each new discovery seems to hint to the reader that another one is sure to come, encouraging you to read on. Overall, a good book, but not a great one.

Not everything it's cracked up to be.......2005-08-18

I've always been fascinated by science and history and I thought that this book would be the perfect combination of the two for some interesting (if light) reading. And while the book is somewhat entertaining, the whole book just leaves a dry taste in my mouth.

The "connections" that are supposed to drive the book are typically either weak (The use of stirrups is the reason we speak English today) or plainly obvious (the invention of the plow caused population growth). The excitement I had about pickup up this book faded away rather quickly as I realized this book didn't have much interesting or unique to say, save some random interesting science trivia - most of which I'm skeptical of the validity of.

Another thing that really bothered me about this book was that it was essentially history with blinders on. The book is written with its focus rooted strongly in Western Europe, such that the effect of certain inventions are ignored until they make their way to Western Europe. Burke treats items like the loom that had been in use in China for centuries, or the plow from Eastern Europe, as brand new inventions when they make their way over. For some reason, we're led to believe that these inventions were meaningless until put to use by Westerners, as if they had no effect on society until that point. Were the Chinese just sitting around with the loom, confused about how it could increase their productivity? Of course not, but Burke ignores the effect these inventions had in other areas, greatly weakening the honesty of the book.

So would I recommend this book? Yes. It's entertaining, to say the least, even with its flaws. Will I read further books by Burke? No. His approach to the subject is partially flawed, and partially just plain dull. This subject could be alot more exciting.

A great history of technology.......2005-08-07

I think that this whole series of James Burke is just 1st rate and if you want to look at the world in a whole new way. Then this work is worthy of your consideration.

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Informative, but somewhat misguided
The truth behind the tartans!
The real stuff of legend
interesting but somewhat inconsequential

The Invention of Tradition (Canto)

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0521437733

Book Description

Many of the traditions which we think of as very ancient in their origins were not in fact sanctioned by long usage over the centuries, but were invented comparatively recently. This book explores examples of this process of invention - the creation of Welsh and Scottish â€~national cultureâ€™; the elaboration of British royal rituals in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; the origins of imperial rituals in British India and Africa; and the attempts by radical movements to develop counter-traditions of their own. It addresses the complex interaction of past and present, bringing together historians and anthropologists in a fascinating study of ritual and symbolism which poses new questions for the understanding of our history.

Customer Reviews:

Informative, but somewhat misguided.......2001-02-14

The basic thesis of all essays in "The Invention of Tradition" is that many of the mass, public traditions in various societies of the world (from Scottish kilts to the very concept of tribes in Africa) are well-crafted ("invented") constructs of the 18th/19th centuries, and are not as ancient or immemorial as they are generally believed to be. Parenthetically, the very expression "invention of tradition" is somewhat redundant, since all traditions, as products of human behavior and human imagination rather than the result of natural forces, are invented in one way or another. All of the essays in the book show how this is so, providing an excellent analysis of the origins of these traditions. As such they are very valuable contributions to contemporary social/political history. However, although the tone of the book is that such "invented traditions" were frequently almost imposed and/or used as instruments of political manipulation, it can't be denied that they also very often gave expression to very real feelings - as editor Hobsbawm concedes in his concluding essay. Thus, rather than demonstrating some sort of arbitrary "invention" and manipulation, Prys Morgan's chapter on the Welsh also shows how previous traditions in Wales were revived, reformulated and continuously adapted from the late seventeenth century on to meet various political, social and cultural challenges, thus making the process of invention seem quite "natural." On the other hand, Terence Ranger's essay on Africa is almost disturbing in that it seems to imply that almost every aspect of African politics and society today were bequethed by the continent's former European colonial masters. Hugh Trevor-Roper's chapter on Scotland is useful in that it pinpoints the exact origins of the "highland tradition" and all outer, visual identity markers used by the Scots, but the overall implication seems to be that now that the sham is revealed, the Scots should discard their kilts and bagpipes in shame. It would have been more useful if he had provided an explanation of why Scottish patriots, and others, so eagerly accepted these "invented traditions," and why they are so deeply entrenched and stronger than ever today. This goes for the entire book: it's main value may be in (unitentionally) showing how all traditions are in fact invented in one way or another, and that they become traditions because, at least at the time of their inception, they serve strongly felt political, social, cultural or even economic needs.

The truth behind the tartans!.......2000-10-27

Hugh Trevor-Roper's contribution to this book is priceless. In his chapter "Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland", he details for the reader where the supposedly "ancient" costume of Scotland came from. The kilt was invented by an English Quaker about 1726 to allow his Highland workmen to more easily move while smelting the iron ore he was extracting. The kilt was thus an expression of the Industrial Revolution rather than an ancient freedom of the heather.

The "setts" of tartans purporting to show a particular pattern of plaid belonging to a particular Highland clan is an even more recent invention. The concept of a unified group wearing the same tartan began with the English formation of the Highland regiments in the 1740s and later. The Scottish cloth industry recognized a good thing when they saw it and with the help of the Scottish Romantic movement and with promotion by Sir Walter Scott, by the 1820s, Clan/tartan pattern books (which often disagreed with one another) were happily catering to this invented tradition.

Invented by mis-guided or plainly fraudulent "antiquarians", the concept of particular tartan patterns being associated with a specific Clan is one of the long-running jokes played by the Scots on the rest of the world. Rather like the game of golf.

The real stuff of legend.......2000-07-29

The principle argumentative thread running through each of this book's essays is that the traditions Europeans hold dear about their respective cultures date back merely to the turn of the 20th century. Far from legendarily old, things like Scottish tartans and the English monarchical love of pomp and circumstance date back only to the Victorian era. More to the point, many traditions aren't even native to the land which celebrates them. Tartans, the book concludes, are actually northern English ideas, and the "British" love of pageantry comes more from India than from anything deeply rooted in the gardens of the House of Windsor.

But so what? What is the importance of discovering the "truth" of a legend? Does it make us less reverential of it? Judging by the continued popularity of Santa Claus, no. Traditions, after all, aren't really about truth. Many traditions are simply lies that have been repeated enough that they become ennobled. The point isn't that they were once lies. The point is the journey they have made from lie to legend.

That is what is so intriguing about this book. True, there are other, more political subtexts in these essays-some of the authors clearly don't LIKE that the lies have become cultural "truth"-but all of the essays tell of the trek each of these myths made. Far from the "inconsequence" that another reviewer has mentioned, these essays deepen our understanding of cherished myths and even make them more endearing.

interesting but somewhat inconsequential.......2000-06-08

This book, edited by the famous Marxist historian Erich Hobsbawm and the African specialist Terrence Ranger, is a collection of historical essays dealing with the invention of national or imperial traditions. Hobsbawm writes about Europe 1870-1914, Ranger about colonial Africa, Hugh Trevor-Roper about Scotland, Prys Morgan about Wales, David Cannadine about the British monarchy, and Bernard Cohn about imperial India. All are historians except for Cohn, an anthropologist, and all write about the nineteenth century.

All seven essays (Hobsbawm wrote two) are well written and clearly show the invention of traditions as a means of 'inculcating certain values and norms of behaviour by repetition'. In his heart Hobsbawm obviously wants to show that these new traditions are lies and that he and the other writers have done us a great service in uncovering them. Yet while many of these traditions were invented, many of their inventors would not lie about their young age (with the exception of the amazing brothers Allen of Scotland), and all of those traditions that resonated among people did draw from older, 'real' traditions. These qualifications, which Hobsbawm partially admits, heavily qualify the strength of his arguments, thus making the book an interesting but somewhat inconsequential collection of essays.

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A Timely Commentary

The Optimistic Jew

Prescient and Unintelligible to Neo-Cons

You can count on one hand the factors leading to folly, but....

Will the folly ever end?

The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam
Barbara W. Tuchman
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Guns of August

A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century

The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914

Bible and Sword: England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour

The Zimmermann Telegram

ASIN: 0345308239
Release Date: 1985-02-12

Book Description

Twice a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, author Barbara Tuchman now tackles the pervasive presence of folly in governments through the ages. Defining folly as the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interersts, despite the availability of feasible alternatives, Tuchman details four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly in government: the Trojan War, the breakup of the Holy See provoked by the Renaissance Popes, the loss of the American colonies by Britain's George III, and the United States' persistent folly in Vietnam. THE MARCH OF FOLLY brings the people, places, and events of history magnificently alive for today's reader.

Customer Reviews:

A Timely Commentary.......2007-09-09

Though written in 1984, this book takes apart governmental decision-making and reveals that since Biblical times right on through the Viet Nam War, government leaders frequently operated against the best interests of their nations. The "folly" is that these leaders knew they were on the wrongtrack but did little to correct their errors while they continued to defend them. Though the book deals extensively with the Viet Nam War (as well as the American Revolution and the Seige of Troy), the current fiasco in Iraq is very much on the mind of the reader. Almost every misstep by the British at the time of the American Revolution was replicated in some form during Viet Nam and it is clearly being repeated again in Iraq.

The Optimistic Jew.......2007-08-31

Chapter One of this book is entitled "Pursuit of Policy Contrary to Self-Interest". Here Ms. Tuchman identifies what she feels are the three criteria for folly: 1) it must have been perceived as counter-productive in its own time (not in hindsight); 2) a feasible alternative course of action must have been available; and 3) the policy in question should be that of a group (of rulers or entire societies) and not of single individuals.
In my book "The Optimistic Jew" I identify Israel's misconceived settlement policy in the occupied territories since the Six Day War as the most self-damaging project in the history of Zionism. It is Israel's (and Jewry's) very own "March of Folly" and satisfies all of Tuchman's criteria.

Prescient and Unintelligible to Neo-Cons.......2007-06-24

Barbara Tuchman wrote this book to illustrate some of the worst examples of leadership throughout history. She retells the mythical story of Trojan defeat, Papal life that spawned the Reformation, British obtuseness that lost America and the U.S. experience in Vietnam. Although casual readers of history have heard these tales before, Tuchman's version is original and trenchant with a touch of weary sarcasm.

The origins of the Reformation are usually told from Luther's viewpoint, but Tuchman sketches the Popes' lifestyles and family conections from 1470-1530. It was an era when civil and religious warlords were so drawn to the demonstration of opulence and power that the Popes could no more represent Christ's message than mafia dons. Michaelangelo asked Julius II if he should be painted with a book in hand. "Put a sword there," he replied. "I know nothing of letters."

Most Americans have heard the improbable success-story of the Revolution, but Tuchman relates the story from Parliament where the British ruling class exerted their perogatives. America was only a newspaper item to the titled Brits- not one in position of authority ever set foot here- unless he commanded an army. This peek at Royal Britain goes a long way to explain why they were so determined to bend America to their laws and interests. Of course there were distinguished Cassandras among them- Pitt, Burke, Barre and others- But, all were ignored.

America became the fool in the 20th century when she tried to prop up a corrupt and incompetent faction in South Vietnam. I was surprised to to read that all Presidents involved had plenty of warning about the tenacity of the North, the ineffectiveness of our bombing, the futility of "Vietnamization, the ultimate harm we were doing to our country... Somehow we inveigled leaders who would lie and misrepresent only to dig a deeper hole. They persisted to "work the levers" even when they knew it was a lost cause.

If Ms. Tuchman were alive and able to update this work, Junior Bush's war would provide the perfect fodder. His war fits so many descriptives that could be applied to previous follies. And yet, the millions of Americans who remembered Vietnam and saw the similarities with Iraq were unable to stop it. I'll close with a quote from Tuchman that is about Vietnam, but is relevant to many ill-conceived conflicts: "The follies...begin with continuous over-reacting: in the invention of endangered 'national security,' the invention of 'vital interest,' the invention of a 'commitment' which rapidly assumed a life of its own, casting a spell over the inventor."

You can count on one hand the factors leading to folly, but...........2007-06-06

...it still persists. Tuchman lays out the history of 4 events - Troy, The Reformation, The US revolution, and The US Vietnam "War" - in her usual comprehensive detail. If you don't want the facts and the facts that lead to the facts, dont bother reading BT. She will bore you. If you are curious as to how history and events evolve, then she delivered again with this one.
What leads to Folly (defined as a group acting contrary to their own best interests) - self-interest over public interests, belief in the monopoly of power, belief that abndonment of the current course will lead to ruin.

An interesting conclusion I drew from this was that open systems that feared their own demise and debated it actually survived and grew stronger. The British Empire expanded for the 100 years after US rebellion, while there were many who believed it would crumble without the American colonies. Many in US policy circles believed that Communist agression, if not checked in Vietnam, would lead to the demise of free and open societies. Clearly events unfolded otherwise.

The open debate of folly in a society leads to progress as in the case of The British Empire and The US. The lack of debate led to the destruction of Troy, and the persistent decline in power of the RC Church since the Renassaince.

All leaders would do well to take heed...

Will the folly ever end?.......2007-05-17

"The March of Folly" is a book that is sure to get readers thinking about why countries can sometimes do absurd things that wound them badly. This book focuses on the phenomenon of the (page 4) ". . .pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interest." She asserts that misgovernment has four facets: (a) tyranny or oppression; (b) excessive ambition; (c) incompetence or decadence; (d) folly or perversity. This book focuses on the final aspect of misgovernment.

To be counted as folly, the policy enacted must meet three standards: (1) it is counter-productive in its own time and not just apparent after-the-fact; (2) practical and feasible alternatives had to be available; (3) the policy in question is not adopted by one person but is part of a group process. A part of this process is what she colorfully terms "wooden-headedness," which (page 7) ". . .consists in assessing a situation in terms of preconceived fixed notions while ignoring or rejecting any contrary signs. It is acting according to wish while not allowing oneself to be deflected by the facts." It reflects what psychologists refer to as "confirmation bias," the tendency to accept data consistent with one's views and reject information not compatible with preexisting perspectives.

The book considers four illustrations. The first is the Wooden Horse that the Greek besieging forces introduced into Troy. This fits Tuchman's definition of folly--it had immediate repercussions harmful to the Trojans' interests; there were simple alternatives available (not bringing the horse inside the city's walls; the decision was the result of group deliberation and discussion. And the result was disaster for Troy, of course.

The second example is the Renaissance Popes making decisions that led to the Protestant movement and the split in Christendom. The third case study is the British loss of America, as a result of the Revolutionary War.

The final instance is America's involvement in Viet Nam. Was this folly? The withdrawal of the United States from Viet Nam had immediate effects, with the fall of the South Vietnamese government and corrosive effects on the United States' national interest; there were other alternatives available than sending in massive numbers of troops and huge amounts of materials; no single person got the United States fully involved in Viet Nam; it was the result of many decisions, spread out over time. Was Viet Nam policy folly? While some disagree now, many more would contend that this case well illustrates folly.

Can one extend the analysis to the American policy toward Iraq? Is there enough evidence to suggest wooden-headedness (or confirmation bias) by the Administration? Is the engagement in Iraq counterproductive to America's national interest? Are there feasible alternatives to the status quo? Was the policy adopted by just one person or was it the result of numerous decision-makers deliberations? We can certainly answer the last question in the affirmative. As to the first three questions, each reader would have to make up his or her own mind. But the book can provoke such reflection, whether considering Iraq or other major policy choices. This book is well worth looking at.

The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting

Average customer rating:

Fragmented is right
Starts off slow, but is ultimately quite interesting...
A facinating exploration of a fascinating subject

The Iron Whim: A Fragmented History of Typewriting
Darren Wershler-Henry
Manufacturer: Cornell University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0801445868

Book Description

The Iron Whim is an intelligent, irreverent, and humorous history of writing culture and technology. It covers the early history and evolution of the typewriter as well as the various attempts over the years to change the keyboard configuration, but it is primarily about the role played by this marvel in the writer's life. Darren Wershler-Henry populates his book with figures as disparate as Bram Stoker, Mark Twain, Franz Kafka, Norman Mailer, Alger Hiss, William Burroughs, J. G. Ballard, Jack Kerouac, Hunter S. Thompson, Northrop Frye, David Cronenberg, and David Letterman; the soundtrack ranges from the industrial clatter of a newsroom full of Underwoods to the more muted tapping and hum of the Selectric. Wershler-Henry casts a bemused eye on the odd history of early writing machines, important and unusual typewritten texts, the creation of On the Road, and the exploits of a typewriting cockroach named Archy, numerous monkeys, poets, and even a couple of vampires. He gathers into his narrative typewriter-related rumors and anecdotes (Henry James became so accustomed to dictating his novels to a typist that he required the sound of a randomly operated typewriter even to begin to compose). And by broadening his focus to look at typewriting as a social system as well as the typewriter as a technological form, he examines the fascinating way that the tool has actually shaped the creative process.

With engaging subject matter that ranges over two hundred years of literature and culture in English, The Iron Whim builds on recent interest in books about familiar objects and taps into our nostalgia for a method of communication and composition that has all but vanished.

Customer Reviews:

Fragmented is right.......2007-09-19

I heard an interview with the author on NPR which was fascinating. Unfortunately that did not carry over to his writing style. I found this book to be a bit like reading a stream-of-conciousness history of typewriting. It seemed that whatever entered the author's mind was then placed on a page with no logical progression. I also felt the book covered very odd things that had very little to do with typewriting, like an entire section devoted to rambling about EBay and random typing knick knacks. Overall I was very disappointed when I had been hoping for so much more.

Starts off slow, but is ultimately quite interesting..........2007-09-05

I would have rated it higher except for the exremely poor copy editing. What percentage of Arli's errors were simple keying errors? We'll never know, because the number is missing.

Other places, sentence fragments are arbitrarily repeated.

You'd think this thing was typed on a typewriter by a monkey. Or a cow. Or a cockroach.

Overall, quite a fun book.

A facinating exploration of a fascinating subject .......2007-04-05

This work is about a fascinating subject, especially I suspect to all those who have known the transition, first from the handwriting to the typing , and then from the typing to the word- processor modes of human expression. Wershler- Henry is interested in revealing to us the way the parts of the machine work together, and as he indicates the way to do this is to look at them when they have been discombobulated, when they are taken apart and seen not as the height of progress and invention, but as mere random pieces put together. Even more importantly he tells us his goal in writing this book is " to understand how typewriting shaped and changed not only Literature, but also our culture and sense of ourselves".
He ranges over a wide variety of subjects and includes descriptions of how the typewriter influenced the writing lives of some of the great literary masters. He too surveys what the change from the relatively harder - work of typewriting to the smooth more soundless touch of computer keys means for us.
His chapters are interestingly titled for example: Typewriting and Dictation, Typewriter Nostalgia, , Typewriting and Speed, Typewriting and Discipline, Writing Blind, Poet's Stave and Bar, Typewriters at War, Typewriting After the Typewriter.
He certainly tells us more about 'typewriting' than we who for years stabbed and banged on our favorite instrument could have ever understood of its complexity and significance.
Ah for my old Smith- Corona .

The Creative Process: Reflections on the Invention in the Arts and Sciences

Average customer rating:

Interesting but not insightful
By an Art Student
Top book. Buy it.
A "must" read in one's life and quest
Timeless Insights Into the Nature of Creativity

The Creative Process: Reflections on the Invention in the Arts and Sciences

Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520054539

Book Description

This unique anthology brings together material from 38 well-known writers, artists, and scientists who attempt to describe the process by which original ideas come to them. Contributors include Albert Einstein, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Amy Lowell, Rudyard Kipling, Max Ernst, Katherine Anne Porter, Henry Miller, Carl Gustav Jung, Mary Wigman, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Henri Poincaré and many others.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting but not insightful.......2006-02-25

A bit of a disappointment. Anecdotal and reflective, but not really informative about how the process of creativity works. A little bit scholarly and pedantic.

By an Art Student.......2001-10-15

I was reffered to this book by my mentor. He is aging but took on the challenge of teaching a young man the art of stone carving. I am not a big reader. Of the many books he had me read that year, this one was the most influential. The basis for any advancement can be found with in its covers. IT has helped me with everything from goal planning, to the importance of building off what others have left. Read it! Memorize it!

Top book. Buy it........1999-12-01

This book is a survey of the creative process over artists and scientists across different fields and times, including Mozart, the mathematician and philosopher of science Henri Poincare etc. The book gets to the heart of what life is all about.

This review refers to the first edition of this book: more may have been added in the reissue.

A "must" read in one's life and quest.......1999-05-30

I'm very touched to find this book again as i browsed through the net, 25 years after i first bought it in a flee market in New York. The essay by Henry Miller, literally blew my young artist mind back then. It inspired me to follow on his crazy steps. I quit my civil service job(without official leave) and went to Paris ,where I lived for ten years. I read and re-read that essay on creativity and it just kept giving me the courage to step further into the unknown, thus changing my life completely.

Timeless Insights Into the Nature of Creativity.......1998-10-29

Like a previous reviewer, I read this book when it was simply "The Creative Process". I was just a kid and bought the paperback version when they were much less expensive. I still have it and it is falling apart now. It is a book to keep. A previous reviewer mentioned his (her?) favorite parts. I can only add mine to that list: Mozart describing the "completeness" of his musical idea; Thomas Wolfe's "Story of a Novel" in which the writing of a novel is as gripping as the novel itself; R. W. Gerard, whose "Biological Basis of Imagination" breaks down the barriers between Gestalt Psychology, Biology, and esthetics; the concreteness of Stephen Spender's poetry; glimpses into the tactile imagination of Henry Moore; Max Ernst on the art of the collage. Lots of content in a small package.

The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder

Average customer rating:

It had potential.....
Interesting Book, Needs to Decide What Story to Tell
Slow Moving
An engrossing murder mystery combined with a portrait of the life of Edgar Allen Poe.
Very interesting

The Beautiful Cigar Girl: Mary Rogers, Edgar Allan Poe, and the Invention of Murder
Daniel Stashower
Manufacturer: Dutton Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

ASIN: B000N3T40G

Book Description

On July 28, 1841, the body of Mary Rogers, a twenty-year-old cigar girl, was found floating in the Hudson-and New York's unregulated police force proved incapable of solving the crime. One year later, a struggling writer named Edgar Allan Poe decided to take on the case-and sent his fictional detective, C. Auguste Dupin, to solve the baffling murder of Mary Rogers in "The Mystery of Marie RogÂt."

Customer Reviews:

It had potential............2007-09-12

This book could have been more interesting with better editing. The same point is repeated over and over again. How stupid does one need to be to get the point of what the author is trying to convey?

Poe's story is interesting. The fervor of the press at the time is just like the paparazzi today, so it was interesting to see how little things have improved with tabloid journalism. The reports of the bumbling of the coroner and the police also shows how those departments have been picked on since they came to be.

The author either did not have enough interesting material or simply lacked the imagination to fill this book.

Interesting Book, Needs to Decide What Story to Tell.......2007-09-10

There are parts of this book that are very engaging and interesting -- life in lower Manhattan in the 1830s and 40s, for example; the beach and spring scene in Hoboken along the Hudson River, the sad and tragic case of Mary Rogers, and of course Poe's life story.

But this book fails to find a convincing narrative that links all of these parts together. Instead, the author gets bogged down in side stories, and works too hard to link it all together, not very convincingly.

As a result, the book is slow going, and somewhat frustrating. A good editor was needed here.

Slow Moving.......2007-07-17

This book was very slow paced. It seemed to dive into great detail about side characters and devote entire chapters to characters that maybe didn't need to be developed as well as they were, for example an entire chapter was written about the creator of a newspaper just to give detail about the author of an article about a trial, further slowing the pace of the book. The book in no way caught my interest and I actually gave up on the book about half way through.

An engrossing murder mystery combined with a portrait of the life of Edgar Allen Poe........2007-06-21

I would certainly tend to agree with some of the other reviewers who point out quite correctly that "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" appears to be more about the life of Edgar Allan Poe than about the unfortunate murder of a beautiful young woman. Nevertheless, author Daniel Stashower does a workmanlike job of weaving together the two stories that were so representative of life in New York City in the late 1830's and early 1940's. Times were tough indeed as the nation limped through a severe downturn in the economy.
The young lady who came to be known as "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" was Mary Rogers. In 1938 the proprietor of a local cigar emporium named John Anderson hired Mary to work as a salesgirl in his store. Thanks to his new hire and the convenient location Anderson's Tobacco Emporium proved to be an immediate and smashing success. Newspaper moguls, business leaders and government officials all frequented the store. Suddenly, Mary Rogers was somewhat of an "item" and her name would appear from time to time in various newspapers. As things turned out Mary Rogers only worked at Anderson's for a short period of time. However, when her her battered and bludgeoned body was fished out of the Hudson River in 1941 the apparent murder of Mary Rogers became a sensation in the newspapers.
The stories were rife with speculation and inuendo. Over the next year or so the story would take any number of strange twists and turns. And while the murder of Mary Rogers has never been conclusively solved the most likely scenario turns out to be quite surprising indeed!
In the meantime, it seems that Daniel Stashower devotes more than half of the pages of "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" to the life of Edgar Allan Poe. While Poe certainly did become involved in the case of Mary Rogers with his fascinating article "The Mystery of Marie Roget" I certainly had no reason to expect that so much of this book would be devoted to him. Since I knew very little about Edgar Allan Poe to begin with I really did not mind learning about his life here. It turns out that despite his obvious and enormous talent, Poe's penchant for self-destructive behavior would severely limit his ability to earn a living in the literary world. Time and time again, in job after job, Edgar Allan Poe would wear out his welcome. His story is both sad and tragic and one cannot help but wonder what might have been had Poe been able to overcome his personal problems.
In any event, the bottom line is that "The Beautiful Cigar Girl" was not quite what I had expected. Too many pages devoted to Poe really did seem to detract from the real reason I was reading this book--the murder of Mary Rogers. Despite its shortcomings, this is still a book that managed to hold my interest from cover to cover.

Very interesting.......2007-05-16

Being a Poe enthusiast as well as a history and true crime buff, I have found this book fascinating. The author does a good job of telling two stories at the same time - first the story of Poe, his upbringing and his erratic behavior throughout his life and second the story of the beautiful and tragic Mary Rogers. I love the way he intertwines the stories and draw the paralells between the two. The author draws you into the story in the way a good mystery novel would and makes it come to life on the page. I am glad that I bought this book!

The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are

Average customer rating:

All about the context
Worth the read
An eye opener!
Hidden Depth
Worthwhile Reading

The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are
Henry Petroski
Manufacturer: Vintage
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679740392
Release Date: 1994-02-01

Amazon.com

This surprising book may appear to be about the simple things of life--forks, paper clips, zippers--but in fact it is a far-flung historical adventure on the evolution of common culture. To trace the fork's history, Duke University professor of civil engineering Henry Petroski travels from prehistoric times to Texas barbecue to Cardinal Richelieu to England's Industrial Revolution to the American Civil War--and beyond. Each item described offers a cultural history lesson, plus there's plenty of engineering detail for those so inclined.

Book Description

Petroski tells fascinating stories about the arduous processes that resulted in paper clips, Post-its, Phillips-head screwdrivers, Scotch tape, and fast-food "clamshell" containers. "Petroski . . . an examines the simplest . . . tools in our lives with an appraising eye."--Washington Post Book World. 45 illus.

Customer Reviews:

All about the context.......2006-08-07

I found this book to be very illuminating in light of what I do (interaction design) and the books I have read recently on the latest in computational neuroeconomics, maninstream pattern recognotion theory, interaction design, visual design, industrial design, computer engineering, new marketing theory, and information design around complex systems. In fact, this book is almost a stake in the ground on how the manufacturing process, invention, and branding created the artifacts in our environment. Better than the Industrial Desig books I read 10 years ago. I think we would call these "case studies" and "use cases" in modern terminology. I mention all the fields above because every single one of them have an exact doppelganger in the past.

This book is a brilliant look at process and can be used as a research tool when looking at why something like the iPod caught on and why almost everything that has been developed at MIT in recent history (except eInk) has never gained a foothold in popular American culture. In the face of the rise of "everyware" computing, it's adoption in places like Korea and Japan, and only limited use by the rich for personal security in the US, I would say this is a must read for contemporary designers, no matter what depth of complexity their task at hand. This book predates the web, making it very enlightening in light of user-centered design in recent years.

This book looks at the relationship of genius design, corporate R+D, pop culture, the feedback loop for product innovation, and the adoption of standards around SIMPLE things. This means these case studies can be used to analyse the failures (and how failure breeds innovation, not "form follows function") of our complex information economy and embedded systems. Society has gone through it all before. And as projects become increasingly team based and open sourced (like Stanford's new d.school), just about anyone can find value in this book based within this context.

Worth the read.......2006-06-05

while I agree with some of the previous reviews that Petroski may overstate and repeat a little bit, this book is an excellent in depth look at the invention process as practiced by many people in parallel and in concert.

If you have any interest in Industrial Design, Interaction Design or just trivia for how object evolve this is a great read and Petroski surely knows his stuff.

I don't agree with some who call it too academic, the text is in depth, but not dry. It is not breazy or flip either...Just right*

An eye opener! .......2006-01-10

Ideal for anyone who harbours a casual interest in forks, pins, paper clips and zippers. Not recommended for people who hate forks, pins, paper clips and zippers, or people who are obsessed with forks, pins, paper clips and zippers and already know how they came to be as they are.

Hidden Depth.......2005-12-12

On the face of it, the Evolution of Useful Things simply lists fun trivia about familiar objects. Why does a fork have four tines and not two or three? What's a perfect paperclip? Is there such a thing? Who invented the zipper? How many things can you see on your desk right now?

However the book gives us much more. Petroski uses a large number of concrete facts to present general laws of human thought and activity. The paper clip appeared because pins used to hold papers together made holes in them and could injure someone looking through files, but it took a while for it to reach the form we know today. We invent new things because we are dissatisfied when we find problems. Form follows not function, but failure.

While small objects play the center role here, large machines such as locomotives and large projects such as bridges also come up. Petroski argues that for his concepts to be valid, they must apply to the great as well as the small and he shows that engineers design new bridges or tunnels by solving problems observed found while building other bridges and tunnels.

The book's title is especially good. The evolution of man-made things differs fundamentally from the evolution of living things. Natural selection follows a mindless process of sifting through countless minute _random_ changes. Things, however, evolve through a different process of sifting through countless _intended_ changes (sometimes small, somtimes large) until something arises that works better than before.

Petroski's writing does annoy me a little; he's got some really bad puns. For example he follows two different quotations of how to manufacture a needle with the phrase "there's more than one way to make a point." Another problem is that he repeats himself. For instance, he twice mentions Karl Marx's astonishment at finding 500 different kinds of hammers in a Birmingham factory.

But the originality of his thesis far outweighs these minor flaws. Henry Petroski is a philosopher of engineering examining the question of why we invent things. He asks why we are always perfecting our inventions, why we are never satisfied with our tools as they are. His proposed answers in no small way explain much of the history of our rich living environment with its tens of thousands of useful things.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

Worthwhile Reading.......2005-10-23

I really enjoyed this book. It was fascinating to learn how so many things came about. I enjoyed the history and the anecdotes and in-depth analysis of each topic.

I found it inspirational in many places. The creative artisan not only perfects his skills but looks beyond the routine to develop improved tools and processes. I read many passages to my kids.

I was dismayed when the author started writing about forks again when I thought we were all done with forks until I noticed the way the book is broken out by ideas and concepts rather than the specific examples. I think this is probably the most well-organized book I have ever read.

Average customer rating:

Chainsaws: A History
A most lively coverage

Chainsaws: A History
David Lee
Manufacturer: Harbour Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1550173804

Book Description

"It rips, and cuts, it makes a horrible racket--a chainsaw is a frightening thing. I write not to glorify its terrible power but to acknowledge its place in the most sweeping revolution that technology has wrought in the 20th century--the revolution of individual empowerment."

So begins author David Lee in this first-ever book on the worldwide history of the chainsaw, an invention that transformed the forest industry and eventually became the indispensable companion of every red-blooded country dweller. Chainsaws, it turns out, have a curious history and since the 19th century they have taken on many forms. From 600-pound steam-powered behemoths to gas chainsaws mounted on wheeled carriages to diesel chainsaws and electric chainsaws with portable generators, this book musters a curious collection of contraptions and inventors the like of which we haven't seen since Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Carefully tracing the evolutionary threads of countless short-lived pioneer devices, author Lee, working together with a worldwide network of chainsaw buffs, traces the roaring, woodchip-and-oil-sprayed progress of what is now a lightweight modern machine that holds a place of honour in the world's woodsheds.

Chainsaws is a handsome gift book full of wonderful old and new photos along with priceless chainsaw ephemera that will warm the heart of anyone who's ever held a power tool. From Andreas Stihl's Black Forest experiments to Vancouver's booming WWII chainsaw industry, to the postwar race to develop one-man saws, the rise and fall of Canada's proud Pioneer brand, and the late entry into the field of the centuries-old arms manufacturer Husqvarna,it examines why the chainsaw is no good for massacres (in Texas or elsewhere), and why it is unlikely to replaced by any new high-tech inventions such as lasers.

Customer Reviews:

Chainsaws: A History.......2007-08-03

A comprehensive record of the histroy of chainsaws, unbvaluable publication for people in the indudustry

A most lively coverage.......2007-03-12

CHAINSAWS: A HISTORY rips into a little-known set of facts about the invention which changed and created the forest industry and became essential for country dwellers. If you think CHAINSAWS; A HISTORY will be a dry read, think again: both college-level