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.

Speak English Like an American: for Native Spanish Speakers (Habla ingles como los americanos) Book & Audio CD set

Average customer rating:

Excellent Idiom Starter
Brilliant (Brillante)
Language education......
A highly recommended self-teaching tool
Fun way to study English

Speak English Like an American: for Native Spanish Speakers (Habla ingles como los americanos) Book & Audio CD set
Amy Gillett
Manufacturer: Language Success Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0972530010

Book Description

This book and CD set is designed to help native Spanish speakers achieve greater fluency in American English. The set contains over 300 of today's most commonly used idioms and phrases. Idioms are presented in 25 lively dialogues which tell the entertaining story of an American family. Idioms are defined in both English and Spanish. The set is appropriate for intermediate to advanced students of English of all ages. The book comes with an audio CD of all of the dialogues. Contains dozens of helpful exercises to reinforce the material, with convenient answer key for self-study.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Idiom Starter.......2007-06-27

This is an excellent book and CD to acquaint beginners with many American idioms. The way it is put together so coherently in short stories makes it simple to learn but at the same time efficient. The CD is also very well done. Even advanced students of English as a second language can find something to learn here.

Brilliant (Brillante).......2007-04-07

I believe this book is a must for the ESL classroom, since it is effective even while not being that expensive.

Language education.............2006-02-22

I bought this book for my girlfriend in Panama and this book has been very helpful. She knew some basic English but now is speaking English better and knows more words. She really likes the CD which she listens to in her car.

A highly recommended self-teaching tool.......2004-04-04

Amy Gillett's Speak English Like An American For Native Spanish Speakers is a combination book and audio CD especially appropriate for native Spanish speakers who are familiar with the English language, yet who seek to take their fluency to new heights by mastering common English idioms. Over 300 of the most-used American English idioms and phrases are presented, complete with examples, definitions, and engaging dialogues that serve to tell an entertaining family story punctuated with amusing cartoons. A highly recommended self-teaching tool for advance native Spanish students of English as a second language, Speak English Like An American For Native Spanish Speakers is an especially appropriate and effective supplemental resource for personal, school, and community library Language Studies resource collections.

Fun way to study English.......2003-07-04

I can recommend Speak English Like an American to you. It is a very good way to learn important and useful American English idioms and expressions. I like the fact that the idioms are used in a story, then you get another example in a sentence, and then definitions in Spanish. There are good exercises also. This is a very interesting way how to study the language. I am using some of these expressions at work and people at my office are saying, "Oh Juanita, your English is improving!"

Los Cuatro Acuerdos: Una Guia Práctica Para La Libertad Personal (Toltec Wisdom)

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Love for humankind.
Los cuatro acuerdos

Los Cuatro Acuerdos: Una Guia Práctica Para La Libertad Personal (Toltec Wisdom)
Don Miguel Ruiz
Manufacturer: Amber-Allen Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 1878424971

Book Description

Every action, says don Miguel Ruiz, is based on agreements people make - with other people, with God, with life. But the most important agreements are those people make with themselves. In these agreements they tell themselves who they are, how to behave, what is possible, what is impossible. One single agreement is not such a problem, but so many agreements come from fear, deplete energy, and diminish self-worth. In The Four Agreements, don Miguel reveals the source of self-limiting agreements that take away joy and create needless suffering. For those ready to change these agreements, there are four deceptively simple, yet powerful agreements that can be adopted as guiding principles: be impeccable with your word; don't take anything personally; don't make assumptions; and always do your best. These tenets can rapidly transform anyone's life to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love.

Customer Reviews:

Love for humankind. .......2007-06-08

Every human being should read this book. It not only takes us on a journey to understand how we feel but also helps you in understanding, accepting and appreciating others. Written in a simple language that makes it very easy to comprehend and absorb. Don Miguel Ruiz has a way with words that captivate you. Once you start reading, you cannot stop. This book was recommended to me by a friend, and the timing was perfect!

Los cuatro acuerdos.......2006-03-17

Primer acuerdo: "Sé impecable con tus palabras".
Segundo: "No te tomes nada personalmente".
Tercero: "No hagas suposiciones".
Cuarto acuerdo: "Haz siempre lo máximo que puedas".

No hay razón para sufrir. La única razón por la que sufres es porque así tú lo eliges. Si observas tu vida encontrarás muchas excusas para sufrir, pero ninguna razón válida. Lo mismo es aplicable a la felicidad. La única razón por la que eres feliz es porque tú decides se feliz. La felicidad es una elección, como también lo es el sufrimiento", estas son algunas de las palabras de Dr, Miguel Ruíz, palabras que claramente descubren no sólo lo que es su propia opción de vida, sino también, lo que será para el lector el contacto con este libro.

¿Cuáles son los acuerdos que propone Ruiz? Primer acuerdo: "Sé impecable con tus palabras". Segundo: "No te tomes nada personalmente". Tercero: "No hagas suposiciones". Cuarto acuerdo: "Haz siempre lo máximo que puedas".

Y podría parecer realmente utópico el mensaje de este doctor discípulo de chamanes y admirador confeso de la sabiduría de los toltecas, pero sus palabras son de tal sencillez y descubren con una simpleza tan abismante la realidad del hombre y mujer de nuestros tiempos, que la utopía torna ciertamente en razón.

"La libertad que buscamos es la de ser nosotros mismos, la de expresarnos tal como somos. Sin embargo, si observamos nuestra vida, veremos que, en lugar de vivir para complacernos a nosotros mismos, la mayor parte del tiempo sólo hacemos cosas para complacer a los demás, para que nos acepten. Esto es lo que le ha ocurrido a nuestra libertad. En nuestra sociedad, y en todas las sociedades del mundo, de cada mil personas, novecientas noventa y nueve están totalmente domesticadas".

La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol / The Woman Who Outshone the Sun

Average customer rating:

A staple for children's gifts
Beautiful Book
beautiful story with strong female protagonist
A beautiful tale of forgiveness and respect

La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol / The Woman Who Outshone the Sun
Martinez
Manufacturer: Children's Book Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 089239126X

Customer Reviews:

A staple for children's gifts.......2005-10-31

I don't know how many copies of this book I've purchased over the years to give away as gifts for all the children I've encountered through family and friends. It's a wonderful story that breathes tolerance, humility, and respect and appreciation for one's differences. This is one of my favorite books! It's visually stimulating and speaks so much to the tradition of oral storytelling in Mexican culture. I also love the fact that the Lucia is gorgeous, and brown with deep black hair. It's empowering for little girls of color to see a strong protagonist of color---my students love her and connect with her character.

Beautiful Book.......2003-08-25

This is a powerful and beautiful retelling of this story. This book is written in Spanish and in English and anyone interested in Latino storytelling will buy this book for their collection. I also highly recommend DRUM, CHAVI, DRUM! by Cuban author, Mayra L. Dole, and TRINOS CHOICE, by Chicana author Diane Bertrand.

beautiful story with strong female protagonist.......2000-09-22

Unlike the usual simpering heroine, Lucia is strong, mysterious, natural, and good. Children who are different from others--foreign, language difficulty, intelligence higher or lower--will appreciate how this stranger bounced back from hurt.

A beautiful tale of forgiveness and respect.......2000-06-16

This retelling of the Legend of Lucia Zenteno is beautifully illustrated with vibrant colors and imagination. The text is given in English and Spanish. It is the story of Lucia who has the most beautiful long hair. It is so beautiful that the river that runs throught the town falls in love with her, and when the people of the town, because of their fear, drive her away, the river and all its inhabitants leave with her. The town has to learn humility and they try to get her to return. A wonderful book with a strong female hero.

Cuaderno De Trabajo De Los Cuatro Acuerdos: Utiliza Los Cuatro Acuerdos Para Gobernar El Sueno De Tu Vida (Un Libro De La Sabiduria Tolteca)

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toltecas know how to live
ESTE LIBRO ES LA SEGUNDA PARTE DE LOS 4 ACUERDOS

Cuaderno De Trabajo De Los Cuatro Acuerdos: Utiliza Los Cuatro Acuerdos Para Gobernar El Sueno De Tu Vida (Un Libro De La Sabiduria Tolteca)
Don Miguel Ruiz , and Janet Mills
Manufacturer: Amber-Allen Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Motivational | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 187842467X

Book Description

This companion guide helps readers increase their understanding and practice of The Four Agreements: be impeccable with your word; don't take anything personally; don't make assumptions; always do your best. Incorporating stories, questions, and insights, this practical addition to the Toltec Wisdom series is designed to inspire new actions for both individuals and groups.

Customer Reviews:

toltecas know how to live.......2007-06-10

this is a wonderfull book,and it is helping us a lot.

ESTE LIBRO ES LA SEGUNDA PARTE DE LOS 4 ACUERDOS .......2004-11-03

A Todos los que leyeron Los 4 Acuerdos , entonces DEVEN de leer este Tambien para poder Practicar las lecciones de Los $ Acuerdos , NOTA : "LA PRACTICA HACE AL MAESTRO" , y si no practicamos lo que aprendimos , entonces no arendimos nada
ACCION+ REACCION = EXITO

The Nahuas After the Conquest: A Social and Cultural History of the Indians of Central Mexico, Sixteenth Through Eighteenth Centuries

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Wonderful linguistic approach to history

The Nahuas After the Conquest: A Social and Cultural History of the Indians of Central Mexico, Sixteenth Through Eighteenth Centuries
James Lockhart
Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0804719276

Book Description

A monumental achievement of research, synthesis, and analysis, this volume on the Nahua Indians of central Mexico (often called Aztecs) constitutes our best understanding of any New World indigenous society in the period following European contact.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful linguistic approach to history.......2007-02-23

This book is a must for anyone interested in the processes of change within the central indian communities after the arrival of the Spaniards. Two elements stand out: the author's enthralling prose and his meticulous analysis of linguistic changes and his ability to tie them in to broader cultural/historical changes.

Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest: Huamanga To 1640

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Andean Indians - Cultural Adaptation to Spanish Colonialism

Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest: Huamanga To 1640
Steve J. Stern
Manufacturer: University of Wisconsin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0299141845

Book Description

This second edition of Peru’s Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest includes Stern’s 1992 reflections on the ten years of historical interpretation that have passed since the book’s original publication—setting his analysis of Huamanga in a larger perspective.

Customer Reviews:

Andean Indians - Cultural Adaptation to Spanish Colonialism.......2003-05-26

I was captivated by Mario Vargas Llosa's disturbing novel, Death in the Andes. It is structurally a mystery story, but it can be best characterized as a compelling portrait of political violence in contemporary Peru. Mario Vargas Llosa is a captivating story teller and I found myself wanting to know more about the people that inhabit the harsh mountains of Peru.

"Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest - Huamanga to 1640" by Steve J. Stern exactly met my needs. This scholarly text tells the story of how conquest transformed a resilient and vigorous people into an inferior caste of Andean Indians. The geographical focus is a mountainous region in southwest Peru dominated by the city Huamanga (today known as Ayacucho, a city not too distant from the fictional town of Naccos, the setting for Death in the Andes).

The lengthy title, "Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest - Huamanga to 1640", may be a little intimidating, but the book is well-written and is largely accessible without undue effort. The first chapter paints an intriguing view of a pre-Columbian society based on complex reciprocity relationships between members of extended families or kinships called ayllus. These arrangements allowed dispersed groups to exploit isolated, island-like, ecological niches like cold high mountain pastures or low dry valleys while depending upon others for products grown or created elsewhere.

The ethnic groups native to Huamanga welcomed the overthrow of the Incas and allied themselves quickly with the victorious Spaniards. "Local communities sacked warehouses once dedicated to the discredited Incas." Chapter 2 examines the rise and subsequent demise of these post-Incaic alliances with the Spanish.

Chapter 3, "A Historical Watershed", describes the revival of Andean religious fervor (the Taki Onqoy) and an unsuccessful effort to expel the Spanish colonizers. Remarkably, the Spanish, under the formidable leadership of Don Francisco de Toledo, within a decade had dramatically revised their colonial structure, and largely eliminated any possibility of future revolt by the Andean Indians.

Chapter 4 details the political economy of colonialism in the Huamanga region while chapter 5 investigates the contentious legal battles between the Indians and the colonizing elite under the Spanish judicial system. Both chapters are intriguing, but are more difficult for the non-specialist. I was surprised by how carefully the Spanish structured the taxation system; it siphoned away the maximum wealth without completely devastating the Andean economy. The Indians resisted this economic oppression through evasion as well as by tenaciously exploiting the Spanish legal system to protect their rights.

The final three chapters explore the ways in which the Andean Indians gradually adapted to Spanish colonization and how this adaptation fostered a political economy of dependence. Stern devotes chapter 7 to the "tragedy of success", the story of the successful few that escaped the burdens of the peasantry by becoming integrated into the ruling Spanish colonial structure. The final chapter, Huamanga's colonial heritage, admits that much has changed in modern times, but argues that "the present seems to superimpose itself upon the past, not destroy it."

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The linguistic vision of a Nahuatl expert
User-unfriendly but meticulous grammar

Introduction to Classical Nahuatl
J. Richard Andrews
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0806134526

Book Description

For many years, J. Richard Andrews's "Introduction to Classical Nahuatl" has been the standard reference work for scholars and students of Nahuatl, the language used by the ancient Aztecs and the Nahua Indians of Central Mexico. Andrews's work was the first book to make Nahuatl accessible as a coherent language system and to recognize such crucial linguistic features as vowel length and the glottal stop. Accompanied by a workbook, this long-awaited new edition is extensively revised, enlarged, and updated with the latest research.

The revised edition is guided by the same intentions as those behind the first. Andrews's approach is "anthropological," teaching us to understand Nahuatl according to its own distinctive grammar and to reject translationalist descriptions based on English or Spanish notions of grammar. In particular, Andrews emphasizes the nonexistence of words in Nahuatl (except for the few so-called particles) and stresses the nuclear clause as the basis for Nahuatl linguistic organization. Besides an increase in the number of chapters (from forty-eight to fifty-seven, including a more detailed treatment of place names), the new edition contains an innovative approach to personal names and the introduction of the square zero to indicate irregular morphological silence. The accompanying workbook provides exercises linked to the text, a key to the exercises, and an extensive vocabulary list.

Customer Reviews:

The linguistic vision of a Nahuatl expert.......2005-11-07

I should say that the three stars I am giving this book are well-deserved simply because of the author's meticulous description of Nahuatl grammar. It is evident that he knows the language well and that he has given a great deal of thought to how to best explain its structure. It is also interesting, from the point of view of a linguist, to see the way in which he has organized his grammar. In his own words, he seeks to examine Nahuatl as "a system operating from within its own structuring principles and rules".

There is something very appealing about that idea, as it is a common complaint that the native languages of the Americas are too often analyzed from a biased Western perspective. However, it strikes me as highly presumptuous of the author to assume that his terminology and organizing principles are the only ones that accurately reflect the structure of Nahuatl. In this case, as Andrews' grammar purports to be a learning grammar, indeed an "introduction" to the language, what would seem most important to me is that it give students a firm ability to correctly interpret Nahuatl texts -all that remain of the classical language.

This is precisely where Andrews' text fails, in large part due to his insistence on using his own ponderous terminology. Students will grow accustomed to terms like "verbal nuclear clause", but descriptions like "mainline specific projective causative-object pronoun" must frustrate even someone familiar with Andrews' terminology. The merit in using more standard linguistic terms is that they are readily understood by anyone with a background in linguistics, or anyone who has carefully studied the grammar of another language. I believe it is possible to use standard terms and still accurately describe Nahuatl; both Michel Launey and James Lockhart have written grammars that do just that (Lockhart's is very much an introductory grammar while Launey's is quite complete). This is corroborated by the fact that this second edition of Andrews' grammar, which as he says gives "even more attention to Nahuatl's individuality", is considered inferior to the first edition by every Nahuatl researcher I have spoken to.

Also annoying, especially from a linguist's perspective, is his tendency to want to divide and subdivide every morpheme; many of the divisions he makes are likely etymological and not pertinent to understanding the language, and others feel invented. For instance, he divides object pronouns like "nech" and "mitz" into "n+ech" and "m+itz", where both "ech" and "itz" are objective case markers. Indeed, "ech" and "itz" may be related, but he offers no explanation for why the two variants are used as they are, nor for why they are not expressed in the third person forms "c"/"qui" and "quim". This is roughly equivalent to saying that English "them" is in fact "the+m", where "m" is an objective case marker (also found on "who+m" and "hi+m"), which is not expressed in first and second person forms like "me" and "us". No linguist would actually propose such a rule for English, yet it is just what Andrews does for Nahuatl. Here, his attention to detail becomes overanalysis.

If you are considering buying this book because you would like to begin to study Classical Nahuatl, I would instead recommend Lockhart's "Nahuatl as Written", which is very easy to come by and is also much less expensive than this book, or Launey's grammar, which can be found in both French and Spanish editions but which is harder to find in the U.S. For the serious researcher of Nahuatl, Andrews' book is useful to have as a reference because of the author's thoroughness and attention to detail, but by all accounts the 1975 edition is the better of the two.

User-unfriendly but meticulous grammar.......2004-06-04

I bought the first edition of this remarkable book about 20 years ago and was very interested in seeing the new edition. On the whole I think the alterations are a bit disappointing. Andrews describes the changes as being motivated partly by experience of teaching Nahuatl, which he knows about and I don't; but I think he's made an already notoriously hard-going book if anything a bit more user-unfriendly.
The long new introduction explaining linguistic background concepts is particularly obscure and at least in part muddled (eg between different levels of phonemic analysis). A specially irritating change (for me) is the analysis of the personal prefixes into two morphemes each; this has the horrible side-effect that every full word (nuclear phrase in Andrews-speak) now has a zero-morph as its second component in all contexts. This strikes me as theoretically bizarre and practically confusing.
Andrews is prone to acerbic remarks about contemporary fellow-students of Nahuatl (though the more I see of mistranslated Nahuatl names in general works, the more I see his point of view). He seems to have taken a scunner to poor old Fr Molina too since the first edition; Fr Molina didn't have the benefit of our liberal education.
A. could, I think, cut his reader some slack in exposition. Certainly, as he implies, the truth is complex and often exotic and well-meaning attempts to gloss over this may prevent real learning. But a bit of justification of his theoretical position on especially the "omnipredicative" aspect of Nahuatl grammar would probably help. He doesn't really address the source of the difficulty for the new student; anybody sophisticated enough to be tackling this hard book at all is not really going to need to be told that "corremos" in Spanish is a complete sentence (unless his mind has been addled by doctrinaire Chomskyan UG). The difficulty is accepting that Nahuatl noun words are always predicative. This doesn't seem to be true of modern Nahuatl dialects for example (which have however been much influenced by Spanish). Nor is it true, as A. states, that this is at all widespread in N American languages; for it to be a valid analysis it is not enough that a noun can stand alone as a complete predication; it is also necessary to show that there is no formal distinction between a noun argument and a relative clause based on a noun predicate. It certainly is true however of e.g. Salishan languages and others; and a number of polysynthetic languages throughout the world have a very hazy distinction between predicates and arguments. For Nahuatl the correctness (and beauty) of A's analysis is pretty clear, but I think he could do a much better job of explaining and justifying its rationale at the outset. I'm not sure the his consistent translation of eg. cuahuitl (in isolation) as "It is a tree" rather than just "tree" is helpful. Michel Launey manages to bring out the structure of Nahuatl without this sort of clumsy periphrasis, by explaining the omnipredicative syntax rather than building it into every gloss. However, this is really only to say that I myself don't find it helpful; I presume A's experience of actually teaching Nahuatl is what led to his decision to do this.

The insistence on "words" being really "nuclear phrases" has a consequence that inter-word/phrase syntax gets relatively short shrift; useful things for example can be said about word order in Nahuatl which don't find a mention here.

I think at the end of the day that the trouble with this book is that it's really a reference grammar (and a good and thorough one at that) rather than the progressive learning course it's presented as. Linguistically sophisticated readers can use reference grammars for learning languages; but they won't need to be told what a phoneme is. Readers who do need to be told what a phoneme is will probably not get far with a book like this. I don't think that such readers are doomed inevitably to misunderstand Nahuatl syntax as distorted Indoeuropean syntax; but they do need more help than this.

On its own terms, though, A's exposition is a thing of beauty; his determination to present Nahuatl in its own terms does indeed bring out the "strange but neatly functioning logic" of the language.

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New Views of Borderlands History

Manufacturer: University of New Mexico Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Social History | Historical Study | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0826319386

Book Description

These seven original essays offer the first ethnohistorical interpretation of Spanish-Indian interaction from Florida to California. The indigenous peoples in the borderlands were hunter-gatherers or agriculturalists whose lives differed substantially from the lives of Indians in large-scale hierarchical societies of central Mexico. As a result, Spains entry and expansion varied throughout the borderlands.

How did indigenous peoples fare under Spanish rule from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries? The contributors to this book discuss the social, demographic, and economic impacts of Spanish colonization on Indians. Relations among settlers, soldiers, priests, and indigenous peoples throughout the borderlands are examined, bringing immediacy and human interest to the interpretation.

Contributors are Susan M. Deeds, Jesus F. de la Teja, Ross Frank, Robert H. Jackson, Peter Stern, and Patricia Wickman. Their essays offer a new and engaging synthesis that will reinvigorate teaching and research in borderlands history.

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Exact explanations and insights suitable for both high school and college level history students.

Excellent visual insight

Aztecs and Conquistadores: The Spanish Invasion and the Collapse of the Aztec Empire (General Military)
John Pohl
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Mexico | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Native American | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Aztec | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books
Spain | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
General | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
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Liberators: Latin America's Struggle for Independence

ASIN: 1841769347
Release Date: 2005-10-10

Book Description

The Spanish conquest of Mexico was a remarkable military expedition that had a huge impact on the history of the world. Hernán Cortés led the expedition, the aim of which was the addition of Mexico to the Spanish Empire, and the extraction of Aztec riches. Following the appearance of portents, the Aztecs were expecting a catastrophe in 1519, and the Spanish invasion fulfilled this expectation. Although they fought fiercely to the end, the Aztec civilisation was doomed, and the face of Mexico would be changed for ever. This book examines the campaign, but also the lives, training and experience of the men on both sides: the Spanish conquerors and their opponents, the exotic Aztecs, who were fighting for their lives and their civilisation. Contains material peviously published in Essential Histories 60, Warrior 32 and Warrior 40.

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Exact explanations and insights suitable for both high school and college level history students........2007-01-07

Any student of early Spanish history or Aztec history must take a look at AZTECS & CONQUISTADORES: THE SPANISH INVASION & THE COLLAPSE OF THE AZTEC EMPIRE, which surveys the impact the Spanish conquests had on world history. The focus here is upon the military might of Cortes, the training and experience of men on both sides of the conflict, and the major battles that subdued the Aztecs. Color maps, illustrations and charts throughout enhance the survey and provide exact explanations and insights suitable for both high school and college level history students.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Excellent visual insight.......2007-01-04

Well written with excellent pictorial information. And one who has done any kind of research into this period of history and was curious about how things actually looked would be very interested in seeing good detailed and written descriptions of maps, battle suits, weaponry and other items of the period. A good overview of the events during this period in Mexico's history, but the book is more valuable as a visual insight. Would highly recommend this as an ideal companion book to read with a more detailed historical book of this period in history, such as Bernal Diaz del Castillo's book of the conquest or William H. Prescott's wonderfully written History of the Conquest of Mexico.

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