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.

Oroonoko: Adaptations And Offshoots (Early Modern Englishwoman: a Facsimile Library of Essential Works) (Early Modern Englishwoman: a Facsimile Library ... a Facsimile Library of Essential Works)

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Oroonoko: Adaptations And Offshoots (Early Modern Englishwoman: a Facsimile Library of Essential Works) (Early Modern Englishwoman: a Facsimile Library ... a Facsimile Library of Essential Works)

Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
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ASIN: 0754606597

Women And Murder In Early Modern News Pamphlets And Broadside Ballads, 1573-1697: Essential Works For The Study Of Early Modern Englishwoman (Early Modern ... a Facsimile Library of Essential Works)

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Women And Murder In Early Modern News Pamphlets And Broadside Ballads, 1573-1697: Essential Works For The Study Of Early Modern Englishwoman (Early Modern ... a Facsimile Library of Essential Works)

Manufacturer: Ashgate Publishing
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ASIN: 075463115X

Mohandas Gandhi: Essential Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters Series)

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OUR MOST CATHOLIC AND BLESSED PEACEMAKER THE REV FATHER JOHN DEAR PRESENTS GANDHI

Mohandas Gandhi: Essential Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters Series)
Mahatma Gandhi
Manufacturer: Orbis Books
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1570754322

Customer Reviews:

OUR MOST CATHOLIC AND BLESSED PEACEMAKER THE REV FATHER JOHN DEAR PRESENTS GANDHI.......2006-11-14

We are very fortunate to have available this compilation of Gandhi's word collected by the Jsuit Father John Dear in this excellent publication by the longstanding and highly qualified Catholic Publishing House Orbis Books, an organ of the MAryknoll MIssionary Society, for whom my uncle served as priest overseas forty yaers until a debilitating stroke struck him down five years ago.

Father JOhn DEar is best known for not only his actions for peace, including as the head of Pax Christi and the Fellowship of REconciliation, but also for the many works he has written, including Disarming the Heart: Towards a Vow Of Non-Violence (which for a Christian shoudl be redundant anyways!). In this ADvent season we do well to contemplate his Mary of Nazareth: Prophet of Peace. And in the midst of all this activity he found time to compile the writings of Gandhi, in the year 2002 when surely he felt the call to more direct actions.

What more lasting and direct action for peace and Christian love could he possibly take than this collection of Gandhi? Now at this discount how can we afford in this fallen day and age not to take it to heart?

Please take advantage of the excellent amazon Search Inside feature to study at least the Table of Contents and you will find everything you have wanted to know. Not only does he provide an excellent summary of the life and impact of Gandhi, but then develops along the essential themes his thought and prayer. There is of course and obviously to many the parallels with the Sermon on the Mount which helps us CAtholics the more to understand our call as Catholics to peaceful action in this violent world.

Especially important to us as Americans as our nation sinks under its exponentially increasing inequities brought on by the current administration is the pages devoted to "Steadfast Resistance", in particular the chapter entitled, "Obeying the Divine Law, Resisting Unjust Laws (pages 152 ff.)" which find echo sixty years later in the COnciliar document Gaudium et Spes, which describes why no Catholic can support our Iraqi involvement directly nor indirectly:

Gaudium et spes gives the specific admonition:

"Every act of war directed to the indiscriminate destruction of whole cities or vast areas with their inhabitants is a crime against God and humanity, which merits firm and unequivocal condemnation."

Thus must we Catholics condemn absolutely our war against Iraq which goes back though the long war of attrition to papa Bush in 1990, which has caused over a million Iraqi deaths, women and children in their bloodied beds, and carpet bombing wiping out the ancient city of Fallujah, etc. all for profiteering privateering petroleum piracy.

Further Gaudium et spes states unequivocally:
"If civil authorities legislate or allow anything that is contrary to the will of God, neither the law made nor the authorization granted can be binding on the conscience of the citizens since God has more right to be obeyed than man."

God commands: Thou shalt not kill.

We cannot kill a million Iraqi citizens, women and children in their beds, for the sake of privateering petroleum piracy. We cannot be involved in this genocide in any way shape or form. We in fact are obligated to work and speak strongly against it. Pope John PAul II was first in condemning the aggressive invasion of Iraq.

I cannot urge you enough to consider this substantial volume for your spiritual and Catholic library, as the Reverend Father John Dear so well and intelligently and spiritually interprets for us directly from the primary sources the life and philosophy, the love and non-violent action of this Great Soul. I can think of no finer book on Gandhi available today. I can think of no more crucial message for us today, who have grown deaf and blind by the brilliance of the Sermon on the Mount and need to see it through refractions from a similar source to find our own Faith and grace-filled Action.

Do unto others what you want them to do to you.
Sounds like something you never have to think about while it is all you need to think about.

Sun, Sin And Suburbia: An Essential History Of Modern Las Vegas

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Excellent and well researched
Sun, Sin, & Suburbia - Intelligent and Fascinating
Good but lacking

Sun, Sin And Suburbia: An Essential History Of Modern Las Vegas
Geoff Schumacher
Manufacturer: Stephens Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1932173145

Customer Reviews:

Excellent and well researched.......2006-04-26

Geoff Schumacher's "Sun,Sin,Suburbia" is a well written book that takes a look into the history of Las Vegas over the last twenty years. Written with a historians attention to detail, "Sun, Sin, Suburbia" is also a very fun read for any who are interested in Las Vegas and the rise and domination of corporations lead by men like Steve Wynn.

Sun, Sin, & Suburbia - Intelligent and Fascinating.......2005-01-27

Schumacher has packed his account of Las Vegas full of insightful and interesting facts that other books about Las Vegas often lack. He demonstrates his intelligent, talented prose in providing a balanced perspective of the more familiar side of Las Vegas, the casino industry, while offering inside information on the development of southern Nevada, home to more than 1.6 million people. The book is well organized, and can be read in whole, or by choosing one of eleven chapters that each independently address a specific topic of Las Vegas history and its future. Those of us who live here will find useful insight on people and places we encounter regularly, as well as enlightening historical information on the people who came before us. Non-residents will gain fascinating and insightful facts beyond what is commonly known about Las Vegas. It's a great read.

Good but lacking.......2005-01-19

Sun, Sin and Suburbia is an interesting, well-written and impeccably researched volume. As a non-Las Vegan I would have liked to read more about the Mob; the Culinary Union's struggles; Howard Hughes and Steve Wynn, and less about residential communities. Whilst the book added to my knowledge of Sin City, it fell short of its promise to be "An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas".

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Essential Modern World History
Steven Waugh
Manufacturer: Nelson Thornes
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0748760067

A History of the Low Countries (Palgrave Essential Histories)

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A complex history presented clearly with clarity and a light touch

A History of the Low Countries (Palgrave Essential Histories)
Paul Arblaster
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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History of the Low Countries

ASIN: 1403948283
Release Date: 2005-12-01

Customer Reviews:

A complex history presented clearly with clarity and a light touch.......2006-05-26

I have just finished this delightful book, "The Low Countries". I am not an academic, but rather a former international banker who lived in the proximity of the Low Countries (3 years in Germany and a year in London) before spending 10 years in the Far East, during which time I occasionally also had Dutch bosses and colleagues. I have long been intrigued but the differences in personalities of Cologne and Frankfurt where I lived and The Netherlands and Belgium so close by, yet found no history books that really helped me get my arms around their complex, interconnected histories. This book not only did this, but with an occasional sly humor that I came to look for with delight.

The Essentials of European History: 1848-1914 Realism and Materialism (Essentials)

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The Essentials of European History: 1848-1914 Realism and Materialism (Essentials)
William Walker
Manufacturer: Research & Education Association
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ASIN: 0878917098

Book Description

Discusses the failure of the revolutions of 1848, realpolitik and nationalism, the Crimean War, capitalism and the New Left, Karl Marx, the Second French Republic and the Second Empire, Imperial Russia, the Balkan States and the end of the Ottoman Empire, the New Imperialism, the age of Bismarck, Darwin, Wagner, Freud, and the coming of the Great War.

Essential Histories 59: The Plains Wars 1757-1900

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The Cliff Notes of military history
Not a Comprehensive Survey

Essential Histories 59: The Plains Wars 1757-1900
Charles Iii , and Charles M. Robinson III
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 184176521X
Release Date: 2003-09-25

Book Description

The Great Plains cover the central two-thirds of the United States, and during the nineteenth century were home to some of the largest and most powerful Indian tribes on the continent. The conflict between those tribes and the newcomers from the Old World lasted about one hundred and fifty years, and required the resources of five nations - Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America and the United States - before fighting ended in the mid 1890s. This masterly exposition explains the background, causes and long term effects of these bitter wars, whose legacy can still be felt today.

Customer Reviews:

The Cliff Notes of military history.......2006-04-03

The "Essential Histories" series from Osprey could easily be compared to the Cliff Notes series. They'll give you a nice introduction to a topic you are not familiar with, but no real depth. Most volumns are under 100 pages; therefore, don't expect many "man in the trenches" stories.

This series tends to run into problems when the time periods stretch out. Nearly 150 years is a bit difficult to present in such a small book. The more length in years, the more background necessary for items not related.

Not a Comprehensive Survey.......2004-05-03

In Osprey's The Plains Wars 1757-1900, Charles M. Robinson III, a history teacher at a Texas community college, attempts to provide a broad survey of the Indian Wars fought on the American plains in the 18th and 19th Centuries. Unfortunately, Robinson's account is written with too much of a Texas bias and too narrow a geographic focus. Robinson's narrative - while sometimes interesting - is undermined by conceptual errors and lack of data. The Plains War includes seven maps: Texas, the South Plains (1874 Red River War); the North plains; 1869 Battle of Washita; 1876 Battle of Rosebud; Red River War (again - confusing); 1876 Little Bighorn (a copy of the map from the campaign volume). There is also an appendix with a list of Principal Indian characters.

After a short introduction that clearly states that the bulk of the volume will focus on the Red River War of 1874-1875 and the Great Sioux War of 1876-1877, a 6-page "background to war section" that reverts to the period of Spanish settlement in Texas in the mid-17th Century. In this section, Robinson begins a conceptual error - driven by Texas lore - that attempts to link the late 19th Century Plains Wars with early 18th Century Spanish colonization, with not a word given to what occurred east of the Mississippi. Robinson also demonstrates a tendency to exaggerate the historical significance of minor incidents; for example, he describes the 1758 "massacre" at the San Saba mission in Texas (10 Spanish killed) as "disaster" that stopped Spanish expansion onto plains and started "full-scale warfare between Indians and whites on the Southern Plains." Even though the first Americans didn't show up in Texas until 1821 and the Spanish never committed more than a few hundred troops to defend Texas, Robinson sees this as a continuous, full-scale war. Later, Robinson describes the 1836 Indian raid on Parker's Fort as "one of the worst raids" in Texas history - five Texans killed, five captured (four ransomed). These were actually small raids in comparison to what occurred in other areas of the country, and certainly not loaded with great historical import.

Robinson's underlying thesis, presented in the main campaign narrative, is that the Plains Wars were "handed down through the generations" and that "the conflict between those tribes [from the Great Plains] lasted about 150 years and required the resources of five nations - Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America and the United States - before fighting ended in the mid-1890s." However, no serious threat was posed to the Plains tribes before the Lewis & Clark expedition and pressure only really began to build in the mid-19th Century. While Indian warfare had been a constant in American life since the 17th Century - never alluded to by Robinson - the actual period of sustained warfare against the Plains tribes was only half of the 150 year period he claims. Indeed, the independence of the Plains tribes was smashed in a few decades and with less than 10% of the effort needed to subdue the Confederacy. Despite Robinson's thesis, Spain and Mexico never put serious demographic pressure on the Plains tribes and indeed it was the paucity of Spanish settlers in the region that encouraged Americans to migrate into Texas. The Republic of Texas and CSA were on the defensive against the Plains Indians, and neither was made a major push to expand westward. Only the USA made a major effort to expand into the Great Plains, and it was the only power to offer a major threat to Plains tribes. All the major battles on the Plains were fought between American soldiers and Indians. If warfare was "handed down," it owed more to the tradition of Fallen Timbers and the Seminole Wars than it did to obscure Spanish missionaries.

Another problem that plagues this volume is a lack of reliable data. Despite a 4-page bibliography, Robinson fails to provide basic statistics like: how many Plains Indians were there in this period (only about 300,000 by 1850 versus 23 million Americans)? How large was the U.S. Army commitment in the region (about 7,000 prior to the Civil War and about 15,000 afterwards)? How many casualties were incurred by both sides in the Plains Wars (about 2,000 military versus 6,000 Indians in 1865-1890)? Robinson does not even list casualties from major battles like the Rosebud or Little Bighorn. Furthermore, Robinson tends to treat all Plains Indian tribes as more or less the same, which ignores differences in methods and temperament. Robinson also chooses to exclude the Nez Percé War and the Arizona Apaches simply because they do not fall within "the Plains" - this is a major disservice to the reader since these campaigns were very relevant to the Plains Wars. Overall, the volume fails to provide an adequate summary of the military conflict that resulted in the 19th Century from Indian resistance to westward expansion.

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The Cliff Notes of military history

Putting "Breaker Morant" Into Context

Another excellent Essential History from Osprey

Excellent Summary of a Landmark Conflict

The Boer War 1899-1902 (Essential Histories)
Gregory Fremont-Barnes
Manufacturer: Osprey Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Scapegoats of the Empire: The True Story of Breaker Morant's Bushveldt Carbineers

The Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905

The Zulu War, 1879 (Essential Histories 56)

The Crimean War: 1854-1856 (Essential Histories)

The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871 (Essential Histories)

ASIN: 1841763969
Release Date: 2003-04-20

Book Description

Victorious in its previous campaigns in Africa against native armies, Britain now confronted an altogether different foe. The Boers proved to be formidable opponents, masterfully compensating for inferior numbers with grim determination, resourcefulness and strong religious faith. Their mobility, expert use of cover, and knowledge of the terrain, in which they employed powerful long-range magazine rifles, gave them initial advantages. By contrast the British suffered from inadequate transport, insufficient mounted troops and poor intelligence. Despite marshalling the immense resources of their empire, the British were to be severely tested in a war which one general described as ‘the graveyard of many a soldier’s reputation’.

Customer Reviews:

The Cliff Notes of military history.......2006-04-03

The "Essential Histories" series from Osprey could easily be compared to the Cliff Notes series. They'll give you a nice introduction to a topic you are not familiar with, but no real depth. Most volumns are under 100 pages; therefore, don't expect many "man in the trenches" stories.

This book is what this series does best: present a little understood period of military history with some background, goals of participants, and outcome.

Putting "Breaker Morant" Into Context.......2005-10-07

I had little knowledge of, nor interest in, the Boer War until I saw the movie "Breaker Morant", the story of the court martial of three (Australian) junior officers serving in a special unit of the British Army in that war.

Two of them were executed, and the third, Lt. George Witton was sentenced to life in prison(later commuted). Witton later wrote a book about this, entitled "Scapegoats of the Empire", making the case that the three of them were sold out by the high command and sacrificed to political expediency. Although I first saw the movie "Breaker Morant" about twenty years ago, I had often wondered about Witton's book, and how he actually told the story. I was under the impression that the book was out of print, but recently found it quite easily and reasonably priced through Amazon. So, I ordered it, and "The Boer War: 1899 -1902 (Essential Histories)" was recommended as a companion volume. So, I ordered that one, too. This book on the Boer War was helpful in setting Witton's book into the overall context of the type of grinding guerilla war the British were facing and why Witton's unit was given orders (denied during the court martial) not to take prisoners. (In addition, the British high command had adopted a "scorched earth policy" to try to bring the plucky Boer farmers to their knees, and confined Boer women and children to concentration camps under the most wretched conditons. So, the book on the Boer War help set the context for Witton's book, which was essentially the story of the raw deal he and Lts. Morant and Handcock received at the hands of the generals and the politicians.

Another excellent Essential History from Osprey.......2005-06-14

I knew next to nothing about the Boer War when I sat down to read this book. Though I can't truly claim to be an expert on the subject now, I almost feel as though I am one, because this book is so well written. The narrative is very easy to follow and the plentiful maps and photographs are close to superb. Plus, the discussion of the centuries preceeding the actual war, though brief, put the war in context quite nicely. There really isn't anything more to say except that if you want a short introduction to the Boer War, then buy and read this book!

Excellent Summary of a Landmark Conflict.......2003-05-11

While the Boer War of 1899-1902 has been overshadowed in collective memory by the two world wars, in many respects the conflict was one of the first modern wars. The conflict was also unusual for its mobile operations over vast areas, its protracted guerrilla phase and in particular, the tactical successes by a small armed citizenry against a much larger, professional military force. Historian Gregory Fremont-Barnes does a wonderful job in Osprey's Essential Histories #52, The Boer War 1899-1902, in describing this landmark conflict. Even after a century, there are many lessons to be learned from a study of the Boer War by military professionals and this volume is an excellent starting place. The Boer War 1899-1902 is also one of the best volumes in the Essential Histories series.

After a short introduction and chronology, The Boer War 1899-1902 provides an excellent 10-page section on the background to the war. Interestingly, the discovery of diamonds and gold in South Africa in the 19th Century and its relationship to the crisis that led to war might seem analogous with the modern relationship between oil and international security. The six-page section on opposing sides is also quite good; in particular, the author notes the Boer's advantage in tactical mobility due to all their troops being mounted, and the possession of a small, but efficient artillery arm. In the section on the outbreak of the war, the author notes how both sides were inclined to seek war as a solution and how the Boers imported large quantities of weapons and ammunition just before the conflict began. The actual campaign narrative is 35 pages in length and is supported by ten maps (South Africa 1899, principal theater of operations, the siege of Ladysmith, the Battle of Colenso, the Battle of Spion Kop, the siege of Mafeking, Lord Robert's advance, the siege of Kimberley, the blockhouse system, and Smut's invasion of the Cape Colony). The section on "portrait of a soldier" profiles Deneys Reitz, a Boer commando who wrote a postwar memoir, while "portrait of a civilian" profiles Emily Hobhouse, an Englishwoman who attempted to improve the welfare of interned Boer civilians. Final sections cover how the war ended and its consequences. The bibliography is also quite good and more extensive than most other Osprey volumes, and the illustrations throughout are also excellent.

The series of military defeats that the British forces suffered in the first three months of the conflict are amazing by any standard; expert Boer rifle marksmanship, efficient artillery, knowledge of the terrain and cunning selection of defensive positions allowed the farmers-turned-soldiers to annihilate one British battalion after another. Most of the rest of the British army was cut-off and besieged in isolated posts like Ladysmith, Kimberly and Mafeking. Indeed, had the Boer's used their initial advantages to push on and seize the vital coastal ports, the British might not have been in a position to relieve their besieged garrisons for some time and the war might have been ended much sooner. As Fremont-Barnes narrative reveals, the Boers were very successful throughout the war on the tactical level, but on the operational level they were overly conservative and unimaginative. On the other hand, it seems almost incredible that so many British commanders could persist in frontal assaults against entrenched Boer positions, even after ample evidence that this was disastrous. The British had important deficiencies in tactical mobility and intelligence that left them unable to come to grip with their foes in the initial stages of the war. The British also had a tendency to split up their forces too much, based upon their innate (but false) sense of tactical superiority. Time and again, small British columns were surprised and overwhelmed. In the end, the British were able to win the conventional phase of the war by using overwhelming and concentrated force, as well as rectifying their mobility problems by widespread use of cavalry. The guerrilla phase was won by the controversial policies of "scorched earth," internment camps and blockhouses to contain the free-riding Boer commandos.

Fremont-Barnes' narrative is full of interesting insights that are applicable to other conflicts, in other times. One British officer notes that the seizure of the Boer capitals seems to have had little impact on their will to resist: "the Boers set no store by them [the capitals] apparently; neither Bloemfontein nor Pretoria have been seriously defended, and they go on fighting after their loss just as if nothing had happened." Barnes also notes that the British army found it relatively easy to control the few towns and even the rail lines, but found it almost impossible to control the vast stretches of open veldt upon which the Boer commando roamed (although in a few years, the arrival of aircraft would have made life tougher for the Boers) - which is still a problem familiar to modern military personnel in places like Somalia, Afghanistan and the Balkans.

Ultimately, the British achieved a military victory after committing 450,000 troops to subdue an enemy that never had more than 60,000 troops. Nor was victory cheap; the war cost Britain £200 million and 22,000 dead. Oddly, the victory was a hollow one. Fremont-Barnes notes that, "the greatest paradox of the war was the fact that, though Britain emerged the victor in the military sense, the Boers clearly won the peace. Within a decade of the end of hostilities all four South African Crown colonies had been unified into a self-governing union dominated by Afrikaners. The Boer republics had gone to war in the name of liberty and now they had achieved it."

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