Book Description
How have the crusades contributed to Islamist rage and terrorism today? Were the crusades the Christian equivalent of modern jihad? In this sweeping yet crisp history, Thomas F. Madden offers a brilliant and compelling narrative of the crusades and their contemporary relevance. Placing all the major crusades within their medieval social, economic, religious, and intellectual environments, Madden explores the uniquely medieval world that led untold thousands to leave their homes, family, and friends to march in Christ's name to distant lands. From Palestine and Europe's farthest reaches, each crusade is recounted in clear, concise narrative. The author gives special attention as well to the crusades' effects on the Islamic world and the Christian Byzantine East.
Customer Reviews:
Gained a perspective.......2007-05-26
This was the first book I ever read about the Crusades. I felt I needed some historical background for the Christian-Muslim tension that we see all around the world today. This book presented the subject in an unbias way that left me feeling I could draw some informed opinions on the subject. To be frank, some of my conclusions were not what I expected them to be prior to reading the book. I am not a good reader. It is a struggle for me to get through a book. I looked forward to reading this book every evening until I finished. It left me wanting to learn more about the subject. One last thing...it is only 225 pages and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject.
Understand the Crusades from a Medieval Mindset.......2007-03-24
Following September 11th, 2001 and George W. Bush's idiotic claim that the war in Iraq was a "crusade", Westerners looked to the past to make sense of what is currently happening in the world; a clash of East and West. Most, if not all, books on the Crusades take a liberal enlightenment stance of attacking the West and portraying the Crusaders as warmongerers who were only interested in their personal wealth and power. The reason for this outlook is because those books were influenced by authors and research done during the Imperial Age of both Europe and America which had overtones of the West imposing it's will onto the East which authors compared to the Crusades.
Madden's book takes a very balanced and scholarly approach to the Crusades; instead of adding on to the list of historically and socially flawed texts about the subject, he shows in a very simple and easy to understand way the mind set of both Medieval Europe and Islam. By doing this he doesn't fall victim to trying to explain the purpose of the Crusades using the modern secular mindset but the pious devotion to God found in both Christian and Muslim camps which makes understanding them easier. Once the reader is acquainted with the Medieval world, Madden does take an unbiased secular approach to what the Crusades were and the impact, if any, they have on current state of affairs.
With a little over 200 DETAILED pages Madden does a thorough job explaining the finer points of the Crusade without overbearing the reader with a list of dates and endless family genealogies. I highly recommend this book to those who are looking for an introduction into the complex subject of the Crusades or just to get a concise overview of what they were about without ploughing through thousands of pages of other texts. This is my second book on the Crusades, James Reston's Jr's "Warrior's of God" being the first (it's a closer look at Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade; Reston, like others in the past, is biased towards the East/Islam, but only in the introduction of the end of the 2nd Crusade, the bias surprisingly disappears after that, great book highly recommend it).
One thing you'll definitely get from this book is that the Crusades were not black and white, good vs. evil, West vs. Islam; too many factors are involved to make it so. Get the book and learn that whatever you may see in the media about what is happening in the world today has some sort of agenda.
Next up: Runciman's 3 volume work (although it is dated and is somewhat flawed in thinking) and Tyerman's "God's War".
not objective.......2007-02-07
Good book if you throw objectivity away and look at history with a sentimental eye rather than a neutral mind. I was dissapointed in the way the book was written.
An easy introduction.......2007-01-28
This book is great for beginners. The writing is smooth and lively, and the author doesn't overwhelm you with too much useless information. Once you're done with this book, if you're interested, you should move on to the books by Jonathan Riley-Smith (we're using them at school). His books contain more information but they are more difficult; I would not recommend them for beginners. You should start with this.
Both Thomas Madden and Jonathan Riley-Smith take a refreshingly balanced approach. They do not paint the Crusades and Imperialism with the same brush, as if the crusaders were just a bunch of greedy European Christians out to plunder innocent Muslim lands. This is currently the popular view; but it confuses the greed of secular imperialists with the piety of devout crusaders. Furthermore, it assumes that Islam spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Spain 'innocently.'
Instead, the Crusades were armed pilgrimages to the holy land with three main objectives: a) to come to the aid of Eastern Christians who were under threat by Muslim forces, b) to recapture some of the territory which was recently conquered by Muslim forces, and c) to improve relations with the Eastern Church. Unfortunately, the Crusades eventually failed in all three of these areas.
Once a crusade was launched it was difficult to control, and too many atrocities took place along the way. Two common examples of such atrocities are the massacring of Jews in Germany during the First Crusade, and the sacking of the city of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Nevertheless, these atrocities were never the initial intentions of the Crusades. Thomas Madden explains all of this in a very fair way. He neither shies away from the ugliness of these atrocities nor uses them to justify an anti-Catholic/pro-secular rant.
A breath of fresh air.
Lots of information in a small form factor.......2007-01-22
After seeing the great reviews for this book, I picked it up to try to gain a better understanding of the Crusades and how it may be related to current events. I was kind of shell shocked with all of the details this book throws at you. But after getting deeper into the book, it was actually a great read. From the disappointments of the Crusades to the identification of the misunderstanding that often result from historical misconceptions, this book packs a lot of information in a concise and interesting format.
Book Description
The first volume of The New Cambridge Medieval History covers the transitional period between the later Roman world and the early middle ages, c. 500 to c. 700. This was an era of developing consciousness and profound change in Europe, Byzantium and the Arab world, an era in which the foundations of medieval society were laid and to which many of our modern myths of national and religious identity can be traced. This book offers a comprehensive regional survey of the sixth and seventh centuries, from Ireland in the west to the rise of Islam in the Middle East, and from Scandinavia in the north to the Mediterranean south. It explores the key themes pinning together the history of this period, from kingship, trade and the church, to art, architecture and education. It represents both an invaluable conspectus of current scholarship and an expert introduction to the period.
Book Description
A new edition of the definitive book on nationalism—over a quarter of a million copies sold worldwide.
Imagined Communities, Benedict Anderson's brilliant book on nationalism, forged a new field of study when it first appeared in 1983. Since then it has sold over a quarter of a million copies and is widely considered the most important book on the subject. In this greatly anticipated revised edition, Anderson updates and elaborates on the core question: what makes people live, die and kill in the name of nations? He shows how an originary nationalism born in the Americas was adopted by popular movements in Europe, by imperialist powers, and by the anti-imperialist resistances in Asia and Africa, and explores the way communities were created by the growth of the nation-state, the interaction between capitalism and printing, and the birth of vernacular languages-of-state. Anderson revisits these fundamental ideas, showing how their relevance has been tested by the events of the past two decades.
Customer Reviews:
Thought-provoking but unsatisfying.......2007-07-17
This short book/long essay offers some interesting insights on nationalism, but is limited by its Marxist-materialist perspective. Anderson obviously knows his history and his typology of three essential nationalisms (the new republics of the Americas in the late 18th-early 19th centuries, popular national revival movements in 19th-century Europe, and suffocating official nationalisms such as the British and Russian empires) is based on the history of capitalism, the development of printing, mass communication, class conflicts, and world trade. Anderson argues that these models were adapted in one form or another in the newly independent nations of Africa and Asia after World War II.
Psychology is the unmentioned elephant in the drawing room. There is no consideration of group/crowd psychology or built-in human aggressiveness and territoriality, the human need to define oneself in a group in opposition to others, or the way that nations are felt by many people to be a kind of family, with rulers as parent figures. The absence of psychology causes Anderson's argument to run out of steam toward the end, when he offers only a few pages about patriotism and racism, and here becomes shallow and unconvincing.
Some nation-states are no doubt very artificial (as Anderson's "imagined" title suggests), and borders between countries are often artificial. But cultural and linguistic differences between groups are very real. Anderson recognizes the importance of language differences. At one point he quotes a distinguished Indonesian author, leaving the quote untranslated. (Are we supposed to be impressed because Anderson reads Indonesian and we, presumably, don't?) However, Anderson does not give much consideration to cultural (including religious) differences, other than some mention of this issue in his discussion of Japan and Indonesia.
There are other curious omissions. Anderson does not note that people often have multiple and conflicting loyalties (allegiance to a nation, but also to a region, or to a religion). He never mentions the Roman Empire, says little or nothing about the Arab world, diaspora populations or stateless peoples.
Anderson is an academic writing for other academics. He wants to be quoted and to be considered clever, hence the catchy title. Readers outside academia may become irritated with his gassy, excessively precious and self-indulgent style (phrases like "discontinuity-in-connectedness"). Anderson's references to trendy authors (Foucault, Bakhtin) do not really contribute to his argument and the authors in question are no longer as trendy now as they were in the early 1980s.
This book can certainly stimulate your thinking on this important topic, but will leave many questions unanswered.
Imagine that...!.......2007-07-12
Great book! I am using it for academic research and have found it great from a theoretical perspective. That said, it is a bloody brillant read for anyone who is just simply interested in understanding what the big deal is about nations or wanting to just have a more general understanding behind the more everyday realities of what nation and national identity, like pretty much any other kind of social grouping mean.
One of the seminal works on the evolution of national consciousness.......2007-06-08
Anderson's masterful work about the development of national consciousness should be read and treasured by anyone interested in modern politics, political theory, or societal development. Bringing together an impressive array of international and polyglot sources, it is one of the few books that gives a global account of the phenomenon of nationalism and modern nation-building while disabusing readers of most of the truisms concerning nations that people today seem to take for granted. Read it, and then pass it on to your friends and family. It's worth it.
New Edition disappointing.......2007-02-20
I was disappointed in this 'new edition', because it is a missed opportunity.
When it was first published in 1983, 'Imagined Communities' deservedly became a classic in the analysis of nationalism - and an excellent antidote to those who beat nationalist drums. As the new chapter (on the 'geobiography of the book') at the end of this edition outlines, the book has now been published in 30 countries and 27 languages.
Partly inspired by Anderson, the debates on nationalism have moved on considerably in the subsequent 23 years. I was hoping that a new/revised edition would at least note these debates, and preferably comment and analyse them. Unfortunately, this edition does not. Indeed, even though the 'Preface to the second edition' (written in 1991) refers to the excellent 1990 book by Eric Hobsbawm 'Nations and Nationalism', that Hobsbawm text does not get a listing in the bibliography. There is little in the bibliography post 1983, and nothing since around 1990.
While the initial book is still well worth reading (hence the three stars), there is unfortunately little to recommend in this 'new edition'
Update Needed, New Wars To Contemplate!!!.......2007-02-05
I certainly recommend this book, for a quick and easy read. If communism or fascism is a topic of interest then this book would be a great addition.
As usual though Anderson constantly revives Islamic ideology, as a prime source of Nationalism, but luckily he tackles many other topics such as the Vietnam war, the Cold War, Imperialism, China, Europe, but most importantly "modernity."
He directly questions pluralism in humanity, in times of Antiquity in paradox with modernity. His questioning crosses all continents, where at last we realize the transcontinental routes of Nationalism.
Average customer rating:
- Calculations are only as good as your numbers
- Pants on fire?
- Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
- Very Interesting
- History as Science Fiction
|
History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
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Similar Items:
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History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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History: Fiction or Science? Astronomical methods as applied to chronology. Ptolemy's Almagest. Chronology III
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ASIN: 2913621058 |
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.
Book Description
The “dean of Cold War historians” (The New York Times) now presents the definitive account of the global confrontation that dominated the last half of the twentieth century. Drawing on newly opened archives and the reminiscences of the major players, John Lewis Gaddis explains not just what happened but why—from the months in 1945 when the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. went from alliance to antagonism to the barely averted holocaust of the Cuban Missile Crisis to the maneuvers of Nixon and Mao, Reagan and Gorbachev. Brilliant, accessible, almost Shakespearean in its drama, The Cold War stands as a triumphant summation of the era that, more than any other, shaped our own.
Customer Reviews:
History in Context.......2007-09-07
I found this book to be an extremely well organized survey of the Cold War. Professor Gaddis eloquently explains the sources of the conflict. He goes on to describe the escalation; and then points out how, somewhere in the middle, many of its actors came to view the conflict as permanent, and even desirable. He explains how it took men and women of vision to see the landscape of the future without the conflict as a permanent fixture, and then relentlessly pursue that vision.
The inclusion of the Soviet perspective from recently available sources makes this book especially interesting. The Soviets were pursuing global communism, which proved to be an unworkable solution to the ills of unbridled capitalism. But, we may never have had such crystal clear historical evidence of its unworkability if the Soviets hadn't undertaken their experiment.
Was the Cold War really dangerous?.......2007-07-17
The year Ronald Reagan died my mom commented to me, "What is all the fuss about Reagan? What did he ever do?" After I wiped the blood from my eyes, I asked her, "You don't speak Russian do you? If nothing else, you can thank him and men like him for that." People tend to forget what a formidable foe the USSR was and how close they came to winning the Cold War. Todays youth have even made the old Russian flag a fashion statement, wearing it on tee-shirts hoping to gain cool points from their hip socialist brainwashed friends. But the fact of the matter is that the Russian Empire was a threat. John Gaddis does an excellent job reminding us of this fact. Although the book is not an in depth study of the cold war, it is useful as a reminder to subsequent generations that the Communist threat was real, in American and throughout the rest of the world.
an excellent concise resource.......2007-06-30
Gaddis has done an excellent job of telling an extremely complicated history in a tight and well-written volume. The importance of his story is contrasted by his reminding the reader that his college students today have almost no living memory of the Cold War or just how serious a historical epic it was between two great powers.
As the world has changed dramatically over the past 16 years since the fall of the Soviet Union, this book will be an excellent resource to remember just what a huge struggle the Western bloc vs. the Soviet Union and its satellites was. This is not an ideaological book from the Yale professor Gaddis, but he gives credit to the end of the Cold War to three individuals and a people group: Ronald Reagan, Margeret Thatcher, Pope John Paul II and the people of eastern Europe who contiually stood up to the Soviet and local communist leaders.
A weak point of this book, which admittedly does not have time to explore the vast and complicated expressions of every part of the Cold War is Gaddis explanation for why the anti-war movements of the 1960's and 70's in the West erupted with as much fury as they did, and subsided almost as quickly. His explanation, that it was largely caused by baby boom young adults, coming of age, with lots of time on their hands seems like a short answer. Comparing and contrasting the reaction of the West to the Korean War vs. Vietnam might have made a better use of the text.
Gaddis presentation of how the Cold War started at the end of World War II is another excellent section, especially how the West, making practical concessions to the Soviets that they could never hope to bargain for at the end of the war, quickly turned European opinion against the Soviets by forcing the Soviets into the position of being the ones who built wall, established border police and shut themselves off because they had to keep people in.
The explanation of proxy conflicts, especially in the Middle East, is another highlight of the work. Seeing the Israeli and Palestinian conflict as rump to the Cold War, and the Soviets inability to deal with their Egyptian allies in Nasser further showed the weakness of the Soviet state.
While ultimatley Gaddis presents the end of the Cold War as being led by the four main actors mentioned earlier, his treatment of Gorbachev as a man who managed the end of the failure of the Soviet Empire and the inability of the Soviets to have a sustainable economic future - the very reason for its existence is told with great clarity.
Gaddis warns throughout the book that choosing an ends justifying the means approach got the West into more dificulty than anything else. The attempt by the West, especially between John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, to manage a stable world delayed the inevitable end of the Cold War and more than likely created greater human misery of the likes the world has rarely scene. Ronald Reagan, and Thatcher and John Paul, were in a sense revolutionaries, for they sought to win the Cold War by calling for total peace and not half measures of agreements and stability.
Very Good, Concise History.......2007-05-21
This is ideal if you're not looking for an 14,000 page account of the Cold War...you get a little background on everything, from nuclear tests to Cuba to the fall of the USSR. What you don't get is much detail, which, I suppose, is the intent of a concise history; a little more detail would have been nice, though. It's a 260 page book, a few more facts or stories here and there probably wouldn't have pushed this into "only for historians" territory, it's hard to complain about the brevity of a book whose aim is brevity. 'The Company' by Robert Littel goes well with this, as it fleshes out many of the major events here in a far less dry manner than most Cold War history books. Anybody looking for an overview of one of the largest, longest, most epic events in modern history should pick this up.
Recounting the Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union.......2007-04-19
One of the great debates in American foreign policy is how do you deal with repressive regimes. There are several schools of thought on how to proceed. The first is isolation (this has been the U.S. policy towards Iran and N. Korea). The second is confrontation (Iraq is the obvious example) and the third is communication (this would be the tactic used by Nixon in China and the policy of détente with the Soviet Union). Each policy has its advocates and detractors and each its plusses and minuses. Embracing China has worked out fairly well for its citizenry although there is much room for improvement. On the other hand supporting the Saudi monarchy has caused some serious headaches for the U.S. and Saudi citizens. Isolation and sanctions have a very poor track record and generally makes repressed citizenry even worse off. Confrontation can have unpredictable results that often exasperate the situation. Military confrontation can lead to considerable misery and verbal confrontation generally fails because one of the maxims of maintaining a dictatorship is demonstrating strength. The Bush administrations threats towards Iran and North Korea have fallen flat.
The ethos of `do no harm' fails when deciding how to deal with stable but brutal dictatorships or failing regimes. I was watching Hotel Rwanda with my girlfriend when she asked why the United Nations hadn't done more to protect the Tutsis from genocide. But what could the U.N. do? Slaughter the Hutus? The Tutsis had blood on their own hands. In the case of Bosnia the U.N. and U.S. bombed the hell out of the Serbians but again the Albanians were no angels and had in fact sided with the Axis during WWII. While trying to arrest Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid 18 American soldiers died but so did an estimated 1,000 and 1,500 Somali militiamen with an upwards of 4,000 injured Somali. So when does a humanitarian mission become a slaughter?
In the case of the Soviet Union the people were clearly suffering under a crushingly repressive dictatorship. Despite its claim to being a system of the working man, Communism was an intellectual farce and an economic disaster. It was also a system bent on spreading its message and extending its influence. So the debate in the West was between confrontation and isolation. In the end a compromise of sorts was formed ending in confrontation through proxies. The author gave several examples of countries playing the two superpowers off one another. By not explicitly siding with one or the other smaller countries could manipulate for their own benefit or "wag the dog".
`The Cold War' by John Lewis Gaddis is rather brief for a subject spanning over 40 years of history. The author spends a considerable amount of time discussing the changing nature of war after the invention of the atomic bomb. We all owe a debt of gratitude to leaders on both sides of the iron curtain for showing the wisdom and restraint to not use these horrifying weapons. `The Cold War' chronicles the history of the Soviet Union from Stalin to Yeltzin. In the Soviet Union there was no position high enough that one could be free from danger of removal. There will always be a debate on whether containment was the best solution or whether it was Reagan's confrontation that was the final nail in the coffin. The author clearly favors the style Reagan and Thatcher and pretty much omits the sections on U.S. meddling in South America and the Middle East in the name of containment. Reagan's refusal to use the nonworking SDI as a bargaining chip seems silly in retrospect but it was on his watch that the Soviet Union collapsed and since the world wasn't irradiated I figure he must have done SOMETHING right.
Book Description
The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Rome generated its own nemesis. Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors it called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling the Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. Heather is a leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians. In The Fall of the Roman Empire, he explores the extraordinary success story that was the Roman Empire and uses a new understanding of its continued strength and enduring limitations to show how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled it apart. He shows first how the Huns overturned the existing strategic balance of power on Rome's European frontiers, to force the Goths and others to seek refuge inside the Empire. This prompted two generations of struggle, during which new barbarian coalitions, formed in response to Roman hostility, brought the Roman west to its knees. The Goths first destroyed a Roman army at the battle of Hadrianople in 378, and went on to sack Rome in 410. The Vandals spread devastation in Gaul and Spain, before conquering North Africa, the breadbasket of the Western Empire, in 439. We then meet Attila the Hun, whose reign of terror swept from Constantinople to Paris, but whose death in 453 ironically precipitated a final desperate phase of Roman collapse culminating in the Vandals' defeat of the massive Byzantine Armada: the west's last chance for survival. Peter Heather convincingly argues that the Roman Empire was not on the brink of social or moral collapse. What brought it to an end were the barbarians.
Customer Reviews:
Why the Western Roman Empire collapsed.......2007-09-30
Many causes have been given for the fall of the Roman Empire. Some speculate that the increasing wealth of Roman citizens caused economic and military senescence. Other claim the introduction of Christianity softened the military edge of Roman leaders. Even the presence of lead in the water supply (from the pipes) has been blamed. Often these conclusions were based on historical bias (naturally, a Marxist-leaning historian would look to economic causes) or lack of proper information (only recently has it been archaeologically proven that Roman farm output did not decline over the course of the 5th century). Exacerbating the problem is the fact that most of the records of the Roman Empire have been destroyed over the years, and records from outside the Western Empire are non-existent due to the illiteracy of the Germanic and other "barbarian" peoples.
Author Peter Heather is an historian and expert on the late Western Empire and its Germanic and Hunnic neighbours. Using the latest archaeological discoveries, and sifting through original papers and classic histories (e.g. Gibbons), he brings us this new and eminently readable treatise on the fall of the Western Empire over the course of one hundred years from 376 (when two Gothic tribes arrive on the Imperial frontier demanding asylum) to the deposition of the last Western emporer (476). In that time, he builds a convincing argument that the Barbarian invasions over those 100 years were directly responsible for the fall of Rome. That this is the most obvious explanation based on the historical record does not diminish his thesis, as he successfully demolishes the more esoteric "deeper" arguments of his predescessor historians (such as Gibbon, who pointed to Christianity as the cause).
Thus: At a time when the Persian Empire was rejuvenated as a united political entity (and thus pressuring the Eastern Empire as a rival superpower), the Huns invaded the lands of eastern Europe, displacing the Goths and others westward into the lands of the Romans. Over the course of the previous 300 years, diplomatic interference in the Germani's internal affairs, periodic punitive expeditions, and especially trade had transformed their cultures to a point where they were able to coalesce into supergroups (Visigoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals) capable of directly challenging Roman military forces. As they carved out niches for themselves (Vandals in Africa, Visigoths in Gaul/Spain, etc.), the losses in tax revenues sapped the strength of the military (unable to pay for soldiers). Thus, when Attila himself appeared, the Roman military was already in a downward spiral. Basically, the loss of tax income caused by wave after wave of Barbarian invasion (ultimately fueled by Hunnic expansion) crippled Rome's ability to field enough military strength to preserve the Empire.
Such an analysis could be dry and academic, but Heather brings the book to life with vivid portraits of everyone from the smallest Imperial usurpers to Attila the Hun. He even instills sly humour (he describes an experiment with his 11-year-old son on how long it would take to shout the obligatory acclamations to the Emporer in the Senate) and deliberate anachronisms (comparing one archaeologist to Indiana Jones) to bring variety to the narrative. There is also an ample supply of maps and some pictures. Thus, it's an entertaining book to read. Unfortunately, it lasts a bit too long for my tastes, and becomes a little repetitive, thus robbing it of a 5th star. Still, recommended for anyone interested in the latest thoughts on the demise of the Western Roman Empire.
Excellent Account of a Monumental Event.......2007-07-28
The "Fall of the Roman Empire" casts a huge shadow. A vast Empire, one of the great civilisations of history, went in barely a century from being the "sole superpower" to a mere plaything of barbarian tribes.
Why did it happen? All sorts of reasons can be offered, and Heather offers several, but what it comes down to is that this is simply what empires do - they rise, they exist for a time - years, decades or (as in Romes's case) centuries - and then they fall. Rome had already had a better "innings" than most, and in the fifth century its luck ran out.
It is usual to blame the Fall on the Empire's internal problems, and say that it became "decadent" or whatever. Heather, probably rightly, focuses more on what was happening outside Rome's borders. The Barbarian tribes, living for centuries with that 800 pound Roman "gorilla" next door, combined into larger units like the Frankish or Gothic kingdoms, which were a tougher proposition for Rome to cope with. Everlasting warfare with these states gradually wore the Empire down, and finally another barbarian, Attila, drove many tribes from their old homes and forced them to try their luck migrating into Roman territory. This proved more than Rome (or at least its western half) could cope with. So down the tubes it went.
No doubt, had Rome not fallen from this cause, it would eventually have fallen another way. Empires are usually longer lived than individuals, but are no more immortal. But Heather does a magnificent job of showing how and why it fell as and when it did.
One minor regret. Perhaps a little more "afterword" about post-Roman Europe might have been in order. For the significant thing about the Roman Empire is not that it fell (which was bound to happen sometime) but that it was never rebuilt. By contrast, China fell to Mongol "barbarians" in the 13C, an invasion probably as devastating as anything Western Rome underwent, yet within a century had gotten its breath back, expelled the invaders, and installed a native Ming Dynasty. Similarly, Egypt was able to spit out the Hyksos and other intruders. Yet Rome's former subjects not only didn't do this, but (unless the Arthurian legends count) seem never to have even tried. Rather, they appear to have largely shrugged their shoulders and made the best of things under their barbarian rulers. While purely external factors can explain the fall itself, they can't explain this apparent acceptance of it. Even when Roman lands were "liberated" by Justinian, the inhabitants seldom rallied round, and when Byzantium's grip loosened they just flopped back into barbarian hands. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that, however traumatic the Empire's fall had been, a lot of its subjects soon found they didn't really miss it all that much. This calls for explanation.
Still, that's quibbling. Heather has written a great book (even if his 21C idioms are irritating at times) and it needs to be read by anyone interested in this subject.
Dont invite a barbarian to lunch.......2007-07-27
Two Oxford classicists, working independently, have simultaneously published books on the fall of the Roman Empire. Peter Heather is an historian of the later Empire and of Barbarian Northern Europe. Bryan Ward-Perkins is an archaeologist specialising in rural society during the fall. Both historians decisively contradict recent rather dotty arguments that the Barbarians were not all that bad; that their conquest of the Western Empire would hardly have been noticed by the mass of the people; and that only the rich would have experienced a drop in living standards. Ward-Perkins' conclusion from extensive digging on former Roman villages is stark: the invasions were violent disasters. The drop in living standards was so catastrophic that they would not regain Empire levels for fifteen hundred years. His full title is uncompromising: The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilisation. Despite some empathy with the Barbarians, Heather agrees with Ward-Perkins that the destruction of the Western Empire was an apocalyptic event. His 500 page book employs well-honed analysis combined with splendid narrative, to address the age-old question: why did the Western half of the empire, so apparently all powerful, almost unassailable, worried only by the threat of Persia in the east, fall to the Barbarian invaders from the north in less than a century? In the early fourth century the Western Empire (pace Gibbon) had not been weakened by Christianity, was not in decline, was very prosperous, and the army was far from enfeebled. Heather's analysis, sinewy, cogent and informed, is too complex for adequate summary here but he believes that after the Huns caused a seismic shift in the balance of power in the North Roman failure came less from Roman weakness than from Barbarian desperation. After the destruction the long-term winner, oddly enough, was the Church. With the old Roman bureaucracy destroyed in the West priests came to monopolise literacy for more than a thousand years. Secular culture would reside with the Arabs!
excellent, clear analysis.......2007-07-07
This book explains with amazing clarity how and why the western Roman empire fell apart between 376 and 476 AD. It covers roughly the same ground as the third volume of Gibbon (minus the obsession with Christianity), but with much better analysis of the political and military calculations of the various parties. It also gives a very coherent account of who the various "barbarian" groups were, and how they formed and interacted: a topic which I have found incredibly confusing in other books. (Apparently this is the author's specialty.)
Note that the word "decline" is not in the title. The author's thesis is that the western empire did not collapse from within; it always had its problems, but in the fourth century it was as strong as ever. Rather, what caused it to fall was that unfriendly interaction with the Romans encouraged Germanic peoples on the frontier to become stronger and more unified; these groups were then impelled into the empire by the onslaught of the Huns, where they began taking over parts of the empire. This triggered a downward spiral in which decreased tax revenues resulting from the lost or ravaged territories made it more difficult for the Romans to fund the military, whereby they lost more territory, and so on. This process is explained in fascinating detail in the book. A last-ditch rescue attempt by the eastern empire in 468 failed in a disastrous naval battle, and it was game over for the west. The eastern empire, meanwhile, continued to prosper through the sixth century; while it had internal problems similar to those of the west, accidents of geography protected it for the time being.
In conclusion, if you are looking for clarity regarding what the heck was going on in fifth century Europe, this is the book for you. It is written in a colloquial style which makes it easy and amusing to read. It includes a number of maps, a dramatis personae, a glossary, and extensive notes, all of which are very useful.
A departure from tradition.......2007-06-26
This book is excellent. The author puts for a break from the traditional Gibbon approach to why the Romans fell apart. The author's work is extremely well documented. He lays out his arguments in a logical manner. Each point sort of builds on the next one in the book. The book seems to be told from the Barbarian's point of view. The book does seem to take the long way though to get to the meat of the argument. The work is very well documented. An average reader might get lost some in the names. You almost have to have a good background on the subject to truly appreciate the book. The main point of the book is that successive Barbarian invasions just wore out the Romans. That created conditions that launched independence movements in the outlying provinces like Great Britain. The author argues convincingly that the further success of the eastern half of the empire showed that internal rot didn't do the Romans in. As a reader reads this it is hard not to draw comparisons to events today for the US. The book showed how multiple problems stretched the Romans to the point of breaking. Then a reader sees the newspapers and wonder if the stretched US Army might lead to conditions similar to what the Romans went through.
Book Description
Italy is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, and this beautiful, useful volume is an ideal reminder for those who have been there and fallen in love with the country, as well as a book to stir the expectations of those who plan to travel there. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, this collection captures the local color of every remarkable corner of this richly diverse land-the clamor and vitality of Naples, the idyllic enchantment of Lago Maggiore, the intriguing cultural contradictions of Genova, the breathtaking (if terrifying) cliffside trails in Cinqueterre.
Contributors include Oliver Bernier, Rachel Billington, Frank Bruni, Shirley Hazzard, Paul Hofmann, Alison Lurie, Malachi Martin, Alastair McEwen, Michael Mewshaw, Jan Morris, Francine Prose, Barry Unsworth, Muriel Spark, and William Weaver. Essays full of history, philosophical ruminations, humorous anecdotes, cultural musings, and useful travel information-in short the best of The New York Times talent-will make you want to drop everything and fly to this land that continues to inspire writers, artists, and casual visitors alike. AUTHOR BIO: Umberto Eco is the author of four novels as well as numerous works of criticism, philosophy, and literary theory. His fifth novel, The Mysterious Flame, will be published in June. He is professor of semiotics at the University of Bologna.
Customer Reviews:
WONDERFUL COLLECTION!.......2007-07-05
There are many interesting articles in this wonderful collection of travel articles from the New York Times. This great book covers Italy from top to bottom and it includes articles of some well known cities such as Rome and Venice as well as some unknown villages and islands. This book shows how diversfied a small country such as Italy is. The photos are gorgeous and the writing is superb from the many different talented writers. I highly recommend this book to any fan of Italy or of travel. This is much more than a coffee table book. Also, a great price through Amazon!
italy !.......2007-04-11
this book is superb. plenty of great photos and informative writing. if we get to italy we will feel comfortable in a foreign speaking country as we will have learned heaps about the people and more about this interesting destination. this book covers all the areas from top to bottom and places in between. thanks to amazon for this purchase as i could find nothing like it in new zealand with such interesting information ! yes it is a must weather you get to italy or not and has pride of place in the travel section of our library.
Great Gift.......2006-02-28
I got this beautiful book for two dear friends, brilliant musicians, who will be traveling to Italy soon. They were entranced, and have thanked me several times, saying the book makes them feel "as if we are already in Italy."
Italy Coffee Table Book.......2006-02-25
The book is beautifully photographed. It has pictures of some out of the way places that some of the other brochures and books don't touch on. If you are looking for information, this is not the book for you.
Discovering/ Revisiting Every Corner of Italy: THE Book To Read Before Travel.......2005-11-19
This is one of those books that defies description. Formed as a joint project between the Italian Tourism people and the New York Times, this generously illustrated volume covers all of Italy, not only photographically but also with immensely readable and helpful articles about the regions, the people and their idiosyncrasies, the culture, the history, the sights not to be missed, the foods, and an ebullient flow of gentle humor that makes this the first choice of reading in preparation for a visit to this popular country - or an invaluable memento for perusing once home from the pleasures Italian.
Not only are there superb 'articles' by NY Times staff writers about the famous places (Milan, Rome, Venice, Florence, Sienna, etc), but here are also vignettes about the tiny secrets of Italy like Posillipo, the Aeolian Islands, Trieste, Portofino and on and on. Forty articles do far more than describe a place: these articles are written by people who can define the flavors so clearly they leap from the page.
Keeping the book in the realm of art, the introduction is by none other than the brilliant Italian novelist Umberto Eco who puts a spin on the wealth of pleasures that follow, basking in Italy's history and the reasons the people are so unique. It is a joy to read. Highly Recommended for both active and armchair travelers! Grady Harp, November 05
Book Description
2004 COVR AWARD-WINNER!
From "Aarab Zereq" to "Zos Kia Cultus," this is the most up-to-date, comprehensive guide to the history, philosophies, and personalities of Western occultism.
Written by an occult scholar and practitioner with the assistance of hundreds of experts in the field, this volume presents the latest in scholarly research and points out errors in previous writings-revealing truths much more interesting and dramatic than the fictional histories that obscured them.
The New Encyclopedia of the Occult is an invaluable reference guide to magic, alchemy, astrology, divination, Tarot, palmistry, and geomancy; magical orders such as the Golden Dawn and Rosicrucians; important occultists; and religions and spiritual traditions associated with occultism such as Wicca, Thelema, Theosophy, and the modern Pagan movement.
Customer Reviews:
Good list of titles. But articles v. biased, cover title is deceptive, & certain articles can incite hate between occult groups.......2007-07-07
I would love to give this book five stars. But my conscience can only allow me to give it one, because the book is claiming to be something that it is not.
It is very useful to have a comprehensive list of occult subjects in one place, as in this encyclopedia. But it should be called ``A' New Encyclopedia of the Occult', not ``The' New Encyclopaedia of the Occult'. Different occult groups have different ideas about the subjects discussed. So it is biased to present one perspective on a subject as `the' perspective.
For example, in the article entitled `Initiation' on p. 242, it says that spiritual, as opposed to physical ritualistic initiation, "has very little to do with the reality of initiation as actually practiced by magical lodge organizations". But this is biased because in certain significant magical lodge organizations, initiation is actually considered to be a spiritual transformation, not a physical ritual. An example is explained in Chapter II of "A Compendium of Occult Laws" by the Rosicrucian Grand Master, Dr. R. S. Clymer, entitled "The Philosophy of Occult Initiation" (1966).
I would also like to pick up on the article "Randolph, Paschal Beverly", beginning on p. 389. This is an extremely offensive article, which can incite hate between occult groups. For example, it says on p. 390, "Unfortunately Randolph's considerable creativity and intelligence were more than overbalanced by his arrogance, egotism, and uncontrolled temper". This is bad history. It is bad because it does not corroborate different primary sources before concluding what Randolph's character was actually like. Arthur Marwick, a professor of History at the Open University, explained that even the most accurate history is only about 80% true. History is a representation of the past. It cannot be considered identical with the past.
Randolph is highly respected by Modern Rosicrucian orders, and his teachings are used by them as the foundation. For example, referring to the preface of "Compendium of Occult Laws", by the Rosicrucian Grand Master Dr. R. S. Clymer, he says, "The second section, "The Philosophy of Occult Initiation", is based almost exclusively upon the secret writings of those versed in Hermetic Science and Alchemical Processes, notably Dr. P.B. Randolph ..."
`The New Encyclopedia of the Occult' even contradicts itself concerning the character of Paschal Beverly Randolph. For example, on p. 390 it says, "[Randolph] ... travelled on the anti-Spiritualist lecture circuit, attacking Spiritualism as earnestly as he had praised it a few years earlier." But as is explained in the article "New Age Movement" in the same Encyclopaedia, page 330, paragraph 2, "...occultists of the Victorian period shook their heads at the excesses and follies of the mesmerist and spiritualist movements ..." So Randolph's actions were in harmony with the Victorian occultism zeitgeist.
Randolph also explained that his intention was not to attack spiritualism. Randolph states, for example, in his book, "Soul, The Soul World," Chapter 8, Paragraph 21, in which he outlines Rosicrucian philosophy, "The sole business of this book is not to controvert any current system of philosophy . . . but to give forth what I know to be the truth." This of course means that Randolph's intention was not to attack spiritualism, but simply to express his Rosicrucian philosophy. When defining one thought system, it is necessary to contrast it against others that are different. This is the way that academic argumentation works. Such argumentation and contrasting does not constitute attacking e.g. explaining how chemistry is not biology is not an attack upon biology by chemistry. Randolph also explains: "much herein given necessarily antagonizes a few of the popular Spiritual theories" ("Soul, The Soul World," Chapter 8, Paragraph 21). Explaining that the Rosicrucian view of the Soul World is hierarchical, necessarily antagonises spiritualism, because it is impossible to describe the soul hierarchy without saying that certain souls are lower in the hierarchy than others. There would be no Masters if there were no apprentices.
Further regarding Randolph's abandonment of the spiritualist worldview. Bryan Magee says in his text `The Great Philosophers' (1987), Oxford, Oxford University Press, p. 66, that the abandonment of one's beliefs that are shown to be flawed in the light of new knowledge is part of what constitutes intellectual advance.
"There is no justice in the world's censorious eyes. They will not wait to learn a man's true character. Though no wrong has been done them, one look - and they hate". - From Medea by Euripides, Lines 18-21 (431 BCE)
So, if you want to know about occultism, `The New Encyclopedia of the Occult' is a handy starting point. But it is safer to read critically i.e. corroborate what is written in the articles with other sources, preferably direct (e.g. what occult orders actually say about themselves), primary, and several secondary sources about a particular subject.
Good Reference .......2007-05-13
So I'm pretty new to occult studies. I bought this book due to general interest and to help decode some references made in lyrics by the band TOOL. I would say it is a pretty informative, but like any encyclopedia the topics are addressed in very general terms. However, I've felt completely lost after reading about some topics. This is likely due to my inexperience with the occult. I imagine I would get a great deal more out of the encyclopedia if I had more basic knowledge. This is a good reference for starting primary research into a particular field of occult study. I would recommend it to anyone who has a general interest in occult studies.
Amazing Collection of Information.......2007-03-31
Greer has done an amazing amount of research putting this massive collection together. This is history, definition, and explanation all in one.
The editor needs to be spanked, however.
Even so, the poor editing does not bring this great reference book down from five stars. This book should be read and reread by every pagan, magic worker, and interested individual. Both the scope and depth are incredible.
I'm definitely a J.M. Greer fan, but this work stands out above Greer's typically excellent body of work.
Objective & Informative.......2007-02-27
I have read numerous books and magazines from the points of view of critical rationalists who speak condescendingly or dismissively of occult subjects; from religious conservatives blindly (and almost always with no correct information) condemning occultism as misguided or evil; and an inexhaustible number of fawning new-agers with illogical and false beliefs about history and religion (who are often as violently judgmental of religious conservatives as the religionists are of them). Written by an educated, logical practitioner, this is the single most objective and broadly informed work I have ever encountered on the subject of the history of western magic and modern occultism. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject, most of all to practitioners.
Where did you find that information?.......2007-01-29
Mr. Greer provides us with some of his great expertise on the subject of magic, wizardry, and just about anything having to do with the world of the Occult. It is well laid out and easy to find the information you are looking for on just about any subject you can think of in this genre.
As always, Mr Greer provides us with a fantastic source of information.
Amazon.com
"Provence, again?" one may think, seeing Peter Mayle's latest effort. "Has the man nothing better to do than promote a region that's already overhyped and overpriced? Can't he turn his eye to a place that needs a touristic boost, like Bulgaria?"
However, there are reasons to plunge into the third Provençal book by Englishman Mayle, formerly a Madison Avenue copywriter whose bestselling A Year in Provence made the area a must-see for tourists and helped to quadruple real estate prices there. After four years in Long Island, Mayle has returned to France with continuing adoration.
Mayle discloses a world missed by tourists, be it the questions dry cleaners ask about wine stains or the mysterious murder of a small-town butcher given to making housewives happy with more than his displayed meat. He also incorporates guide-like tips--listing markets, cheese makers, and the essential how-tos of perfume sniffing and olive-oil tasting. What's more, this book gives a peek into the life of a bestselling writer. The role is not always an enviable one.
Mayle no longer fits into life in America--the vocabulary alone is enough to throw him off--yet in Provence, he is regarded as little more than a moneyed foreigner. Speared by the British press, he laments, "One of my crimes is to have encouraged people to visit the region ... far too many people ... and people of the wrong sort," an accusation that he denies.
And Mayle comes off as positively defensive in his attack of former New York Times food critic Ruth Reichl, who wrote that she was disappointed in the region. The title alone of chapter 3 hints at the sarcastic stabbings to follow: "New York Times Restaurant Critic Makes Astonishing Discovery: Provence Never Existed." Page after page, he roasts Reichl on the spit, creating a hissing Ruth Rotisserie that's most unbecoming from someone of his stature.
What most causes him to sputter is Reichl's admission that she "had been dreaming of a Provence that never existed."
"Where had I been living all these years?" writes the man who's helped to perpetrate the illusion of a land that is nothing but lavender fields, sunflowers swaying in the breeze, and fascinating characters every millimeter. "The Provence that Daudet, Giono, Ford Madox Ford, Lawrence Durrell and M.F.K. Fisher knew and wrote about--the Provence that I know--doesn't exist.... It's a sunny figment of our imagination, a romanticized fantasy."
Maybe. Having recently visited Provence, I agree with Reichl's critical assessment. Therein lies Mayle's ultimate charm. Crack open a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape, delve into Encore Provence, and voilà: it may be better than actually being there. --Melissa Rossi
Book Description
In his most delightful foray into the wonders of Provençal life, Peter Mayle returns to France and puts behind him cholesterol worries, shopping by phone, California wines, and other concerns that plagued him after too much time away.
In
Encore Provence, Mayle gives us a glimpse into the secrets of the truffle trade, a parfumerie lesson on the delicacies of scent, an exploration of the genetic effects of 2,000 years of foie gras, and a small-town murder mystery that reads like the best fiction. Here, too, are Mayle's latest tips on where to find the best honey, cheese, or chambre d'hìte the region has to offer. Lyric, insightful, sparkling with detail,
Encore Provence brings us a land where the smell of thyme in the fields or the glory of a leisurely lunch is no less than inspiring.
Customer Reviews:
Paperback???.......2007-03-09
The book was everything I expected...but y'all sent it in paperback. I never buy a book that I do not want to keep....and I never buy and keep paperback books.
Life in the South of France.......2007-03-04
Food, the air, water, the land and the people in the South of France. The book beautifully took me thru life in this person move to this area.
PROVENCE, ONCE AGAIN.......2006-11-05
Peter Mayle effectivately takes us once again to beautiful Provence through his second book. His writing is witty yet very unassuming and laid back. He gives the reader vivid and often funny accounts of the land and its people. He has an uncanny ability to observe the smallest details in the Provencal locals that he meets and to express it in a very entertaining way through his books.
An Entertaining Book.......2006-06-25
"Encore Provence" is entertaining, but not quite as hilarious as "A Year in Provence".
fun, witty .......2006-02-04
As always, Mayle is terrible entertaining. His breezy style is fantastic. He has the ability to make his readers feel like you are sitting in a cafe with a glass of local wine, just listening to his endless line of colorful stories. At the last page of his books, I feel that I have finished my visit with him in Provence all too soon.
Customer Reviews:
A truly amazing organized crime book.......2002-06-25
Claire Sterling does an amazing job of exposing the new world order of organized crime. Her references seem impeccable and the story she tells is one of world governments crippled by an inability to coordinate and cooperate to the degree that counter-governments (ie, crime families) are cooperating. As a result, the world Sterling paints is one where crime is rapidly becoming the single dominant force in world politics and economics.
A Book Without Boundaries.......2001-09-28
For anyone who wants to know the indepth ramifications of the new threat of global organized crime then look no further than Claire Sterlings supberb effort. I have read two other of Claire Sterling's books and was impressed. Very few authors can boast such a talent for researching as Mrs Sterling does.
The book covers the networks of organized crime groups as she details their very important relationships with each of the other. Also what I found very impressive is the way she manages to get the figures for the numerous sums of money that is floating around so many the illegal markets. She also talks about the "Pax Mafiosi", something that Judge Falcone was aware of, the Pax Mafiosi being the new conglomeration of multinational criminal confederations, that is now the biggest threat to the worlds economy. The Russian Mafia are also mentioned to great aplomb, the mysterious syndicates that are now thriving following the break down of the old USSR. This book is an absolute must for anyone seeking knowledge about how the modern Mafia's are joining forces and becoming a multi hydra headed monster, that just keeps on growing new heads, when others are cut off.
A Book Without Boundaries.......2001-09-28
For anyone who wants to know the indepth ramifications of the new threat of global organized crime then look no further than Claire Sterlings supberb effort. I have read two other of Claire Sterling's books and was impressed. Very few authors can boast such a talent for researching as Mrs Sterling does.
The book covers the networks of organized crime groups as she details their very important relationships with each of the other. Also what I found very impressive is the way she manages to get the figures for the numerous sums of money that is floating around so many the illegal markets. She also talks about the "Pax Mafiosi", something that Judge Falcone was aware of, the Pax Mafiosi being the new conglomeration of multinational criminal confederations, that is now the biggest threat to the worlds economy. The Russian Mafia are also mentioned to great aplomb, the mysterious syndicates that are now thriving following the break down of the old USSR. This book is an absolute must for anyone seeking knowledge about how the modern Mafia's are joining forces and becoming a multi hydra headed monster, that just keeps on growing new heads, when others are cut off.
An Excellent Work that Deserves Serious Attention........1998-10-11
This book represents and remains one of the most significant studies of the threat magnitude of international organized crime available today. It is a shame that it is out of print and that it has not received the attention it deserves. Sterling's thoroughly documented study makes crystal clear the breadth and depth of control/leverage purchased with drug profits by international crime organizations acting as a cooperative international affiliation of predators with an objective of power and all that can be achieved with such power over societies little aware of their existence. Sterling's work is an important statement that should have received far more visibility.
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