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.

Elephant House: Or, The Home of Edward Gorey

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A home filled with curiosities and wonders.
Amazing
Inside Edward Gorey's house...
Not MUST HAVE, but definitely NICE to have
A specialty item for the true Gorey collector

Elephant House: Or, The Home of Edward Gorey

Manufacturer: Pomegranate Communications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0764924958

Book Description

An intimate photographic journey through Edward Gorey's home.

Customer Reviews:

A home filled with curiosities and wonders........2007-08-09

This is a beautiful book of photographs and text that allows the reader an intriguing view of the home in which Edward Gorey lived and the collections of curious objects, books, and cats he filled it with.

The photographs are large and beautiful - haunting even - and there are lots of them. There is just the right amount of text to cast some light on the man behind the house and his elusive character - anecdotes about his life, his work, his friends and the things that inspired him.

If you are fan of Edward Gorey, or of eclectic interior decorating and design, and displaying collections of antiques, this book will be a treasure in your library.

Amazing.......2007-04-10

That's really all I can say. I have been waiting for this book for a long time, and it was the most incredible thing. Amazing photos. Read up on Gorey first, though. The details are some much better when you get the little visual jokes Gorey set up in his day-to-day life.

Inside Edward Gorey's house..........2006-02-01

If you are an Ogdred Weary fan...this is a truly wonderful book. Photographs of the exterior (peeling paint and kind of saggy porch) and the interior rooms of the house on Cape Cod in Gorey lived and worked, along with his cats and figbashes, piles of thousands of books, assorted rocks and oddish things, and the expected miriad of curiosities. Alas, or delightfully...just the environment one would expect of the eccentric Edward. A cabinet of curiosities...a delight!

Not MUST HAVE, but definitely NICE to have.......2005-09-10

This book wouldn't mean much to anyone who isn't already a Gorey fan. I own (and love) the compilations 'Amphigorey', 'Amphigorey Too' & 'Amphogorey Also', so have a head start. I also have the auto(?) biography 'Ascending Peculiarity', which is almost a necessary co-requisite to this book - it helps explain the cats, and many other Gorey details. Now that the individual books are available again, I'm tempted to get them too, because they are such nice objects - but only if the kids promise to share with me!

A specialty item for the true Gorey collector.......2004-04-05

Even dedicated fans of Edward Gorey will probably know very little about his personal life: he was an enigmatic recluse and few were permitted past his front door. Photographer Kevin McDermott's Elephant House will delight students of architecture and photography, providing rich duotone works of Gorey's intriguing home and its contents. A specialty item for the true Gorey collector, Elephant House is an impressive photographic showcase and a welcome addition to both architectural studies and photographic studies reference collections.

Average customer rating:

The Hobo Philosopher
Pertinent and well written
A lesson for us all
Great classic/ but too expensive here
Mr. Thoreau's Work: Walden

Walden: (Writings of Henry D. Thoreau)
Henry David Thoreau
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0691096120

Book Description

Originally published in 1854, Walden, or Life in the Woods, is a vivid account of the time that Henry D. Thoreau lived alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. It is one of the most influential and compelling books in American literature.

This new paperback edition--introduced by noted American writer John Updike--celebrates the 150th anniversary of this classic work. Much of Walden's material is derived from Thoreau's journals and contains such engaging pieces as "Reading" and "The Pond in the Winter." Other famous sections involve Thoreau's visits with a Canadian woodcutter and with an Irish family, a trip to Concord, and a description of his bean field. This is the complete and authoritative text of Walden--as close to Thoreau's original intention as all available evidence allows.

For the student and for the general reader, this is the ideal presentation of Thoreau's great document of social criticism and dissent.

Customer Reviews:

The Hobo Philosopher.......2007-09-24

My first copy of this book was indubitably from some other publisher. So I'm not commenting on this particular volume but the content of the work itself.
I have always loved this book but it wasn't until recent years that I realized what a controversial book this was. Thoreau published this book at his own expense and he sold very few copies. Later on he stored most of his unsold copies in an attic. He once claimed to have the largest collection of book published by Henry David Thoreau than anyone alive - and I'm sure he did.
But why didn't people buy this book? Well, for one thing it was critical of "the neighborhood". For another thing it was critical of "the values of his neighbors". For another thing it was critical of the values of his countrymen; it was critical of Capitalism; it was critical of modern life; it was critical of the "consumer mentality"; it was critical of the work ethic; it was critical of buying things; it was critical of "getting ahead" and "accumulating; it was critical of working for a living; it was critical of achieving; it was a critique on the civilization of the day - and it was not positive.
So why did it make me feel good to read it then and why does it have the same effect on me today?
I don't know but whenever I get lonely to go have a talk with an old friend I go to the book shelf and pick up Walden by Henry David Thoreau.

Pertinent and well written.......2007-09-17

Strangely surprising how pertinent many of Thoreau's perceptions, opinions and insights on habits and values are to modern day society and culture. And impressive how vehemently he professes these views in some sections. No sugar coating here. This is raw stuff, presented with language and skill we've lost over the years.

My favorite quote: "One generation abandons the enterprises of another like stranded vessels"

Thoreau is inspired and inspiring.

A lesson for us all.......2007-08-18

Imagine a man, living in the present time, who is fed up with life in our ever-changing electronic world. So, he goes to live in a hut he's re-built out by a gentle pond, reasonably away from civilization. He throws away his cell phone, computer, TV, radio, etc. and lives simply and quietly, observing naature with his eyes and a microscope. He's not a hermit, because he visits and is visited by, friends and neighbors. He examines his life in solitude and writes about the sights and sounds of the woods and the pond.
For two years living alone this way, he comes to know nature and himself intimately and when he returns to civilization, he is refreshed, spiritually, emotionally and mentally.

Now, imagine all this as done 160 years ago when technology consisted of things like the newly invented telegraph (which he disdained), railway system, and others. Thoreau, like many of us today, longed to live simply and in harmony with Nature. The inspiration for hundreds of hippies, eco-freaks, Luddites and anti-technologists, he showed us that we sometimes need to get back to simple and clean living with no one and nothing to intrude on our thoughts.

And by the time you've finished this little gem of a book, the weekend will be over, and it will be time to go back to the ugly, long commute to a place where technology and stress seemingly go hand in hand.

Great classic/ but too expensive here.......2007-07-16

I brought this book because I had a class that required it. I got it within 2 weeks so that wasn't bad but I hadn't realized that I paid more for the book here then I would have had I gone to a local store! The back of the book says it's only $2.50. The lowest price I could find on Amazon was $4. I guess that's why people don't have to pay for shipping when they purchase items that exceed $25! (The free mailing gets paid for (at least in this case), with higher book prices.
BTW I found out that this book is a free e-book via the web. Next time I'll make sure to check that avenue first.

Mr. Thoreau's Work: Walden.......2007-04-22

It looks like I rated it 4 stars. I can't seem to change that. I really meant to rate it a 3.

Fortunately, I read The Annotated Walden, annotated by Phillip Van Doren Stern. Thank goodness I chose it. Without Mr. Van Doren Stern's introduction, side bars, pictures and comments, I think I would have been thoroughly lost.

I have to agree with a few of the reviewers who stated how pompous Thoreau sounds; he does. He tries to act superior,only to have the side bar notations state something different; something that a friend mentioned. For example, he says he "could easily do without the post-office," yet a contemporary, Sanborne, is quoted off to the side of the annotated version as having said about this quote: "Few residents of Concord frequented the Post Office more punctually or read the newspapers more eagerly than Thoreau."

He contradicts himself constantly. He mocks people who don't read, and then says he barely read a few pages of one book in the two years he was at Walden pond. He could be vindictive; lashing out at Flint's Pond (and Mr. Flint) because Flint would not let him build a cabin on his pond. He comes off as a snob, saying most men learn to read only as a necessity; for work, to add up their profits. But *true* readers are hard to come by. "I aspire to be acquainted with wiser men than this Concord soil has produced.."

Yet, he also has some really great words of wisdom. He questions the wisdom in working so hard during the best part of your life (youth) only to spend the fruits of your labor "during the least valuable part of it." Enjoy life while you are young. Why work so hard when the endgame is death? He comments on things that are still true to this day; fashion and our obsession with appearance. Work to provide for yourself, not to overburden yourself and keep yourself in debt.

Someone reviewing this book on Amazon wrote that it was a failed experiment; that he meant to live in the woods as a hermit of sorts and failed miserably to do so. That was never the extent of his experiment. He never says he's going to lead a solitary life. He states he visited the village every day or two. "As I walked in the woods to see birds and squirrels, so I walked in the village to see men and boys."

I find myself having mixed feelings regarding this book. He is so contradictory, but then, so am I. He can be judgemental and then he can be spot-on. It was a difficult book to get through, Again, had I not had the annotated version, I would have been truly lost. He frustrated me at times. I was not reading literature. I was reading someone's diary that often went off-tangent (like this review). Is it Top 100 book worthy? My opinion: no. It was good at times, painful at others. I took 2 months to trudge through it, all the while reading 5 other books just to keep me going. I am glad I read it. I won't do it again though. Sorry, Mr. Thoroeau

Good Roots: Writers Reflect on Growing Up in Ohio

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Does Ohio Proud
Good Roots is Good Stuff, Go Get It

Good Roots: Writers Reflect on Growing Up in Ohio

Manufacturer: Ohio University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0821417290

Book Description

“Agood place to be from.” That’s how some people might characterize the Buckeye State. The writings in Good Roots: Writers Reflect on Growing Up in Ohio, are testimony to the truth of that statement. By prominent writers such as P. J. O’Rourke, Susan Orlean, and Alix Kates Shulman, these contributions are alternately nostalgic, irreverent, and sincere, and offer us a personal sense of place. Their childhoods are as varied as their work. Some were raised in urban Cleveland, Akron, and Cincinnati, others in the small Ohio towns that typify the Midwest, and still others in the countryside. Yet what they have to tell us about their roots resonates with a shared heritage, a sense of what is universal and enduring about growing up in the heartland. Their collective résumé reads like a literary Who’s Who, including four Pulitzer Prizes, several National Book Awards, and many prestigious fellowships. Good Roots is also plain good reading from some of our country’s most accomplished contemporary writers.

Customer Reviews:

Does Ohio Proud.......2007-01-26

This book will make you proud to be from Ohio, if you are an Ohioan. For non-Ohioans, this book is still a great read--you probably have more in common with fly-over country than you think you do. The selections and genres are widely varied, so if you don't like one, read a different one. There's something in this book for everyone. My personal favorites are P.J. O'Rourke's piece, and Mike Winegardner's afterword.

Good Roots is Good Stuff, Go Get It.......2006-12-26

Good Roots is good stuff; it is a collection of over 20 essays and poems about growing up in Ohio by writers who grew up in places like Toledo, Findlay, Shaker Heights and Athens, to name just a few. On page 148, one of the writers Anthony Doerr writes, "You bury your childhood everywhere you go. It just waits for you, all your life to come dig it back up." Good Roots is about growing up in Ohio, but you don't have to be from there to enjoy this charming collection. You just have to be from somewhere because that is where it will take you. Although places that I grew up in the northeast might be different from Maple Heights or Portage County, Ohio, universal truths abound. P.J. O'Rourke writes about one on page 44 when he cites an example of what he refers to as Toledo teen critique: "There's nothing to do around here. Nothing ever happens." But not all truths in Good Roots are universal. For instance, in Andrea Louie's piece on page 151 she begins, "I used to castrate sheep." I must admit that as a teen I was often bored but castrating sheep was never an option.

In her introduction the editor of Good Roots Lisa Watts speaks of "a pervasive lack of pretension" that can be found in many of these Ohio towns, a feature that "strengthens creative souls." I suspect that there is a little of that small-town-America-feel in all of us wherever we are from. I highly recommend that you read Good Roots. Don't be surprised to find your way back to long-forgotten childhood memories or to discover your "inner Ohio."

This Stubborn Self: Texas Autobiographies

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This Stubborn Self: Texas Autobiographies
Bert Almon
Manufacturer: Texas Christian University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Home: American Writers Remember Rooms of Their Own

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An invitation into the private homes of 20 writers.

Home: American Writers Remember Rooms of Their Own

Manufacturer: Vintage
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0679768858
Release Date: 1996-10-01

Book Description

In Home, eighteen of our finest writers evoke different rooms--from their pasts, their present, or simply their imaginations--in order to investigate the ways in which homes contain our lives. The results are touching, provocative, and sometimes hilarious. And since a portion of the editors' proceeds will go to organizations that help the homeless, Home is really where the heart is. Contributors include: Lynda Barry, Richard Bausch, Tony Earley, James Finn Garner, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Allan Gurganus, Colin Harrison, Kathryn Harrison, Gish Jen, Karen Karbo, Alex Kotlowitz, Clint McCown, Susan Power, Esmeralda Santiago, Mona Simpson, Jane Smiley, Sallie Tisdale, and Bailey White.

"Unforgettable...These pages are filled with the kind of details that etch a childhood place into the deep recesses of memory, that distinguish the sensual life of one family from another."--Los Angeles Times Book Review

Customer Reviews:

An invitation into the private homes of 20 writers........1999-02-06

A unique collection of authors on a challenging assigment to take the four inanimate walls of a room within a house and infuse it with life. To reach this goal, each author has sacrificed a tiny intimate piece of themselves to create within the reader a binding intimacy which is permanent and unshakeable. You will come away from this book feeling as if you just joined a private club with 20 new friends and feeling as if the initiation rite is to create a room of your own.

It was fun to read this book because I found myself comparing essays, rating the authors on various points (such as how often they used the name of the room in the text) and searching for the various relationships. It was also very interesting to note the subconscious bonding rituals that occurred in every essay, without exception.

Amazon.com

The bard of the Texas plains ventures into unfamiliar territory in this slender, entertaining travelogue of the tropical islands of the South Pacific.

McMurtry, a veteran of long car trips along the back roads of the American desert, boards a cruise ship this time around, and not without some foreboding; wandering among the Marquesas with a motley complement of international "island junkies" with whom he finds little in common, this most bookish of writers finds himself running short of reading matter, forced to slow down to the tedious pace of long-distance sea travel, and not entirely content at the turn of events. McMurtry doesn't complain: instead, he passes the time remarking on the national and personal idiosyncrasies of his fellow passengers, mostly in good humor, and reflecting on closeted family skeletons, feelings of marginality and loneliness, mortality, and other matters while observing the passing scene.

A departure in many ways, Paradise finds McMurtry in a contemplative mood. "Nowhere else," he writes, "have I felt so far," and not only geographically. There's enough local color, enough dank glens, misty mountains, and sun-dazzled beaches to satisfy armchair travel buffs, but this is a quiet, thoughtful voyage that reveals that true paradise lies close to the heart. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

At once an inviting travel book and an insightful reflection on his parents' marriage, Paradise is Larry McMurtry's most original and personal work to date.

In 1999, Larry McMurtry, whose wanderlust had been previously restricted to the roads of America, set off for a trip to the paradise of Tahiti and the South Sea Islands in an old-fashioned tub of a cruise boat, at a time when his mother was slipping toward a paradise of her own. Opening up to her son in her final days, his mother makes a stunning revelation of a previous marriage and sends McMurtry on a journey of an entirely different kind.

Vividly, movingly, and with infinite care, McMurtry paints a portrait of his parents' marriage against the harsh, violent landscape of west Texas. It is their roots -- laced with overtones of hard work, bitter disappointment, and the Puritan ethic -- that McMurtry challenges by traveling to Tahiti, a land of lush sensuality and easy living. With fascinating detail, shrewd observations, humorous pathos, and unforgettable characters, he begins to answer some of the questions of what paradise is, whether it exists, and how different it is from life in his hometown of Archer City, Texas.

Filled with moments as strong and moving as any found in his novels, Paradise is a penetrating look at life and love from one of America's most beloved writers.

Customer Reviews:

Not for the hard-core McMurtry fan.......2005-09-26

I confess: I have tried to read "Lonesome Dove" and have failed. My old school chums (McMurty was at Rice, years ago) stay loyal to their freshman English prof, and urge me to try again. Nope. But I like "Paradise." McMurtry claims at first to be getting away so he can write about his parents. But he as much as says that he's got to churn out prose to meet a deadline, and some of the book feels like words for hire. Well, that's a well-worn path for many authors: Think of Dickens. The product here is a low-key travelogue. The voice is that of the a sympathetic observer, well-read and well-spoken. (The tone reminds me of M.F.K. Fisher, who also wrote about the crew and fellow travelers on a cargo ship. ) I found it a delightful respite from plot-driven fiction.

For the Hardcore McMurtry fan.......2003-12-13

For those of you who enjoyed "Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen" and "Roads", this is a briefer introspective work by the same author. This time he's vacationing in the South Seas while taking a break from the mental anguish of watching his mother slowly pass on. We start with a lot of family history and assume that this will be the theme. Then we go off in a different tangent as the book becomes something of a cynical tourist guide to the Marquesa Islands. Ultimately we find ourselves at a very appropriate ending.

This book, even more so than the other two aforementioned books, is something of a free verse of observations by the author. One comes away wondering why this book was written and I guess my impression that it was more for the author than for us. We are able to follow, somewhat, McMurtry's attempts to resolve some of his inner feelings as he knows his mother is slowly drifting away (albeit several thousand miles away). Yet at the same time, his observations about his trip and fellow travelers confuse us as to the depth of any of his feelings. Perhaps that is the point; a man who is at one of those points in life where life itself is a numbing sensation.

Should you read this book? Probably not unless you, like many of McMurtry's literary aficionados, enjoy getting to know the author a bit better. Otherwise it is just a journal of a trip. And it's a trip that the reader has to feel would have been more enjoyable if we rather than McMurtry were the ones taking it. Nonetheless, I'm glad I read it.

Interesting Record of His Personal Observations.......2003-05-21

Granted, this is not McMurtry's best work, but if I were sitting beside him, and we were chatting "in a stream of consciousness" way, I would find his thoughts interesting enough, sharing as one tourist to another, in an unhurried, leisurely exchange of views. This is a period in his life when McMurtry was having to face "loss" and the reader needs to include this understanding in his analysis of the book. I feel I learned more about McMurtry as a person, from having read Paradise.

Evelyn Horan - author
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Book One
Jeannie, A Texas Frontier Girl, Book Two

Paradise? Not even close........2002-02-06

At first glance, this is a beautiful book. The printing is very high quality, the pages are thick, and there is even a lovely Gauguin on the cover. This book, however, is a horrible example of a travel guide, a social commentary, and/or a personal journal type "memoir". McMurtry switches verb tense mid-sentence, he uses unparallel structure, and in general is not a very impressive writer. I have not read any of his other books, and I don't really want to after having read this one for English class. I feel he tries to brag about how insane his family is, he blatantly criticizes everyone he mentions (especially Thor Heyerdahl, for no apparent reason) and mocks both the European and modern Polynesian cultures. He is often "disgusted" by some of the other passengers on his cruise, simply because he cannot communicate with them (they are foreign!) and so he attacks their lifestyles and mannerisms. Also, at several times during his drably described journey through paradise he describes in excruciating detail the plots and characters of books he himself is reading on the cruise, as well as books other passengers are reading - as if we care! I would certainly not recommend this book to anyone; Unfortunately, it was money wasted.

Diary-like Entries in the South Seas while Grieving.......2001-11-30

Fans of Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen and Mr. McMurtry's many fine western novels will be very disappointed in this book.

He visits Tahiti and the Marquesa Islands in the few days before his mother dies (which seems like strange timing, since her passing was expected), and sees the area as paradise in a sad way. Obviously affected by his mother's failing health, he pretty much sticks to himself and reads books. Occasionally, he makes an observation about how beautiful tropical islands mainly vary by the extent to which "civilized" amenities have been plunked down in them. He ruminates about why people who lived there fought with one another, or became cannibals. But he doesn't really take the thinking anywhere. He is struck by the fact that the ocean surrounding a South Sea island isolates its inhabitants much like the desert does around Southwestern Indian pueblos. That's about the level of insight here. A high point is when a Polynesian woman gives him some passion fruit as an unexpected gift.

Like in Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen, he reflects on his parents' marriage. But he doesn't reflect on it very much. Most of that ground is covered in the earlier book.

I only kept reading the book because Mr. McMurtry is normally a fine writer, and often has interesting observations. My reward for doing so was to find out about the logistics of visiting the Marquesas, which I have been thinking about visiting. I graded the book at two for its value as a travelogue. Otherwise, I would have graded it as a one.

Some people might characterize this book as an essay on the subject of paradise. It certainly has ruminations along those lines, especially about Gauguin. But the content isn't organized as an essay. It looks like notes in a daily journal, that were never turned into an essay or a book.

Paradise comes across as the work of a very depressed person who is grieving, who won't share his emotions with the reader.

Book Description

Walks in Hemingway's Paris is the perfect companion to the most romantic and fascinating of cities for those who want to experience Paris beyond the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Covering all the area of Paris that Hemingway and his fellow expatriates once roamed from Left Bank to Right, Noel Riley Fitch provides an intimate visit to major Parisian landmarks as well as to out-of-the-way cafes, hotels and residences immortalized by "Papa" and his friends.

Customer Reviews:

Insightful Guide.......2001-03-23

Hemingway fans will adore this book, but for anyone interested in literary and artistic Paris, this exceptional guidebook will also lead you to the haunts of such luminaries as James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, e. e. cummings, Sylvia Beach, Gertrude Stein and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Author Fitch includes a helpful introduction to Paris, followed by an insightful introduction to Hemingway's Paris. Seven self-guided tours contain detailed commentaries for each stop along the route. The best of the itineraries take you along the Seine, through the Latin Quarter and around the Luxemburg gardens, which are the most pleasant places to walk in Paris anyway. Even though it's easy to get lost in the maze of short and angled streets of Paris, clear, good-sized maps throughout the book keep you oriented. Nearly fifty black-and-white photographs, many of them historic, evoke the ambience of Paris in the 1920s. Photos include Sylvia Beach in her Shakespeare and Company bookstore; Scott, Zelda and Scottie Fitzgerald celebrating Christmas in their apartment on rue de Tilsitt; a wicked cartoon of James Joyce drawn by Fitzgerald in 1928; and, of course, Hemingway. A detailed index helps you find information about places and people.

After loosely following Tour Two through the Saint Germain neighborhood, my daughter Anne and I had morning coffee and pastries at the Cafe de Flore, Anne scribbling away in her journal. When I teasingly asked the waiter how Hemingway, and later the Existentialist writers who haunted the Cafe de Flore in the 40s and 50s, managed to get any writing done on the tiny, round tables barely large enough to hold a plate, he teased me back by pushing two of the tables together so I had plenty of room to pen my immortal postcards. But unless money is no object, it's too expensive to order much more than coffee at the famous Left Bank hangouts of Hemingway and his expatriate cohorts. On Rue de Buci and Rue de Abbaye in the Saint Germain neighborhood, close to Hemingway's Cafe de Flore and Les Deux Magots, you'll find less expensive, less pretentious cafes where you can order a great bowl of French onion soup.

Fail-proof walks, great Hemingway quotes.......1998-07-16

After two important introductory chapters, the seven walks take the reader or tourist to every Hemingway (and Fitzgerald) site in Paris. These walks were tried/previewed by many classes of students at the American University of Paris. Although a few details date the book, it holds up today! The walks, by the way, include wonderful quotations from many of Hemingway's novels, short stories, and his memoir of Paris. Buy the book and come to Paris!!

Average customer rating:

A COMIC GENIUS
ROUGHING IT

Roughing It (Mark Twain Library)
Mark Twain
Manufacturer: University of California Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0520238923

Book Description

o Includes all 304 first-edition illustrations by True Williams, Edward F. Mullen, and others
o Provides the first and only text that adheres to the author's wishes in details of wording, spelling, and punctuation, restored from original sources.
o Features expert annotation, specially prepared maps, facsimile manuscript pages, and other supplementary documents
o Reproduces the text and notes of the Mark Twain Project's 1993 edition, winner of the Modern Language Association Prize for a "Distinguished Scholarly Edition"

Mark Twain's humorous account of his six years in Nevada, San Francisco, and the Sandwich Islands is a patchwork of personal anecdotes and tall tales, many of them told in the "vigorous new vernacular" of the West. Selling seventy five thousand copies within a year of its publication in 1872, Roughing It was greeted as a work of "wild, preposterous invention and sublime exaggeration" whose satiric humor made "pretension and false dignity ridiculous." Meticulously restored from a variety of original sources, the text is the first to adhere to the author's wishes in thousands of details of wording, spelling, and punctuation, and includes all of the 304 first-edition illustrations. With its comprehensive and illuminating notes and supplementary materials, which include detailed maps tracing Mark Twain's western travels, this Mark Twain Library Roughing It must be considered the standard edition for readers and students of Mark Twain.

Customer Reviews:

A COMIC GENIUS.......2006-11-17

(born Nov.1835, Florida, Mo.,US-died April 21,1910, Redding,Conn.)
-humorist,writer and lecturer.

'ROUGHING IT'is Twain's decription of his adventures in Nevada,Califonia,and the Sandwich Islands originally published in (1872).After the immediate success of the publication of 'THE INNOCENTS ABROAD'which firmly established Twain's reputation as a writer he was spurned on by the AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY to bring out a volume based on his experiences in the west.Thus, 'ROUGHING IT' was created.A highly entertaining and humurous narrative of his escapades in the Western United States towards the end of the 19th Century.

A little taste:

from (copyright 1979 Running Press)

This is the before and after descriptions of a company of men lost in a snow storm-with little or no hope of survival.

Before (impending doom)
"...Poor Ollendorff broke down and the tears came.He was not alone,for I
was crying too,and so was Mr. Ballou.Ollendorff forgave me for things
I had done and said.Then he got out his bottle of whisky and said that whether he lived or died he would never touch another drop.He said he had given up all hope of life,and although ill-prepared,was ready to submit humbly to his fate-----------Mr.Ballou made remarks of similar purport,and began the reform he could not live to continue,by throwing away his ancient pack of cards--------My own remarks were of the same tenor as those of my comrades.We were all sincere,and all deeply moved and earnest,for we were in the precense of death and without hope.I threw away my pipe,and in doing it,I felt that at last I was free of a hated vice and one that had ridden me like a tyrant all my life.We put our arms around each other's necks and awaited the warning drowziness that occurs with death by freezing.

After-(Alive and Well)

After breakfast we felt better,and the zest of life soon came back.The world looked bright again,and existence was as dear to us as ever.Presently and uneasiness came over me-grew upon me-assailed me without ceasing.Alas,my regeneration was not complete-I wanted to smoke!
I resisted with all my strength,but the flesh was weak.I wandered away alone and wrestled with myself for an hour.I recalled my promises of reform and preached to myself persuasively,unbraidingly,exaustively.But all was in vain,I shortly found myself sneaking amoung the snowdrifts hunting for my pipe.I discovered it after a considerable search,and crept away to hide myself to enjoy it.At last I lit my pipe,and no human can feel meaner and baser than I did then.I was ashamed of being in my own pitiful company.Still dreading discovery,I felt that perhaps the further side of the barn would be somewhat safer,and so I turned the corner.As I turned the corner,smoking,Ollendorff turned the other with his bottle to his lips,and between us sat unconscious Ballou deep in a game of "solitaire" with the old greasy cards..."

Turn to Chapters 22 and 23 for a more cohesive description of this comic episode. Laughter is good medicine,and this is a fun read on one of those gloomy days you might encounter along your way. Enjoy.Good health!

ROUGHING IT.......2005-09-18

This "Mark Twain Project" paperback edition of ROUGHING IT is by far the best version for most readers. It is an excellent value. The 200 pages of "Explanatory Notes" at the end, add greatly to the modern reader's understanding of the 1860's "Wild West". The Early Western Mining Frontier comes vividly and colorfully to life, thanks to the Explanatory Notes' full illumination of the fascinating, often hilarious, eyewitness account of young Sam Clemens.

The 21st century reader now sees the momentous impact of Samuel Colt's "Navy Revolver" on frontier society, fully comprehends a "Stamp Mill's" importance to the silver mines of the Comstock Lode, and is in complete agreement about the "thoroughbrace's" necessity to the Overland Stage traveler's comfort! This edition also contains all 304 first edition illustrations, another great aid allowing the modern reader to take a virtual walk into a vanished time.

In the "Foreword" to this edition, Editor Harriet Elinor Smith notes, " The vernacular style of ROUGHING IT often seems surprisingly fresh to modern readers.....". I'm betting that many readers, younger ones especially, may approach this book with dread, only to become immersed in the rollicking adventure, and reach the end of ROUGHING IT with regret. The readers who return for a second, third or more reading, will discover many levels of depth to ROUGHING IT that will continue to entertain and educate reading after reading, year after year.

From the "Foreword" to this edition, Editor Smith also observes, "Although readers have long been entertained by ROUGHING IT, it has gradually become part of all serious study of American culture. Students of history have come to rely on it for accurate information about the period, and it has played a major role in shaping the myth of the "Wild West".......No examination of American popular culture would be complete without Mark Twain's imaginative reminiscence of what it was like to be "on the ground in person"".

So, if you are tired of all this bickering between the North and South, and feel it may be healthier to get away from the tensions, I hear tell there's a great silver strike in a new territory called "Nevada", near a place called "Virginia City". It's July 1861 and there is an Overland Stage westbound, St Joseph, Missouri to Carson City, Nevada Territory.

Buckle on your Navy Colt and climb aboard!

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Cliffs Notes helpful but does not replace reading the book
A classic, but....

A Farewell to Arms (Cliffs Notes)
Adam Sexton
Manufacturer: Cliffs Notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0764586599

Book Description

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer a look into key elements and ideas within classic works of literature. The latest generation of titles in this series also features glossaries and visual elements that complement the familiar format.

CliffsNotes on Farewell to Arms explores a potent and memorable love story set against the historical and geographical background of World War I.

Following the growth of a rakish, indifferent soldier into a mature man capable of real love for the worldly-wise nurse who falls for him, this study guide provides summaries and critical commentaries for each chapter within the intense and descriptive novel. Other features that help you figure out this important work include

Personal background on author Ernest Hemingway, including honors and awards
Introduction to and synopsis of the books
Character analyses of primary figures Frederick Henry and Catherine Barkley
Critical essays on weather symbolism and Hemingway’s influence
Review section that features fill-in-the-blank questions, quoted passages, and suggested essay topics and practice projects
Resource Center with books, articles, video and audio recordings, and Web sites that can help round out your knowledge

Classic literature or modern-day treasure — you'll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Customer Reviews:

Cliffs Notes helpful but does not replace reading the book.......2007-02-07

Quick and short synopsis to the book's story. Read the book first and get a friend who has read it or someone with a good argumentative view to bounce the ideas in Cliffs Notes with you.

A classic, but...........2000-04-10

I know this book is a classic, but I did not enjoy it. Though I liked Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea, Farewell to Arms seemed rather boring. It gives a realistic and fairly hopeless view of war, revealing of Hemingway's own experiences. The soldier and the nurse's love affair is also autobiographical, but somehow has an unrealistic quality. Maybe I just don't like the nurse's characther, disregarding her own identity. The action is pretty slow and though the ending is foreshadowed, it felt more like a chopping off of a story than a closing. Overall, some interesting themes and classic messages about human nature, but a slow and terse writing style.

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