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.

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Cuchulainn
Unoriginal
Very Interesting
Best of Ancient Mythology
Much easier to read than the direct translations

The Tain

Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0192803735

Book Description

The Tain Bo Cuailnge, centre-piece of the eighth-century Ulster cycle of heroic tales, is Ireland's greatest epic. It tells the story of a great cattle-raid, the invasion of Ulster by the armies of Medb and Ailill, queen and king of Connacht, and their allies, seeking to carry off the great Brown Bull of Cuailnge. The hero of the tale is Cuchulainn, the Hound of Ulster, who resists the invaders single-handed while Ulster's warriors lie sick. Thomas Kinsella presents a complete and living version of the story. His translation is based on the partial texts in two medieval manuscripts, with elements from other versions, and adds a group of related stories which prepare for the action of the Tain. Illustrated with brush drawings by Louis le Brocquy, this edition provides a combination of medieval epic and modern art.

Customer Reviews:

Cuchulainn.......2007-06-15

To keep it short and sweet this is a must read for anyone interested in Irish history and culture, Celtic Heathenry, Odinism, mythology or general Celtic studies. One of the most essential texts for learning about any of these things but besides that the saga of Cuchulainn is a great entertaining story too.

Unoriginal.......2005-10-05

Lots of killing but not a very deep story and it just keeps going and going.

Very Interesting.......2005-08-01

This is a very readable translation of a major pre-Christian Irish epic. Conventionally translated as the Cattle Raid of Cooley, The Tain is the story of a raid into the Kingdom of Ulster by the warriors of Connacht led by their King and Queen. The epic itself is presented with some ancillary tales that introduce several of the major figures in The Tain. Several aspects are similar to the Iliad and other epics originating in non-literate societies. There is the prominence of individual warrior-heroes, usually figures with semi-divine attributes. Most of the action consists of individual combats and the language features repetive poetic figures, a strong emphasis on description of weapons and individual possessions, and generally patriarchal mores. While the language is interesting, this is certainly not the poetic masterpiece that the Iliad is. The most interesting aspect is the role of Medb, usually translated as Maeve, the Queen of Connacht. While the world of the Tain is clearly a strongly patriarchial society, Medb is a powerful monarch, essentially co-equal in authority with her husband and his superior in charisma. She is independent even in sexual matters. Well worth reading.

Best of Ancient Mythology.......2004-04-01

This is one of the greatest mythological tales recorded. Unlike what the summary says, it is not the 'closest thing Ireland has to a national epic'. The Irish national epic would be the Leabhar Gabhala, the Book of Invasions, or possible the Fenian Cycle. It is the certainly the great epic of Ulster, however, and I don't mean to reduce it at all.
The literary wealth, the humor, violent single combat, and glimpse into Gaelic culture makes this a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the ancient (and modern) Irish.
Beir bua!

Much easier to read than the direct translations.......2002-08-16

This is a great story.

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)

Average customer rating:

Check and see
Suprise! Suprise!
Prescient St Augustine?
Something of a disappointment
Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy..

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
Anatoly T Fomenko
Manufacturer: Delamere Resources LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 2913621066

Product Description

`History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2` is the second volume of the most explosive and astounding tractate on history ever written - however, every theory it contains, no matter how unorthodox, is backed by rock solid scientific data. The book is easy and pleasant to read; it is well-illustrated, contains hundreds of charts, graphs and illustrations, copies of ancient manuscripts, and countless facts attesting to the falsity of the chronology used nowadays. You will be amazed to discover: - That the chronology universally accepted today and taken for granted is simply wrong; - That ALL methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts known today are erroneous or non-exact; - That there is not a single document that could be reliably dated earlier than the XIth century; The Author refers to the Middle Ages as the Antiquity and proves mutual superimposition of the Second and the Third Roman Empire, both of which become identified as the respective kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Furthermore, he asserts that the famous reform of the Occidental Church in the XI century by Pope Gregory Hildebrand was the reflection of the XII century reforms of Byzantine emperor Andronicus who in his turn identifies with Jesus Christ. The Trojan war counted by Homer happened only as late as of the XIII century A.D. and the great poet actually lived in XIV century A.D. No stone in history of Antiquity is left unturned. Literally. This book is the beginning of a major correction to the chronology we live with.

Customer Reviews:

Check and see.......2007-06-21

I don't care what other people say of this book. Those affirmig it's fake, they hadn't ever read it. Or have some special reasons to do so. "Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see..." This book won't make you feel comfortable. It'll make you feel free. It'll make you feel you're "not the only one" to feel you'd been lied to for centuries.

Suprise! Suprise!.......2007-03-22

Here is a serie of books which turns "the whole world" upside down. I learned a lot of it and I hope that a new book from A.T. Fomenko will follow very quick. A absolute must for everybody who is interested in history or even a little bit from it.

Prescient St Augustine?.......2006-02-05

We can so far divide the New Chronology into the following three parts:

a) The verifiable theory that proves consensual chronology wrong with the aid of astronomy, statistics and mathematics;

b) The new chronology hypothesis based on a new understanding of known historical facts and the most likely logical explanation of the most obvious inconsistencies inherent in the official version of history;

c) The history conjectures, that is experimental historical reconstructions based on assumptions that the authors believe to make sense in the light of their research and linguistic parallels - void of ironclad factual support to date.

Fomenko's theory complies with the most rigid scientific standards as a whole:

It gives a coherent explanation of what we already know.

- It is consistent: independent lines of inquiry all lead to the same conclusion.

- The predictions it makes are confirmed empirically.

Fomenko goes by the following axioms:

- Chronology is the basis of history;

- Human evolution has always been linear, gradual and irreversible;

- The "cyclic" nature of human civilization is a myth, likewise all the gaps, duplicates, "dark ages" and "renaissances" that we know from consensual history;

- The accumulation of geographical knowledge as reflected in cartography is a gradual and irreversible process;

- The chronological distance between a given manuscript and the events described therein is proportional to the amount of distortions it contains;

- There is no "useless" information in authentic ancient sources.

Why the mainstream historians do not shower mathematician Academician Dr.Prof Fomenko with thanks and laurels?

The Russians:

Because Fomenko asserts that there was no such thing as the Tartar and Mongol invasion followed by three centuries of slavery, providing a formidable body of documental evidence to prove his assertion. The so-called "Tartars and Mongols" were the actual ancestors of the modern Russians, living in a bilingual state with Arabic spoken as freely as Russian. The ancient Russian state was governed by a double structure of civil and military authorities. The hordes were actually professional armies with a tradition of lifelong conscription (the recruitment being the so-called "blood tax"). Their "invasions" were punitive operations against the regions that attempted tax evasion. Fomenko proves that Russian history as we know it today is a blatant forgery concocted by a host of German scientists brought to Russia by the usurper dynasty of the Romanovs, whose ascension to the throne was the result of coup d'état, charged with the mission of making their reign look legitimate. Fomenko proves Ivan the Terrible to be a collation of four rulers, no less. They represented the two rival dynasties - the legitimate rulers and the ambitious upstarts. The winner took it all! Over some 30 years of controversy, Russian historians have made a most remarkable transition - they were initially accusing the young mathematician Fomenko of anticommunist dissident activity and attempts to deface the historical legacy of Soviet Russia; nowadays the middle-aged mathematician is accused of adhering to "pro-communist Russian nationalism" and defacing the proud historical legacy of Great Russia.

The Westerners:

Because Fomenko blows consensual Russian history to smithereens, successfully removing a crucial cornerstone from underneath the otherwise impeccable edifice of World History. Fomenko adds insult to injury, wiping out one by one the Ancient Rome (the foundation of Rome in Italy is dated to the XIV century A. D.), the Ancient Greece and its numerous poleis, which he identifies as the mediaeval crusader settlements on the territory of Greece, and the Ancient Egypt (the pyramids of Giza become dated to the XI-XV century A. D. and identified as the royal cemetery of the Global "Mongolian" Empire, no less). The civilization of the Ancient Egypt is irrefutably dated to the XII-XV century A. D. with the aid of the ancient Egyptian horoscopes cut in stone. He was the first one to decipher and date all such horoscopes, coming up with mediaeval dates in every case. English historians rage at the suggestion that the history of Ancient England was de facto a Byzantine import transplanted to the English soil by the fugitive Byzantine nobility. To reward the English historians who consider themselves the true scribes of World History, the cover of the present book portrays Tintoretto's Jesus Christ crucified on the Big Ben.

The Chinese:

Because Fomenko wipes out the Ancient History of China outright. No such thing. Full point. The compilation of the so-called Ancient Chinese History is reliably datable to the XVII-XVIII century only. It is perfectly recognizable as the Ancient European history, reworked and transcribed in hieroglyphs as yet another historical transplantation, this time performed on the Chinese soil by the loving Jesuit hands. The Chinese are the next in line to go berserk. Chinese history is inevitably bound to get both more ancient and more eventful, proportionally to the growing involvement of China in the world affairs. Chinese historians will keep on finding valid proof of prehistoric Chinese spaceflights until the Politburo orders them to shut up.

The Arabs:

Too bad. Islam with all its key figures is datable to XV-XVI century A. D. Arabic historians may find consolation in the crucial historical role of the Ottoman Empire in the XVI-XVII century. The trouble is that this empire was initially a Christian state, with Hagia Sophia identifiable as Temple of Solomon, according to Fomenko! We can only guess if the acquisition of Alexander the Great (a Macedonian and a Christian) as the founder of the Muslim World Empire will make Fomenko's theories more acceptable to the Arabic mainstream. He certainly does not spare any holy cows at all, claiming The Stone of Qa'Aba in Mecca to contain the lost Arch of the Covenant.

The Divinity:

Despite of reiterated statement that his theory is all about chronology and not Religion, Fomenko stirs up a whole condominium of wasp nests. His collection of anathemas, fatwa, and other condemnations from all parties concerned is already considerable. Little wonder, considering that the history of religions à la Fomenko looks as follows: the pre-Christian period (before the XI century and JC), Bacchic Christianity (XI-XII century, before and after JC), JC Christianity (XII-XVI century) and its subsequent mutations into Orthodox Christianity, the Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on.

According to Fomenko we know strictly NOTHING about the events that predate the X century A. D.

St Augustin was prescient when he spoke unto us: "be wary of mathematicians, particularly when they speak the truth."

Something of a disappointment.......2005-09-09

After having read the first volume of this expected series of 7 volumes I was triggered by the thesis of these authors that ancient Greek and Roman history did in fact take place in the Middle Ages. So I started studying medieval history of the Middle East - also known as Islamic history - to find out if the opponents of the ancient Greeks and Romans - the Acheamenid Persians, Sassanids, Scythians, Egyptians, etc. - also have their duplicates in medieval history. My search was disappointing: none of the many medieval Islamic dynasties seemed to correspond to the ancient middle eastern rulers.

However, I did find a close correspondence between Herodotus' Persian kings and medieval events:

- the defeat and capture of an Anatolian king - the Lydian Croesus - by the Persian conqueror Cyrus is identical to the defeat and capture of another Anatolian king - sultan Bayezid - by the Asian/Mongol conqueror Tamerlane;
- the Persian conquest of Egypt by the cruel tyrant Cambyses reds almost exactly as the Ottoman conquest of Egypt by Selim the Grim (note the nickname!);
- Darius the Lawgiver of the Persian Empire looks very much alike to Sulayman the Magnificent, the Lawgiver in Islamic history;
- Xerxes, whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by the Greeks at the naval battle of Salamis, looks like Selim II (the Sot) whose main claim to fame is to be defeated by a Spanish-Italian alliance at the naval battle of Lepanto.

I should have expected Fomenko et al. to arrive at similar conclusions, however, they claim that the Persian kings are the alter egos of the Angevin kings of Sicily whose biographies do not contain the exploits of the Persian kings.

The similiarities I indicate lead to the conclusion that Herodotus must have written his Histories at the close of the 16th century. But this is extremely late, given that Herodotus is "the Father of History", so therefore all other "ancient" histories must have been fabricated even later. Yet, the founders of modern chronology - Scaliger and Petavius - laid their foundations also at the close of the 16th century and had the full corpus of ancient histories already at their disposal.

It seems to me that Fomenko has to address these inconsistencies, maybe in the forthcoming 5 volumes?

Another critique of their book is that the correspondencies between different rulers are often based on a superficial comparison of the biographies; upon a more thorough comparison many details appear that do not correspond at all.

Finally, the authors rely heavily on the works of Gregorovius (1821-1891!!) - his medieval histories of Rome and Athens - as the source of medieval history; these works are - at least in the West - hoplessly outdated and have been superceded by more up-to-date works (for instance, Julius Norwich's trilogy on Byzantine history is not even cited).

Romulus courts Helen, Paris founds Rome, Moses goes to Troy.........2005-07-30

If you agree with Fomenko that Roman chronology is basically the foundation of the entire edifice of global chronology; you would also certainly agree that despite its numerous gaps and inconsistencies, Roman history is the best-documented field of ancient history, and thus a reference scale. But how well is the actual date of the Eternal City's foundation known?

Firstly, Rome is supposed to have been founded by the Trojans who had to flee after the fall of Troy. Some claim Rome to have been founded by Aeneas and Ulysses shortly after Troy had fallen; others are of the opinion that there was an entire dynasty that ruled for 500 years between the fall of Troy and the foundation of Rome.

Well, that's just an innocent 500 years long misunderstanding compared with what heretic Fomenko says, asserts, proves in his second volume: Second Roman Empire, Third Roman Empire, Biblical Kingdom of Israel, Biblical Kingdom of Judah, Holy Roman Empire are stories about basically same events, written from different points of view at different times. The underlying events have actually taken place during xii-xv cy. These histories have been written and perfected by multitude of highly talented humanist and clerical writers of xiii-xvi cy disguised as "ancients" with glorious names like Homer, Pluto, Thucydides etc..Chronology 2.0 beta..

Historians are kindly invited to report the bugs.

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A Poet's Vision

W.B. Yeats: Images of Ireland
Alain Le Garsmeur , and Barnard McCabe
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0025701614

Customer Reviews:

A Poet's Vision.......2002-02-05

Recently stopping at Shannon Duty-free, I found this beautiful
book. The words of Yeats and the photos of Le Garsmeur combine
to transport you to another time, another place...and where else
would you rather be than exploring that Emerald Isle with its
famous bard? Turn off the TV; put some Irish music on the stereo;
pour a glass of red wine and sail away. I guarantee you'll be
planning another trip to Ireland after this experience.

Salvaging Spenser: Colonialism, Culture, and Identity (Language, Discourse, Society Series.)

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Salvaging Spenser: Colonialism, Culture, and Identity (Language, Discourse, Society Series.)
Willy Maley
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Poems of Ossian and Related Works: James Macpherson

Average customer rating:

Not what it claims to be, but lovely nonetheless
A Classic
Well organized edition

The Poems of Ossian and Related Works: James Macpherson
Howard Gaskill
Manufacturer: Edinburgh University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0748607072

Book Description

This is the first modern edition of all Macpherson's Ossianic poetry, including Fragments of Ancient Poetry, Fingal and Temora - as well as his accompanying prefaces and dissertations, and Hugh Blair's Critical Dissertation on the Poems of Ossian. Based on the 1765 text of the Works of Ossian, major variants from the other editions are included, together with a comprehensive register of Ossianic names.

Customer Reviews:

Not what it claims to be, but lovely nonetheless.......2004-09-14

Hugely popular when they were published in the 18th Century, the Poems of Ossian helped sparked the Romantic movement and its interest in folk themes and native mythology. Napoleon read this work, and Goethe referred to it in "The Sorrows of Young Werther." The poems were presented as translations from 6th-Century Scottish manuscripts discovered by MacPherson--or so he claimed. Anachronisms and deviations from other sources made the authenticity of this work suspect from the start, and many have considered the Poems of Ossian to have been composed by MacPherson himself. It might be more accurate to say that MacPherson based this work on authentic sources, interpreting freely as he went. Its tainted history shouldn't detract from enjoyment of this book; MacPherson was no mean poet and he had a real feel for the Celtic sensibility. MacPherson was neither the first author nor the last to over-hype his book; if he were alive today he probably would claim to have "channeled" Ossian.

A Classic.......2001-08-23

One of the greatest works of the 18th century. Thomas Jefferson read this book on a daily basis and extolled its merits. Unfortunately, the work was shrowded amidst questions about its "authenticity". It is a beautiful masterpiece, in my opinion. It does at times suffer from the excesses of 18th century sentimentality, but so does Tom Jones.

Well organized edition.......2000-07-09

In the 1760s James Macpherson wandered Scotland, collecting the Poems of Ossian, many apparently existing only verbally. The book is a classic, the poetry is incredible, and the work is almost entirely forgotten today. That's a shame. Howard Gaskill has done the world a favor by releasing a new edition of "Ossian". He does an excellent job of organizing the material, and provides detailed explanations of the various plots of the poems. A great book for those who enjoy epic poetry.

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A compelling triump
Nice, But Lacking
Vivid
I REALLY LOVE THIS BOOK
An Intimate View

Pictures in My Head
Gabriel Byrne
Manufacturer: Wolfhound Press (IE)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0863277098

Book Description

A fascinating look into the life of one of Hollywood's hottest film stars.

For twenty years Gabriel Byrne has been to the forefront of Irish actors and producers internationally. From his appearance in John Boorman's Excalibur in 1981 via Miller's Crossing in 1990 through to Stigmata and End of Days in 1999 and 2000 he has turned his diverse skills and brooding good looks to many different roles.

With Stigmata and End of Days, his appearance on Broadway and the new NBC sitcom, Madigan's Men, which he produced and in which he stars he has hit a new high point in his career.

In vivid cinematic sketches this absorbing memoir presents a series of fascinating glimpses into his public and private life. He leads the reader through his career on stage and screen as both producer and actor. Along the way he shares his impressions of Hollywood, New York and his native Ireland and takes us behind the scenes of his many films.

He has worked with many of the cutting edge directors of international cinema including Jim Jarmusch, Wim Wenders and the Coen bothers and with many of the finest actors of the late twentieth century-Liam Neeson, Kevin Spacey, Gerard Depardieu, John Turturro, Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon and Christina Ricci to name a few.

Gabriel Byrne's unique narrative style colors every page, mixing colloquial dialogue with evocative descriptions. The result is a frank, intimate account that reveals the man-and the writer-behind the actor's many faces.

Customer Reviews:

A compelling triump.......2007-07-04

"Pictures in My Head" demonstrates Gabriel Byrne's uncanny ability to convey the essence of time and place with an economy of words. This slim volume of vignettes from Mr. Byrne's life transports the reader from his early childhood through his success in Hollywood as an adult until 1995.

Mr. Byrne's writing is unique and lyrical. His style of writing mimics the disjointed, natural flow of internal thinking, jumping from one fragment of an idea to another. For that reason, in addition to vocabulary and cultural references unfamiliar to the American reader, the text is sometimes difficult to digest upon first reading. Many passages require a second pass, but upon re-reading I found myself effectively transported into Mr. Byrne's world. The title of the book "Pictures in My Head" perfectly embodies the essence of what this book is about.

The stories from the early part of Mr. Byrne's life are particularly enthralling. The retelling of events of his early childhood in Ireland include incredible detail. Mr. Byrne has the rare talent of recalling small details that most people wouldn't notice, much less recall. Rarer still is his ability to then take those small details, recount them and essentially capture a moment with words. However, I agree with another reviewer who found the second half of the book less satisfying. In addition to seeming a bit more rushed, Mr. Byrne's desire to protect the privacy of his friends, family and himself in the second half of the book unfortunately hinders his ability to write with the same freedom and compelling detail that made the first half of the book so captivating.

Despite this criticism, the same honesty, intelligence and sensitivity that contribute to Mr. Byrne's success as an actor translates well into his foray as an author. "Pictures in My Head" is a compelling triumph. Gabriel Byrne's capacity for conveying the beauty and poignancy of life as a human being is remarkably gripping. I sincerely hope Mr. Byrne will continue to write.

Nice, But Lacking.......2002-09-24

This is a very sweet book, written by a wonderful actor. Sadly, it lacks a few things. Details, for one. It's very good in some places, and then it seems to rush on when you want to know more. And it jumps around like "Pride and Prejudice"...I had a hard time keeping track of where he was in his life.

All in all, it's a nice story. However, if you read this and "Angela's Ashes" right tight together, you realize something. You realize that even though you thought at first that Gabriel had it kind of bad growing up, he is almost a spoiled little rich kid, compared to Frank McCourt. Let's see some real life, here!

Vivid.......2001-04-04

I get the impression that Mr. Byrne is superbly sensitive to his surroundings and absorbs everything. I envy his photographic memory and ability to live completely in the moment. :o) This is the perfect book to curl up with under your favorite green soft blanket.

I REALLY LOVE THIS BOOK.......2000-11-24

I must say this book really surprised me! I got it as a Christmas present last year, and I never expected it, because I had only been a Gabriel Byrne friend for about three months or so, but after I had read it, I felt I knew Gabriel personally. I have never met him, but I am longing to see him. The book is very well written, so I wonder why he doesn't write more. Probably because he doesn't have time... I'm awaiting his new film or book. Whatever it is, I'll buy it. Buy this book, you won't be disappointed. If you're a Byrne fan, it's a must! If you're not, after reading the book, you will be!

An Intimate View.......2000-08-10

This was a wonderful book, beautifully written by a magnificent actor. The stories and the memories were so real, and honest. I could only have hoped that the book was longer and that Gabriel would have shared more with all of us. Then again, everyone needs to keep some memories their own. Thanks for sharing your touching and humorous look at life.

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The 1916 Poets

Manufacturer: Greenwood Press Reprint
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0313221006

Book Description

Selections from the work of Padraic H. Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, and Joseph M. Plunkett all of whom were signers of the Irish Republican Proclamation and all of whom were executed because of their participation in the 1916 Easter Rebellion.

The Apprentice Mage, 1865-1914 (W.B. Yeats: A Life, Vol. 1)

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Informative biography of a complicated man
The Lighthouse and the Anteater
Surprises!
The Definitive Yeats Biography

The Apprentice Mage, 1865-1914 (W.B. Yeats: A Life, Vol. 1)
R. F. Foster
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0192117351

Amazon.com

There are several biographies of the great Irish poet to choose from, and the one you'll prefer depends on how much biography you want. Subtitled "The Apprentice Mage, 1865-1914," this is the one for completists (though they'll have to wait for Volume Two to get through Yeats's death in 1939). The author, a noted Irish historian, renders Yeats's life almost day to day, giving a particularly lively sense of the helter-skelter nature of his early years and a nice depiction of his tumultuous engagement with the Abbey Theatre.

Book Description

In the first authorized biography of W. B. Yeats for over fifty years, Roy Foster sheds new light on one of the most complex and fascinating lives of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Working from a great archive of personal and contemporary material, he dramatically alters traditional perceptions to illuminate the poet's family history, relationships, politics and art. From a childhood inheritance of declasse Irish Protestantism with strong nationalist sympathies, and an exceptional and talented family background, the narrative charts Yeats's development into an original and outstanding poet. It ends in his fiftieth year with the controversies and disillusionment affecting his personal and public life at the time of the First World War. A bohemian life of uncertain finances, love-affairs, avant-garde friends and experiments with drugs and occultism prefaces his attempt to unite politics with high culture and his creation of an Irish national theatre. Constantly shifting between Dublin, Coole Park and London, with forays to America and Paris, ruthlessly constructing a public life as well as a creative reputation, Yeats's genius attracted admirers and enemies with equal passion. His story intersects with those of an engrossing cast of characters including Lady Gregory, J. M. Synge, George Moore, `AE', Ezra Pound and above all Maud Gonne - an influence eternally re-created `like the phoenix', affecting almost everything he did. The search for supernatural wisdom forms a constant thread, traced through Yeats's occult notebooks and closely related to the insecurities of his personal life. The Apprentice Mage charts the growth of a poet's mind and of an astonishing personality, both of which were instrumental in the formation of a new and radicalized Irish nationalist identity.

Customer Reviews:

Informative biography of a complicated man.......2004-03-01

William Butler Yeats offers a life of contradictions. Born in Dublin to a middle-class Protestant family, Yeats went on to become one of the premier poets of the twentieth century. As a writer and member of the Irish literary community, he also helped to forge Irish national identity through his words and his deeds. In this biography, the first of two volumes, Roy Foster offers an account of Yeats' development into one of the leading figures of the Irish literary scene.

This is not an easy book. Foster recounts Yeats' life in what is sometimes excruciating detail, covering every movement and literary battle the poet undertakes. Moreover, as he does so he assumes the reader's familiarity with both the background of late nineteenth century Ireland and the members of the Irish literary community. People appear in his narrative with little introduction, creating a confusing jumble of names that limits the appreciation of their role in Yeats' life.

Such problems aside, this is a first-rate biography. Foster does a great job examining Yeats' life, in a text that while long is never dense. His coverage of Yeats' occult interests is particularly good, as is that of the poet's involvement in nationalist causes - both integral aspects of his poetry. Foster's argument that Yeats' involvement in the mystical was a reaction to the declining position of Protestants in Ireland, an effort to cope with the sense of dislocation by asserting psychic control, is a compelling one that helps to fit more of his poetry into its contemporary context. Foster helps this process; while he asserts that his biography is about what Yeats did rather than what the poet wrote he does offer a perceptive commentary on aspects of Yeats' work, which helps us better appreciate the connection between the man and his writings. Thanks to this, we have a book that is essential for understanding such a complicated literary figure and the role he played in his times.

The Lighthouse and the Anteater.......2003-05-02

For the first 100 pages or so, this book had me completely. Roy Foster writes with elegant brio and has a historian's eye for the wider events and contexts that shaped Yeats's early years. Where previous biographers like Ellman take a sort of lighthouse approach to their subject, treating the passions and conflicts of Yeats's day as fuel for the poetry that was destined to outshine them, Foster is more like an anteater, eagerly snuffling up the everyday bits of information that give the flavor of Yeats's multifaceted life as he actually lived it, before his later fame and incessant revisions smoothed it into a pattern.

After a while though, the book tends to bury Yeats in a mass of trivia that include everything from the menu at one of his literary dinners to the prices he charged for his lectures. This level of detail could be enlightening if Foster stopped for breath more often to tell us why these things are important. Too often though he keeps his head firmly down with the ants, cataloging the day-to-day intrigues of a very complicated life without linking them to any kind of larger interpretation of Yeats's personality or development. Instead, Foster spends his 500+ pages introducing new names at the rate of one or so per page, most of them disappearing by the end of the chapter never to be heard from again. We get the intrigues of various Irish nationalist factions, potted bios of minor figures on the Dublin and London art scenes, humorous sketches of Yeats's fellow-travellers in his sundry mystical societies. It was hard to see Yeats after a while with all these minor figures crowding the stage.

If Foster does have an interpretation of his own, as far as I can tell it's a revisionist one. Where Ellman or Jeffaries saw Yeats's life as a drama of painful self-creation, Foster sends to see an ambitious man on the make, an aggressive networker who wasn't beyond bending the truth if it helped his own advancement. Even his life-long passion for Maud Gonne, one of the key sources of his poetry, was, according to Foster, in part a self-conscious realization that a great poet needed a great passion to write about. In trying to bring Yeats back down to earth, I think Foster overcompensates by making him more canny and worldly than the sexual naivete, table rapping, faery talk and aesthetic posturing of these years suggest. Worst of all, Foster shows almost no interest in Yeats's poetry, the reason we're reading the biography in the first place. I put down the book admiring Foster's energy and mastery of such a huge anthill of facts, but I couldn't shake the feeling that a lot less would have told us a lot more.

Surprises!.......2001-07-04

This is loaded with surprise after surprise. Foster's insights into the poetry, through historical and social readings, are often revelatory. My only complaint is that many of the tales he tells tend to have the same emotional architecture due to a descirptive repetition: this makes it a little monotonous at times. But this is a quibble. This book is great. When is Vol. 2 going to be published?

The Definitive Yeats Biography.......1999-12-12

R.F. Foster's two-volume biography (second volume to come in 2000) is a model of articulate and knowledgable scholarship, arguably comparable to the great biographies of Joyce and Wilde written by Richard Ellman. Foster's work leaves nothing to be desired. It easily excels previous Yeats biographies written by Cootes, Jeffares, etc.

Beowulf & Grendel: The Truth Behind England's Oldest Legend

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This is a fascinating idea...
Interesting read
Some Interesting Insights but No Overall Unity of Vision
An awesome yet frustrating book.
Earlier roots of the English Founding Myth - in Turkey?

Beowulf & Grendel: The Truth Behind England's Oldest Legend
John Grigsby
Manufacturer: Watkins
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1842931539

Book Description

The legend of Beowulf and Grendel is one of the founding works of modern Western literature. It tells the story of the monster-slaying hero, Beowulf, who frees the feasting hall of a Danish king from the 12-year tyranny of the hideous creature Grendel. For decades, scholars have assumed that the warrior Beowulf was based on an actual historic person, but that Grendel was the work of imagination. In Beowulf and Grendel, John Grigsby reveals the true basis for Grendel's battle with Beowulf. Grigsby explains how a cult migrated to England from Denmark and Germany, bringing with it a practice of human sacrifice. It is the violent suppression of this cult in the fifth century that underlies Beowulf's fantastic deeds. Fusing historical research with literary study, Grigsby presents a compelling case for the true-life roots of a classic work of art.

Customer Reviews:

This is a fascinating idea..........2007-05-14

I'm a medical researcher with special interests in neuroscience, and Grogsby's thesis is fascinating. Neuroscientists, especially the bench scientists, like to play with historical events. One example was the rise of both flagellation and tarantella, which has been linked to humid warm weather and therefore mold on the rye harvest. So, it's a believable idea.

I am less familiar with the cultures that slew the king on a yearly basis - that sounds as though it wouldn't sustain itself very well. There may be other books on that subject, whether Fraser or others, that I should look into to see how this could work.

Finally, either I missed it or Grigsby didn't mention the dragon part of the Beowulf legend in any depth. One wonders how that links up with the religious shift theme.

Interesting read.......2007-05-13

The book reads a little like a college essay. Some of the author's points are better supported than others. In several cases he assumes the reader must agree with him and no further proof is needed. In some cases no real proof is available because the lack of historical data. However, the author discusses some very interesting topics and writes in an accessible style. If you have any interest in Beowulf or Germanic, Norse, or Celtic cultural roots, this book is certainly worth a look. I enjoyed reading it and was motivated to further explore the topic when I finished the book.

Some Interesting Insights but No Overall Unity of Vision.......2007-04-18

This book makes the interesting case that the Beowulf poem is less a dim recollection of a particular historical incident or of a strictly mythological tale, than it is a veiled recounting of a religious change that overwhelmed the cultural lives of the ancestors of the English. John Grigsby brings archeological and ethnological studies to bear on this effort to reconstruct the actual circumstances and practices of the peoples who were to become the Angles, Saxons and Jutes (who in turn became the Anglo-Saxons who became today's English). In so doing he suggests that the Norse mythos and pantheon, as we have it from later times, was, in fact, relatively late on the scene and that the proto-English, whom he identifies with the Ingaevones of Roman times, were agriculturalists with a religion that reflected agriculturalist predilections long before they worshipped Woden and Thunor (Odin and Thor in later Viking times).

According to Grigsby, the Beowulf myth is a dim echo of the era in which latecomers in the area, worshippers of the sky gods identifiable with large segments of the later Norse pantheon, overthrew the old ways, ways that required the annual sacrifice of a king to a fearsome goddess and her son. Grigsby makes many connections with the triple goddess worshipping neolithic age that apparently once predominated in the Mediterranean and European areas, with the old myths of the Nile valley and with the old faiths which suffused the area in which Rome arose. But in the end his argument boils down to this: that the Beowulf story is a somewhat corrupted and confused recollection of some events which altered forever the older beliefs and practices of these peoples, traditions that the Angles, Saxons et al brought with them out of the old country (today's southern Denmark) when they conquered the British Isles. They were not yet sky god worshippers, not yet Wodenists, Grigsby maintains, but came from a backwater part of Scandia which had remained more primitive than other parts of Germania and Scandinavia in the Dark Ages that followed Rome's fall. Thus, the story of Beowulf is as native to the early Germanic English as to the land from which they hailed.

It's an interesting claim and there's a lot to chew on in the information Grigsby brings forward. But the book, itself, lacks cohesion or a clearcut thesis as to the actual events which underly the famous Old English poem set in Denmark's Heorot. The parallels he draws with other traditions (including the Hrolf Kraki saga which deals with many of the same personalities, in a roughly comparable time, albeit from the perspective of the much later Norse tradition) are intriguing. But there really isn't that much new here and the failure to offer a firm conclusion or really unravel the story behind the story mar this book. Good for scholars, I think, and for those with a strong interest in the area, but not really right for laymen and not ultimately as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.

An awesome yet frustrating book........2006-10-23

This is an inspiring work. John Grisby has brought a wide array of factors concerning early northern culture together to make his point. His understanding of culture and myth and his obvious enthusiasm for these subjects make this one of the more interesting (and fresh) books to appear on the subject in a long time. Before I go further, I would like to point out that I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Norse/Germanic Mythology. If you are not greatly interested in Germanic and Indo-European linguistics you will enjoy the book greatly, and needn't read the rest of this review. If you are interested in linguistics, please read on.

Be very careful when reading this book. As he is enthusiastic, he is also academically reckless. There are a lot of passages starting with "some have been led to believe..." or "some claim that..." that end with no citation or note - My question to these passages is always "Who believes that, and how do I know that "they" offering an opinion that can be trusted as objective?". Furthermore, he makes it obvious on several occasions that he is no linguist. He offers Indo-European etymologies that don't conform to any known transcription standard, and on several occasions he seems to have trouble discerning Indo-European forms from Proto-Germanic (there is a big difference).

My intention here is not to be harsh, disapproving, or unduly critical. The subject matter of this book resides in a field that has all too often fallen prey to misunderstanding. To exemplify the type of error I am talking about, and to add credence for my objectivity here, I would like to point out two linguistic oversights that can be illustrated without excess circumlocution.

On page 69 Grisby raises the issue of a double meaning in the phrase "beow waes breme blad wide sprang" "Beow was renowned, far and wide his glory spread", arguing that this was a metaphor for the spread of agriculture throughout the north. The indication, he claims, is that the name Beow means "barley". That's true. In Anglo-Saxon the word "beow" does in fact mean barley. But that isn't the name that appears in the manuscript. The sentence he's referring to appears on the first leaf of the manuscript, (which he included as the first photographic plate in the book, just after page 118). The original manuscript reads "Beowulf waes breme blad wide sprang" - The name Beowulf here belonging to another character by the name of Beowulf. The only place that I can recall ever seeing this name appear printed in the poem as "Beow" and not "Beowulf" is in Seamus Heany's translation where he intentionally removes the sequence "-ulf" from the name to avoid confusion between this character and the hero of the poem. Scholars have posited that "Beowulf" was written here due to scribal misunderstanding, and that the name was in fact originally "Beo", but again, that is not what appears in the manuscript, and Grisby makes no mention of the fact that this point is an educated theory and not an attested fact.

Also on p. 156 Grisby makes reference to an Indo-European root "inguz" as the source of Germanic theonym Yngvi/Ingui/Ing. "*Inguz" is a Proto-East-Germanic word not an Indo-European root. Furthermore there is no consensus as to where the early Germanic speakers got this word and what its original meaning was. The name Yngvi, Ingui, Ing, etc. has no universally agreed upon etymology and very few linguists posit an Indo-European origin for the name. Further, the meaning of the word which Grisby offers "son" is not directly attested in any of the languages. The Old Irish name, Oengus/Angus by which Grisby claims an etymological connection to "Yngvi/Ingui", is similar in appearance but it is not related etymologically. The old Irish name is compound form, from Oen-gus; literally "one-strength" the meaning being "having solitary strength" these "-strength" names are very common in Old Irish and Modern Gaelic.

Hopefully without turning this into a term paper my sources are:
Vladimir Orel "A Handbook of Germanic Etymology", Winfred P. Lehman "A Gothic Etymological Dictionary", J.P. Mallory and Douglas Adams "An Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture", and Calvert Watkins "The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots" all works that are available (to my knowledge) from Amazon.com.

There are quite a few more problems, those are just two that I found the hardest to swallow, but by now I hope I've made my point clear: be careful when reading this book and looking for solid answers. The author jumps to a lot of conclusions - linguistically and otherwise.

All that said, I still give it four stars. The book is highly readable, enjoyable and insightful. I wish the author followed through more thoroughly on many of his claims with more citation and less speculation, but it is overall a very inspired work. Despite it's weak details, I still support many of the author's overall conclusions. This could be a seminal work redefining how the general reader, rather than just the scholar, views the Old North. If the author's love of the subject were the only judgement criteria, I would give him ten stars.

I apologise for the lack of brevity.

Earlier roots of the English Founding Myth - in Turkey?.......2006-07-31

Mr. Grigsby's book is supplemental material for me as a historian exploring genealogy. A (fee-based) genealogy website that I use has detailed entries of the "Anglo/Swedes" back to a possibly semi-mythological figure named "Yngvi King In Turkey" b. 193 in Noatun, Sweden. Going further back, his antecedants are in fact listed as originating from Turkey, Macedonia, Persia and Mesopotamia, and many of them closely related to ruling families in those nations. I have been reviewing the history of this region and period, and there certainly were some displacements of large groups of peoples, especially with the expansion of Roman hegemony. Is it possible that some of these peoples migrated north along already known trade routes to Scandinavia, to become the parent group of the Anglo-Saxons?
Mr. Grigsby makes several references to Scandinavian/Anglo-Saxon rituals, e.g. references to a barley god, which he believes shares some similarities to rituals from the Middle East. Another comparison is to the depiction of a solar disk above a boat, which is clearly reminiscent of Egyptian artwork.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the earliest known history of the English-speaking peoples, and possibly a few others as well.

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