Average customer rating:
- Great Book!
- "What does the end of a war mean, if not that one side ran out of men willing to die?"
- The War that Haunts Daniel Alarcon
- Tokyo Rose meets 1984
- Novelist finds hope in the aftermath of war
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Lost City Radio
Daniel Alarcon
Manufacturer: HarperCollins
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ASIN: 0060594799
Release Date: 2007-01-30 |
Book Description
A powerful and searing novel of three lives fractured by a civil war
For ten years, Norma has been the voice of consolation for a people broken by violence. She hosts Lost City Radio, the most popular program in their nameless South American country, gripped in the aftermath of war. Every week, the Indians in the mountains and the poor from the barrios listen as she reads the names of those who have gone missing, those whom the furiously expanding city has swallowed. Loved ones are reunited and the lost are found. Each week, she returns to the airwaves while hiding her own personal loss: her husband disappeared at the end of the war.
But the life she has become accustomed to is forever changed when a young boy arrives from the jungle and provides a clue to the fate of her long-missing husband.
Stunning, timely, and absolutely mesmerizing, Lost City Radio probes the deepest questions of war and its meaning: from its devastating impact on a society transformed by violence to the emotional scarring each participant, observer, and survivor carries for years after. This tender debut marks Alarcón's emergence as a major new voice in American fiction.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book!.......2007-08-23
This is a very good book, is easy to read and catches your interest as soon as you start reading so that you cannot stop! I had to read it in a couple of days cause I needed to know what came next in the plot...
When you have lived in Peru during those years, you get the feeling of this story, it has also used an actual radio program as a model but the mastership of the author is to join all those stories and create a new one that have a little bit of multiple stories but is in itself different but very nice. I highly recommend it.
"What does the end of a war mean, if not that one side ran out of men willing to die?".......2007-08-21
Set in an unspecified South American country, "a nation at the edge of the world, a make-believe country outside history", people are still reeling after ten years of war between the government and guerillas, their spirits broken by incessant violence, legions of the disappeared unaccounted for. In one small place of hope, the Indians in the mountains and the poor of the barrio listen with rapt attention to Lost City Radio. The voice of consolation to her devastated listeners, Norma reads lists, the endless names of the missing, hopeful that some may be reunited with their families. But in the last year of the long absence of her husband, Rey, one of the missing, Norma's advancing grief and impending hopelessness has grown burdensome, the expectations of the audience weighing on her every waking moment.
Hugely popular, Lost City Radio flourishes in spite of a repressive government, spies everywhere, questions rebuffed by officials who allow no independence of thought. The prisons are filled with the captured insurrectionists, their leaders all but buried in the smothering confines of underground cells. Norma hopes to find Rey in one of these prisons, but it is impossible to discern him in a sea of gaunt, determined faces. Other than his profession as an ethnobiologist, Norma has no idea of Rey's other interests, his life carefully compartmentalized. They met under romantic, mysterious conditions, Rey hinting at a more obscure identity. By the time they are married, Norma accepts her husband's eccentricities; but when he fails to return from the jungle village 1797 (names have been replaced by numbers), Norma has no way to track his activities or learn of his fate.
Then one day, ten years after the end of the war, his teacher delivers a young boy to the radio station, eleven-year-old Vincent from village 1787, perhaps a key to Rey's location. Certainly, as time and events unfold, Norma is confronted with the unthinkable: "She had a husband, he was dead or gone... the war had ended, or perhaps it had never begun." Norma's memories are fresh, alive with the spirits of the lost, some of the names still too dangerous to mention on the air. Wracked by loss, clinging to the child, Norma blindly navigates the present, the forbidden names whispered into the dark night. The emotional journey of a grieving wife and an innocent orphan permeate the novel, their stories shadowed by Rey's duplicitous past and devotion to his wife. This otherworldly tale of strength in the face of a confusing war speaks to the vital issues of out time. Such a scenario no longer seems the stuff of fantasy, given the human faces of these poignant characters, Alarcon's novel a grim reminder: "People disappear, they vanish. And with them the history, so that new myths replace the old." Luan Gaines/2007.
The War that Haunts Daniel Alarcon.......2007-07-14
In the early 1980's, Daniel Alarcon's family fled the rising political violence in Peru and began a new life in a leafy, suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. Alarcon's comfortable childhood was spent far away from the terrible violence that was to eventually claim over 60,000 victims. One of those victims was Alarcon's uncle, a well respected college professor who was kidnapped and never heard from again. Although, Alarcon's immediate family sat out the war in the United States, it nevertheless still haunts him and serves as the inspiration for many of Alarcon's short stories in his execellent first book, "War by Candlelight" and is at the front and center of his debut novel, "Lost City Radio."
Sendero Luminoso's often times bizarre campaign to bring down the Peruvian State has been well documented in a number of non-fiction books. It is fairly easy to chronicle the War's story of terrorist bombings, blackouts, army massacres and political assasinations. However, there is another human truth of that conflict that requires the skill and insight of the novelist. I lived in Peru during the mid 1980's and experienced many of the events that are thinly veiled in this story. Through the medium of the novel, Alarcon has been able to successfully recreate the atmosphere and tension that existed at the time. This novel beautifully captures the devestation that survives the end of a long and dirty war.
Finally, it is a sweet oddity of globalization that one of the emerging voices of Latin American literature is a child of the suburbs of Alabama. "Lost City Radio" is an impressive debut novel and is highly recommended.
Tokyo Rose meets 1984.......2007-06-17
Alarcon's debut novel takes us on a riveting literary trek which places a propagandist disc jockey akin to Tokyo Rose in a double-speak environment reminiscent of George Orwell's "1984." What I liked best is the way that the story-line lays naked the rhetoric filled propaganda machines of the political left and right. Popular movements frequently arise for reasons of political and economic injustices. Yet the power pundits behind the scenes coopt the populist fervor and use whatever propagada tactics necessary to ensure their domination.
It is rare to come across someone like Alarcon who can so naturally combine unpretentious prose with a drivingly poignant and original story line.
Novelist finds hope in the aftermath of war.......2007-02-28
With the publication two years ago of his short-story collection "War by Candlelight" (HarperCollins), Daniel Alarcón received critical acclaim that included comparisons to Mario Vargas Llosa, Flannery O'Connor and Ernest Hemingway.
Born in Peru and living in northern California, Alarcón unflinchingly portrays people battered by civil strife, natural disasters and governmental abuses. He now brings us his first novel, "Lost City Radio" (HarperCollins, hardcover $24.95), a potent, disturbing, but, in the end, hopeful portrait of a nation torn by years of war and betrayal.
Set in an unnamed South American country, Alarcón's novel centers on Norma, the host of a popular program, "Lost City Radio," in which she reads the names of missing persons and lends an understanding ear to callers who hope she can help them reunite with lost loved ones. Norma has become a celebrity, a voice everyone knows, the apolitical salve for a nation that has lost too much.
Why Norma? "She was a natural: She knew when to let her voice waver, when to linger on a word, what texts to tear through and read as if the words themselves were on fire."
Norma's unctuous boss, Elmer, wants high ratings without angering those in power. Government authorities are more than willing to make radio employees disappear if they seem to sympathize with the Illegitimate Legion, a guerrilla faction based in the nation's mountains and jungles. Though the war with the IL is technically over, suspicion and distrust are ingrained in the nation's psyche.
Norma is no stranger to loss. She nurses the hope of finding her husband, Rey, who disappeared 10 years earlier.
Rey, an ethnobotanist, would leave Norma for long stretches to venture into the jungle, ostensibly to study indigenous remedies. With cities and villages stripped of their original names, Rey often visited "Village 1797." He failed to return home after one such foray. Rey's covert jungle activities as an IL sympathizer has convinced Norma that the government is responsible for her husband's disappearance.
One day, a village boy, Victor, is brought to the radio station to meet Norma. "He was slender and fragile, and his eyes were too small for his face. His head had been shaved -- to kill lice, Norma supposed." The boy carries a letter from the residents of Village 1797, who pooled their money to send Victor to the city for a "better life." The letter includes a list of lost people, some of whom may have fled to the city. "Perhaps one of these individuals will be able to care for the boy," says the letter.
The list of names includes one Norma recognizes: an IL pseudonym once used by Rey. Could Victor be Norma's last and best chance of finding her husband?
Norma and Rey share the stage with unforgettable characters whose histories connect in compelling and poignant ways. Manau, the village schoolteacher who takes Victor to see Norma, is a man whose body is covered with sores from his life in the humid jungle, a man who enjoyed a too-brief romance with Victor's late mother, Adela. And there's Zahir, another resident of Village 1797, whose hands were hacked off by zealous members of the IL. Though falsely accused of stealing food, Zahir accepts his punishment because of other evil things he has done.
Alarcón's narrative has the ebb and flow of a dark dream. With a fluid chronology that curves upon itself and doubles back effortlessly, he allows the past to mingle and compete with the present. There are no false steps or strained sentences. "Lost City Radio" is, quite simply, a triumph. Alarcón has created a sublimely terrifying, war-ravaged world populated by unforgettable and fully realized characters. But at the novel's core is a story of hope, one that renders the resiliency of human nature in all its imperfect glory.
[This review first appeared in the El Paso Times]
Amazon.com
A travelogue by Bill Bryson is as close to a sure thing as funny books get. The Lost Continent is no exception. Following an urge to rediscover his youth (he should know better), the author leaves his native Des Moines, Iowa, in a journey that takes him across 38 states. Lucky for us, he brought a notebook.
With a razor wit and a kind heart, Bryson serves up a colorful tale of boredom, kitsch, and beauty when you least expect it. Gentler elements aside, The Lost Continent is an amusing book. Here's Bryson on the women of his native state: "I will say this, however--and it's a strange, strange thing--the teenaged daughters of these fat women are always utterly delectable ... I don't know what it is that happens to them, but it must be awful to marry one of those nubile cuties knowing that there is a time bomb ticking away in her that will at some unknown date make her bloat out into something huge and grotesque, presumably all of a sudden and without much notice, like a self-inflating raft from which the pin has been yanked."
Yes, Bill, but be honest: what do you really think?
Book Description
An unsparing and hilarious account of one man's rediscovery of America and his search for the perfect small town.
Customer Reviews:
You'll laugh, you'll cry. You'll laugh until you cry!!!.......2007-09-13
This book is absolutely hilarious, and Bill Bryson, is, in my opinion, the best writer the planet ever produced. I'm a creative director at an ad agency, and I swear, his writing is so superb that MY writing actually gets markedly better after I read him. But only for about a week. Then it's like Flowers for Algernon...I get all average again!
Boy oh boy do I envy anyone who has not read Bill Bryson's books, because you still have all that pleasure in front of you!
Non Fiction.......2007-09-03
I read this after having been through and in a few of the places Bill Bryson mentions in The Lost Continent : Travels in Small-town America, so at the time I found parts of it highly entertaining. Accounts of Nowheresville, USA are not going to be too interesting if you get lots and lots and lots of them, though.
The Lost Continent..are we there yet?.......2007-09-02
Originally published on SensiblySassy.blogspot.com
Lost Continent:
Well a couple years ago I read Bill Bryson's book Neither Here nor There and it was a hilarious guide through Europe. So when I saw Lost Continent on the shelves I instantly wanted to read about Bill's road trip through the U.S. Within the first five pages I was chuckling to myself and out loud. (Luckily Jon was the only one sitting next to me on the plane as I read) By the time the hour and a half flight touched back down on the ground I had polished off quite a few pages.
As the book went on I began to feel less enamored with the book than I initially had. The tone shifted from funny to cranky as the trip/book wore on. Now I wonder if it is the fact that the trip began to take its toll on Bryson or if he felt that crotchety was a good tone for him to switch to-we may never know. Overall if you were to sample some of Bryson's work I would absolutley recommend Neither Here nor There over Lost Continent . Neither Here nor There gives you a hilarious and personal guide through Europe whereas Lost Continent really helps you remember what it was like to take loooong car rides with your parents-the good and the bad.
satisfied my curiosity towards small towns.......2007-08-30
We all know what big cities are like, but how about small towns? Of course Bill Bryson did not (& obviously could not) visit all small towns in his home country, this book satisfied my curiosity towards small towns in America.
I guess there's always irresistible charm of overland travel, and Bryson described his overland trip with hilarious writing style.
One suggestion: if the editor could add a route map at the beginning of book showing Bryson's itinerary, it would be even better.
A bumpy, yet scenic, road.......2007-08-03
Bill Bryson, a child of the 50s, used to spend each summer with his family on one of those all-American vacations that consisted of endless driving, sweltering heat and the inevitable destination that was, due to his father's preference, free and educational. He always longed for the chance to buy tacky hats with plastic crap on them and other tasteless souvenirs, and now that he's an adult, he finally gets that chance when he embarks on a nation-wide odyssey in the hopes of getting to know the country he left behind in The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America.
Although he was born in Des Moines, Illinois ("Someday had to," he explains on the opening page), Bryson's heart was elsewhere, and he spent most of his adult life living in England. Some 30 years after those summer journeys he's back in the states, and with no specific itinerary or time constraints, he leisurely passes from town to city, looking for the perfect place that survived from his childhood in this travelogue.
Of course, America has changed since Bryson's childhood days, and instead of finding Perfect Town, U.S.A, he encounters a deluge of faceless shopping malls, unremarkable villages and far too many gas stations. His hilarious observations usually come at the expense of the people he talks to and places he visits, which almost seems to suggest an air of British snootiness that he picked up from his years living abroad. Still, there are plenty of irreverent comments ("I only ever knew one journalist with a truly tidy desk, and he was eventually arrested for molesting small boys. Make of that what you will; but just bear it in mind that next time somebody with a tidy desk invites you camping") that are just so outlandishly amusing, that it's easy to forgive him for his treatment of the occasional small town citizen.
Traveling across America and being disgusted with the over-commercialization is hardly groundbreaking material. John Steinbeck, the quintessential American, did exactly that in 1962 with Travels with Charley: In Search of America. While Steinbeck is a folksy, talkative guy, Bryson instead bares his teeth. He travels alone and all along the way he doesn't strike up many conversations aside from brief chats with a plethora of waitresses and moronic country folk. He does meet up with a friend, and later a niece, but they're pushed into the background and the surroundings become the main characters. The closest we get to travel companions is when Bryson vividly describes what the past trips with his family were like. His mom says nothing other than "Would you like a sandwich, honey?" and "I don't know, dear."
Much of Bryson's journey on both coasts, and everything in between, brings up plenty woeful places, yet he does find some attractions worthy of his admiration. A rare few of the stops on his trip nostalgically remind him of his youth, from the sheer scope of the Grand Canyon ("Your mind, unable to deal with anything on this scare, just shuts down and for many long moments you are a human vacuum") and the "sleepy" college town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania ("You feel at first as if you should be wearing slippers and a bathrobe"). Bryson covers so much ground (38 states) and visits so many similar towns, that at times, his travelogue almost read like a list. Even the memorable places are often described as simply "pleasant," and after a paragraph, it's off to the next destination. Like the long road trip that Bryson embarks on, The Lost Continent captures the vastness and monotony of driving across America. Because of the now-famous Bill Bryson humor, for most of it works well and there are plenty of laughs, The Lost Continent becomes more than another lackluster expressway town.
Customer Reviews:
GOOD BUT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER.......2006-02-09
THIS BOOK IS FASCINATING, HOWEVER IF YOU DON'T LIKE SCIENTIFIC READING IT MAY BE HARD TO FOLLOW. OTHERWISE ITS A GREAT READ IF ARE INTERESTED IN ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS AND EARTH'S MYSTERIES.
Dissapointed with ending.......2005-11-02
I found the conclusion of the book to be inconclusive and feel that it is not based on any hard science; its the author's opinion supported by sketchy facts, figures and theories from other sources. It's artful and entertaining, but it's not like its going to leave you with the truth of 2012 being the end of the world.
I don't regret reading it, however, and would recommend it to someone who is interested in learning about the subject. It just gives you one more opinion to chew on and ponder. And, I like pondering things.
Futhermore, there is some historical information on the Central American Civilizations of the past, the Mayan calendars, as well as some interesting theories on Sunspot's.
Dodgy..........2005-06-21
The blurb on the back reads "The present world will end on 22 December 2012. So prophesied the Maya 5,000 years ago..." - yet on page 4 the authors indicate that the Maya appeared around 500AD, which by my reckoning is only 1,500 years ago.
Such internal inconsistencies riddle this book, and make it unreliable. On the face of it - and ignoring the 2012 prophecy, which uses some pretty tortuous mathematical manipulations - there is a lot of interesting information here about the Maya, but I'm afraid I just don't know how much I can believe or trust.
I'm sure many people will lap up this book, and simply assume that the "facts" on the Maya must be true because they are written in an authoritative manner, but please keep an open mind - which includes remembering that the authors may be wrong.
Very dissappointing.......2004-09-09
It was implied that the earth's magnetic field reversed 3K years BC. This caused Atlantis to sink and new lands to appear. This scenario would make sense. What doesnt make sense is that according to a geographic magazine (scientific fact), the last time the earth's magnetic field reversed was 780,000 years ago. Moreover, its occurrence is random and not in some sequence deciphered by the Mayan calendar. Assuming the Mayan calendar was true, then what would happen in 2012? The facts are that the sunspots activity align with the Mayan calculations. In a period of years before and after 2012, there will be instances of very few or no sunspots occuring. This will effect fertility and weather patterns but mostly in the equator area. Hence, Mexico, India, Southeast Asia, Africa will be affected. The only reason the rest of the world will be affected is due to the side effect of us polluting the world with CO2 from too much cars and waste dumping, thereby melting the polar ice caps. The sunspot event before and after 2012 will just make things worse. So the doomsayers would come out and point to the Mayan prophecy as applicable to the whole world. As you can see if we did not pollute, North America would not be affected.
I give this book 1-star for the first chapter and explanation of the Mayan number system. I dont agree with the chapter about how images came up when Pacal's tomb cover were superimposed. The fact is that one can superimpose any drawing or try even Michaelangelo's fresco's. By careful delineation, one would come up with weird forms as what the author found in Pacal's about a jaguar? a bat?
Nonsense.......2003-07-09
This book is about coincidences. The authors notice a similarity between certain large numbers in the Maya calendar cycle and their own astrological theories about sunspot cycles. The numbers don't match, but from this "coincidence" the authors conclude that the Maya warned of a cosmic disaster for the year 2012.
The book could have stopped there, but instead it digresses into a sort of personal log of the authors' visits to Mexico, then revisits old material on transatlantic contact, Atlantis mythology, Edgar Cayce, Velikovsky, and other nonsense. Some of the historical material about Mexico is interesting and well written, but is clearly taken from other sources.
Some of the claims are bizarre, such as that the crystal "skull of doom" was used as a magnifying glass in a fire ceremony. Or that the "loops" on the Palenque sarcophagus represent magnetic field lines on the sun, something the Maya couldn't possibly have known about.
The authors' contempt for those with other points of view is annoying. The book that derides Von Daniken, astrologists, and professional archaeologists all at the same time.
The sloppiness about numbers is also annoying, especially since their entire case rests on numbers. The authors cite a "remarkable correlation" between the dates given for the great flood by Plato (9500 B.C), Cayce (10,500 B.C.), and the Maya (11,205 B.C.) These dates differ by over 1700 years, a variation of 15% relative to the present day. Considering that one of the authors claims to be an engineer and a scientist, this is inexcusable.
The Maya civilization is a fascinating and impressive one, and no doubt there is much wisdom we have yet to learn from them. You won't find it in this book.
Book Description
The nursery rhyme begins, "In fourteen hundred and ninety two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." Less well-known is the line that follows: "…to learn if the old maps were true." How can there be "old maps" of a land no one knew existed? Were others here before Columbus? What were their reasons for coming and what unexplained artifacts did they leave behind?
The oceans were highways to America rather than barriers, and when discoverers put ashore, they were greeted by unusual inhabitants. In Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America, the author of The Atlantis Encyclopedia turns his sextant towards this hemisphere. Here is a collection of the most controversial articles selected from seventy issues of the infamous Ancient American magazine. They range from the discovery of Roman relics in Arizona and California's Chinese treasure, to Viking rune-stones in Minnesota and Oklahoma and the mysterious religions of ancient Americans. Many questions will be raised including:
What role did extraterrestrials have in the lives of ancient civilizations?
What ancient pyramids and towers tell us about the people who built them?
Are they some sort of portals to another dimension?
What prehistoric technologies have been discovered, and what can they tell us about early settlers, their religious beliefs, and possible other-worldly visitors?
Did El Dorado exist, and what of the legendary Fountain of Youth?
Was Atlantis in Cuba?
What are America's lost races and what happened to them?
Discovering the Mysteries of Ancient America brings to the fore the once-hidden true past of America's earliest civilizations
Frank Joseph is the author of The Atlantis Encyclopedia (New Page Books), as well as a dozen other books on history, prehistory, and metaphysics. He has been the editor-in-chief of Ancient American magazine since its first issue in 1993. He lives in Wisconsin.
Wayne May is the founder-publisher of Ancient American. Laura Lee is the award-winning producer and host of the nationally syndicated "The Laura Lee Show". David Hatcher Childress wrote the best-selling Lost Cities series. Zecharia Sitchin is the author of the best-selling Earth Chronicles series. Andrew Collins is world-renowned for his consistent bestsellers, including Gateway to Atlantis.
Customer Reviews:
Ridiculous conspiracy theories based on facts.......2007-04-29
This book is a compilation of articles that take facts and add conjecture or speculation to arrive at a possible thesis.
The articles in this book are generally based on large leaps of faith which have little or no basis.
The editor, Frank Joseph, is from a historical conspiracy theory type magazine called Ancient American.
The book is a collection of articles from the magazine, printed in book form for a quick buck.
If you looked for this book in your local bookstore, you would most likely find it in the "new age" or "alternative history" section.
It is not possible to read this book as non-fiction because some of it is based on guesswork or patchwork history.
If fact and fiction are mixed, you have fiction, no matter how much fact is involved.
Unless you are a conspiracy theorist or you are looking for a book full of magazine articles of historical fiction, you can probably skip this one.
Some of the stories are interesting, but all are portrayted as journalism when they would more accurately be described as historical fiction.
Authentic Ancient American History.......2007-04-29
Finally, people aren't ignoring the evidence of pre-Columbus voyages to America. This change in thinking has been a long time coming. This book presents some of the most compelling evidences for the voyages and visits. Even skeptics will have a hard time putting this book down. See also: Columbus Was Last: From 200,000 BC to 1492, A Heretical History of Who Was First & The Island of Seven Cities: Where the Chinese Settled When They Discovered America
excellent seller and product.......2007-02-13
Item as described and received in a timely manner... an excellent buying experience!
Discovering Mysteries.......2007-01-03
This is exactly what I looked for. A collection of interesting articles, and among them strong evidences that the Vikings were in America before Columbus. Just what I was looking for. Great!
Be Realistic In Your Analysis..........2006-05-24
Childress' book cites numerous known abberations to the common perception that most relics and antiquities found in North America are of "native" cultural origin, and having these bits all in one place in one book is useful and entertaining. However, the speculation on aliens, portals, and Atlantis-type culture is, as always, tedious. Anyone can speculate and it is a writer's choice on how he or she chooses to speculate. The reader ,however, must be realistic in their analysis and truth behind the writer's speculation. If it is for entertainment purposes, the book and its speculations are wothwhile; if it is for actual information, the book is worth the price to read about the additional relics that have been found in North America that can really question our prevalent interpretations of North American history - however, the speculation on aliens and such is just that...entertainment value only. Early Mankind was a lot more innovative and flexible than people like Childress give them credit for - no use of aliens and portals is necessary to explain the historical evidence that is apparent in the antiquities record.
Book Description
A special illustrated edition of Hiram Bingham's classic work captures all the magnificence and mystery of the amazing archeological sites he uncovered. Early in the 20th century, Bingham ventured into the wild and then unknown country of the Eastern Peruvian Andes--and in 1911 came upon the fabulous Inca city that made him famous: Machu Picchu. In the space of one short season he went on to discover two more lost cities, including Vitcos, where the last Incan Emperor was assassinated.
Customer Reviews:
Lost Incas.......2007-07-18
I bought this because of an upcoming trip to Machu Picchu. The first part about the last days of the Inca kings was very interesting. A lot of the discovery or rather rediscovery part was very interesting. Some of it was tedious georgraphical details that made very slow reading. Most of his comments about the indigenous population was less than enlightened but was probably no worse than most of his generation. It is probably necessary now to read something more modern about the area. I will definitely reread the the first part about the kings right before going there.
Still makes for good reading.......2006-08-28
In 1908, on a diplomatic mission he attained in the interest of increasing his understanding of South America and thus qualify as a professor of South American studies at Yale, Hiram Bingham casually accepted an invitation to visit the site of Incan ruins in Peru. His readings of the original Spanish conquistadores and explorers suggested there were more never found by the Europeans and he returned with an adventurous expedition. In 1911, on his own with a couple of local Indian farmers who were quietly using the land, he found the ruins of Machu Picchu high in the Andes under jungle overgrowth. Thus he ushered in the new era in Incan scholarship, 20th century adventurous exploration, archeology and, what he did not imagine at the time, tourism.
Bingham wrote THE LOST CITY OF THE INCAS with verve nearly 30 years after his achievement. To its credit, it is not riddled with hindsight but offers an immediacy of perspective. He begins with a very lucid, unbiased reading of the end of the Incan empire by the Europeans who leveled it. Bingham then recounts his own adventures in the discovery and subsequent archeological efforts, after which he provides a gloss on Incan culture as understood in those first digs. Bingham's narrative never bogs, even among the dryer material. The book stirs with wonder. Bingham may have been an ambitious man but his ambitions in this context are all about furthering knowledge for all.
The only reason to nick a star in the rating: datedness. Thanks to Bingham's inspiration, Incan studies perpetuate and some of his conclusions are no longer current. Though in one section he refers to native Indians as "savages," the book is largely and refreshingly free of elitism. He struck a deal with Peru to remove artifacts for study at Yale, with the stipulation that Peru could have them back when it wanted them. That's a drama that's unfolding now.
great adventure reading.......2005-07-12
Although some (actually many)of Bingham's ideas/theories have since been disproved, this is none-the-less a great true story about how he discovered Machu Pichu. He was actually a professor (and political representative) that went to Peru to increase his knowledge about South American history for teaching purposes. He decided to go back with a team of experts to try and find the lost city of the incas. And he did find it! It is great "adventure" reading...hiking through jungles, steep and dangerous terrain, exploring a long forgotten (and uncharted) area of Peru.
He also shares a lot of history about the incas in the book. We "owe" a lot to them. For instance, they domesticated/cultivated some of the common agriculural foods we still eat today. And they domesticated the guinea pig. Your kids can thank the incas for their furry little pet!
If you are considering visiting Peru and Machu Pichu, I'd highly recommend this book. It is a great starting point to learning more about this country and culture.
The Lost City of the Incas.......2005-04-05
Hiram Bingham goes on an exploration with a couple specialist friends to find the four capitals of the ancient Incan civilization. On the way, he goes through countless jungles, helpful indian cities, and steep mountain trails. The first part of the book is dedicated to informing the reader of interesting information about the Incas. The second and third parts described the trip through "Inca-land". I would request this book to anyone who wants to explore the Amazon Jungle someday.
a Great Introduction to Peru and history of anthropology.......2003-12-12
This book is valuable for many reasons. First and foremost, it presents us with the views and attitudes of one of the world's foremost anthropologist-explorers from the beginning of the 20th century. This means lots and lots of passion and enthusiasm, a willingness to risk one's life in pursuit of an elusive goal and an ability to follow one's gut instincts. All traits which, sadly, have practically dissapeared from modern anthropology. In addition, of course, the book is permeated with the spirit of the times (1910-40ies) - which means patronizing attitudes toward the natives (the "savages", who for the most part clearly resented the tasks of having to clear the jungle, build bridges across impassable rapids and climb hills infested with snakes) and an eurocentric view of the world which now seems a bit naive.
All this being said, I must emphasize that this book is a treasure and a must read for anyone about to visit Macchu Picchu - if only to contrast the conditions encountered by Bingham and his Indians to those that exist today, when busloads of clueless tourists are delivered straight to the Temple of the Sun. The first third of the book consists of a superb Introduction including a recapitulation of the16th century records of the Incas and their empire (including the awesome Pachakuti Inca), very competent review of Inca technology (many of their and an excellent recapitulation of the life stories of the last 4 Incas. The last part describes the actual "discovery" of Macchu Picchu which occured by procuring, for a silver coin, the services of Anacleto Alvarez, a local Qechua who had been living among the ruins all along. Macchu Pichu therefore had never been truly "lost" and "discovery" has in this context many interesting connotations.
For my part, I have a respect for Bingham and for his guts that served him so well. In time, for example, they led him to the US Senate (from Connecticut). I suspect it will take many a pachakuti (turning of the Wheel of Time) till another anthropologist gets an opportunity to represent Democracy and the People.
Book Description
Thousands Of Years Before the Birth
Of Christ, Giants Roamed The Earth
In the sixteenth century, Spanish conquerors came to the New World in search of El Dorado, the fabled city of gold. Instead, they encountered inexplicable phenomena that have puzzled scholars and historians ever since: massive stone edifices constructed in the Earth's most inaccessible regions ... great monuments forged with impossible skill and unknown tools ... intricate carvings describing the events and topography of half a world away.
In this, the remarkable and thoroughly researched fourth volume of THE EARTH CHRONICLES, author Zecharia Sitchin uncovers the long-hidden secrets of the lost civilizations of the pre-Columbian Americas and offers documentation of the giant gods who spawned the greatness of the Incans, Mayans, and Aztecs -- the Anunnaki -- "those who from Heaven to Earth came."
Customer Reviews:
An interesting point about Meso American discoveries.......2007-03-20
I have 3 of Sitchen's books, the best being "The 9th Planet"..."Lost Realms" takes up where The 9th Planrt left off but this time in the Americas. Both books are food for thought.
The Lost Realms.......2007-03-09
You ask it about this book and all I could say in return is Yes, Yes, Yes as He write just the way I believe. Read it!!!!
The Lost Realms.......2007-01-12
Another great book by Zachariah Sitchen, I have read all eight books of his Earth chronicles and they are all very mind boggling.
Takes the New out of New World.......2002-07-28
The Lost Realms is one of the most speculative and interesting books in Sitchin's Earth Chronicles series. The ruins and structures of Egypt and the Near East have been wondered at and studied for centuries, and there is a veritable wealth of information from Near Eastern papyri, stelae, monuments, and similar artifacts. The ruins of Mesoamerica have largely been rediscovered only in the past couple of hundred years; indeed, unknown wonders surely remain hidden by South America's dense jungles. The immensely important records and artifacts of New World societies such as the Mayan, Inca, and Aztec civilizations were for the most part lost and destroyed at the hands of greedy Spanish conquistadors, and further site degradation has resulted from the pilfering of ancient stones by recent natives of the area for use in the construction of their own buildings. Thus, the earliest history of the lower Americas remains frustratingly impossible to understand. We are left with giant edifices with significant similarities to Near Eastern constructions in size, orientation, and purpose, many of them seemingly containing very advanced structures built for unknown purposes. Even the age of the artifacts is hotly debated, with many scientists refusing to believe scientific findings point back to as early as 2000 B.C.
Sitchin's arguments fit very nicely with the history of Sumeria, Egypt, and the Near East that he laid out in his earlier books. Basically, he argues that the Americas were exploited by the gods for the production of gold and other metals such as tin, which the Andean mountains in particular hold in abundance. Metals were refined here and shipped back to the Near Eastern lands long before Columbus ever sailed the ocean blue. Sitchin believes that the Olmecs, of which very little is known besides what has been gleaned from the artifacts they left behind, particularly in the form of large stone blocks representing men of obvious African descent, did indeed come from Africa very early on--in fact, it was the Egyptian god Thoth who brought his followers here when he was displaced by Marduk. While the Olmecs mysteriously disappeared, other societies were formed by white gods and giants from across the sea. The traditions of the diverse Indian groups all shared a common mythology, including the story of a Great Flood; they also possessed amazing arts, technologies, and sciences (particularly astronomy) very similar to those of Sumeria and Egypt. The inadequacy of artifacts in the Americas necessarily hinder any scientist studying their earliest histories, but Sitchin constructs a remarkably compelling timeline in which the story of Mesoamerica fits very neatly into the history he has gleaned of the Annunaki and their relationships with mankind in its earliest days.
Even if Sitchin were dead wrong on everything he suggests, this book would still be worth reading just for the information about the amazing ancient cities and monuments built in the lower Americas that are only now emerging from their jungle tombs. The Olmecs, Toltecs, Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs are more mysterious than the Near Eastern cultures, and the suggestion that men traveled from the Old World and Africa centuries before Columbus is as compelling as it is fascinating. The illustrations in this book are sometimes rather grainy and hard to examine closely, but the images they convey, such as that of the giant stone heads left by the Olmecs, do much to enhance Sitchin's theories. This is thought-provoking, educational, stimulating material.
The Lost Realms.......2002-05-23
There are many pieces of the puzzle of our existence in the universe that I had figured out, or "seen", but there were still dots that I could not connect, gaps I could not fill in. When I read this book it was like deja vu, a recollection of things stored in our genetic memory/code long forgotten through evolution, now recalled causing gasps of recollection. This book logically and scientifically filled in the gaps. It makes sense, it all fits. Sitchin's bibliography to support his research is tremendously extensive and impressive. I recommend it highly for the searching mind, and have given copies as gifts to many friends and associates.
Book Description
"Rosen has broken entirely new ground in what will surely remain the definitive study of urban prostitution in America for many years to come." -- Times Literary Supplement
Customer Reviews:
simply fascinating.......2002-01-12
The Lost Sisterhood is a fascinating account of prostitution at the turn of the last century. It is also a marvelous glimpse at the challenges and difficulties faced by lower class women - persons who had many careers and doors closed to them, prostitution one of the few ways an independent (ie. unmarried) woman could earn a living.
Far from a sordid or judgemental account, Rosen explores the factors behind the profession, its tolerance (especially in the growing cities of the West), and the attitudes of contemporary Americans towards the trade and those who plied it. I recommend the book for its straightforwardness on a challenging topic, as well as for its honest treatment of the subject and scholarship.
Intriguing women's history.......2000-03-31
Anyone interested in American women's history and the history of the progressive period will be fascinated by this engrossing book. Rosen explains prostitution within the context of a rapidly growing United States, showing how concerns over prostitution dovetailed with concerns about problems of industrialization and urbanization and immigration. Rosen explores the various attitudes of progressive reformers toward prostitution and explores the lives and works of the prostitutes themselves. There are a few interesting photos included in the book, too.
Book Description
Acclaim for The Global Class War
"You will never think about 'free trade' the same way after reading Jeff Faux's superb book. As Faux makes clear, the globalization debate is really about whose interests are served by global elites, and how we need to go about reclaiming a democracy that serves ordinary people. This book should transform public discourse in America."
-Robert Kuttner, founding coeditor of the American Prospect and a contributing columnist to BusinessWeek
"Jeff Faux's astonishing story of how class works will scandalize the best names in Wall Street and Washington-especially the much admired Robert Rubin, who along with other elites colluded behind the backs of ordinary citizens in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. The most cynical Americans will be shocked by the sordid details. This really is an important book."
-William Greider, author of The Soul of Capitalism and Secrets of the Temple
"Globalization is a cover for American imperialism, but the beneficiaries are not the American people at the expense of foreigners but corporate executives at the expense of working-class and poor people wherever they may be. Jeff Faux offers a comprehensive and devastating analysis."
-Chalmers Johnson, author of The Sorrows of Empire
Customer Reviews:
Clubby "governing class" with its fingers in its ears.......2007-07-15
Basically, a lot of governmental decisions (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA) get made by the "governing class", an insular group of government officials closely linked with the business world; alternative viewpoints (such as labor or environmental concerns) tend to be minimized. This results in outcomes that are not only detrimental to individuals and society in general, but can also backfire and hurt business as well (higher health care costs and the loss of the US steel industry are examples given).
NAFTA promised "good jobs" (many tied in to the import/export business), for Americans and Canadians, as well as better job opportunities (and less illegal immigration) for Mexicans. What happened, though, was a lot of manufacturing moved from the US to Mexico, where the lower wages paid did little to stimulate the economy. Mexico was hurt further when manufacturing, ever in search of cheaper labor, moved production to Asia.
There is also discussion about global organizations such as the WTO and their meetings in Davos. Same clubbiness, but on a worldwide basis. Labor, etc. is again shut out or co-opted by business, and what opposition there is often ends up ineffectual.
Even the US invasion of Iraq had a basis in developing markets for multinationals, not just oil and/or military strategy.
The subtitle states "How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future". The author does blame Clinton as much as he does Bush (41) for ramming NAFTA through over the objections of labor, environmental and other concerned groups. (Canadian and Mexican leadership, including the high level of corruption in Mexico, are also called to task) And he points out that almost as much corporate money flows to Democrats as it does to Republicans.
But he does save most of his opprobrium for the right: the "think tanks of the 1970's, followed by Reagan and Thatcher; the rise of the religious right; Friedman, etc.
Finally, the author puts forth his plan to "Win it back": a "Continental Democracy", essentially a reformed version of NAFTA with labor, environmental, and human rights provisions explicitly written in and enforced. In addition, a "Citizens Continental Congress" would be implemented. The three countries would be divided into several geographical regions, some of which would cross national borders ("Nine Nations of North America" anyone?). Sounds like part of a plan, but actaully "belling the cat" (i.e. getting the governing class to listen, let alone implement it) is left as an open exercise.
Neither the premise nor the conclusion is a surprise here.......2007-05-28
The premise of this book is that the global elites are more loyal to their own class than to their country of origin (see the discussion of universal health care in America under Clinton) and the conclusion is that the working class will be hurt more by the coming economic catastrophes in America than will the global elite who are the cause. In between those "well, duh" moments is a reasoned and thorough exposition of how NAFTA came into being and the consequences for the working class, especially in Mexico. Faux presents the differences between the Keynsian model and the social Darwinism under which we struggle at present. My dad was a professor of Economics, and a follower of Keynes, and he would have endorsed this book. Unfortunately, I think that Faux's idea of a North American union, while deserving of consideration, will not be accepted by US citizens.
It's the book for the young to read and reread!!.......2007-02-08
I read the book with a scant eye on the economists view of events but by the end of the first chapter I had a different attitude. I found myself thinking that my children must know this material in order to make sound decisions about their future and the future of the country. Every newscaster should be required to read this book before interviewing propective candidates for President. It has enlightend me on the workings of our government.
Insightful Analysis.......2007-01-15
Jeff Faux gives an insightful overview of the causes behind the gradual decline in living standards and income of not only the American Middle Class, but its counterpart in every other country of the world, orchestrated by the newly-globalized power-elite class. Intriguing and thought-provoking, the book looks at the big picture and brings into focus the reasons for some of the world-wide developments of which everyday people have become victims. It will give readers a whole new, and probably even more cynical take on political leaders of the present era.
The Global Class War : How America's Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future - and What It Will Take to Win it Back.......2007-01-09
good
Book Description
In college and high school classrooms across the United States, students display a keen interest in knowing more about what they rightly sense was a pivotal event in the recent past, one that brought a sea change in the life of the nation.
In a long-awaited alternative to the lengthy and overly expensive texts on the Vietnam War, Charles Neu presents America's Lost War, a balanced, lively narrative account of that tragic conflict, one that sweeps across the whole time-span of the war and explores American, Vietnamese, and international perspectives. Recreating the physical and psychological landscape of the war, Neu fluidly describes policy disputes—among leaders of both the United States and North Vietnam—as well as individual policy makers, battles, and military realities, tracing the legacy of the "Vietnam" phenomenon that shapes American domestic politics and elections, as well as foreign relations, to the present day. 320 pages. Includes Maps, Three Photographic Essays, A Guide to Acronyms, Bibliographical Essay, and Index.
Customer Reviews:
Outstanding summation of the war.......2006-08-31
An objective, succinct and fair summation of the war in Vietnam as experienced from all sides. Neu uses numerous books as a reference for quotations from many of those in power during this difficult time for America - and for Vietnam.
The book also has many photographs leading up to and during the war, including some of the most famous images of that terrible time: the street execution of a Viet Cong officer by the South Vietnamese Police Chief, and the villagers running from a napalm strike (accidentally dropped by a South Vietnamese aircraft).
I am pleased to add my comments to the review by Dick Stratton. I flew F-4's for the Marine Corps in Vietnam in 1968/69, but fortunately did not experience the horror of the Hoa Lo prison as did he.
A Look at the Vietnam War Without Agenda or Bias.......2005-01-23
In his "Preface and Acknowledgements" Professor Neu mentions the fact that Vietnam Veterans were invited to lecture at his Brown University undergraduate class: "History 158: America's Longest War: The United States in Vietnam".
I was one of those veterans participating 1991 to 1993 at a University noted for it's anti-war activies and the expulsion of the ROTC from its campus. I was never advised on what to say, how to say it or what not to say. I was given an entire session to tell my story as a participant in the war and a prisoner or war. I was treated by student and faculty alike with intersest, courtesy and respect.
This illustration of inclusiveness and even-handedness is important in understanding the value of this volume. As in the classroom so too in this volume, all sides of the story of the Vietnam War have been presented: South Vietnamese, North Vietnamese, military, politicians, anti-war activitists and the media all have equal time in having their positions presented.
This book will be an excellent tool for use in the classroom and in the professional library of all who participated in or lived through the Vietnam era. Of particular value is the "Biographical Essay" at the end of the book. Additionally it just a plain 'good read' for all.
Customer Reviews:
50/50.......2007-09-12
i am not an evolutionist so i had to leave nearly half of what i read and only take half with me so to speak. the way of living and caring for babies and children greatly inspired me and i am quite willing to promote these concepts to friends and family.
Excellent but some ADVICE... (colic and crying).......2007-08-25
While this book is excellent, and I recommend it for everyone, it attempts to connect all crying in western babies, describing the symptoms of colic, as a result of not being carried enough. This is in fact, not true, as colic is almost always a result of a delayed-onset food reaction or allergy.
For advice on the cause, cure and long-term effects of colic and other childhood problems, as well as a more scientific explanation of why children and babies should be raised in an attached parenting style, I would highly recommend the book:
BABY MATTERS by Dr. Linda Palmer
This is the book that can save a lot of babies from suffering and equip parents with all the knowledge they will need to truly raise a healthy, and happy child. This has been my bible on child care, and I think every parent in the world should read it.
EVERYONE should read this.......2007-01-17
Parents, would-be parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, anyone who knows children, anyone who was a child... you get the idea. EVERYONE should read this book.
Keep in mind these are theories of one person. You do not necessarily have to agree with everything she says, but everything that is said in the book is worth reading and contemplating.
This book shed alot of light on my own character and actually made me understand myself better, as well as understand how my actions affect my children. I am much more conscious now of decisions I make everyday that affect my family and people I come in contact with.
It is not an easy read (not terribly difficult either) but it's worth every minute you spend on it.
Highly recommend this book.
review of : "The Continuum Concept", by Jean Liedloff.......2007-01-04
This is a great book. I wish every parent in the United States Of America would read this book. A book that will really make you think about the children. I loved it.
Read this book with care.......2006-10-31
Unfortunately, I am beginning to see the results of Miss Liedloff's views on raising children in my grandchildren. I feel sorry for them.
Miss Liedloff was ashamed to admit to the Indians in South America that where she comes from 'women do not feel capable of raising children until they read the instructions written in a book by a strange man.' She does, however, want you to accept the views of a strange woman who has never had children and whose only direct experience comes from 'parenting' an anteater(!) and allowing a small monkey to sleep with her. She assumes that her views derived from analyzing mentally disturbed patients can be applied to all mothers in this country.
Modestly, she lets us know that Dior wanted her to model - but she refused, although Vogue also managed to snag her for a short period. The idea of the 'jungle' fascinated her, and when she arrived in South America she observed a perfect, primitive society not as an anthropologist, but rather as an impressionable tourist. In this perfect society when things go wrong people laugh. The only people who cause problems are those who stupidly have left the tribe and have had contact with civilization. Unfortunately, they even learn a few words of Spanish. Children, even when they are old enough only to crawl, understand danger and do not need supervision.
Miss Liedloff knows why people take drugs, what causes homosexuality, and of course how to raise children.
Please look elsewhere on how to raise children.
Books:
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die
- Maimonides Reader
- Maimonides Reader
- Me and My Dad: A Baseball Memoir
- Memories of Drop City: The first hippie commune of the 1960's and the Summer of Love
- My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
- My Time: Making the Most of the Bonus Decades After 50
- Necessary Losses: The Loves, Illusions, Dependencies, and Impossible Expectations That All of Us Have to Give Up in Order to Grow
- Night (Oprah's Book Club)
- Night (Oprah's Book Club)
Books Index
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