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.

Average customer rating:

Churchill to the MAX!
A great work on a great life
Knights of the Realm
Very good one volume biography
Why Didn't I Read This Years Ago?

Churchill: A Life
Martin Gilbert
Manufacturer: Owl Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0805023968

Amazon.com

It is impossible to understand the Second World War without understanding Winston Churchill, the bold British Prime Minister who showed himself to be one of the greatest statesmen any nation has ever known. This lengthy biography is a single-volume abridgment of a massive, eight-volume work that took a quarter-century to write. It covers Churchill's entire life, highlighting not only his exploits during the Second World War, but also his early belief in technology and how it would revolutionize warfare in the 20th century. Churchill learned how to fly a plane before the First World War, and was also involved in the development of both the tank and anti-aircraft defense. But he truly showed his unmatched mettle during his country's darkest moments: "His finest hour was the leadership of Britain when it was most isolated, most threatened, and most weak; when his own courage, determination, and belief in democracy became at one with the nation," writes Gilbert. There are several wonderful books available on Churchill, but this is probably the best place to start.

Book Description

Distilled from years of meticulous research and documentation, filled with material unavailable when the earliest books of the official biography's eight volumes went to press, Churchill is a brilliant marriage of the hard facts of the public life and the intimate details of the private man. The result is a vital portrait of one of the most remarkable men of any age as well as a revealing depiction of a man of extraordinary courage and imagination.

Customer Reviews:

Churchill to the MAX!.......2007-08-10

If you like Churchill and would like to know a on of info about him, more then just clever and witty quotes, then this is the book for you! Great book!!

A great work on a great life.......2007-07-28

An excellent biography of a most fantastic life. The book gives a very good outline of all major events in Churchill's life as an officer, a journalist, an author and above all: maybe the most important politician in Western Europe ever.

Churchill's early years, at school and in wars in India, Cuba, Sudan and South Africa are well covered. His career as a Member of Parliament, as well as Cabinet positions up to WWI are also very interesting. Churchill had very modern reflections on the principles of welfare states in 1905, which caused him to leave the Conservatives for the Liberals.

Churchill's finest hour is of course his early (from 1932) and consistent warning about German rearmament before WWII, and his leadership as British Prime Minister from 1940. The book's finest hour, in my opinion, is the last chapters. After the war, Churchill is 70 years old. His health is quite bad. He refuses to give in, and clings to power. From time to time, he decides to quit, but every time changes his mind. Just like the rest of us.

The book has some serious flaws. Churchill made many mistakes during the interwar years, but Gilbert runs to his defence at every one. One example: Churchill took a major stance against Indian independence. According to Gilbert, this was because Churchill was concerned about the minorities of the sub-continent.

Read and enjoy the book, as long as you are aware that Gilbert has done what many other biographers have done before him: fallen in love with his object.

Knights of the Realm.......2007-07-09

If you are only going to read one book on Sir Winston Churchill this is the one to read. Sir Martin Gilbert is Sir Winston's official biographer and that project took roughly 30 years to complete and produced an eight volume account. Gilbert even wrote a memoir of his experiences writing the biography _In Search of Churchill_, and received a knighthood of his own for his work on this project.

This book is the condensed version of the eight volumes that Gilbert took so long to write. Gilbert's account is authoritative, but the majority of it focuses, understandably, on the 1939-1945 period. Gilbert prefers to write with an unrelenting chronological narrative, an approach that works perfectly in biography. Sir Martin is a talented writer and even through this book is over 950 pages long it reads quite well. Gilbert has also quoted a lot from Churchill's own writings and speeches and it is clear the man had mastered the English language.

Many Americans are not that familiar with geography of Churchill's life and Gilbert has included 28 maps that allow the reader to track the great man's life graphically. These maps are particularly interesting because they range from the obvious like political maps of Europe in both World Wars, but also places where Churchill lived in England and a very detailed rendering of Whitehall--the region of London where all the government offices are located.

No book is perfect. In condensing eight volumes into one, Gilbert has skipped a little on developing a full human portrait of his subject. One also gets the impression that at times it was possible to just show up at 10 Downing Street and have a meeting with whoever happened to be the Prime Minister at the time. Gilbert also clearly likes his subject and takes his side in the many disputes he faced. This focus is understandable, but the author never really examines the legitimate points that Churchill critics had to make. Before the war, as far as the public was concerned, Churchill had been wrong on the abdication crisis, wrong on India, and, yes, wrong on the Nazis. It was only after the Britain came to blows with Germany that people came to reassess his position on Germany. Even during the war his formulation of strategy was suspect on more than one occasion. Gilbert does not avoid these issues, but his coverage of the other point of view could be better.

All in all, though, these complaints should not blind readers to the fact that this is an exceptionally good book by the foremost authority in the field. Buy it, you will like it.

Very good one volume biography.......2007-06-02

Overall I really enjoyed Martin Gilbert's Churchill biography, and would recommend it to others. I found it an enjoyable read, and overall I thought it did a good job covering a remarkable man.

I did think there was some room for improvement though:

- The book didn't spend as much time on the WW2 years as I would have liked. I felt Gilbert's chapters here were a little rushed and sparse, and that they mostly recited the basic facts without a lot of new insight. I would have preferred more coverage of the weeks immediately after Churchill took office (when some in the cabinet debated whether to open negotations with the Germans, and which might have come to pass had it been someone other than Churchill in office). I would have also liked to have seen more coverage of Churchill's (at times very complex) relationship with Roosevelt, as well as more about his relationship with Alan Brooke and the rest of his cabinet.

- Churchill's relationship with his family was also not covered in much depth. Clementine seemed to be continually away in Gilbert's text, and her relationship with Winston felt strained. I would have liked to have understood Gilbert's take on this more - since it is a little different from what I have read in other books.

I think I still prefer the William Manchester volumes on Churchill over this book when covering Churchill's early years - they felt a little more textured and deeper. Unfortunately Manchester was unable to complete his third volume before he died, so the WW2 years are not covered there at all.

I would still also recommend this book as well.

Why Didn't I Read This Years Ago?.......2007-02-17

The first third of this book is dry as can be and I'm beginning to think, "From this a portrait of the man will never emerge." But those who persevere eventually collect their reward. The dryness begins to evaporate with the advent of the First World War. Churchill was tested to the breaking point with the disastrous Gallipoli campaign. He lost his job with the admiralty. At age 40 Churchill thought we was washed up. By happy accident he discovers painting, a pastime that will see him through even darker days to come (see also "Sir Winston Churchill: His Life and His Paintings" by David Coombs).

The edge-of-your-seat chapters begin with the emergence of Hitler. Churchill issues Casandra-like warnings, spelling out with remarkable clairvoyance what will happen if the growing menace goes unchallenged. The world reacts with a yawn. And Hitler catches an unprepared world by surprise. Suddenly Churchill is the man of the hour. The wartime chapters drive home just how scarily-close the Nazis came to victory.

Gilbert's biography becomes anti-climatic as it becomes clear that the Good Guys will prevail. But there's still fire left in the old Prime Minister. Churchill recognizes the Hitlerian threat posed by Stalin in Post-WWII Europe. Churchill's final major life contribution comes with his Fulton, Missouri, "Iron Curtain" speech.

What's the most important aspect of this read? Churchill embodies the power of the spoken word. In 1940 words were about all besieged Brits had cling to. Our world would be a very different place (read "barbaric") had the rallying call been voiced by a lesser man. Well, it's been a long review. It was a long book.

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Good gift idea
Delightful churchill
Churchill at his most human
A Window to the Past
The "Adventure Tale" portion of Churchill's life.

My Early Life: 1874-1904
Winston Churchill
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0684823454

Amazon.com

The voice of a vanished England speaks from the pages of Winston Churchill's evocative memoir of his first 30 years (1874-1904). The young Churchill inhabits a world in which men fight like hell in meaningless colonial wars--India, Egypt, South Africa--soldiering across the imperial map then extending the hand of friendship to their erstwhile enemy as if they were schoolmates at Harrow. Yet Churchill, born into a privileged family, was not an uncritical supporter of the Victorian status quo. He himself loathed Harrow; an especially amusing chapter skewers the school's emphasis on an irrelevant classical education and rote learning. A firm Tory, he considered himself a friend of the working class, and in 1899 campaigned for parliament with a Socialist colleague. Looking back from his vantage point of 1930, Churchill expresses the most attractive values of the English aristocracy--honor, loyalty, fair play--without giving the impression he wants to live in the past. The book's appeal also stems from its magisterial but colloquial prose. Anyone familiar with recordings of Churchill's rousing speeches during Word War II will hear in their minds' ears that growling timbre and unmistakably patrician accent as they read. Though he would have preferred the peace prize, My Early Life offers good evidence that Churchill's 1953 Nobel for literature was aptly awarded. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

Here, in his own words, are the fascinating first thirty years in the life of one of the most provocative and compelling leaders of the twentieth century

Winston Churchill

As a visionary, statesman, and historian, and the most eloquent spokesman against Nazi Germany, Winston Churchill was one of the greatest figures of the twentieth century. In this autobiography, Churchill recalls his childhood, his schooling, his years as a war correspondent in South Africa during the Boer War, and his first forays into politics as a member of Parliament. My Early Life not only gives readers insights into the shaping of a great leader but, as Churchill himself wrote, "a picture of a vanished age."

If you want to fully understand Winston Churchill, My Early Life is essential reading.

Customer Reviews:

Good gift idea.......2007-01-27

I got this for my grandfather for Christmas. He was POW during WWII, and was wanting to read about Churchill's POW experiences. A big hit!! My grandfather couldn't put the book down.

Delightful churchill.......2006-12-13

His writing is great; his stories are told in a refreshing, whimsical tone; and one gets the sense that he loves his life. Even though I was very familiar with the event of his life before reading this, I found it thoroughly engaging and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in this extraordinary man.

Churchill at his most human.......2005-09-14

This 372 page long book would be good, but no more, if it wasn't for the first 40-or-so pages, which are a gem. The book covers the first 30 years of Churchill's life and the first forty pages cover his childhood. Although Churchill had a miserable childhood - his father was distant, his mother more interested in lovers than in her son, and he was bullied at boarding school - Churchill narrates his story with unsurpassed wit and without any hard feelings for the ones that failed him. Some passages, like the description of how he was grappling with the beast called maths, are just hilarious. The first forty pages alone make this book a must read. In the rest of the book, the most interesting part is the story of Churchill's capture by the Boers and escape. You don't need to be interested in Churchill, the statesman, to like this book. Here he is at his most human and disarming.

A Window to the Past.......2005-09-03

Definitely a good read! Churchill recounts his early years with subtle wit and elegant style. Even the battle scenes kept me interested, which was an unexpected surprise. A good view into the life of a middle-class British soldier before the World Wars.

The "Adventure Tale" portion of Churchill's life........2005-06-16

Before the cigar-chomping, top-hat-wearing portly gentleman hit the scene, there was a young man who nearly flunked out of school, chased war around the world, played polo, participated in the world's last meaningful cavalry charge, was a war correspondent, and escaped imprisonment as a POW in the Boar War. Churchill got around plenty before settling down in Parliament and this is Churchill's own account of that part of his life.

Churchill's writing is quite engaging, and the book takes his exciting life and brings you into it. As good as autobiography gets.

Marlborough: His Life and Times [4 volumes]

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Marlborough: His Life and Times [4 volumes]
Winston S. [edited By Henry Steele Commager] Churchill
Manufacturer: Scribners
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 068412405X

Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill : The Romantic Years 1854-1895 (Jennie)

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Winston's Mother
A beautiful book without an equivalent.

Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill : The Romantic Years 1854-1895 (Jennie)
Ralph G. Martin
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall Trade
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0135118824

Customer Reviews:

Winston's Mother.......2007-06-10

I truly enjoyed this fascinating biography of Jennie Jerome Churchill, an American woman who married a British gentleman. She may be best remembered by history as Winston Churchill's mother, but this was a woman with a mind and life of her own. And a life well worth examining. Through trials and triumphs, she reveals her strong and lusty character.

A beautiful book without an equivalent........1999-07-19

This book fulfills every question one might have about the Churchill family. The trials of love are heartwrenching. It is a wonderful thing to see how Winston was formed through the actions of the people around him. Jennie is a lady not to be forgotten in British and American society.

Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life

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A Fascinating and Convincing examination of how to look at a life lived large.
Sadly Disappointing
a fresh way to look at Churchill if you already know something about him
Brilliant snapshots that illumine the greatest man of his generation
If you read only one biography in your life, read this one

Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill: A Brief Account of a Long Life
Gretchen Rubin
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0812971442
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Book Description

A WALL STREET JOURNAL SUMMER PICK
A WASHINGTON POST BESTSELLER

Warrior and writer, genius and crank, rider in the British cavalry’s last great charge and inventor of the tank, Winston Churchill led Britain to fight alone against Nazi Germany in the fateful year of 1940 and set the standard for leading a democracy at war. With penetrating insight and vivid anecdotes, Gretchen Rubin makes Churchill accessible and meaningful to twenty-first-century readers by analyzing the many contrasting views of the man: he was an alcoholic, he was not; he was an anachronism, he was a visionary; he was a racist, he was a humanitarian; he was the most quotable man in the history of the English language, he was a bore.

Like no other portrait of its famous subject, Forty Ways to Look at Winston Churchill is a dazzling display of facts more improbable than fiction. It brings to full realization the depiction of a man too fabulous for any novelist to construct, too complex for even the longest narrative to describe, and too significant ever to be forgotten.

Customer Reviews:

A Fascinating and Convincing examination of how to look at a life lived large........2007-09-16

I was well on my way to reading "everything" about and by Churchill by the time I came across this wise and wholly admirable book. The magnitude of Churchill's life and times, and the tragic figure he cut--tragic in the full Greek sense of all that is necessary to constitute true tragedy--can create among some people an almost insatiable appetite for details. I would have to be counted among them. Frankly, I thought this book might make an interesting "snack" between the stack of Churchill books I'd just read and the stack I was about to. Instead I found that 40 ways... was a full course meal. What the author has accomplished is much more substantial than I would have thought possible in such a slim (for Churchill anyway) volume. You recognize that an individual's greatest strength must necessarily be the source of their greatness weakness, a self portrait reflected in a double edged sword, so to speak. I was impressed by the case she made that the times he lived in floodlight these strengths and weaknesses to further define him, and because there was greatness in Churchill, to help define the very times in which he lived.

I was perhaps skeptical that this reduction and summation, pro/con approach would prove to be "gimmicky" or perhaps a shortcut to a more scholarly undertaking. Now I feel that the "gimmick" was instead an apt and inspired construct for examining an enormously complex thing. (It's a methodology that would be useful to apply to FDR, among others). To Rubin's credit she hasn't used this format to avoid judgment, but to elongate the period of consideration before judgment. I've read enough about the man to have done very well on the true/false test, but I still spent a long time pondering the several questions I got wrong. The test reminded me again that the complexities of his life are almost beyond my ability to assimilate them. Hence the fascination I suppose.

Some years ago I was very impressed and moved by a biography of Brahms written by Jan Swafford. Swafford makes the point early that Brahms had been very fortune in both the timeframe he was borne into and in the timeframe of his death. Swafford's take was that the music world of Vienna changed immensely after 1897 and it had been Brahms' good fortune not to live to see it. I was struck at the time by looking at lives that way and Rubin makes a similar and equally valid point about Churchill in her book. He was unlucky to have outlived his time and was in a sense victimized by the nearly indestructible constitution that had served his so well for the first 70 years. There is no shortage of first-hand accounts of Churchill's flirtations with real danger. He was well aware of the historical advantage he might have had if he perished under heroic circumstances. He also enjoyed the adrenal rush these occasions afforded him. Of these accounts, none is better than the biography of his personal bodyguard of approximately twenty years, Walter Thompson, "Beside the Bulldog". More on his book at the close.*

I noted with special interest the author's mediation on the subjectivity of biographers and the essential criteria she establishs for evaluating a life. Her comments on Manchester's "knowing insight" into a single photo of Churchill's mother illustrate the need for caution before you make a commitment to a particular version of Churchill's story and the thousands of pages that may go with it. Rubin has done a service to readers and biographers both, clarified the task for writers to come and possibly even established some ground rules. While the sales numbers for this book (and I've no idea what they are) may not suggest broad influence, I'm confident that the methodology used will have larger ramifications for a future generation of biographers. Would-be great writers long for a subject through which they can imbue their own greatness. This process of subverting one large ego for the other, a process that can subsume many years of the writer's life is full of temptations and seduction. It's almost inevitably that the writer's own feelings influence what gets exposed and what gets tidied up. The end product edges towards a symbiosis of the subject's life and the particular aspects of that life that speak to the author's own experience and or fascinations. By comparison, Rubin's approach in this book feels free of artifice. It's the case where not spending a dozen years of your life on a single project is actually a good thing, not just for the author but for the book as well.

(For Churchill fans, my favorite first-hand account of his life is Walter Thompson's (to be re-released in print in late 2007). If you haven't read this former Scotland Yard detectives' account of the near twenty years he spent by Churchill's side than you have missed a great treat, for nowhere else does Churchill live and breathe as tangibly as in these pages.

Thompson joined up with Churchill around 1918 and stayed with him through the end of WW 2. There were some years during the 1930's that Thompson was assigned elsewhere, but he did accompany Churchill to the US during the Al Capone years of the 1930's and was there when Churchill was hit by a car crossing against traffic in NYC. He was by Churchill's side during many of the secret FDR meetings, on ship and at The White House for Christmas. His take on things goes a long way towards answering many of the questions your book raises, though of course, Thompson hide things as well, both about Churchill, himself and the harsh treatment he received from Mrs. Churchill, who resented his constant presence to the extent that she frequently refused to feed Thompson while assuring her husband that arrangements had been made for him. Thompson's take on FDR, though only a small part of this book will interest historians. Thompson's displays a vivid command of the language, considerable wit, and more uniquely, he conveys an unusually keen sense of place. Marry those talents with his genius for sketching characters with deft precision and you get a compelling book. The panorama of Egypt, Morocco and the Gaza Strip, (eerily unchanged) circa 1920 are but a few locations that unfold before the eye. Add laying bricks next to Churchill at Chartwell, carrying Churchill's paintings materials throughout the world, (most notably in Marrakech and France), meeting Mussolini, dodging shrapnel on rooftops during the blitz and Thompson's fascinating and very favorable account of T.E. Lawrence (which led me to The Seven Pillars of Wisdom)and you've got an account unlike any other. The book Churchill's Bodyguard by Thomas Hickman will be re-released this fall. He substitutes Thompson's exceptional prose with his own dry and rather academic voice and while Hickman's account fills in the storyline for Thompson's own complicated life, it's not a substitute for the original).

Sadly Disappointing.......2007-05-30

I bought this book while I was writing a book of my own in which Churchill is a central figure. I wanted new insights on the man, and listening to the author on a radio talk show, I thought she might be able to provide those for me. I was sadly disappointed when I started reading the book.

The title comes from the fact that Rubin offers 40 exceptionally brief chapters (3 to 5 pages in length) that offer a different "perspective" on Churchill. The idea probably sound very good and innovative as a book proposal, but it is such a shallow account that the reader can be excused for feeling deceived. Chapter three is nothing more than a listing of people Churchill met during his life. Chapter fourteen is nothing other than a listing of facts about the man in bullet format. Each chapter as three complete sentences. Another chapter is a collection of quotes from him and another about him.

I spent good hard earned money on this book, if you choose to read this book I suggest you borrow it from the library instead.

a fresh way to look at Churchill if you already know something about him.......2007-03-12

This book is a good way to get a fresh look (forty of them) at Churchill, but not a good way to approach him if you are starting from scratch. It's not a conventional biography - read at least an encyclopedia article first. The author captures different angles of his life in each chapter, using a variety of techniques. I found it an engaging read and recommend it to anyone who wants to think about Churchill or sort the facts in one's head. I won't spoil what I thought was the most interesting way to look at Churchill suggested by Rubin...

Brilliant snapshots that illumine the greatest man of his generation.......2007-02-18

It is the lot of great men and women to be entombed in biographies the size of the Lenin Mausoleum. And when sub-biographers turn their hand to popularizations one gets, well, sub-biography; the standard judgments taken from the big biographies but in too brief a compass to give the reader much sense of the subject of the biography beyond the biographer's predilections. One way out is through a cutaway like John Lukacs' superb Five Days in London. Another is through the lens of a skilled and constantly shifting pararazza like Gretchen Rubin, who excels in delivering a biographical portrait that is digestible for those with less than Proustian appetites for bulk, but is very far from a "popular" biography.

Someone has distinguished between the simplicity that lies this side of complexity, and the simplicity on the far side. I'm in no doubt where Forty Ways to look at Winston Churchill is to be found.

Nigel Cameron

If you read only one biography in your life, read this one.......2006-09-09

I'm a big fan of biographies, and have read hundreds of them over the years. This one ranks perhaps tops on my list. Rubin not only provides perspective on the differing views of Churchill's life and character, but also deconstructs, in witty fashion, the entire discipline of biography. I was also amused by how Rubin jumped right into topics like sex and booze that other, more hagiographic Churchill biographers delicately avoided. About the only tiny mistep in Rubin's narrative is when she hinted that the great Gandhi was a better man than Churchill. G. B. Singh's "Gandhi: Behind the Mask of Divinity" instead shows that Gandhi himself would have also been a worthy subject of Rubin's perceptive gaze.

Kill The Indian, Save The Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools

Average customer rating:

interesting subject-uninspiring author
A core contribution to Native American Studies

Kill The Indian, Save The Man: The Genocidal Impact of American Indian Residential Schools
Ward Churchill
Manufacturer: City Lights Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0872864340

Book Description

For five consecutive generations, from roughly 1880â€“1980, Native American children in the United States and Canada were forcibly taken from their families and relocated to residential schools. The stated goal of this government program was to "kill the Indian to save the man." Half of the children did not survive the experience, and those who did were left permanently scarred. The resulting alcoholism, suicide, and the transmission of trauma to their own children has led to a social disintegration with results that can only be described as genocidal.

Ward Churchill is the author of A Little Matter of Genocide, among other books. He is currently a Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Customer Reviews:

interesting subject-uninspiring author.......2006-01-13

This book covers a facinating and underexamined area of US history. I was very much looking forward to reading it. The author clearly is extremely well-educated on this subject. The problem is -- he's boring. Ward Churchill writes like your typical college professor who turned you off history forever by being pedantic and uninspiring. I've worked as a book editor in the past and I have found that often the more education a writer has the worse his or her books are. Churchill seems to be underlining his scholarship with tediousness and seems to be over his head in information with no way to convey it in an readable manner. His editor should be fired for not making this book comprehensible to a wider audience. It isn't a doctoral thesis, for crying out loud. It's a disappointing treatment of what should have been an enlightening and educating experience. I wish I'd saved my money and hope, considering all the books Churchill has listed on Amazon, that he has, or will, learn to write well.

A core contribution to Native American Studies .......2005-03-10

From 1880 to 1980 the families of Native Americans were cruelly disrupted by the United States and Canadian governments who forcibly removed children from their homes and relocated them in residential schools. The stated goal of this intrusive and brutal governmental program was to "kill the Indian to save the man". Half of the children died in this process of cultural remodeling refashioning aboriginal children into the clothing, hairstyles, attitdudes, and langauges of the larger white culture, and those who survived were often left permanently scarred resulting in alcoholism, suicide, and the transmission of trauma to succeeding generations down to the present day. A core contribution to Native American Studies curriculums and academic library reference collections, Ward Churchill (a Keetowah Cherokee and Professor of American Indian Studies, University of Colorado, Boulder) clearly lays out this unhappy chapter in Native American history with considerable detail and expertise in Kill The Indian, Save The Man: The Genocidal Impact Of American Indian Residential Schools.

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The Second World War Volumes 1 & 2
Winston Churchill & The Editors of Life
Manufacturer: Houghton & Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: B000M46V7A

Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill. Volume 1: The Romantic Years 1854-1895

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Jennie: The Life of Lady Randolph Churchill. Volume 1: The Romantic Years 1854-1895
Jennie] Martin, Ralph G. [Churchill
Manufacturer: Prentice-Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000K6UHLG

The Merchant of Menace (Jane Jeffry Mystery Series #10)

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Really 4.5 stars
Reindeer on the Roof, Socks in the Attic. Give me a Tonic to slurp battered cheer. Chicago, Chicago, I'm ready to know.
One of her best!
This is the second book from this author
An unusual neighborhood

The Merchant of Menace (Jane Jeffry Mystery Series #10)
Jill Churchill
Manufacturer: William Morrow
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0380975696

Amazon.com

Quintessential mom in tennis shoes Jane Jeffrey is once again thrust into a murder investigation, but this time the murderer is very close to home indeed. In The Merchant of Menace, the 10th of the series by Jill Churchill, Jane finds herself in the midst of the Christmas rush and hosting two celebrations back-to-back: neighborhood caroling party one evening and a cookie exchange the following day. The two gatherings are meant to bring the community together, but when a TV reporter is found dead during the singing, it becomes obvious that at least one of the neighbors is harboring something besides goodwill towards men. As Jane and her coconspirator Shelly explore just who might have reason to shove someone off a roof, their sleepy suburb (Chicago is the ostensible nearby city, but the setting could be anywhere there is snow in December) suddenly steams with secrets.

Churchill has done well with this cozy series in which each title is a play on words of a more illustrious piece of literature. The Merchant of Menace fits into the mold: a witty and gentle dose of murder and mayhem coupled with a wry appreciation for the terrors of suburban parenting (teaching teenagers to drive, helping with the homework, meeting the prospective in-laws) and middle-aged romance. The travails of Shylock are perhaps too oppressive for most Christmas readers, but The Merchant of Menace is certainly suitable for passing around with the Christmas cookies and holiday punch. --K. Crouch

Book Description

It's Christmas season, and Jane Jeffry has guests coming, cookies baking, and music blaring from the next-door neighbor's garishly decorated house. But what's worse is the obnoxious, muck-raking TV reporter who arrives to do a piece on Jane's nice little neighborhood caroling party and decides that he'll play Old St. Nick. When his red-suited body slides off the neighbor's roof and lands, silenced forever, on top of a fallen plastic reindeer, it looks like the mishap was no accident, and Jane has to solve the mystery of who killed Santa Claus.

Customer Reviews:

Really 4.5 stars.......2007-06-12

I have started at the beginning and read all of the Jane Jeffry books in order. This is one of my favorites! In addition to a "cozy" mystery, there are some very, very funny parts to the dialogue and various situations that make this book stand out. The introduction of Mel's mother added quite a bit of humor and was a nice touch in developing his character.

Quite an enjoyable read !

Reindeer on the Roof, Socks in the Attic. Give me a Tonic to slurp battered cheer. Chicago, Chicago, I'm ready to know. .......2006-10-20

This one started out capturing my sympathy for a pitifully moaning Jane, her head surrendered on the kitchen table as she listed items to Shelley, items of over-commitment overwhelm, over coffee and elf cookie ooze.

After a short chapter of entertainment from that predicament, the plot slid (in gorgeously graceless glee) into Erma Bombeck, harried housewife humor, which then slipped into Jeff Foxworthy hiccups, as the new neighbors (think Beverly Hillbillies) staged a loud and brassy entrance into ongoing Christmas schemes. As Jane quickly tweaked her initial snobbery into Foxworthy fun, I was warmed into the spirit of this holiday run.

Please excuse my fall into poetic prose ... but, since I'm on a roll, maybe I should quote ...

"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house ..."

But, really. See? A particular holiday doesn't have to be upon me in order to enjoy a seasonal plot. More often than not the boughs are hot when the mystery pops. So what? So, FIRE! That's what.

Onward. This is a review not a blue-smoke rhythm streak.

The increase in humor in the opening of MERCHANT OF MENACE somehow percolated into a smooth, naturally flowing read which carried through to the end of the book without even a hint of a slight boredom burp.

The Beverly Hillbilly new neighbors kept my curiosity banked like a cozy winter fireplace ever in the background when not in the foreground. Of course I had to wonder if they harbored any evil horrors within their horde of X-Mass decorations. And, of course, as a fan of Foxworthy, I was hoping that this couple would save the day rather than turn their toys into terror.

Who WERE Billy Joe and Tiffany Johnson? Their reveal fits more perfectly than I could have imagined; the purpose for their presence was well integrated into the various plot popper ploys.

The news media theme of MERCHANT was maneuvered manfully, no de-evolution into an obnoxious interjection of an author agenda. Whatsis name (The Yellow Journalist ... oh yeah, Lance King) and his reluctant assistant Ginger were both spicy characters. Loved the easy, open way Ginger responded to Jane and Mel's suspicions and questions.

And then we were entranced by the first entrance of Mel's mother, Addie, who put even Thelma's antics into the background, though Jane served comeuppance for severe slights from both those woman, hitting home (in Spades) with an absolute perfection of justice. I was wondering how Addie's obnoxiousness would be dealt with, and wasn't disappointed. Sometimes I cringe (feeling more sorry for the mom's than I do the main character daughters disparaging them) at how female heroines feature and flee stereotypical negatives of the potential dark sides of mothers and mothers-in-law. In this case, I easily cheered Jane's perspectives and "plotting." Somehow her generosity of spirit shined through, and her actions and snarling snips felt funny and natural rather than cruel.

This is one of those stories which made you feel that the author had great fun writing it, since you had such a good time reading it.

Of course the culmination of a murder mystery is rarely a laughing matter, an this one was more sensitive than most, exposing again what type of life skills, character, and behavior Churchill admires and condones, and which she attributes to murderous villains.

Having now read all of the Jane Jeffry series except A GROOM WITH A VIEW (# 10 in series; I've already read the most recent offerings, see my Listmania), I'm now getting a feel for his author's villain portrait. It would be interesting to return to each Jane and Shelley novel and describe the similarities and differences of the murders in each, focusing on their dark and light sides of character traits.

A mystery author has the perfect setting in which to dramatize his/her values and tastes in human characteristics and choices. Do mysteries provide more literary space for that than other genres, space for that "Southern Exposure" of an author's talents-and-tethering's of Good and Evil? Due to the focus on murder, it would appear so. If you're game, collect the murderers in a particular series, describe each, and see what you see.

Prior to reading GROOM I'm going to take a short break to read a novel in at least one other of the several mystery series I've begun alternating in my reading ventures. Sometimes I like to read a series back-to-back for a while, other times I feel Right Brain pushed to alternate different authors.

Living in left-handed heaven, as I read and write in Right-Brained, cozy chaos,
Linda Shelnutt

One of her best!.......2002-03-19

Jill Churchill wins again, with another suburban mystery. In Merchant of Menace, the mystery arises out of, and fits seamlessly into, Jane Jeffry's suburban milieu. Who did kill the sleazy tv expose reporter? And why? And what's up with the hillbillies who moved in next door and their wonderfully tacky Christmas decorations? The neighborhood events, the recurring characters, including some neighbors we've seen before, like the inimitable Susie, even Jane's potential mother-in-law, all ring hilariously true. I'd love to have seen more of Mel's mother, though. Seems like there should have been a denouement to the simmering conflict between them. Maybe we'll see her again some day? (Some book?)

This is the second book from this author.......2002-02-19

I just love her books- they are a fast read and I thoroughly enjoy them. Jane Jeffry's great and I love her friend Shelly Nowak. I read this one in three days. I am excited to read her others.

Pick one up today!!

An unusual neighborhood.......2002-01-16

In this and other books in the series, Jane Jeffry seems to have an unusually high number of oddball neighbors. The series, at times, is like a situation comedy run amok. While contending with the usual household problems, this widowed mother of three teenagers (plus a large yellow dog and two cats) must deal with the Christmas crunch, neighborhood activities, an unwelcome mother-in-law, the visiting mother of her significant other, new neighbors who appear to be obnoxious rich white trash, and a sleazy investigative reporter who is inserting himself into the neighborhood activities.

When the sleazeball is skewered on the antlers of a plastic reindeer, fingers point in many directions. Who was he investigating, and where are his notes? Skeletons begin emerging from various closets. The "clue" that leads Jane to the killer is a bit of a stretch.

Jane Jeffry appears to lead a chaste life. The novels in the series are written for a general audience with some violence, little sex, and no bad language. There are some minor editing problems typical of publishers pushing books into print (whatever happened to proofreaders?).

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